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As Americans celebrate Thanksgiving today, I thought it might be to reflect on things for which current Blues fans might be thankful. There are the obvious things like the drafting of Jaden Schwartz, the amazing shot release of Vladimir Tarasenko, the continued growth of Norris trophy candidate Alex Pietrangelo, and the potential of Klim Kostin, Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas. I’d like to look at two areas where Blues fans should be thankful and not even fully realize it.
The first thing to be thankful is a wonderful group of people that work tirelessly in the Blues community development group. People always think of Kelly Chase and Bob Plager as the face of the community development group. They play and important role but there is a trio of people that largely goes unnoticed by many who do an excellent job. That group is led by Randy Girsch and includes talented and dedicated staffers like Hannah Uhlenbrock and Abbie Lucasey. They work tirelessly not only to bring awareness and support for the 14 Fund and Blues for Kids but also for charities throughout the area and abroad.
These people are the ones that bring you the barking with the Blues, charity auctions, the mystery pucks, and so much more. They help coordinate certain pre-game and in-game events such as those on the Hockey Fights Cancer night, the 50/50 raffles, and more. They coordinate the summer events whether it’s painting a school or kids club, planting a community garden or coordinating a race for a cure.
Given the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, each player’s contract and the overall schedule of the team, their job may not be as easy as you might assume. I’ve seen in person their dedication as they not only have to plan these events but usually also have to run them, often requiring a more than 12 hour day yet they always seem to have a smile on their face. Their dedication to the cause and community is appreciated by at least this blogger and hopefully by more fans than I realize. Today and every day I am thankful for them and wanted them to know.
On a more hockey related topic, I’m not sure Blues fans realize how thankful they should be for General Manager Doug Armstrong. Since 2008 when Army joined the Blues, I realize that he hasn’t always made the right moves (see Ryan Miller, see maybe not getting enough for Kevin Shattenkirk, Steen’s last deal being a year or two too long, etc) but overall it’s hard to argue with his overall body of work.
Sure, it’s easy to be thankful for him trading David Rundblad for the draft pick used to acquire Vladimir Tararsenko or for effectively parlaying Ryan Reaves and Jori Lehtera with draft picks for Brayden Schenn. It’s also easy to be thankful for some of the great contracts he has handed out such as Tarasenko at $7.5 million AAV, Schwartz at $5.35 million AAV, and Pietrangelo at $6.5 million AAV. Those are all easy things to see.
What is even better to realize is that he doesn’t seem to fall for a common trap among many general managers. Many general managers seem to get trapped into over-valuing their own draft picks or players for whom they traded. They appear to get tied to that player’s draft position, giving them more chances than perhaps their play has warranted. In the end, they end up taking valuable minutes and development away from more deserving players and taking up cap space that could be more efficiently used.
Army does not seem to fall into this trap very often, certainly not as much as the average general manager. Look recently to before the season started. Jake Walman seemed to have a roster spot locked up based on how some fans and media were talking. Of course, Walman is now in the AHL working to get to the NHL while Vince Dunn has been a regular all season long.
Look back a few years ago where more established or more known players were left off the roster (Peteri Lindbohm for example) for the likes of Joel Edmundson and Colton Parayko. Sure, those players were also drafted by Army but it shows at least that you have to earn your roster spot every training camp.
Look at how Magnus Paajarvi was shuttled back and forth between the NHL and AHL until this season. Look at how Army moved on from Jori Lehtera this summer, removing someone he personally convinced to come across the ocean. He moved on from Ryan Miller and Jaroslav Halak. The examples can go on and on but I think you get the idea. I appreciate that he doesn’t get too tied to players he acquired in a big trade or drafted in the early rounds, placing a bigger priority on actual performance. For that I am thankful and hope you are too.
It’s a great day for hockey.
Fellow Hockeybuzz bloggers
Nashville Predator's Paul McCann,
Winnipeg Jet's Peter Tessier and
Minnesota Wild's Dan Wallace have generously agreed to a friendly charity wager. We were hoping to do the whole division but don't have it fully represented yet. The blogger whose team finishes the highest the standings at the end of the year gets to pick a charity to whom the others will donate in their name.
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