Well, than just enjoy watching Carl Soderberg, Lars Eller, Erik Johnson and Lee Stempniak OR Jarmo's Blue Jackets in round 2.

That will be better for all of us.

David Perron and Ben Bishop also send their condolences to you Carcus.


- Trust In Jarmo

We dont miss any of those guys.

We needa true number one Center and we will be better.

3 scoring lines and a checking line.

We dont miss any of those guys.

We needa true number one Center and we will be better.

3 scoring lines and a checking line.
- sycsam

I do miss Eller, but yeah Armstrong is a great GM. He has signed all of our FA to great fare deals and only dumped players in bad trades because of team and salary reasons (Perron). Honestly the only reason we missed out on big free agents over the past couple years is we had a strict budget.

We dont miss any of those guys.

We needa true number one Center and we will be better.

3 scoring lines and a checking line.
- sycsam

I beg to differ.

Goaltending and not having 4 lines contribute to score goals is what hurt the Blues in my opinion.

Ben Bishop could have possibly been that goaltender. And Perron, along with Soderberg/Eller could have been that 3rd line scoring you needed.

Well, than just enjoy watching Carl Soderberg, Lars Eller, Erik Johnson and Lee Stempniak OR Jarmo's Blue Jackets in round 2.

That will be better for all of us.

David Perron and Ben Bishop also send their condolences to you Carcus.


- Trust In Jarmo

*only one in room laughing. (At his own joke)

Slow Clap

*only one in room laughing. (At his own joke)

Slow Clap


- carcus

Do you feel better?

Or should I remind you how I called this happening to the Blues for years and even reminded you the Miller trade was no upgrade over Halak just 2 months ago.

Just like I told you in 2010, that even the Kings would win a Cup before the Blues after they sh*t kicked Jarmo to the curb.

Do you feel better?

Or should I remind you how I called this happening to the Blues for years and even reminded you the Miller trade was no upgrade over Halak just 2 months ago.

Just like I told you in 2010, that even the Kings would win a Cup before the Blues after they sh*t kicked Jarmo to the curb.


- Trust In Jarmo

Man you sure have a man crush on Jarmo. You sure you aren't his wife? The guy did a great job here, but he isn't god haha.

I agree great post. The statistics don't show everything. Halak is a headcase. Miller has shown that he can be an elite goalie in the NHL but we aren't in the 2009-2010 season so we should have known Miller isn't the elite goalie the Blues thought they were trading for. . It was a bet that didn't pan out as many late season moves like this go. That being said I think next year Miller settles in with this team and we see the reason this trade was made.
- cuethenoise

Corrected it for ya!

Man you sure have a man crush on Jarmo. You sure you aren't his wife? The guy did a great job here, but he isn't god haha.
- cuethenoise

Ask Ottawa fans about that.

They are 7 years ahead of you after the Senators lost Jarmo...

They can tell you what your future might hold in another 5 years...



Or ask the Finnish Elite League how great of a GM Jarmo was...

Do you feel better?

Or should I remind you how I called this happening to the Blues for years and even reminded you the Miller trade was no upgrade over Halak just 2 months ago.

Just like I told you in 2010, that even the Kings would win a Cup before the Blues after they sh*t kicked Jarmo to the curb.


- Trust In Jarmo

Live it up! This is an exciting day for you. For real, I am happy for you, you have won this great title.

Someone, get this guy a trophy.

Corrected it for ya!
- CaptainBlackhawk

haha thanks. We'll see I still think he has it in him.

Live it up! This is an exciting day for you. For real, I am happy for you, you have won this great title.

Someone, get this guy a trophy.
- carcus

I will settle for an Ast GM job for just 10% of what you are paying Doug Armstrong right now.

Hell, maybe Trust In Jarmo can be the one to bring the Blues a Cup.

I will settle for an Ast GM job for 1% of what you are paying Doug Armstrong right now.
- Trust In Jarmo

I am not paying him anything.

Put in your resume. Put me down as a reference, I will tell Stillman how awesome you will be. You would turn it around for the Blues so fast, they would probably knock down all of the statues in front of the STC and put one huge statue of you there instead.

I am not paying him anything.

Put in your resume. Put me down as a reference, I will tell Stillman how awesome you will be. You would turn it around for the Blues so fast, they would probably knock down all of the statues in front of the STC and put one huge statue of you there instead.


- carcus

haha thanks. We'll see I still think he has it in him.
- cuethenoise

I'm not attempting to be a d-bag... but why do you think that?

Honestly he's been a very average goalie since that season. He's absolutely not worth what he's going to get on the open market and (if I were a Blues fan) I certainly wouldn't want him on the team next year.

