Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:31 am

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:09 am

BluesSK wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 8:56 am

Yes, both of you are right. If this is an issue why wasn't it brought up before they gave him that huge contract. I don't understand the reasoning for this buyer's remorse now.

I don't see the problem with wanting one of the presumed faces of the franchise to give a consistent effort when he's on the ice. The reason it didn't come up as much before was A. He hadn't been paid yet, and B. He wasn't -39. An illuminating line in the article was Berube saying essentially "I don't care about the turnovers, I just want a hard backcheck after the turnover." They don't want to stifle his creativity or goal scoring, they just want the defensive effort to be there consistently. I think that's totally fair.

Kyrou absolutely is not the biggest issue on the team, but when one of your stars has such a glaring and obvious area to improve upon, it's a story. It's not as if Armstrong is going to have that conversation with Kyrou and then think "welp, that should fix the blueline!" I'm sure there will be many many words written about the need to upgrade the the defense, but it's ok to write about other subjects too.

Schenn was a -27. Did they send him home with a tongue lashing saying "this isn't juniors anymore" as well, though? It just seems much more petty to me than simply, "hey these are the things we want you to improve on as we head forward."

His job has been to score goals and he does that very well. Better than anyone in this organization has done outside of Tarasenko since Hullie. Maybe other guys need to step up and pick up for his defensive slack since he picks up their offensive slack.

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:10 am

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:31 am

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:09 am

I don't see the problem with wanting one of the presumed faces of the franchise to give a consistent effort when he's on the ice. The reason it didn't come up as much before was A. He hadn't been paid yet, and B. He wasn't -39. An illuminating line in the article was Berube saying essentially "I don't care about the turnovers, I just want a hard backcheck after the turnover." They don't want to stifle his creativity or goal scoring, they just want the defensive effort to be there consistently. I think that's totally fair.

Kyrou absolutely is not the biggest issue on the team, but when one of your stars has such a glaring and obvious area to improve upon, it's a story. It's not as if Armstrong is going to have that conversation with Kyrou and then think "welp, that should fix the blueline!" I'm sure there will be many many words written about the need to upgrade the the defense, but it's ok to write about other subjects too.

Schenn was a -27. Did they send him home with a tongue lashing saying "this isn't juniors anymore" as well, though? It just seems much more petty to me than simply, "hey these are the things we want you to improve on as we head forward."

His job has been to score goals and he does that very well. Better than anyone in this organization has done outside of Tarasenko since Hullie. Maybe other guys need to step up and pick up for his defensive slack since he picks up their offensive slack.

It's ok to score goals and also backcheck. I seem to remember Brett Hull never winning anything until he went to Dallas and Hitchcock forced him to play at least a little defense. Different position, but Steve Yzerman is another famous example of that.

Again, nobody is saying Kyrou is the big problem with this team. But it's ok to ask your big money guys to play hard when they don't have the puck, and it's ok to talk about that when said big money guy has his end of season press conference.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:20 am

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:10 am

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:31 am

Schenn was a -27. Did they send him home with a tongue lashing saying "this isn't juniors anymore" as well, though? It just seems much more petty to me than simply, "hey these are the things we want you to improve on as we head forward."

His job has been to score goals and he does that very well. Better than anyone in this organization has done outside of Tarasenko since Hullie. Maybe other guys need to step up and pick up for his defensive slack since he picks up their offensive slack.

It's ok to score goals and also backcheck. I seem to remember Brett Hull never winning anything until he went to Dallas and Hitchcock forced him to play at least a little defense. Different position, but Steve Yzerman is another famous example of that.

Again, nobody is saying Kyrou is the big problem with this team. But it's ok to ask your big money guys to play hard when they don't have the puck, and it's ok to talk about that when said big money guy has his end of season press conference.

And Ovie and Kane have won plenty while having severe defensive deficiencies.

As for the bolded, imo, that's not what they did. They singled him out and did so in a mocking and public way. On a team FILLED with big money guys not pulling their weight, you call out the one guy who is actually doing what he is paid to do? Make it make sense because to me this is an absolute joke.

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:53 am

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:20 am

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:10 am

It's ok to score goals and also backcheck. I seem to remember Brett Hull never winning anything until he went to Dallas and Hitchcock forced him to play at least a little defense. Different position, but Steve Yzerman is another famous example of that.

Again, nobody is saying Kyrou is the big problem with this team. But it's ok to ask your big money guys to play hard when they don't have the puck, and it's ok to talk about that when said big money guy has his end of season press conference.

And Ovie and Kane have won plenty while having severe defensive deficiencies.

