Four down and four to go in the first round of the 2014 NHL playoffs.
I figured the Blues were probably finished—again—after losing Game 5, but was surprised to see Dallas lose their lead on Sunday, and ultimately, lose their series. Such are the growing pains of a franchise that's finding its way to the next level.
Even with that ending, the Stars' season has been a raging success, while the Blues have lots of questions to answer in the offseason. The EA Sports prognostication that they were ready to win the Cup didn't do them any favours, especially when their string of late-season losses didn't make them look like a team that was tuned up and ready to go.
I never saw what the fuss was about. The Blues looked bad when I saw them in person—they matched up horribly against the Canucks all season, and that's saying something. Back when I thought there might be a tiny hope that Vancouver could sneak into eighth place, I was also hoping that the Blues would finish first in the west—I thought that was a matchup where we would have had a chance.
Change is bound to happen with the Blues this summer. If you were raiding their cupboards, who would you go after? Coach Ken Hitchcock? General manager Doug Armstrong? Or some of their players?
We may have to live with the indignity of Dale Weise as playoff hero in Montreal, but Max Lapierre and Derek Roy didn't exactly light it up for the Blues. Lapierre actually had a decent series with two points, just two penalties and a plus-three, playing around 15 minutes a game. Roy managed just one assist and was a minus-two, including a minus-two in the crucial Game 6. He was a healthy scratch in Game 5.
Linden_4_Capt made an interesting point this morning in the comments—that players snapped up by contenders from bad teams almost never have a positive impact. I'd still put Roy in this category from his tenure as a Buffalo Sabre. In the case of the Blues, Ryan Miller's the glaring example of much ado about nothing.
It's kind of amazing that the perfectly capable Brian Elliott did not get one second of ice time in the playoffs. I guess all the games except the last one were close; there was never an obvious moment to make a goaltending change. I think Miller is past his peak: I wonder what kind of interest he'll get in free agency?
As far as other trade deadline acquisitions, here are a few others that are still alive with their new teams:
• Thomas Vanek has looked decent with the Canadiens so far—we'll see if he can spark them in the second round as they try to shake off the rust against Boston.
• Philadelphia has been overjoyed with their acquisition of Andrew MacDonald from the Islanders—a guy who's making the league minimum this year but has now been extended for six seasons at $30 million. That's a case of going back to the well for a second time, too, after the Flyers plucked Mark Streit from the Islanders' blue line last year and signed him to a new deal worth more than $5 million a season.
• Matt Moulson has been quiet for the Wild, with just one goal in the series so far.
• Marian Gaborik, however, has been a difference-maker for the goal-challenged Kings. He started to come to life in Game 3, added two more in Game 4 and had an assist in Game 5. He has been an important part of the Kings' comeback so far. Fans are already asking for him to be re-signed.
Anyone I've forgotten who are over or under-performed with his new team?
More on McPhee:
Monday's managerial announcements include Phoenix's assistant GM Brad Treliving taking over as general manager in Calgary and Ron Francis moving up to the position in Carolina while Jim Rutherford stays on as president. That succession plan has been in the works since Francis signed on as director of hockey operations in 2011.
I was going to make a wisecrack about how the 'Canes lack of success doesn't seem to impact their managerial operations—then I remembered that Francis is also one of the owners of the team. That always helps with job security.
I see from my weekend poll that most of you aren't as dazzled as I am by George McPhee's splendid draft record and long tenure with Washington. Greg Wyshynski has a solid analysis of McPhee on Puck Daddy that breaks down the good and the bad.
Click here to read.
In light of the issues the Canucks are facing, this paragraph gave me pause:
He was loyal to the core of this team, to a fault, believing it could coalesce into a champion and never making the tough call to blow it up. There’s no reason Mike Green should be entering his 10th season in Washington making $6 million. There no reason why Brooks Laich, exalted de-facto leader that's led the team nowhere, should be signed through 2017. When the Caps failed to meet expectations, coaches’ heads rolled but beloved franchise faces never did.
With his ties to the '94 Canucks organization, I'm still inclined to believe he'll get a long look from Trevor and company.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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