St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced Saturday that the club has named Rivermen head coach Davis Payne as interim head coach of the Blues. Payne becomes the 23rd coach in the history of the St. Louis Blues replacing Andy Murray, who was relieved of his duties.

“Davis is very knowledgeable of the players in our organization and we feel he is the best candidate to coach our team,” said Davidson. “He has nine winning seasons at the minor league level which includes an ECHL Championship in 2006.

“I would like to thank Andy Murray for the job he has done here the past four seasons,” continued Davidson. “He was an integral part in turning the St. Louis Blues around. He is a true professional and I wish him the best of luck in the future.”

Meanwhile, the Blues have named St. Louis assistant and goaltending coach Rick Wamsley as interim head coach of the Peoria Rivermen. He is expected to be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Chicago Wolves.

Payne, 39, was named the 15th head coach of the Rivermen on July 8, 2008 after serving one year as an assistant with the club. This season, Peoria has posted a 19-13-1-2 record combining for a 62-44-3-6 (.578%) overall mark in two seasons with Payne behind the bench. In his first year (2008-09) as an AHL head coach, Payne guided the Rivermen to a 43-31-2-4 record and returned Peoria to the postseason following a two-year drought.

Wamsley, 50, joined the Blues as an assistant coach/goaltending coach on July 7, 2006. Before arriving in St. Louis, he was working for the Columbus Blue Jackets organization where he served as a goaltending coach and pro scout since 1999. Prior to joining the Blue Jackets, Wamsley spent six seasons as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. While in Toronto, he served as a pro and amateur scout in 1998-99 and was an assistant coach under Pat Burns from 1996-98. Wamsley joined the organization as a goaltending consultant immediately following a 12-year playing career that ended during the 1992-93 season.

During his playing career, Wamsley posted a 204-131-46 record and a 3.34 goals against average with the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Courtesy: Peoria Rivermen