You can find a cheaper alliterative who might produce as well or even slightly better and use that large cap dollar towards getting another forward or three that can put pressure on another teams blue line.

I'm not attempting to be a d-bag... but why do you think that?

Honestly he's been a very average goalie since that season. He's absolutely not worth what he's going to get on the open market and (if I were a Blues fan) I certainly wouldn't want him on the team next year.

You can find a cheaper alliterative who might produce as well or even slightly better and use that large cap dollar towards getting another forward or three that can put pressure on another teams blue line.
- CaptainBlackhawk

I think we can get him on the cheap. Honestly, he had a damn good season minus the 6 game skid and game 6 of the playoffs. I want to see what he can do in a full year. If he doesn't work out trade him. Plus I think he can be a good role model for Allen. I don't know of any cheaper alternatives...

Elliott (pass he crumbles under pressure)
Hiller (vertigo and who knows what else)
Tim Thomas (pass)

I think we can get him on the cheap. Honestly, he had a damn good season minus the 6 game skid and game 6 of the playoffs. I want to see what he can do in a full year. If he doesn't work out trade him. Plus I think he can be a good role model for Allen. I don't know of any cheaper alternatives...

Elliott (pass he crumbles under pressure)
Hiller (vertigo and who knows what else)
Tim Thomas (pass)
- cuethenoise

Halak coming back?

Honestly, I don't like their options. I don't know if they will do it, but I am leaning towards giving Allen the shot at #1 and get a reliable backup (maybe Elliott) and spend the extra money on a forward or two, along with at least a one or two player shakeup on forward and maybe a defenseman or two.

I agree great post. The statistics don't show everything. Halak is a headcase. Miller has shown that he can be an elite goalie in the NHL. It was a bet that didn't pan out as many late season moves like this go. That being said I think next year Miller settles in with this team and we see the reason this trade was made.
- cuethenoise

There are signs that Miller might be a head case as well or at least may have challenges in the room. For example, one big piece of evidence is the lack of response when Lucic trucked him.

if they sign him, I'll hope you are right but other than the Flyers game, I haven't seen consistent enough play to believe it will happen.

I think we can get him on the cheap. Honestly, he had a damn good season minus the 6 game skid and game 6 of the playoffs. I want to see what he can do in a full year. If he doesn't work out trade him. Plus I think he can be a good role model for Allen. I don't know of any cheaper alternatives...

Elliott (pass he crumbles under pressure)
Hiller (vertigo and who knows what else)
Tim Thomas (pass)
- cuethenoise

It depends on where you think Allen is at in terms of becoming a #1 on his own. If you think he is almost there, I think you make a hard run at Brodeur to serve mostly as mentor and occasional starter. Gigeure could be a similar target but I doubt he leaves. I'm not sure how Thomas would fit in this role but he could be a lesser option here.

You can bring in an experienced backup goalie like Emery, Elliott, Gustavsson, etc. If you do this, it's likely Elliott.

You try to find a stop gap starter until Allen is ready. Miller likely isn't an option for this due to money and term. The odd man out in Anaheim could fit this bill.

Other options would be exploring trades which I can't see them doing given what they gave up to get Miller.

Halak coming back?

Honestly, I don't like their options. I don't know if they will do it, but I am leaning towards giving Allen the shot at #1 and get a reliable backup (maybe Elliott) and spend the extra money on a forward or two, along with at least a one or two player shakeup on forward and maybe a defenseman or two.
- carcus

I honestly don't think Halak would want to come back. They pretty much through him under a bus. I hope they sign Miller because we could be bottom feeders with out a capable veteran to bring Allen along. I could also see the Elliott / Allen tandem working in the regular season, but we'd def have a another 1st round exit.

Coming in late to the party, just wanted to thank the Blues and their fans for some exciting hockey. I had the pleasure off being in SL and the fans were first class. The Blues are an excellent team. No need for a clearinghouse. The Blues are well coached and made moves to win. Other than the last period of the series this could have gone either way.

It is amazing how team blog hosts start looking for excuses to pull posts.

