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St. Louis Blues
All are welcome (except Hawks fans!)
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Guess that's how far winning the cup gets you. Thanks for the good times. Hopefully we can turn things around.
Let's go baby!
Can watch the game at stlouisblues.com
You can stream the game on the blue jackets website
Loved these on Reddit. I know there aren't as many people, but still could be fun. I don't have a bot that will fill in all the info like Reddit GDTs, though.
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Four Jerseys for this year: Home, Away, Heritage, 90's.
youtu.be
The Hockey Guy Previews the Blues Season 2023-2024
[Scrimmage at prospect camp](https://stlblues.me/46BTExd)
Just wanted to get some discussion going around the blues draft picks. I’m personally a fan of using all our first rounders instead of trading them away. All our first round picks know each other so the chemistry is already there. Also a fan of picking up some left handed defensive men. Hard to gauge right now but I’m hoping this draft is successful looking back after a couple of seasons.
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Hey this guy is a hockey player
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Looks like a solid forward depth signing.
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Mr. Glass bones himself, maybe he will play a few games this year.
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Im interested in seeing a pre season game this year, went to the Hawks Wild game in MKE last year.
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Put on your navy, royal and gold sunglasses for a second. Allow yourself to escape reality and dig deep into your optimism reserves. Now that you’ve sufficiently entered a state of blissful delirium, consider this: the last time the Blues missed the playoffs, they won the Stanley Cup the very next year. In 2018, they missed the playoffs by one point. In 2019, they lifted the franchise’s first Cup. This time is a little bit different. In finishing with 81 points last season, the Blues submitted their first losing season in 15 years and missed the playoffs by 14 points. Even the grandest optimists would have trouble pushing aside their delusion to think St. Louis is in position to contend for the Cup next season. Count Blues general manager Doug Armstrong among those who understands the differences between the 2018 offseason and this one, which will ramp up as the draft approaches June 28. “We were different-wise in our cap space,” Armstrong said. “We were different-wise in our maturity. We brought in a lot of new faces that year, a lot of new faces and really good players. We had a young player like Robert Thomas that wasn’t supposed to make our team go on a little bit of a run, too. We’re just not as mature as we were then. We’re not built the same way. “In ’19, a lot of people had picked us to be in the Final, win the division, win the Cup. I don’t think anyone’s doing that next year, and it’s not our time. I think we’re going to be competitive. I think we can fool people.” In 2018, Armstrong swung big to change his roster. The Blues traded for Ryan O’Reilly from Buffalo. They brought back David Perron from his one-year stay in Vegas. They signed Tyler Bozak. They allowed Pat Maroon to come home. This summer? Unless big money comes off the books via a trade (Armstrong already ruled out a buyout), the Blues’ big acquisition could come in the form of a third-line center. Throughout the offseason, Armstrong has toed the line publicly in his statements about the Blues. He’s expressed faith in the roster he built, but he also knows how hard it would be to dissemble it given the contracts on the books. He’s said he doesn’t like the long summer or the high draft pick, and he wants a return to the playoffs, but Armstrong also knows his team is “further away” than just adding one piece. He’s talked about the need for better defense, with hope that better performances from veteran blue liners (and the addition of assistant coach Mike Weber) helps solve the problem. Asked in a recent meeting with reporters what attributes he would like to add, Armstrong wanted better defending but also wanted to build a team that could succeed in both of the NHL’s seasons. “It’s also trying to find the balance between being a good regular season team and a good playoff team,” Armstrong said. “You see they’re different animals. I know one thing, we had zero chance to win the Stanley Cup this year because we didn’t make the playoffs. We’ve got to make sure we find a way to get in the tournament.” Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup Final has given teams hope that simply making the playoffs can allow you to become a contender. But the Panthers were a Presidents’ Trophy team that went through injuries and goaltending issues before becoming healthy and squeaking into the playoffs. The Blues are not in that position. In 10 days, the Blues franchise will change — either in the short-term or the long-term. On the first day of the draft in Nashville on June 28, Armstrong could be the most popular man in hockey outside of Connor Bedard. He’s armed with pick Nos. 10, 25 and 29 and previously has shown a penchant for big trades. If the Blues can turn those picks into a young, controllable asset, Armstrong has expressed a desire to do so. If not, the Blues will have to settle for their highest draft pick since 2008, and their most first-round picks since 2007. As for next year, Armstrong simply wants the Blues to get back to their identity, “which is being a good team, being good teammates and playing a strong, structured game.”
