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St Louis Blues Blogger • 1380 ESPN •
Below is a video of David Perron's second goal Saturday vs. Islanders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq7nkbvn1Ic
Earlier Story........
The best place for Alex Pietrangelo right now is to be playing pro hockey in Peoria, Illinois. We all know by rule that can’t happen so the organization wisely understands that the second best option for both the kid and the Blues is to keep him in the NHL.
As I’ve stated all along, this should be the case as long as he’s playing. If he’s not going to play here then he should be in a situation where he’s playing and playing a lot.
Sure the club can utilize the option to send Pietrangelo back to the OHL at any point this season no matter how many games he’s played. Obviously this door will always be open. Do I think it makes sense to send him back after playing 10,15, 20 games? No I don’t.
If Niagara would trade Pietrangelo to a contending OHL team the Blues would maybe think harder about sending him back to a situation where he’d have a chance to play deep into the OHL playoffs.
The Blues would love to get this kid playing in the range of 30-45 NHL games. Get him the necessary experience to help him mature as a player. It’s a much more complex issue on defense with the lack of experience the Blues have on the roster. It’s harder than one might think to slide Pietrangelo in consistently when you already have young players like Erik Johnson and Roman Polak in the lineup. Carlo Colaiacovo doesn’t have a whole lot of games played on his resume either.
It’s a tough situation for a head coach to balance the idea of both developing and winning. Coaches need to win to keep their job and it’s hard to tell a coach he has to play certain guys who might not give his team the best chance to win. The goal here is to make the playoffs, can you sacrifice your chances of making the playoffs to allow a young player to dress?
It’s also hard to tell fans to spend money and come to the rink when the team may not be dressing the most competitive lineup.
What the Blues do with Pietrangelo could depend on what their roster looks like in the coming weeks. Recently a member of Blues management told me he was leaning towards keeping Pietrangelo in St. Louis but that tone has slightly changed in the last few days.
Are the Blues trying to move a D-man?
Making a trade in the NHL is difficult in today’s cap world but this doesn’t mean the club isn’t looking to swing a deal. Of all the defenseman Eric Brewer may be the most logical player to move when you factor in return value.
Teams may be weary of his injured back that forced him to miss nearly all of last season, but so far Brewer has physically held up just fine and has reported no issues whatsoever.
Brewer comes with a decent number at just over $4 million and can give a team some serious minutes. There aren’t too many guys out there who can play 25 minutes a night, kill penalties, play against top players, and give you the last 15-20 seconds on the power play. I’m not suggesting Brewer as a PP guy but if necessary he can give you minimal PP time.
Part of the equation on how long Pietrangelo stays will be whether or not the Blues are able to move a defenseman. Potential injuries will also factor in as well. The Blues are well protected with players like Tyson Strachan, Jonas Junland, and Brendan Bell all healthy and prepared to step in.
Quietly, there are ceartain individuals that would like to see Brewer take Pietrangelo under his wing and groom the kid a little bit. I understand not every veteran player has this type of personality, but Brewer is the Captain and showing this type of leadership comes with the responsibility.
For some reason Pietrangelo's play seems to drop off when playing with Brewer.
Recently Pietrangelo told me D-man Carlo Colaiacovo has been a teammate that’s looked after him on and off the ice as the two live in the same building.
Eight Is Enough?
Carrying eight healthy D-men is far from a horrible situation especially when you look around the league and you see teams like Pittsburgh is dealing with multiple injuries on the back end.
No D-man wants to play musical partners and finding some continuity and chemistry is difficult when players are bouncing in and out of the lineup virtually every night.
It’s not a great situation for a coach either who is forced to sit guys out that deserve to be playing. While having eight healthy D-men is nice it’s not as ideal for a coach as one might think.
At the end of the day there are several variables that factor in before the Blues make an official decision on the 19 year old kid. Playing with Brewer may not help his cause.
Rink rats!
