It wasn’t just Brad Boyes that let out a huge sigh of relief following his impressive backhanded snipe in Ottawa. A large portion of the Blues fan base could also be heard letting out a deep breath as well.
One of the more puzzling areas of the Blues season has to be the lack of goal scoring by the club’s leading goal scorer the last two seasons.
In no particular order here are the top questions I regularly get asked by Blues fans sprinkled across the world.
1. Is Andy Murray on the hot seat? (Already been answered)
2. Will the Blues trade for Ilya Kovalchuk?
3. What can the Blues get for Paul Kariya?
4. How can Dish Network advertising be seen all over the Scottrade Center yet Blues game are often unavailable on Dish Network?
5. What the deal with Brad Boyes not scoring?
Question number five is one the Blues organization has been asking as well.
When watching Boyes this season you don’t need Scotty Bowman to tell you he hasn’t looked like the same player we saw score nearly 80 goals the last two years. Since arriving in St. Louis, Boyes has been the player you want with the puck when you need a goal. He’s never been the guy that scores the fifth goal in a 5-1 game or piles up goals against soft opponents. The last few years this guy has been as clutch as anybody. His 20 game winning goals the last two years rank him second in the NHL behind only Alexander Ovechkin’s 21.
Why the sudden drop off?
There are a number of issues to focus on, from the Blues power play struggles affecting his game to him not moving his feet, but in my opinion it all comes down to confidence. Anybody else see his game instantly change following his game tying goal Thursday night? He looked like a completely different player out there and all of the sudden the puck kept finding his stick. It’s amazing what one goal can do for an offensive player especially when it’s of the highlight reel variety.
Brad Boyes has always been a player who can score even though those who saw him play growing up say he was probably more of a playmaker than a true goal scorer.
Once you score 40 goals in this league and back to back 30 goal seasons people should and will consider you a goal scorer.
In order to be a dominant player in the NHL you have to want the puck. In the past we’ve seen Boyes play at a faster speed than what we’ve seen this year.
You have to wonder if some of his lack of production offensively can be attributed to him wanting to show he can become a better player defensively. Finishing with a -20 +/- rating last season took a toll on the former first round pick. During the summer as well as training camp Boyes and former Head Coach Andy Murray had several conversations about him need to improve his game in his own end. He still has a ways to go before we start comparing him with Guy Carboneau but there has been some improvement in his defensive play.
The problem is he’s paid to score goals. You never want to be satisfied with a poor plus/minus but at the end of the day Boyes will always be evaluated by how many goals he’s pumping in.
On several occasions Boyes has admitted that he carries his struggles home with him and away from the rink. Nobody is harder on Brad Boyes than Brad Boyes who recently told me keeps a lot of his struggles quiet to avoid bringing others down and becoming a distraction. Boyes recently told me “I try to stay positive but I also take my job seriously.”
One thing Boyes should take pride in is the fact that he’s the one who sets the bar for his expectations. The Blues gave Boyes a four year contract extension in 2008 because he earned it not because they felt sorry for him.
One thing great goal scorers usually have in common is their ability to motivate themselves and get out of scoring droughts. Sometimes you need to bring a little swagger to the ice and know you’re a good player. The best way to quiet people down is to perform well.
I don’t blame Davis Payne for putting Boyes on the 4th line as long as it was in an effort to wake the player up. It obviously was considering Payne frequectly mixed Boyes in with one of his top three lines. I think it’s safe to say he won’t score too many goals playing with Cam Janssen. Nothing against Janssen but I’m just sayin.
Coming into the Ottawa game I’m pretty sure T.J. Oshie was the only player Boyes had not played with this year. I’ve had multiple discussions with both Boyes as well as a few others including Larry Pleau about how I’d like to see if these two could play together. Oshie plays a fast, creative, give-and-go style which I think will play off well with Boyes not to mention they are both right hand shots. Paul Kariya was a fixture with Boyes two seasons ago when Boyes hammered home 43 yet the two have played sparingly together this year. Look for these three to get a chance to play with each other Saturday night vs. Anaheim. Oshie and Boyes spend quite a bit of time off the ice talking hockey.