As for the bolded, imo, that's not what they did. They singled him out and did so in a mocking and public way. On a team FILLED with big money guys not pulling their weight, you call out the one guy who is actually doing what he is paid to do? Make it make sense because to me this is an absolute joke.

Those two guys took plenty of heat for their defensive deficiencies when the team had down years. Anyway to your question, I'd assume the answer is a some combination of two pretty simple factors.

1. Fairly or not, I think the effort was potentially an issue in the locker room, particularly during the slow start to the season. Armstrong in particular has been fairly calculated in his public comments over the years, so I'm sure he's not saying these things without a lot of thought.

2. Kyrou is pretty much the only player who's weakness last year wasn't age/health related in any way and who they're not trying to potentially move this offseason. Publicly dragging Krug, Parayko etc. is only going to hinder your ability to trade them. Consider Kyrou taking these bullets as a clear indicator the team is committed to him for the long haul, warts and all.

Craig Berube
I gave Berube an A+ last season, and it was well-deserved after his team put up a tough fight against Colorado. This year was nowhere close to that. True, Berube was dealt tough cards with contract situations and players pulling in different directions. But it’s his job to manage it. Few on-ice adjustments worked, and in the end, assistants were fired.
Grade: D

Doug Armstrong
I also gave Armstrong an A+ last year, and this time he’s at the other end of the scale. The players didn’t perform, but he put the roster together. His visits to the Blues’ dressing room to straighten things out never resonated, and the lengthy contracts he has handed out are haunting the Blues. Great work at the deadline, but that was cleaning up his own mess.
Grade: F

T.C. wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 4:42 pm STL PD grades are in: https://theathletic.com/4405640/2023/04 ... -coach-gm/

as expected, most of the D gets annihilated. however, also this:

Craig Berube
I gave Berube an A+ last season, and it was well-deserved after his team put up a tough fight against Colorado. This year was nowhere close to that. True, Berube was dealt tough cards with contract situations and players pulling in different directions. But it’s his job to manage it. Few on-ice adjustments worked, and in the end, assistants were fired.
Grade: D

Doug Armstrong
I also gave Armstrong an A+ last year, and this time he’s at the other end of the scale. The players didn’t perform, but he put the roster together. His visits to the Blues’ dressing room to straighten things out never resonated, and the lengthy contracts he has handed out are haunting the Blues. Great work at the deadline, but that was cleaning up his own mess.
Grade: F

Dave's a mess wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 6:10 pm Armstrong is historically great at trades and horrible at signing contracts.

Ozzies09tc wrote: Sat Apr 22, 2023 9:43 pm

Dave's a mess wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 6:10 pm Armstrong is historically great at trades and horrible at signing contracts.

This.

Berglund got a NTC.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Sat Apr 22, 2023 9:46 pm

Ozzies09tc wrote: Sat Apr 22, 2023 9:43 pm

Dave's a mess wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 6:10 pm Armstrong is historically great at trades and horrible at signing contracts.

This.

Berglund got a NTC.

So does Leddy funny enough.

Dave's a mess wrote: Armstrong is historically great at trades and horrible at signing contracts.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Sat Apr 22, 2023 9:46 pm

Ozzies09tc wrote: Sat Apr 22, 2023 9:43 pm

Dave's a mess wrote: Fri Apr 21, 2023 6:10 pm Armstrong is historically great at trades and horrible at signing contracts.

This.

Berglund got a NTC.

So does Leddy funny enough.

Dave's a mess wrote: Tue Apr 25, 2023 3:47 pm I generally don't think much of Andy Strickland, but wanted to give him a stick tap on this one. He and Cam Janssen interviewed Patrik Berglund, who produced some outstanding soundbites:

This one is a reminder of what seems both like yesterday and a lifetime ago:

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote:

BillP. wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:21 pm

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote:

Lost in this is the fact he was a 3rd round pick in his draft --- 88th pick.
And that he's a Swede and a defenseman. A Swede that hits, that's a rarity.

Be cool if this guy pans out, I like the profile on him.


He was among the best players for Farjestad when they reached the J18 Finals in 2019 and was selected as the league's best defenseman. Lööf is a technically refined stickhandler, with poise and a sound mechanical base. He's tough as nails along the boards and in front of his own net, dominating his opponents with strong reads and heavy hits. - EliteProspects 2020 NHL Draft Guide

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Sat Apr 29, 2023 10:15 am He'll be a welcome addition to this team.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Sat Apr 29, 2023 10:15 am He'll be a welcome addition to this team.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Sat Apr 29, 2023 10:15 am He'll be a welcome addition to this team.