It’s a great day for hockey isn’t it!
We know Toronto Maple Leafs fans are excited today and we also know Toronto controls the hockey universe, or at least that’s what we’ve been led to believe.
So as long as Toronto is happy we’re all happy!
You know I love you Toronto!!
There is one person not so excited today and that’s Brendan Shanahan.
In fact Brendan is quite frustrated with the old New York Rangers and their GM Glen Sather.
As of yesterday there is no deal on the table for Shanahan to return to the Big Apple. Actually he’s already there and has been using the Rangers practice facility to train for several weeks.
Whenever you tell a club that you are willing to be patient and they are the only team you want to play for chances are the team may not feel the same urgency the player does to get a deal done.
The bottom line is Shanahan deserves better. He’s had way too good of a career to be jerked around at this stage of his life. If he didn’t have options I would understand.
We all know he will have plenty once he retires.
Sources tell me he’s been offered to work for the NHL once he hangs em up and has also been approached by NBC about a TV gig.
Either Way Brendan will be just fine.
Brendan also has options this season which is why it may be time to begin to entertain a few.
If Brendan wanted to play for another club he could have a deal done in a mater of hours with both New Jersey and Philadelphia still at the top of the list.
We all know he could still come to St. Louis if he wanted to as well. Blues fans might find it interesting to know Chairman Dave Checketts personally phoned Shanahan within the last month. The conversation included but was not limited to finishing his playing career in St. Louis.
Don't get too excited Blues fans.
The reality here is that the Blues would likely need to pay Shanahan a lot more than he would ask from say the Rangers, Devils, or Flyers to get him to pack his things and head West.
Shanahan has considered just sitting back and pulling a Forsberg and showing up some time near Christmas but that idea doesn’t excite him all that much. He wants to play a full season and be part of a team from start to finish. His kids are in school in New York and he wants to remain close to them.
Sather has made the Shanahan camp believe all along that enough cap space would be created to allow the future Hall of Famer to play another year in MSG.
Early on Shanahan was patient because he didn’t care to go to Europe and had no major issue with waiting for the Rangers to return to North America.
Now they’re back and Shanahan has told the Rangers to either sign him or he’s moving on.
All I know is that hockey season is starting so therefore I’m going to move on, at least for now. Rangers fans who are hoping Shanahan returns can start getting excited once a player is either traded or waived from their current roster.
On to the Blues…
I’m not big into predictions so I stay away from guessing how good the team will be or how many goals so and so will score.
For example I would have never guessed Lee Stempniak would only score 13 goals last season.
I will say this, if Stempniak only scores 13 this year the Blues are in BIG trouble!
Anyone who has watched Stempniak during the pre-season realizes the guy is a completely different player, it’s really unbelievable. His confidence is sky high, last year he had none. He’s going to the net and the puck is finding him, but most importantly he’s battling! Yes I said battling, something he did very little of last year. I’ve watched this kid long enough to know he’s successful when he battles.
Stempniak worked his butt off this summer to improve his skating. Remember how he’d fall down a lot last season? He’s much stronger on his skates this go around, he’s much more explosive and the Blues desperately need that from him.
Last year heading into the season I wrote that Brad Boyes was my X-factor and he made me look good. I’m going with #12 in 2008-2009.
Andy McDonald along with Brad Boyes may be the Blues best player, playing with these two guys will obviously do him some good.
How do you not score when you're playing with these guys?
A New Andy Murray?
I wondered all off-season if Coach Murray had the ability to change?
We’ve all heard the saying how a “Tiger doesn’t change its stripes”. This applies to the Blues Head Coach. I wasn’t sure if he had it in him. I’m not suggesting he had to re-invent himself but he certainly needed to make a couple changes. I want this guy to be the Coach of the Blues for a long time so he can be rewarded when it’s time for the organization to go to the next level.
I can’t tell you how impressed I’ve been with him during camp. He’s changed things up for the better of the organization. The vibe is better, the young kids feel comfortable, and he’s taking advantage of the Blues overall team speed by making a few simple changes.
Look, last year I thought the Blues were on their heels way to much. So far I’ve seen guys on their toes. The Blues are using a different fore check in which they attack as opposed to just clogging the neutral zone which doesn’t fit the personality or the skill set with this group.
The Blues are young, hungry, and fast. They need to play that way. They are also skilled, this is not an old team that has to sit back. Last season the team played way too much inside their own zone, you will see a more determined puck possession team in 2008-2009.
After last season I think everyone in the Blues organization needed to take a deep breath. I felt Blues management lived and died with every call and every goal against. It’s a marathon as they say. There should be little pressure felt by the Blues. Everyone and their mother are picking them to finish last or near the bottom.