The contracts extensions for Chicago players Patrick Kane, Johnathan Toews, and Duncan Keith are very close to being finalized but the money will take Chicago over the cap for next season. You’re not allowed to carry future money that takes you over the cap unless the money comes from bonuses. Obviously the money these three players will earn next season will come straight from their salary and not bonuses. I’m told Chicago will need to move around $1 million in salary off of this year’s roster before the deals can be completed.
Brian Burke was in this situation a few years back as GM of the Anaheim Ducks and was forced to trade Andy McDonald as a result.
Peter Forsberg and Marcus Naslund are playing for free this season with Modo in the Swedish Elite League.
Dan Hinote played his first game with Modo in the SEL today.
Anaheim will likely begin their efforts to re-sign goaltender Jonas Hiller pretty soon. This isn’t expected to be a difficult negotiation as both sides are looking to get a deal done.
Ottawa forward Mike Fisher is being considered to represent Canada in the upcoming Olympics.
Blues Clues!
The Blues have started kicking some tires on a contract extension with D-man Erik Johnson. No real negotiations have begun as we sit today but it’s safe to say Johnson is the player the Blues should build around moving forward.
Alex Steen will play with Cam Janssen and Keith Tkachuk Saturday vs. the Islanders.
Speaking of Tkachuk it was nice to see him drive the net with determination the other night vs. Phoenix. This is the Tkachuk the Blues need to see more from. The situation this season has been hard for Tkachuk who’s been pretty much relegated to fourth line status although he remains a regular on the PP. You haven’t heard a single complaint from the 500 goal scorer who seems to be playing with different wingers each time he touches the ice.
Word is Peoria Head Coach Davis Payne nearly went toe to toe with the Head Coach of San Antonio following Friday’s fight filled blowout victory by the Rivermen. Former Blue Jeff Hoggan was involved in a few scraps for San Antonio.
T.J. Oshie tells me he was an excellent basketball player back in the day and could dunk a volleyball on a ten foot rim.
Chris Mason will be looking for a nice pay raise following this season especially if he continues to play the way he has thus far. Is he worth the $5-$6 million he’ll likely be looking for? Certainly looked like it on Thursday.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
Strickland.andy@gmail.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq7nkbvn1Ic
Earlier Story........
The best place for Alex Pietrangelo right now is to be playing pro hockey in Peoria, Illinois. We all know by rule that can’t happen so the organization wisely understands that the second best option for both the kid and the Blues is to keep him in the NHL.
As I’ve stated all along, this should be the case as long as he’s playing. If he’s not going to play here then he should be in a situation where he’s playing and playing a lot.
Sure the club can utilize the option to send Pietrangelo back to the OHL at any point this season no matter how many games he’s played. Obviously this door will always be open. Do I think it makes sense to send him back after playing 10,15, 20 games? No I don’t.
If Niagara would trade Pietrangelo to a contending OHL team the Blues would maybe think harder about sending him back to a situation where he’d have a chance to play deep into the OHL playoffs.
The Blues would love to get this kid playing in the range of 30-45 NHL games. Get him the necessary experience to help him mature as a player. It’s a much more complex issue on defense with the lack of experience the Blues have on the roster. It’s harder than one might think to slide Pietrangelo in consistently when you already have young players like Erik Johnson and Roman Polak in the lineup. Carlo Colaiacovo doesn’t have a whole lot of games played on his resume either.
It’s a tough situation for a head coach to balance the idea of both developing and winning. Coaches need to win to keep their job and it’s hard to tell a coach he has to play certain guys who might not give his team the best chance to win. The goal here is to make the playoffs, can you sacrifice your chances of making the playoffs to allow a young player to dress?
It’s also hard to tell fans to spend money and come to the rink when the team may not be dressing the most competitive lineup.
What the Blues do with Pietrangelo could depend on what their roster looks like in the coming weeks. Recently a member of Blues management told me he was leaning towards keeping Pietrangelo in St. Louis but that tone has slightly changed in the last few days.
Are the Blues trying to move a D-man?
Making a trade in the NHL is difficult in today’s cap world but this doesn’t mean the club isn’t looking to swing a deal. Of all the defenseman Eric Brewer may be the most logical player to move when you factor in return value.