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The intrigue keeps building in this NHL offseason. The action off the ice has been almost as compelling as what we saw on the ice. One franchise was sold and another fell into limbo. Multiple regime changes changed team priorities. Rebuilding squads didn’t wait for the postseason to end before making blockbuster trades. The coaching carousel spun wildly. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has had much to monitor ahead of the NHL draft. Tuesday brought news of the long-awaited Ottawa Senators sale, with Montreal Canadiens minority owner Michael Andlauer winning the bidding. This is great for that city, since Andlauer brings a hockey background (from also owning the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs), and he has recruited Ottawa businessmen into his group. Holdover general manager Pierre Dorion is running the store for now, and he has plenty on his plate, such as shopping goal-scoring winger Alex DeBrincat. DeBrincat, a restricted free agent, wants to be traded to a favorable location where he can get a new deal for, say, $9 million per year. His leverage makes him a tough fit for the Blues, but that didn’t stop league insider Elliotte Friedman from saying this on his “32 Thoughts” podcast: “I had one guy say to me, ‘That’s a Doug Armstrong player. That’s a guy that Doug Armstrong would want. So, those are some of the teams that people are kind of focusing on. Obviously, I think there’s a ton of interest.” Armstrong must also maintain surveillance on the Arizona Coyotes, a team facing an uncertain future after its latest arena bid failed. Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong ran the Blues’ scouting operation in his previous job. He wants more prospects and draft picks, and the Blues can offer both. Our Town’s Clayton Keller could want out, given the sorry state of things, and top prospect Logan Cooley declined to sign for next season due to the franchise uncertainty. Either forward could fit the Blues’ quest for a quick turnaround. The Columbus Blue Jackets have been the pre-draft aggressor with former Blues president John Davidson and former Blues draft czar Jarmo Kekalainen driving the market. Kekalainen traded the No. 22 overall pick in this draft and a conditional second-rounder to the Philadelphia Flyers in a three-way trade to land defenseman Ivan Provorov. He sent a third-round pick to New Jersey for defenseman Damon Severson, who got an eight-year, $50 million contract in the sign-and-trade maneuver. Fortifying the Columbus blue line was a priority with Mike Babcock expected to coach the team. And as Justin Faulk, Torey Krug and Colton Parayko will attest, defensemen don’t need to be Norris Trophy candidates to get paid in this league. The Flyers are embarking on an overdue rebuild with new team president Keith Jones and new GM Daniel Briere making big plays with input from taskmaster coach John Tortorella. After offloading Provorov, Briere is listening on just about anybody, with goaltender Carter Hart; forwards Travis Konecny, Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton; and defenseman Tony DeAngelo generating the most buzz. After getting run out of Toronto, Kyle Dubas relocated to Pittsburgh to oversee the Penguins. Previous GM Ron Hextall clashed with both the team’s ownership, Fenway Sports Group, and coach Mike Sullivan. Dubas is tasked with retooling around Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. That could mean trading a top-six forward like Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, or Rickard Rakell and buying out Mikael Granlund. Brad Treliving left Calgary and became general manager in Toronto. Signing center Auston Matthews to an extension is his top priority, but he must also decide if there will be enough long-term cap space for forward Michael Nylander, too. Former Blues forward Craig Conroy succeeded Treliving in Calgary and picked assistant coach Ryan Huska to replace sourpuss Darryl Sutter. Now, Conroy must make decisions on forwards Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund and Tyler Toffoli and defensemen Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev. All six will enter the season with expiring contracts. All six could become unrestricted free agents. All six could become trade chips if they won’t re-sign. Barry Trotz returned to Nashville to replace forever GM David Poile and drive a major overhaul. The Predators were busy before the trade deadline, and Trotz could make additional moves, even putting goaltender Juuse Saros possibly in play. Unlike Doug Armstrong, Trotz is taking the long view of things. The Jets are also hitting the reset button. Center Pierre-Luc Dubois won’t re-sign in Winnipeg as a restricted free agent this summer. He is a year removed from unrestricted free agency, and like DeBrincat, he wants a long-term deal from a team of his choosing. Unlike fellow Jets trade chips Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck, Dubois would be at least a theoretical fit for the Blues. Armstrong has said he doesn’t expect to be a big player in this market — given his salary cap constraints — but we have come to expect the unexpected from him. And the NHL could offer lots of surprises this summer.
