Chip McCleary: 4/1, Blues at Wild - Recap (aka I know what you did during the 1st period) What a (pleasantly) unexpected turn of events.

Foist. I love the trade deadline!!

Jeremy Rutherford ‏@jprutherford 26m

."@mirtle: @jprutherford No Allen?" .... Allen will be recalled. Hitch said of Halak injury "Unfortunately it's going to be a while."

Not good news for Blues.


Also, Blues won't have to clear roster spot for Bouwmeester as they were granted non-roster status due to immigration. Rosters expand Tuesday at Midnight.

Armstrong was also seen talking to Pietrangelo's agent, per Rutheford.

"unless he's got the same help Jarome Iginla had in securing a work visa and clearing immigration."

Well Chip Stillman's father in law was a U.S. Senator so my guess is that stuff can get done with a quickness.

This is interesting stuff. Well I had one pick on the betting list. Earlier today I was thinking that Elliott was going to find himself in net, Halak probably getting injured and suddenly be good again and drive it the rest of the way. That is after I heard someone mention he had a shutout in the AHL and another say there was no way he would find himself in net again. That's when I thought that life likes irony.

He did suck and let's see if the shut out combined with a win and great saves he's ready.

Halak needs to find a way to stay healthy. As for groin injuries they take time to heal and it seems like whenever you get one the second one is that far away.

My guess is the Blues will be able to make a trade of a Dman. A lot of teams have been looking for Dmen. I feel a bit for Redden, Cole and Russell. Heck we don't even know if now the Blues might turn around and move Leopold(which I doubt).

But if anyone can pull of a coup of a move and somehow say end up with some decent picks at least it would be Army.

There were five or six teams said to have been battling it out for JayBo. A few eastern conference teams who need Dmen. SO you have to figure one of our Dmen would bring interest to them.

I guess we now know why Leopold practiced and played with Shattenkirk and not Petro. Army must have known he was close.


Thinking about the trade again I am still amazed the Blues did not have to give up one of their good young wingers.

So extra Dmen, good wing prospects that will be NHL ready or darn close and Schwartz getting better every game. Could the Blues package a winger from the roster to take a shot at say getting a number one center like a Ribero or a Roy? Roy would most likely be a rental though. But if you're loaded for bear and have some room in your pack you might as well put some more in there.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens tomorrow. I saw rumors the Penguins were interested in Nichol and chuckled. I doubt a face off guy that kills penalties is going anywhere.

What a strange trip of a season.

I doubt Feaster is on any hot seat yet. Hartley apparently recommended Berra so he doesn;t look to be going anywhere. There's talent in Calgary they just don;t have it at center and could never get a hold of that allusive top center to play on a line with Iginla.

So extra Dmen, good wing prospects that will be NHL ready or darn close and Schwartz getting better every game. Could the Blues package a winger from the roster to take a shot at say getting a number one center like a Ribero or a Roy? Roy would most likely be a rental though. But if you're loaded for bear and have some room in your pack you might as well put some more in there.
- BluemanGuruu

I think there are trades to be made, but probably not player for player trades, and I don't know that I want to mess with the guys in the locker room. They'll have jay bo now, I think a d-man gets moved and if Cole + prospects not named rattie or edmunson can bring a center, then I'd be all for that. I just hope army does what he said and deals picks and Cole/prospects..

I can't offer a ton of insight into the game, as this was one of those blacked out by GameCenter

I would suggest signing up for www.unblock-us.com to get around those blackouts. For $5/month, I get to watch every game on GameCenter.

I think it was Darren Pang that mentioned during the broadcast last night that Ian Cole would have to clear waivers in order to be sent down.

Leopold was initially put with Shattenkirk so as not to require him to carry the same kind of minutes as AP right out of the chute. Now it appears he can stay there.

Do you not now simply send Bouwmeester and AP over the boards together as a pairing and have half of the game covered defensively? When was the last time the Blues could do that?

Brian Elliot was very good in relief last night. And they needed him. It was good to see.

It may be next season now before Halak can get that groin completely healthy.

I remember Mike Keenan used to rail about groin injuries being from a lack of conditioning.

Do you not now simply send Bouwmeester and AP over the boards together as a pairing and have half of the game covered defensively? When was the last time the Blues could do that?

.
- bcallaway

I think you sure as hell try it.

I think it was Darren Pang that mentioned during the broadcast last night that Ian Cole would have to clear waivers in order to be sent down.

Leopold was initially put with Shattenkirk so as not to require him to carry the same kind of minutes as AP right out of the chute. Now it appears he can stay there.