One thing the Blues as an organization don’t do well is accept criticism, I promise if the team plays hard and the young guys are rewarded with ice time this will be a much smoother ride than a year ago.
Cam They Be Entertaining?
If Cam Janssen is used properly and he goes about it the right way, he has the ability to entertain the Blues audience more so than any player probably since Kelly Chase or Tony Twist.
I could have said Tyson Nash or Mike Danton, but I think Janssen’s personality gives him much more star potential than those two guys.
The Blues need stars!
Not just household names in hockey circles, but true stars on the St. Louis sports scene.
The Blues lost some star power when Chris Pronger was traded.
Keith Tkachuk is the closest thing they have to a star.
I fully understand who the Blues best players on the ice are, but I am including personality off the ice here as well.
One of the hardest things to do in pro sports is to perform in your home town. There can be way too many distractions. It is important that the people close to Cam, whether it be friends or family, to let this guy focus on playing hockey. He can’t be worried about scooping up tickets last second for every person he knows. Someone in his inner circle should take on the responsibility of dealing with tickets and let this kid play. His main responsibility is playing in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues. Taking care of everyone else should be a distant second.
Cam has the ability to bring people in the rink and give the Blues a true home ice advantage. I’m not suggesting he should act like a clown and be stupid out there like say Tie Domi did late in his career, but he needs to be himself. He makes every player around him a few inches taller and does a great job of protecting his teammates. His skating ability allows him to line up the opposition which in turn creates atmosphere and excitement inside the building.
If I were running the Blues marketing department I would be pushing this kid the way the Blues did with Chase and Twist back in the day. If you know Blues fans, for whatever reason they like this type of player. I’m not suggesting the Blues shouldn’t promote their offensive stars either but this kid, along with D.J. King can build an audience. The Blues haven’t done a great job the last ten years or so in promoting individual players. There are some great personalities inside the Blues dressing room that people don’t know. The organization can’t just rely on the media to promote their players.
This doesn't mean players are not out in the public and don't go out og their way to do charity work off the ice. A lot of the stuff they do fans never hear about. They do more than their share of off ice appearances.
The bottom line for Janssen is for him or any other player to become a star they need to take care of business on the ice. If they don't do their job on the ice they have no star power in the first place.
It’s not just about fighting, its bone jarring hits provided by Janssen and guys like T.J. Oshie, Barret Jackman, and David Backes that put bring people out of their seats.
Winning hockey games and scoring goals will sell tickets as well.
All i'm saying is with the recent Cardinals and Rams struggles, the St. Louis sports scene is there for the taking.
I’m interested to see how Alex Pietrangelo handles the raised intensity that comes with the regular season. He will need to focus on keeping his shifts short and keeping things simple. This kid has off the charts hockey sense and has the mental toughness of a veteran. Mistakes don’t get to this kid which is why I feel he can handle the pressure that comes with the NHL.
We all know the Blues better get some production from their veteran players. In my opinion it would be very unhealthy to place unnecessary pressure on the young players and ask them to carry the team offensively. To be honest it’s unrealistic to approach hockey that way.
I’ve written enough for one day. I will continue later and discuss several other issues including why Keith Tkachuk is the real leader of this team and why Patrik Berglund has a chance to be the Best Blues draft pick since Bernie Federko. We will also discuss whether or not the Blues are good enough defensively. Can they Blues keep the puck out of the net? It’s a pretty good question.
Also don’t forget to give proper credit where credit is due. Patrik Berglund and T.J. Oshie were late first round gems selected by Jarmo Kekalainen before the current regime was in place.
Blues Clues!
Berglund has signed an endorsement deal with Reebok.
David Perron is close to signing on with Reebok as well.
The Blues will unveil a life size Al Macinnis statue by the end of the calendar year. There is discussion of moving the Bernie Federko Statue outside in front of the Scottrade Center.
Yan Stastny is still being bothered by a hip flexor and will not play Friday night. Stastny and Chris Porter will not dress Friday night.
Mike Weaver will not dress either.
David Peron has been hampered by an oblique injury but is good to go Friday night.
The Blues have signed defenseman Tyson Strachan.
Patrik Berglund has switched his number to #21
Alex Pietrangelo has switched his number to #27
The Blues will use 5 forwards on the PP to start the season.
Berglund is the pre-season favorite to win the NHL rookie of the year according to the USA today. His chances could be significantly hurt if he does not find his way onto the top PP unit.
It’s a long season and I expect him to see plenty of PP minutes.
Jonas Junland has basically made the Blues and will either replace Weaver or Pietrangelo (based on how he performs) when he’s healthy. He’s getting closer by the day and will wear a device to give his shoulder extra protection.
Junland can move the puck as good, if not better, than any D-man they could have gotten in the open market at a reasonable price.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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