I'll take the Backes explanation on, sonce i am one of the senior hockey watchers here.
If you would have asked me which two players I could take for my team from each of the Olympic rosters, Backes would be on my list as one of the pair.
Because if I could imaginarily add him to the Blackhawks he is what he is but not the centerpiece.
He's a bigger Shaw.
But the only difference is I have seen this guy throughout his career in games that his team was destined to take a loss, he has NEVER failed to "set the tone" with end of game nasty that they know the refs are not going to come down hard on, because of the score. The stick work, over zealous after the whistle liberties, and blatant deliverance of late punishments, disguised in the spirit of the game. Hartnell is also a master at this. They know that the refs are not gonna take more than one losing team guy off with one call, so they basically play the odds b/c the refs want competitive play until the end and really try to not send backes or the minions off for the last ten minutes, hopefully giving enough warnings to calm him down. Threats of refs that their going to remember this for a future game eventually sink through the skulls.
Now lest get to this series:
The Seabrook hit came after the mid ice play where Handzus and Ben Smith had the puck on the boards by the bench. (They were paired with two Blues.) If you have this on tape, watch Backus blatantly aim at ankles and backs of legs with his "attempts" to get the puck out. That was what caught Seabrook's attention and why he served up the dummy.

Probably the best thing that happened in this series was that illegal hit of backus w/o the puck forced the league officiating to direct the on-ice officiating teams to start warning the Reaves, Otts, and Lapierre's that they were setting their team up for many a call. They were told to take control of theseries were one team initiated running amock. The refs in the name of selling playoff hockey basically let the Blues (and later the Hawks) continue to play in those first three games and ignored the stick work, legwork, washes and also probably missed much of it, because good dirty players pick their spots, and I don't think you really believe they added Morrow, Lapierre and Ott for additional scoring, right?

I also thought Backes was pretty classy at the handshake, but it serves no purpose to try and intimidate anyone there.

The player has a large amount of skill but seems to continually get emotional thrown to being an unchecked bully especailly when he is shown up, or his team has been shown up. I totally understand it, but call it what it is - don't hide from the reality of what you have in backes.


There is place for players like him in the league, but don't attempt to convince yourself because you are the blog host that he is anything more than he is a second line centre, first line power wing.
It is enough that the St. Louis papers and their beat writers have tried to spin things away from reality...one team was built to punish, so they could move one...from the start they attempted to do so.

The other team was built to use quickness and attack.
- wiz1901

Awesome post, Wiz. Funny how no one from the Blues side will even attempt to address the dirtiness of play issues here. I just watched that clip again, and it was Handzus and Kruger, not Ben Smith. Backes slashed Seabrook on the ankle and really took the Ginsu to Handzus. Not to mention Steen crosschecking Kruger 5 times in the hip/back.

Coming in late to the party, just wanted to thank the Blues and their fans for some exciting hockey. I had the pleasure off being in SL and the fans were first class. The Blues are an excellent team. No need for a clearinghouse. The Blues are well coached and made moves to win. Other than the last period of the series this could have gone either way.
- Cup-Bearer

Thanks I know there were a couple ass-hats at the games I went to 1,2 and 5, but I saw lots of Hawks and Blues fans getting along. That is exactly what I am trying to say. Stick with Miller, give the young guys (Jaskin, Rattie, Cole) a chance and get a 1C and we are good to go.

This was not the same as last year in LA. EVERY GAME was a good effort minus that 3rd period of game 6.

I think we can get him on the cheap. Honestly, he had a damn good season minus the 6 game skid and game 6 of the playoffs. I want to see what he can do in a full year. If he doesn't work out trade him. Plus I think he can be a good role model for Allen. I don't know of any cheaper alternatives...

Elliott (pass he crumbles under pressure)
Hiller (vertigo and who knows what else)
Tim Thomas (pass)
- cuethenoise

Why do you think you'd get him on the cheap? It's his last big contract and he's going to get a big contract.

That still doesn't negate the fact he's been very very average for the last 3-4 years.

It depends on where you think Allen is at in terms of becoming a #1 on his own. If you think he is almost there, I think you make a hard run at Brodeur to serve mostly as mentor and occasional starter. Gigeure could be a similar target but I doubt he leaves. I'm not sure how Thomas would fit in this role but he could be a lesser option here.

You can bring in an experienced backup goalie like Emery, Elliott, Gustavsson, etc. If you do this, it's likely Elliott.

You try to find a stop gap starter until Allen is ready. Miller likely isn't an option for this due to money and term. The odd man out in Anaheim could fit this bill.

Other options would be exploring trades which I can't see them doing given what they gave up to get Miller.
- stljam

This is precisely what the Blues SHOULD be doing. This notion that Miller is an elite goalie or played well just simply is not true - especially seeing the contract/term that he will get from some team.

Why do you think you'd get him on the cheap? It's his last big contract and he's going to get a big contract.

That still doesn't negate the fact he's been very very average for the last 3-4 years.
- CaptainBlackhawk

You just contradicted yourself. You say he is average, but he'll get a big contract.

Armstrong is notorious for signing guys to fair deals and not overpaying. He'll work his magic.