Do you not now simply send Bouwmeester and AP over the boards together as a pairing and have half of the game covered defensively? When was the last time the Blues could do that?

Brian Elliot was very good in relief last night. And they needed him. It was good to see.

It may be next season now before Halak can get that groin completely healthy.

I remember Mike Keenan used to rail about groin injuries being from a lack of conditioning.
- bcallaway

Groins happen a lot when you fail to warm up and stretch properly.

I know why they said Leopold didn't play with Alex lest night and I was just having fun with it. Still you never know. He had a couple of days to get situated.

Halak it's tough to say but I was a bit surprised he came back so soon. Three weeks or more at least. Then again he has great treatment options. All those trainers and doctors can shorten the time. Problem is that when you tear a muscle twice(if it is the same side), it gets more likely you will completely tear or get scar tissue that limits your mobility for a long period of time.


The best thing about these trades is that you don't have to play an extra forward on your power play. How will that add up when you have another forward that much more rested?

I think you can have AP and JBo play most of the game but you don't have to now. It's an option especially against certain teams.

Elliott digs deep and pulls out a chest full of irony. Great game by him. I hope he starts to look like he did when he was playing great last season. It makes for a good story to sell. I think also allows Halak to get moved at the draft. Injuries, whining, inconsistency and showing up to camp not in the shape the club asked him to. He has value and there are some teams out there.

I don't know if I would rather see Russell out there or Jackman.

Very exciting stuff.

I don't know if I would rather see Russell out there or Jackman.

Very exciting stuff.
- BluemanGuruu

For me its Jackman.

If you have Jackman/Polak as your third pairing, suddenly you are a very good team defensively. With his minutes reduced and simply asking him to go out and play physical, he'll be dynamite.

Or maybe you use Leopold / Polak and Jackman / Shattenkirk as your bottom four pairings.

As long as Jackman's not asked to play minutes and handle the puck, he can be very effective.

How does the sale of the Peoria Rivermen to the Canucks affect the Blues going forward?

How does the sale of the Peoria Rivermen to the Canucks affect the Blues going forward?
- canuck_fan_in_t.o.

I was wondering the same thing. I think that the Blues will share the Chicago Wolves with another club after the Canucks move to Peoria next season.

The best available dman for a 20th-25ish overall 1st round pick, a potential 2nd (realistically 3rd) pairing defenseman, & a goalie prospect that will probably never sniff the NHL; Blues > Flames.

The best available dman for a 20th-25ish overall 1st round pick, a potential 2nd (realistically 3rd) pairing defenseman, & a goalie prospect that will probably never sniff the NHL; Blues > Flames.
- All Blues

Feaster seems to think Reto Barra is one of the best Goaltenders not in the NHL. Him and another prospect they have.

How does the sale of the Peoria Rivermen to the Canucks affect the Blues going forward?

The Blues were losing a lot of money with Peoria. Instead of owning a team outright, they'll lose their ownership of Peoria and with that goes how their prospects are handled. They gain a very well managed Chicago wolves team, that they don't lose any money in, and that is probably a better place for the players to play. Also Chicago is a 30 minute plane ride away, Peoria is a 3 hour bus ride.

For me its Jackman.

If you have Jackman/Polak as your third pairing, suddenly you are a very good team defensively. With his minutes reduced and simply asking him to go out and play physical, he'll be dynamite.

Or maybe you use Leopold / Polak and Jackman / Shattenkirk as your bottom four pairings.

As long as Jackman's not asked to play minutes and handle the puck, he can be very effective.

This. I agree with this totally, although Jax has proved to be able to handle more minutes per game than he was, it will be very very good for him. I think once he can go back to being what he was, playing with Polak, the Blues will be very very tough to play against.

The best available dman for a 20th-25ish overall 1st round pick, a potential 2nd (realistically 3rd) pairing defenseman, & a goalie prospect that will probably never sniff the NHL; Blues > Flames.
- All Blues

It was basically a first round pick for him. Cundari didn't have much of a chance, if any, to break the Blues lineup without some serious injuries. Berra, not sure why Calgary would be interested in him either. I don't see him coming over.

So JBo for a 1st. Didn't expect that.

It was basically a first round pick for him. Cundari didn't have much of a chance, if any, to break the Blues lineup without some serious injuries. Berra, not sure why Calgary would be interested in him either. I don't see him coming over.

So JBo for a 1st. Didn't expect that.
- carcus

Feaster thinks barra is one of the best goaltenders not in the NHL.

Feaster thinks barra is one of the best goaltenders not in the NHL.
- jpl0219

I heard him say that in an interview. Clueless.