The easiest thing to do in pro sports is point the finger at the coach when things go south and take a turn for the worse.
I was asked on a Canadian radio show late Monday night if Murray is on the hot heat?
According to team President John Davidson it is “asinine” if people think the Blues are looking to make a coaching change. "He's our coach."
Team Captain Eric Brewer told me it’s “nonsense.”
Keith Tkachuk told me I should be placing the pressure on the players and I've decided to take his advice.
If the Blues were getting blown out of games I could understand the reason to question if Murray is the right guy for the job. Murray has two years left on his contract following htis season/
In my time covering this club I’ve seen Joel Quennville and Mike Kitchen lose their jobs in mid season. To this day I never understood the Quennville move. You can’t always allow the players to run the show.
If the players worked as hard as the coaching staff, then maybe the Blues would be able to score a goal here and there.
With that being said, I’m not willing to place all the heat on the players. This is a collective effort going on here and no one should be able to avoid any responsibility.
It’s only natural that the organization is feeling some pressure. No one truly expected the Blues to be in the playoffs this season, but at the same time the team has underachieved as of late. The Blues have not gotten better as the season has progressed and that is concerning.
We’ve heard winning breed’s confidence, and the Blues have none right now.
Is the team uptight?
I don’t think there is any question.
That’s what happens when you lose hockey games. People start pointing fingers and trying to find reasons as to why the Blues are struggling.
The Blues are quick to remind us that they have a plan in place. There is no overnight resolution here. If you don’t have patience, I wouldn’t recommend being a Blues fan. Blues Ownership and Management have said since day one that rebuilding this hockey club will be a long-term process.
This doesn't meant they're about to accept what Blues fans have witnessed as of late.
This current regime promised the team would give an honest effort every night. For the most part the players have bought in.
What took place Saturday night at home against San Jose was border line a disgrace. Simply embarrassing, the team acted as if they didn’t care and it showed. I will say this, if you expect the fans to grow with you, you better show up and act as if you’re interested in playing hockey.
Andy Murray was livid following the game and nearly went Brent Sutter on his club. Word is he told his team to keep their equipment on following the game because they were headed back out on the ice to be bagged. Someone obviously got to Murray and he changed his mind.
On a positive note the Blues completely shut down Joe Thornton last Saturday.
The Sharks are one of the hottest road teams in the NHL and they couldn’t accomplish squat offensively. They scored on a 5 on 3 and a softie en route to their 2-0 victory.
There is no one to blame besides the offense for the Blues recent issues.
They can’t score, flat out.
You can have the all the goaltending and solid defensive play all you want, but if you can’t put pucks into empty nets then you might as well just throw your hands up in the air.
It would be nice if someone besides David Backes was willing to throw their body around. The word passion is sometimes overused in this sport, but on Saturday the Blues showed none.
There are growing pains when an organization is rebuilding, it can be a very difficult process with major bumps in the road.
Blues fans are growing tired of losing, but trust me when I say the reward of getting back into the playoffs will be stronger than the agony you’re feeling right now.
I don’t buy the Blues power play struggles being just about execution.
There’s more to it.
The Blues will evaluate everything at the end of the season and decide what needs to be done to improve in this area.
Assistant Coach Ray Bennett is in charge of the power play, but this isn’t the NFL where you have coordinators that only concentrate on one area of the game. Every coach is involved in the power play in terms of the overall design and which personnel are used.
Fans would like to see some adjustments, and right now there appear to be very few made. It only makes sense to switch things up when it’s not working.
It’s time to move some players around.
Blues management will look very hard after the season in an effort to determine why the power play has been so poor.
It’s fair to ask if the constant changes of line combinations are contributing to the Blues inconsistency up front.
This team has no cohesion with their forwards and you have to wonder if this is a reason why?
The lack of scoring from Lee Stempniak has people inside the Blues organization concerned. He’s getting some chances and starting to shoot the puck with almost no results. Last year they were under the bar and in.
I know he’s getting some power play time, but this guy needs to be kept with offensive players. He’s been playing on the fourth line recently and to me you’ve got to stick with this guy and show you still believe in him. He was practicing on a line with Cam Janssen on Monday and I don’t understand the logic.
Speaking of Janssen, I want to see this guy in the lineup. When you’re lacking overall intensity and “passion” he can without a doubt give you a boost. Even when he’s on the bench he gives the club enthusiasm.
What I’m trying to get at here is collectively all of Blues nation needs to take a big deep breath. Everyone from Blues ownership to the fans are disappointed with the recent losing. There was a larger sense of calm when the Blues were 30th in the league a few years back, believe me when I say things are better.
Rink Rats!
The Blues will look to add a puck moving D-man this summer to compliment Erik Johnson. A few names to consider are Michal Rozsival and Paul Mara from the Rangers, John-Michael Liles form Colorado, and Wade Redden from Ottawa. Redden is likely out of the Blues price range. Outside of Redden, no one realy excites me all that much but here are a few options.
The Blues are also in desperate need of size up front with some finish.
Montreal wanted a 2nd round pick from St. Louis for goaltender Cristobal Huet.
Blues Clues!
Congrats on the Blues for finalizing an extension with Brad Boyes. The biggest thing for Boyes was to get four years. He was willing to help the Blues out by accepting less money in the first year to accommodate the team’s budget.
Boyes Deal:
08/09-$2.5 mill
09/10-$5 mill
10/11-$4.5 mill
11/12-$4 mill
The Blues stood firm and did not give Boyes a no-trade clause in his deal. This is almost unheard of in today’s game.
Barret Jackman also took less money in the first year of his extension. Jackman will make $2.5 million next season as well.
Dan Hinote is still dealing with a hip/stomach injury. There remains no timetable for his return. He told me there has been no discussion of surgery and he expects to return this season.
Lars Eller, the Blues first round pick in 2007, was recently named the games number one star in a contest against HV-71, the top team in the Swedish Elite League.
The Blues have not made a decision if Eller will be signed and in training camp next season. He will be in St. Louis this summer for the Blues development camp.
Congrats to Whitfield high school on winning the Wickenheiser Cup, and to CBC on winning another St. Louis Blues Challenge Cup on Monday night. Keith Tkachuk represented the Blues and handed out the trophies on the ice following the game. It was a great night of championship high school action at the Scottrade Center.
I had a great time at the first ever St. Louis Amateur Hockey hall of Fame induction ceremony on Sunday night. Congrats to the very well deserved inductees.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
[email protected] 
St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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