Blues center Andy McDonald was taken to an area St. Louis hospital for observation after crashing hard into the boards Saturday vs. Florida. Blues sources tell me they beleive he has escaped serious injury.

Earlier story....

Let’s play fantasy GM for minute, although this scenario could be more reality than fantasy.

With the return of Barret Jackman from an ankle injury coming in the next week or two the Blues could be forced to make a roster move. This situation has become further complicated with the dramatic rise in the play of D-man Alex Pietrangelo. If the Blues were considering sending Pietrangelo back to the OHL it’s safe to say those chances have decreased significantly.

In one of my recent stories I pointed out that D-man Mike Weaver could be a candidate to become expendable. This has nothing to do with Weaver’s performance as he’s been one of the Blues most consistent D-men thus far this season.

Assuming the Blues aren’t faced with another injury (which is never a safe bet) prior to Jackman returning, the Blues will have nine defensemen on their roster. The Blues will obviously have the option of sending Tyson Strachan to Peoria to decrease the total to eight.

The only reason I signaled out Weaver is because of the simple fact that he’s on a one-year deal and likely does not project in the organizations plans moving forward. The same could be said for a guy like Darryl Sydor but the Blues like the experience he brings to the table and they feel he’s settling in nicely with former first overall pick Erik Johnson.

Roman Polak, Jackman, Eric Brewer, and Pietrangelo are all under contract next year. Johnson is a restricted free-agent but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize he’s projects in the organization’s plans long-term. Carlo Colaiacovo is still young and the Blues have made no secret that he’s a player who fits in their plans moving forward.

It’s rather safe to assume an under the radar player like a Mike Weaver wouldn’t exactly bring a whole lot of return in a trade. He’s kind of the guy who you don’t know just how effective he is until he’s on your team.

I would never put it past the Blues to hang on to eight D-men either which would mean a forward would need to be moved or sent to the minors. These things have a way of working themselves out on their own as you can never project what might happen from one game to the next. Regardless it’s always interesting to discuss and even more interesting to see what Blues Management will do.

I really respect guys like Mike Weaver, he’s a good player who belongs in the NHL. With that being said is it in the best interest of the Blues as an organization moving forward to have certain players prevent the Pietrangelo’s of the world from playing nearly every game? The Blues are hoping to become a strong Cup contender in the very near future and the player they drafted 4th overall needs to be ready to be a major contributor when that time comes.


Don’t think Too Much!

I’ve enjoyed listening and reading all the analysis over the last few days as to why the Blues are struggling at home. The bottom line for me is seven goals (including an empty netter) in five home games won’t cut it period. The Blues haven’t exactly played horribly defensively either when you factor in how many goals they given up against.

The Blues had no continuous flow in their offensive game against Phoenix which was an obvious contributor to the lack of offense.

Good hockey teams and good hockey players play instinctively. I had a long conversation with Andy McDonald this morning about how much talent the Blues have and how there’s no reason this club should be struggling to score. The Blues coaching staff does a nice job of preparing the team to play, but you can’t over think once you touch the ice. Hockey players are at their best when they’re reacting and right now we are not seeing that from the St. Louis Blues.

Sometimes with young teams you see players that have the tendency to think too much. They worry if they’re where they’re supposed to be on the ice and whether or not they’re in the right position. This takes them away from using their instincts for the game and ultimately away from just going out and playing the style that got them into the NHL in the first place.

This doesn’t mean you don’t play with structure but it’s up to the players to execute when they’re given opportunities.



Rink Rats!

Follow my NHL scoops on twitter www.twitter.com/andystrickland


Since this is Halloween I posed the following question on my twitter page. Who is the scariest person in the NHL? I received several responses with “The Boogey Man” in reference to Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard receiving a decent amount of votes. Others getting recognized as the scariest person in the NHL included former player Mike Ricci, Chris Pronger, Hal Gill, The Monster in Toronto, and Commissioner Gary Bettman.

The days of playing a pushover in the NHL seem to be long gone. Are there really any bad teams in the NHL? I know Toronto is struggling but they’ve picked up points in three straight games. There are no easy games in the NHL anymore.

Swedish National team Head Coach Bengt Gustafsson and GM Mats Naslund will be touring the NHL very soon as they look to complete their roster for the upcoming Olympics. They are expected to announce the roster before Christmas.


Blues Clues!

Alexander Steen is expected to have his cast removed in four weeks. He skated for the first time on Friday and will not be able to shoot or play with a puck until he gets his cast off. Word is Steen’s broken wrist is healing properly.

In Thursday’s loss to Phoenix I was really curious if Pietrangelo was going to shut it down after taking an elbow to the face and getting hammered in back to back shifts. I was pretty impressed with his compete level and how well he bounced back.

It’s nearly a miracle that Eric Brewer is back playing this soon when you consider he couldn’t even pick up his daughter five months ago. The only thing he was allowed to pick up last May was a plate of food following his 2nd back operation. Brewer is still dealing with some serious numbness down the right side of his body and has very little feeling from the hip down to his calf.

T.J. Oshie tells me he expects to return next Thursday from his appendectomy.

Barret Jackman still looks to be several days away from returning from an ankle injury. The Blues could certainly use him as they really miss his ability to settle things down back there.

Actor John Hamm wrote his own script for the Blues commercials he’s appearing in. The Blues gave him a script to read but he decided to use his own.

Carlo Colaiacovo remains out with the flu. John Davidson told me on Saturday that he does not have the Swine Flu.

Tyson Strachan will sit out tonight’s game vs. Mike Kitchen and the Florida Panthers.

Paul Kariya tells me his legs feel great but admits his timing is still off. He will remain on the point on the PP.

Brad Boyes recently watched video of some of his goals from previous years and he looks to find his scoring touch. He should continue to get chances playing with David Backes and Andy McDonald.

D-man Alex Pietrangelo will be this week's guest on Blues Buzz live at Johnny Mac's this Tuesday night from 6-7. The show can be heard on am 590 or www.kfns.com.

Former NHL player Theo Fleury is expected to join me Monday afternoon at 2:00 on am 590 to discuss his book Playing With Fire.


More to come,

Andy Strickland

strickland.andy@gmail.com

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