BluesSK wrote: Sun Mar 10, 2024 6:28 pm
Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Sun Mar 10, 2024 9:19 am
BluesSK wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 11:31 pm
Not having a stable way for fans to view games locally isn't Armstrong's fault. That's a League issue.
It's going to be about three years of pain and a lot of that blame falls on Armstrong but fans need an affordable way to keep engaged with the team while we go through this stupid ass "retool". So Stillman needs to figure that out.
I didn't blame Army for that Bally's bankruptcy and blackouts. But if the product was worth viewing, fans would view it. Who wants to pay a subscription fee to watch their team give no effort and waste a vezina goalie? That part is on Army.
If there was no Covid years who knows what would have happened. We could have had some great playoff runs and right now we would be looking at our "retooling" in a different perspective.
I think it all boils down to when we lost Petro and people can blame Armstrong or say he did the right thing but that was the pivotal point which led to where we are at now.
The problem right now for Blues fans is that they live in St. Louis. The local TV and streaming choices are awful. They need a stable affordable package to keep their interest up over the next few seasons. Stillman, Armstrong and the Blues need to recognize this
I had an opportunity as an out of market fan to get the total NHL package for $150 CAD this season. I didn't take it because I'm not in North America for most of the season but that isn't an unreasonable cost.
I actually think the decline started when we lost Bouwmeester, and then signed Scandella as a 'panic' move. Still, even with that, we went into the initial lockdown as the #1 team in the West.
In addition, Tarasenko was on the shelf for pretty much the next two years.
I mean, Zach Sanford was in our top-6 for crying out loud (and had 30 points in 58 games)! He's been on six teams in the last 4 seasons now.
How much better off would we have been if we'd kept Pietrangelo and not signed Krug/Scandella? We lost Dunn in the expansion draft, and Schwartz to FA. As much as I would have liked to keep them, would Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron still be top-line players on a Stanley Cup caliber team? How much longer are they signed for?
It's a lot easier for Piertrangelo to be a difference maker on a team with Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault, Shea Theodore, etc. than he would have been here.
IMHO, we could have been 'better' for a couple of years there, but still not cup-caliber and we'd be just entering our 'rebuild/retool' NOW, with even more long-term contracts to over-30 YO players, instead of having a jump start on it with some really good-looking prospects we picked up last year with multiple 1st round picks in a deep draft.