I’m sorry to inform a few fans whose lives have been drastically affected by the Blues unanticipated start to the season. Head Coach Andy Murray is not in danger of losing his job.
I know the popular thing to do when a team is struggling is to fire off the coach but are we at that point?
It’s too early into the season for the Blues to bust into panic mode and fire off their head coach who was a Jack Adams finalist a year ago.
With that being said the Blues are in the business of winning and if the club continues to struggle then certain scenarios can obviously come into play.
That time hasn’t arrived.
Members of Blues upper management tell me they are encouraged with how hard the team is working in both the games and in practice. The bottom line is the team isn’t scoring goals, and when you don’t score you don’t win plain and simple.
The challenge for the Blues coaching staff is to figure out a way to correct the issues offensively. Anyone who’s recently paid attention to the Blues can see how tight this team is playing. You can cut the tension with a knife when the Blues have puck possession in the offensive end.
Why is this team so tight?
As the Head Coach Andy Murray needs to find a way to get his team to loosen up. I don’t know if they need a night out bowling or what but the entire team needs to collectively take a deep breath.
The coaching staff did a lot of teaching Tuesday morning as the team was put through an up-tempo skate that included a decent amount of offensive zone play. Assistant coach Rick Wamsley didn’t hesitate to get in the face of a number of D-men. At one point Wamsley gave it to Captain Eric Brewer for failing to execute a drill the way it had been drawn up.
It’s not everyday you see a coach let the Captain of the team have it during practice. Even Brewer was speechless.
I’m done hearing about last season. At some point we have to move past what took place a year ago and form the identity of the current group.
Anybody remember the days when Brett Hull was always smiling? You could tell he was having fun on the ice. When’s the last time you saw a Blues player smile during a game?
Rink Rats!
Word is the NHL is planning on taking six teams over to Europe to begin the 2010-2011 season. This isn’t great news for a number of NHL teams would probably prefer to pass on starting the season overseas. It’s a great experience for the players but the adjustment back in North America is proving to be difficult.
Members of both the Blues and the Florida Panthers have told me they enjoyed the experience but wouldn’t want to do it again.
Prior to this season only the NY Rangers enjoyed a winning record in the month of October after returning from Europe. It doesn’t mean teams can’t eventually recover as Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup last season after beginning the year overseas.
Word is Leafs D-man Jeff Finger would rather play in the AHL than sit in the pressbox to avoid having escrow money taken out of his paycheck.
NHL players received back only 5% of the escrow money taken from the players last season. Players have 13.5% escrow taken out of their paychecks this year. Players in the AHL with one way NHL contracts have zero escrow money taken out of their checks.
Look for Blues player David Backes along with several members of the 1980 and 1960 U.S. Gold medal winning hockey teams to appear on the Today Show Wednesday morning. The segment is supposed to air on NBC around 7:30 central as Backes and the former players will model the new USA apparel to be worn in the upcoming 2010 Olympics.
Backes is also expected to teach host Mededith Vieira how to shoot a hockey puck.
I happy to see Leafs forward Lee Stempniak has gotten off to a nice start this season in Toronto. He shouldn't have any issues landing a roster spot for Team USA.
the RDS network in Canada is traveling around the NHL preparing features on ten Quebec born NHL hockey players. Blues forward David Perron will be one of the ten players featured.
Blues Clue!
Everything I’m being told by the Blues internally points towards D-man Alex Pietrangelo staying put. The club has seen enough steady improvement to hang on to him.
Veteran Paul Kariya hosted a dinner party for all the single Blues players at his house Tuesday night.
There will be a Media vs. Blues alumni charity hockey game played at the Scotttrade Center on November 20th. The game will be followed by the St. Louis Bandits hosting the North Iowa Outlaws in a NAHL battle. The Hockey for Life 2009 event sponsored by Saint Louis University Hospital begins at 5:30.
Andy McDonald skated on his own Tuesday morning after crashing hard into the boards Halloween night. His availability for Thursday is unknown.
D-man Carlo Colaiacovo returned to the ice after missing several days with a serious bout of the flu. He lost several pounds while being sick and unless he recovers the strength lost while he was out it’s unlikely he’ll play Thursday.
Barret Jackman is not expected to play Thursday. The Blues and Jackman want to be very careful with an injury like this which can linger all season if not handled properly.
Derek Armstrong suffered an upper body injury over the weekend with Peoria but expected to skate Tuesday.
Look for T.J. Oshie to return to the point on the power play Thursday night vs. Calgary.
Some may be surprised to learn David Backes was 5th in NHL in hits headed into Tuesday night's action.
Congrats to St. Louis product Sam Warning on accepting a scholarship to play his college hockey with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Warning currently plays for Cedar Rapids in the USHL.
The 1996 AAA Blues will take on the Russian Red Army team Thursday night in Chicago to kick off the incredible Nike Bauer youth hockey tournament.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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