An emotional Jordan Kyrou fought back tears as he discussed getting booed by St. Louis Blues fans on Thursday in the aftermath of a short answer he gave on fired coach Craig Berube.
When asked about his relationship with Berube before the game, per Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, Kyrou said: “I’ve got no comment. He’s not my coach anymore.”
The fans didn’t appear to like that comment as they booed Kyrou during the Blues’ 4-2 win in interim coach Drew Bannister’s NHL coaching debut.
“It’s just tough, right?,” Kyrou said. “I love playing here. It’s tough to hear the fans booing me.”
Kyrou has five goals and 13 assists in 29 games this season, well off his scoring pace from the previous seasons. He had 75 points in 2021-22 and 73 last season.
Kyrou broke into the league with the Blues in 2018-19, the same season Berube took over at mid-season and guided the team to the title.
“Obviously, I respect (Berube),” Kyrou said. “He’s been my coach the whole time I’ve been here. I respect everything he’s done here. He’s done a great job, he won a Cup. All I really meant was I’m just trying to focus on my future and focus what I can do to help my team win.”
Kyrou said he realized his comment had made the rounds after he woke up from his pre-game nap. He said Thursday was “definitely the toughest game I’ve probably played, to be honest.”
Kyrou was asked what he wanted to say to the fans.
“Just sorry if it sounded in a bad way at all,” he said. “Like I said I’m really trying to focus on the future here and focus on what I can do to help our team win.”