Third year in a row that my playoff beard doesn’t see the light of May. The Blues were ousted by the Minnesota Wild in Game 6 of their first round series. All three years I have had to angrily watch the Blues lose Game 5’s and then desperately pray for a Game 7. All three years I have had my hopes crushed without a Game 7. Disappointment. Anger. Just two of the words to describe how I and all Blues fans have the right to feel. Does that mean I give up on them? Absolutely not. Hockey is the greatest sport on earth and the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy in sports to win.
The Blues are a very good hockey team and any Blues fan that wants to completely blow up the team or says they will never watch or spend money on the Blues again really shows their homerism and probably didn’t even watch a game until the playoffs. Yes, a few significant moves are to be made, but it needs to be done in a rational and thought out manner. Blues owner Tom Stillman seems to believe in the same reasoning.
Here is my take on what I think could or might happen.
General Manager Doug Armstrong’s job is safe. He has done a very good job in the recent years helping make this team successful.
Head Coach Ken Hitchcock’s contract is up and it does not look very likely that he will be brought back. I have not seen anything for “credible… St. Louis media about anything along that subject just yet. I also don’t think that this year’s playoff failure is really on him. Yes, he is the Head Coach and he absolutely takes some of the blame, but this one is more on the players. When they played his system and did it with pace like Hitch wants, the Blues looked dominant for the most part. When they did not, they got circles skated around them against the Wild. This core group has already gotten two other coaches fired. Seems to be a pattern. If Hitch is not brought back, he had said before the season that he will retire or move into a front office/advisory position. That was the main reason he only signed a one year extension. He has said recently he would like to be back. Time will tell if he will be. If he is not, rumors of Armstrong going hard after Detroit coach Mike Babcock. As much as I would be thrilled about that, I don’t see any reason Babcock would want to come to St. Louis, besides the fact he loves Alex Pietrangelo. I also don’t think the Blues can afford to hire him. I see Babcock in Toronto if he doesn’t return to Detroit.
This brings me to the players.
Goaltenders first. Jake Allen has put a ton of the heat on himself. Truth is, he had a great season and an amazing run down the stretch and even up through Game 4 of the series. As a rookie, he showed great potential and had a great start to his first playoffs. Game 5 and Game 6 were tough for him and the pressure got too much. He is going to be a very good goalie and I think in a few years possibly a top 5 goaltender.
Brian Elliott again had a successful season and again did not get a chance in the playoffs. This was due to his rough stretch in late March and Jake Allen getting hot. Elliott has been great to the organization and has put up with a ton of adversity over the years with all the goaltending moves the Blues have made. He has gotten the short end of the stick every year and I think he will demand a trade this summer. I wouldn’t blame him if he did. He is the franchise leader in shutouts and led the league in quality starts from 2011-early 2015. If Elliott doesn’t demand a trade, I will have even more respect for him. To the Defense. Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk both looked very good in the playoffs. Pietrangelo had a rough start to the year but stepped his game up towards the end of the season. Jay Bouwmeester had a very rough season and dealt with injuries in which I think are still nagging him. Since he came back, his speed has diminished and he just didn’t win very many of the races we were used to seeing. He played better in the playoffs paired with Petro but with his contract the way it is, I would think the Blues would at least attempt to move him. Petteri Lindbohm looks NHL ready and I think he could have a very long career here if he keeps progressing as he is.
Carl Gunnarsson will probably be moved if Bouwmeester is not. Gunnarsson had an up and down season and a subpar playoffs at times. He showed stretches of very good hockey and stretches of very poor hockey. Barrett Jackman’s contract is up also and it remains to be seem if he will be offered anything. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Blues offer him a one or two year deal at 1.5 million or less as a 6th or 7th Dman. There are worse players than Jax at that position on many teams and he at least will do everything he possibly can to help the team succeed. Robert Bortuzzo really impressed me and I hope he is back next season along with Zbynek Michalek.
Last and most importantly, the forwards. Starting with captain David Backes. He takes a ton of heat for the last few playoff failures and rightfully so. His one goal and one assist in the series and “lack of leadership… is in the eyes of many, the reason for losing and calling for his head. The truth is, no one really knows what goes on in the locker room and off the ice from a leadership standpoint except for the players and staff. I have never once heard a Blues player or any player that has player with Backes say anything but how great of a leader on and off the ice he is. He plays with a ton of heart and is good for 25-30 goals per year, over 50% FOs, PP/PK minutes, and is very good defensively. Stripping the “C… or not, he is still a valuable asset to the team at 4.5 million. He also had a very good start to the series against Chicago last season before getting knocked out.
T.J. Oshie has to be on his way out. I always liked him as a Blue and he is a very popular player in St. Louis. He just has never gotten it done when it mattered most and this year a lot of his mistakes got magnified by ending up in the back of the Blues net. He never seemed to reach his full potential consistently and it is time to shake up the core. He and Patrik Berglund have been best friends since they both arrived and I would not be surprised to see them shipped out in a package deal. Berglund had another subpar season and Blues fans called for a trade all year. He was one of the few that picked his game up at the right time and showed the heart to win.
Alexander Steen’s career is on the downswing but he is still a very good player. He might be one of the most underrated two-way players in the game. His contract is pretty hefty at 6 million and his playoff play this year was not up to those standards. If the Blues move Backes, I don’t think they can move Steen and vice versa. Along with Oshie, if all three were moved, that is a ton of regular season production missing from the team and they still have to at least get to the playoffs. Paul Stastny also was pretty invisible in the playoffs but I don’t think Armstrong moves him one year into the contract he gave him.
Vladimir Tarasenko just kept showing signs of greatness when it mattered all season. Armstrong, give the kid what he wants, but get him at 7 or 8 years. Jaden Schwartz and Dmitrij Jaskin will gain great experience from this playoff loss and will be more ready for the future. I also thought Jori Lehtera had a pretty awesome effort in the playoffs before missing time with that wrist/arm injury. Chris Porter will probably walk also and I would not blame him if he did either.
Here’s a funny thought: What if Steven Stamkos fails to score in the series against the Red Wings and the Wings win Game 7 tomorrow night? After being swept last season, and losing in the first round this season, will Tampa fans be criticizing his leadership and wanting him shipped out?
I’ll have more later this week on some possible trade thoughts I have been pondering.