Blues' Berube blasts top players after loss: 'I guess they don't care about the team'

The St. Louis Blues may have waved the white flag on the season by trading Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly, but that doesn't mean head coach Craig Berube is about to let his remaining players off the hook.

After the team blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 in overtime on Thursday to another club destined for the draft lottery, the visiting Vancouver Canucks, Berube tore a strip off his top players in his chat with reporters.

"Our best players don't play with any passion, no emotion, no inspiration at all," Berube said after the team lost its fourth in a row -- a stretch in which the Blues have been outscored 18-6.

"They don't play inspired hockey. You cannot play in this league without emotion, grit and being inspired. They're getting paid lots of money and they're not doing the job. End of story. That's it. That's what it boils down to."

In the same press conference, Berube was asked about Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas, who have combined for one assist in the past four games.

"Not good enough, not even close," Berube said of Kyrou and Thomas, who both signed eight-year, $65-million extensions over the summer.

After Berube said "a lot of our best players are not doing the job," he was asked why that's the case.

"I don't know, you'll have to ask them ... I guess they don't care about the team, I don't know."

Four years removed from winning the Stanley Cup, the Blues (26-28-4) are now looking to retool.

Berube did have some words of praise for the effort of goalie Jordan Binnington (38 saves) and some of his younger players.

When he was asked about Alexey Toropchenko, 23, diving and blocking shots, Berube said that should set an example for other players.

"Oh, 100 per cent. For sure," he said. "They should be very, very happy we've got this guy on our team, that he's laying it on the line. They should be inspired by it. They should go out and play inspired."