By Associated Press
St. Louis, MO – Andy Murray was fired Saturday as coach of the St. Louis Blues, who have lost four straight games and have the NHL's worst home record.
Davis Payne, the coach of the Blues' AHL affiliate in Peoria, was appointed interim head coach. The Blues play at home Saturday night against Chicago.
Blues president John Davidson cited Payne's nine winning seasons in the minors, including an ECHL championship in 2006.
"Davis is very knowledgeable of the players in our organization and we feel he is the best candidate to coach our team," he said in a statement.
The Blues rank 12th in the Western Conference with a 17-17-6 record, and their home record is 6-13-3. Their latest loss was Thursday night, a 4-3 overtime defeat at home to Vancouver in which the Canucks rallied from three goals down.
Murray was hired by the Blues in 2006, after coaching the Los Angeles Kings and working as an assistant in Philadelphia, Minnesota and Winnipeg.
"I would like to thank Andy Murray for the job he has done here the past four seasons," Davidson said. "He was an integral part in turning the St. Louis Blues around. He is a true professional."