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For Sammy Blais, if the best thing in the last year was getting traded back to St. Louis, then perhaps the next best thing was playing for Team Canada in the World Championship. Blais won gold with Canada at last month’s World Championship in Latvia and Finland, and he was one of the best Canadians at the tournament, which also included Canadian teammates Jake Neighbours and Joel Hofer, plus Scott Perunovich (United States) and Kasperi Kapanen (Finland). Blais had eight points in 10 games and scored twice in the gold medal game against Germany. Only two Canadians had more points than Blais did in the tournament, and he formed an effective line with Neighbours and Buffalo’s Peyton Krebs. “At the beginning, it was a little weird playing on a big ice like that, so it was a little adjustment,” Blais said in a phone interview this week. “As the tournament went on, I think I played with confidence and just tried to do anything possible to win. I think that was pretty much our team. We were working really hard, being physical, that’s pretty much why we won. We were wearing other teams down.” The showing was a continuation of Blais’ performance at the end of the season, following his trade back to the Blues as part of the Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola deal. In St. Louis, Blais had nine goals and 11 assists in 31 games, which would have put him on pace for about 53 points across a full 82-game season. He was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer but instead signed a one-year extension worth $1 million in the spring. “I think he’s looking like he has potential to be a regular top-nine player,” said Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, who also was the GM of Team Canada. “Now, to do that, it’s a consistency and it’s a consistency in the details. I saw that at the Worlds. I saw that a little bit more when he got here. “You want the peak as high as it can be, but you want the valley close to the peak. I think he’s understanding that bad games can’t be minus-2 and minus-3, and to push his two-way game. I thought he did a heck of a job when he got him back. I thought he did a heck of a job over there.” While Blais’ career-long production profiles more as a physical fourth-liner, if he can continue to chip in at a higher rate, it could result in a more versatile and deeper bottom six in St. Louis. Toward the end of last season, Blais saw time alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Kapanen, plus players like Robert Thomas and Jakub Vrana. Maybe all it took was for some comfortability and familiarity with the Blues organization. Blais scored in his first game back in St. Louis — his first goal since being traded to New York — and built from there. “After I scored that first goal in my first game back, for sure that gave me confidence and then it just started from there, just building every game,” Blais said. “Playing a little bit more and playing more free, not gripping my stick too hard. It was nice to get it going again and I think the World tournament was big, too, get to play a little bit more than most guys. It was good for me to go there.” On a few different levels, next season is a big one for Blais. It will be the first time he will have had a full summer of working out following a torn ACL suffered while playing for the Rangers. He spent last summer mostly rehabbing the knee, and it still required treatment during last season. Now, Blais said he was “really happy with how my knee is doing,” and that it wasn’t sore during the World Championship. It will be Blais’ first full season back in St. Louis since 2020-21, and that was the COVID-shortened 56-game season. It will also be another contract year for Blais, as he’s scheduled to be a UFA next summer. “I hope he can take advantage of a full summer of training, get himself in top physical condition,” Armstrong said. “Not only does it help the St. Louis Blues, but the salary cap’s going to go up a year from now, and he’s going to be a free agent a year from now. Having motivated players for all the right reasons is going to be good. “One of the reasons is it’s a business and he can make a lot of money if he can parlay what he did when he got here to the World Championship to next year, he could have a good next July.” It may be unrealistic to expect that Blais puts up a 50-point season next year (he only has 64 career points), but the Blues will take any scoring punch they can get from their depth players. Blais went back to Montreal this week and will spend the summer training there, including with Blues defenseman Marco Scandella. He’ll also turn 27 years old Saturday. “I know I can play in this league and be good,” Blais said. “Just going to be enjoying my summer, work hard and come into camp in great shape. Just try to keep the same thing going (with) how my season ended.”
Hey guys just wanted to say I love the blues, thanks. P.S go blues
Fuck Reddit! Welcome to the new home of the Blues!