Teams may be weary of his injured back that forced him to miss nearly all of last season, but so far Brewer has physically held up just fine and has reported no issues whatsoever.
Brewer comes with a decent number at just over $4 million and can give a team some serious minutes. There aren’t too many guys out there who can play 25 minutes a night, kill penalties, play against top players, and give you the last 15-20 seconds on the power play. I’m not suggesting Brewer as a PP guy but if necessary he can give you minimal PP time.
Part of the equation on how long Pietrangelo stays will be whether or not the Blues are able to move a defenseman. Potential injuries will also factor in as well. The Blues are well protected with players like Tyson Strachan, Jonas Junland, and Brendan Bell all healthy and prepared to step in.
Quietly, there are ceartain individuals that would like to see Brewer take Pietrangelo under his wing and groom the kid a little bit. I understand not every veteran player has this type of personality, but Brewer is the Captain and showing this type of leadership comes with the responsibility.
For some reason Pietrangelo's play seems to drop off when playing with Brewer.
Recently Pietrangelo told me D-man Carlo Colaiacovo has been a teammate that’s looked after him on and off the ice as the two live in the same building.
Eight Is Enough?
Carrying eight healthy D-men is far from a horrible situation especially when you look around the league and you see teams like Pittsburgh is dealing with multiple injuries on the back end.
No D-man wants to play musical partners and finding some continuity and chemistry is difficult when players are bouncing in and out of the lineup virtually every night.
It’s not a great situation for a coach either who is forced to sit guys out that deserve to be playing. While having eight healthy D-men is nice it’s not as ideal for a coach as one might think.
At the end of the day there are several variables that factor in before the Blues make an official decision on the 19 year old kid. Playing with Brewer may not help his cause.
Rink rats!
The contracts extensions for Chicago players Patrick Kane, Johnathan Toews, and Duncan Keith are very close to being finalized but the money will take Chicago over the cap for next season. You’re not allowed to carry future money that takes you over the cap unless the money comes from bonuses. Obviously the money these three players will earn next season will come straight from their salary and not bonuses. I’m told Chicago will need to move around $1 million in salary off of this year’s roster before the deals can be completed.
Brian Burke was in this situation a few years back as GM of the Anaheim Ducks and was forced to trade Andy McDonald as a result.
Peter Forsberg and Marcus Naslund are playing for free this season with Modo in the Swedish Elite League.
Dan Hinote played his first game with Modo in the SEL today.
Anaheim will likely begin their efforts to re-sign goaltender Jonas Hiller pretty soon. This isn’t expected to be a difficult negotiation as both sides are looking to get a deal done.
Ottawa forward Mike Fisher is being considered to represent Canada in the upcoming Olympics.
Blues Clues!
The Blues have started kicking some tires on a contract extension with D-man Erik Johnson. No real negotiations have begun as we sit today but it’s safe to say Johnson is the player the Blues should build around moving forward.
Alex Steen will play with Cam Janssen and Keith Tkachuk Saturday vs. the Islanders.
Speaking of Tkachuk it was nice to see him drive the net with determination the other night vs. Phoenix. This is the Tkachuk the Blues need to see more from. The situation this season has been hard for Tkachuk who’s been pretty much relegated to fourth line status although he remains a regular on the PP. You haven’t heard a single complaint from the 500 goal scorer who seems to be playing with different wingers each time he touches the ice.
Word is Peoria Head Coach Davis Payne nearly went toe to toe with the Head Coach of San Antonio following Friday’s fight filled blowout victory by the Rivermen. Former Blue Jeff Hoggan was involved in a few scraps for San Antonio.
T.J. Oshie tells me he was an excellent basketball player back in the day and could dunk a volleyball on a ten foot rim.
Chris Mason will be looking for a nice pay raise following this season especially if he continues to play the way he has thus far. Is he worth the $5-$6 million he’ll likely be looking for? Certainly looked like it on Thursday.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
Strickland.andy@gmail.com
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