Late in the summer of 2006 Blues goaltender Manny Legace was one of the last goalies available in the free agent market.
The Blues plucked him off the street and since have put about $6 million dollars in the veteran goaltender’s back pocket.
With that being said he appears to be unhappy these days.
This season Legace has struggled playing at the All-Star level he showed during the first half of last season.
He needs to be better.
I feel very confident by saying Legace isn’t nearly as focused as he was a season ago and the fact that the Blues traded for Chris Mason in the off-season has played a role in that.
People behind the scenes with the Blues have taken notice of Legace’s unhappiness and are scratching their head as to why he’s apparently so upset.
Head Coach Andy Murray has given this guy every opportunity to be the number one goalie. A few weeks ago when Legace was pulled after allowing three first period goals in Buffalo Murray still gave Legace the start two nights later in Chicago.
Following the morning skate on Friday Legace sat in his stall for several minutes apparently upset by the fact that Mason was given the start that night vs. Calgary.
The only person Legace is hurting right now is himself.
The Blues haven’t yet closed the door on re-signing Legace after this season, but they want to see a better attitude (and better play) before they make any type of commitment.
The two go hand in hand and the last thing this team needs is a veteran goaltender feeling sorry for himself while the club is battling to earn precious points in the Western conference.
I asked Legace the other night where his head is at and he responded by saying “I’m not sure, that’s a good question”.
Are there any goaltender’s in the NHLs besides Brodeur, Nabokov, Luongo, Kiprusoff, and maybe Turco (primarily because there is nobody behind him) who have the security of being the number one goalie even if they struggle?
If you want to play you need to play well when your number is called.
Legace has done a nice job since joining the Blues but these are the times when a player’s true character gets tested.
As far as I can tell from the people I have spoken to inside the organization he isn’t passing the test.
Recently Legace made a few post-game comments that upset a few people in the organization when he called out some teammates (without naming names) for some mistakes made inside the Blues zone that resulted in a goal against.
Last time I checked a major responsibility of a goaltender is to make up for mistakes made by teammates. If players didn’t make mistakes would there even be a need for a goalie?
These are the same teammates who on a nightly basis help the goaltender by blocking shots with their head and every other part of the body.
For the most part Legace has been a terrific teammate and has been great for this organization off the ice. The Blues rejected his proposal to negotiate an extension in the summer as they wisely felt it made more sense to wait. They want to make sure he stays healthy number one and number two stops the puck.
The fact is Legace has a contract and a nice one at that as he's earning $2.5 million this season. He's not the only guy playing in the final year of his deal.
So is Keith Tkachuk who appears to no longer be headed towards retirement by the way. I've discussed it with him recently and in my opinion he's having too much fun to call it quits.
Back to Manny....
The reality is the Mason trade could really help Legace. If the Blues re-sign the veteran they will be forced to at least match the $3 million salary Mason is earning this season.
The Blues are not shopping Legace in an effort to trade him because they need him to play for the Blues. Mason hasn’t shown he’s capable of fully carrying the load.
The Blues do not feel Ben Bishop will be ready to become a full time NHL backup next season and will strongly consider bringing Legace back if his attitude and play improve.
As we sit right now, that’s a big IF.
Rink Rats!
It was recently reported in an Ottawa paper that recently fired head Coach Peter Laviolette will be the next head coach in St. Louis. This could very well wind up being the case, but right now this is nothing more than speculation. I recently had the same person who provided the writer with this speculation say the same thing to me. Nothing came from anyone with the Blues who by the way as we sit right now are happy with Murray.
Last Friday night Blues forward Cam Janssen laid out Flames forward Brandon Prust with an open ice hit which resulted in a broken jaw for Prust. Following the game on Friday Janssen called Prust to make sure he was ok, and Prust eventually called Janssen back to say he’d be fine. Pretty classy move by both competitors.
I’m hearing Blues Head Coach Andy Murray was upset with the fact that Janssen fought Prust earlier in the game. Why get upset? This is why the Blues traded for him in the first place. Janssen did not play the following night against Phoenix when Coyotes tough guy Daniel Carcillo nearly broke the orbital bone of D-man Roman Polak who may be big, but he’s not a guy who should be taking on tough guys. If Janssen is in the lineup chances are the fight never happens. The Blues are lucky they didn’t lose Polak for more than five minutes.
Janssen provides a much needed role on this team and should be inserted when facing players like Carcillo.
The painting the Blues gave Keith Tkachuk to honor his 1,000 career NHL points had hand written notes on the painting from the other six U.S. born players who have reached the milestone. Pat Lafontaine, Phil Housely, Jeremy Roenick, Joe Mullen, Brian Leetch, and Mike Modano all wrote messages to Tkachuk.
Blues Clues!
Legace will start Monday night vs. Nashville.
Janssen is back in the lineup Monday as well.
T.J. Oshie is out with a tender ankle.
How good was Yan Stastny on Saturday vs. Phoenix? The guy did an unbelievable job killing penalties especially in the third period. His performance shouldn’t go unnoticed. After the game several teammates gave him extra kudos including Legace who thanked him for a crucial block late in the game.
Dan Hinote will make the west coast trip and is optimistic he’ll play Wednesday in Anaheim.
There is a chance Paul Kariya makes the trip as well.
The Blues should be thrilled with the play of Carlo Colaiacovo who will only get better once he gets in shape. Due to injuries he hasn’t had a full off-season to train. You’ll see the Blues forwards begin to look for him when he slides down low in the offensive end once they get used to playing with him and getting a feel for how he plays.
Andy McDonald is no longer wearing a boot to protect his fractured ankle. He is rehabbing by riding the bike and doing upper body work. He’s hopeful to return before the all star break.
Matt Foy is close to returning from a sports hernia injury which has forced him to miss the entire season down in Peoria.
Both Dave Checketts and John Davidson are representing the Blues during this weeks Board of Governors meetings in Florida.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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