St. Louis, MO (My Sportsbook) - The St. Louis Blues have dismissed head coach Joel Quenneville and replaced him with assistant Mike Kitchen, who received a multi-year contract.

The Blues currently sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, one point behind Calgary for the eighth and final playoff spot, leaving the team's run of 24 straight years in the postseason in danger.

In his eighth season behind the St. Louis bench, Quenneville led the team to a 29-23-7-2 mark, but the Blues have won just nine games since December 20 (9-17-5-1).

"Joel has gotten everything he possibly can out of our club and given the Blues eight excellent seasons behind our bench," said Blues GM Larry Pleau. "We need to recharge and redirect our team. Our current roster is the same team that went 20-6-3-1 through our first 30 games. Our expectations for this team remain high."

Quenneville was the Jack Adams Award winner as NHL coach of the year in 1999-2000 after the Blues captured the President's Trophy with a league- and club-best 114 points.

The Blues had won 40 or more games in five of his six full seasons as coach, but the team had only reached the Conference finals once in his tenure.

Quenneville holds the Blues' franchise lead in wins with 307.

Kitchen, 48, becomes the 20th head coach in Blues history and has served as an assistant coach with the club since the 1998-99 season. Prior to joining the Blues, he spent nine seasons as an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"Mike Kitchen has the familiarity with our current roster and our prospects that we believe will make a difference and ease in the transition as we push forward toward the playoffs," Pleau said. "He's a solid hockey coach, one who has the respect of everyone in our locker room, organization, and around the NHL. The Blues are his team."

A former defenseman, Kitchen is a veteran of eight NHL seasons with the Colorado Rockies and New Jersey Devils franchise. He appeared in 474 games, recording 12 goals, 62 assists, and 370 penalty minutes.