The bottom line here is that Boyes is a terrific goal scorer who the Blues need to perform at a higher level if this team is going to take a run at a playoff berth. Anybody that has watched this guy knows he’s capable of flipping the switch and going on a nice scoring streak and staying hot. He’s got the security of a contact and shouldn’t be feeling any pressure to score. Getting Boyes back to where he played fast, won puck battles by delivering reverse shoulders, and was able to get himself in position to get his shot off will be huge for this hockey team.
One area Boyes has struggled with is finding a stick he’s comfortable using. At times the puck doesn’t seem to come off his stick the way were accustom to seeing in the past. The stick he used the last two years was made by Mission who recently went out of business. Finding a replacement can be much easier said than done. Currently he’s using a stick made by Warrior and is expected to experiment with some Bauer sticks soon. If anyone has any old Mission sticks lying around feel free to send them to the Scottrade Center although I’m not sure which model he used.
For the most part Boyes has still been getting chances but prior to scoring Thursday even his scoring chances were becoming few and far between. Still when you look up Boyes leads the Blues in points, Shots, and assists. After scoring 16 pp goals last season he has only two PP goals so far. The PP struggles for the Blues go well beyond just Boyes not scoring. Everything that has plagued this guy this season is 100% correctable, a lot of it comes down to wanting the puck and playing with a little fire, and the most importantly they way he knows he can.
Rink Rats!
Look I know Ilya Kovalchuk is a great player but Blues fans probably need to accept the realization that in order to get him a team is going to have a pay a very steep price. Not too many teams can piece together a more attractive offer than St. Louis but the risk of not being able to re-sign him is just too big. Are you really better off giving away important pieces to the future in exchange for one player, albeit a great scorer?
If you’re a team looking to add this player you better already have some pretty good pieces in place. Kovalchuk has already proven he can’t deliver playoff appearances let alone playoff wins on his own. The problem is most teams with a good structure and a history of making the playoffs can’t afford this guy. If you’re a GM out there looking to get fired then you should give this guy $10 million a year on a long-term deal.
There are smarter ways to construct a Cup contender.
The Globe and Mail up in Canada got all up in a tizzy because Vancouver GM Mike Gillis took in the Blues, Canadiens game in Montreal. The paper went as far to suggest the Blues and Canucks could have a deal in the works that would send Blues forward David Backes the other way. FYI John Davidson has since said Backes, who the organization believes is a building block to the future, isn’t going anywhere.
It’s always interesting to see Anaheim Goaltender Jonas Hiller play the Blues considering how hard St. Louis recruited him a few summers ago. The Blues put the pedal to the medal in an effort to get Hiller to sign before then Ducks GM Brian Burke flew into St. Louis and took Hiller to dinner. The rest is history.
Anybody catch Wojtek Wolski fight the Timmins tornado Steve Sullivan last night? At least we know Wolski is willing to pick his spots.
Check out http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL.html to see your teams chances of making the playoffs.
Blues Clues!
The Blues have agreed to extend their lease agreement with Carver Arena in Peoria for an additional five years. The Rivermen average just over 4,000 fans per game which ranks 16th out of 29 AHL teams.
Kansas City and the Sprint Center were very hopeful the Rivermen would have eventually landed in K..C.
David Backes skated on his own Saturday morning but remains day to day.
D-man Carlo Colaiacovo remains day to day with a lower body ailment.
SCP (Blues Owners) has received three of the four parts of financing required to begin construction on the $72 million project to re-open the legendary Kiel Opera House. The approval of the fourth part of the financing deal is expected to happen very soon.
Has it officially become a priority to re-sign RFA Alexander Steen?
Boyes told me he and Carlo Colaiacovo had a long hear to heart talk prior to the game in Ottawa. The two go back to their days in the OHL
It will be very interesting to watch Peoria goaltender Ben Bishop down the stretch and see if he can get the Rivermen into the AHL playoffs.
While on the road D-man Darryl Sydor will often run sprints and stairs during the first period of games in an effort to keep himself in shape.
Blues Buzz will air this Tuesday night live form Johnny Mac’s on Watson from 6-7. Show can be heard on AM 590 The Fan in St. Louis.
Hall of Famer Bernie Federko deserves some Hall of Fame credit for how he’s handled his role with the Blues broadcast team on and off the ice.
Darren Pang who now serves as the Blues color analyst on television couldn’t have made it any easier of a transition.
Is there a better conditioned fighter than Cam Janssen?
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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