Mike Yeo was next in line, but he'll be taking over sooner than originally planned.

The St. Louis Blues have dismissed head coach Ken Hitchcock and named Yeo his immediate replacement, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday.

When Yeo was hired as associate coach last summer, Armstrong initially said the former Minnesota Wild head coach would succeed Hitchcock as Blues' bench boss after this season and "for three years after that."

St. Louis has lost five of its last six games and sits dead-last in the NHL with a team save percentage of .887, according to Corsica Hockey.

Hitchcock led the Blues to the playoffs in each of his five previous seasons behind the bench, but their run to the Western Conference Final last spring was the furthest he'd take them.

He was named Blues head coach following the firing of Davis Payne early in the 2011-12 campaign.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.