2014/2015 Season Preview Toronto Maple Leafs

While I do not follow the Maple Leafs as doggedly as I do the Blues. Since one of my favorite defensemen to cheer for is now a part of the Leafs, I felt it only right that I give my take on how their season should shape up. I also admit to being a closet Brendan Shanahan fan, when he played in St. Louis I remember him taking time to really be a part of the community.

So, thank you to Chris Hext and Sam Skelding of IceNationUK for allowing me the opportunity to sound off about the Toronto Maple Leafs' upcoming season. Maybe I was a little harsh, but let's face it, the Leafs have the talent but not the commitment or leadership necessary to go far.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

2014/2015 Season Preview - LA Kings

Although I do not normally write about the Los Angeles Kings, I could not resist doing a season preview from the perspective of a non-Kings fan. IceNationUK has published my 2014/2015 Season Preview for the LA Kings. Thanks to Sam and Chris of IceNationUK for giving me the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone!

St Louis Blues Make Changes to Improve Fan Experiences

So I’m reading through some of the news stories that I missed the past few weeks about the St. Louis Blues and I come across this interesting article that I had to stop and read fully, Blues Announce Changes to Executive Management. The Blues organization has re-vamped their structure to make them an even more fan and community friendly organization. A team of four successful executives are charged with the challenge of making the St. Louis Blues organization a “world class organization”.

Having followed the Blues since the mid-90s, I have never seen them able to be rightfully called a world-class organization. Fan experiences are severely lacking at games and if you do not have the right amount of cash, those in-game experiences are just a dream. For a large lump of cash, lucky fans can play games on ice between periods, visit the broadcast booth, fist bump the players or sit on the Zamboni while it cleans the ice. 

Their Jr. Blue Note Kids Club is at best pathetic. My daughter is disappointed every year when she gets a small gift pack and two tickets to a game. The highlight is getting to shoot a puck on the ice at Scottrade Center following the game. By the time the game has ended the little ones are so tired and just a little bit cranky that you pray the poorly run event goes quickly so you can head home.

The blue crew members are on hand, in their scantily clad “uniforms” – excellent role models for impressionable little girls, by the way – to help the children while on the ice. Louie, the team mascot is also on hand and it is sad to say that is probably the highlight of the event. The Blues staff that is in charge of working the event is always super helpful – notice my sarcasm here – and makes the children feel important.

Freedom is also a part of the St. Louis Cardinals Kids Club and that is a kids’ club that is run so smoothly by people who really like children and want them to have a good time. There is a kids’ party date set where every child gets to come and meet select players and coaches. They can play games and pig out on a buffet. They feel that they are important. The Cardinals have figured out they need to cater to the children as they are the future ticket buyers and fans who will carry the club through years to come.

Last spring I wrote an article about the fan experiences of three young men and how it varied from my experiences. I have gotten a lot of feedback from that article and have realized that if you are a male between the age of 18 and 25, you are essentially treated like a would-be criminal when attending a Blues game at Scottrade Center.

The Blues, I have noticed, pride themselves on their promotions throughout the season. Come for Star Wars night and purchase a t-shirt at a discounted price. Really? Why not, come for Star Wars night and we will give you a t-shirt for supporting us? Or, my favorite was come to Faith Night and fans get a free hot dog and soda along with hearing an inspirational message from local church leaders. I attended this and while I was happy to see them hosting an event that featured faith and family in hockey. But it was sadly lacking in things for the fans to enjoy. Other sports venues in St. Louis offer Faith Day or some such variation. They go all out and advertise the event as well as have a myriad of activities for fans to enjoy. The only reason I knew about the Blues’ Faith Night was because I stumbled across it on their promotions’ page. Pretty sad. if you think about it.

The fans that I have spoken with during Blues’ practices at the Ice Zone or during games are emphatically saying the same things. The Blues organization does not care about the fans or the community. The fans will support the organization until they turn blue…but what has the organization given back to the fans? The new executives in charge of turning the Blues organization into a world class entity has their work cut out for them.

I do not see how this is going to bring the fans closer to the organization. Those within the organization that I have spoken with and complained to – especially about the Jr. Blue Notes – do not see that there is anything wrong with how the organization is currently being run and see no reason to change a thing. The rudeness of the staff and the extremely limited activities for fans need to be the first things addressed for this upcoming season. In recent years, I have only had one usher at a Blues game act as if he truly cared that you had the best experience possible while sitting in his section. I would like to extend a thank you to Scott usher for section 126 for your commitment and caring while Freedom and I have sat in your section.

In closing, I raise my glass to Jeff Ajluni, Josh Bender, Phil Siddle and Jay Roberts as they tackle an enormous task this season. Best wishes gentlemen and please, I implore you, do something great for the kids this year.

Paul Statsny "Coming Home" To St. Louis

COMMENTARY | It took me a little while to comment on the signing of Paul Statsny simply because of the overwhelming emails that I received regarding this event. Then other more noteworthy, at least in my mind, things were occurring in the Blues organization. Notably the trade of Roman Polak and the defection of Vladimir Sobotka.

When the St. Louis Blues were able to sign free agent Paul Statsny, it seemed that Armstrong may be able to redeem himself slightly from the horrible signings and trades that he has made in recent years. Then Armstrong started droning on and on about Statsny and insinuating that he was the missing link to the success of the Blues.

While the campaign following Statsny's signing was cute -- Statney is "coming home" to St. Louis -- it was just a little redundant and over-rated. I enjoy watching this guy play just as much as the next fan, however, by placing the pressures of great play-off hockey on his shoulders before he even steps on the ice for the Blues was a little ridiculous.

Statsny needs to get to St. Louis, meet his new coaches and teammates and get comfortable with them before any claims of grandeur should be touted throughout the city. Armstrong is a general manager who is known for making dumb and confusing trades, just look at the Perron/Paajarvi trade, the Halak-Stewart/Miller-Ott trade and the Polak/Gunnarsson trade.

Do I think Statsny will fit into the line-up and be an asset for the Blues? That is what many of my readers have been asking me. My answer to that is this: Statsny is a smart player and he will adjust to head coach Ken Hitchcock's style of play. Within the coarse of the year, yes, Statsny will be an asset for the Blues. Is he the play-off messiah that Armstrong seems to be seeking? The answer is no. To win in the playoffs it takes a cohesive team full of players who will give more of themselves for the good of the team, not for the spotlight and fame that it will bring them.

If the Blues hope to be successful this year, Hitchcock has his work cut out for him as the team has become disjointed since the infamous trade for Ryan Miller. I wish the best for Statsny and his family as they come to St. Louis and make a home. 

Vladimir Sobotka Defects To The KHL

COMMENTARY July 11, 2014 | The St. Louis Blues have had numerous changes this off-season. One of the biggest surprises for fans was the re-signing of Steve Ott and the “elephant in the room”, Vladimir Sobotka opting to sign with a team in the KHL. While this is still not actually confirmed at this time by either the Blues, Sobotka or his agent, it is alleged that he will be making a name for himself in Omsk for the next three seasons (and probably beyond).

Many are reporting that the Blues were simply outbid by Omsk and lost out because they could not afford to meet the 4 million a year deal that Sobotka inked in the KHL. This was not the only reason that Sobotka has chosen to defect to Russia and the KHL. There were internal issues at play and Sobotka was in talks with the Blues since at least February of this year for a contract extension.

Sobotka was feeling out of sorts when injuries kept him out of the Winter Olympics. He was able to use the Winter Olympics as a time of recuperation in the Caribbean with Roman Polak and his family. When he came back after the break, he fit back into the line-up and made things happen on the ice.

Then the Miller/Ott – Halak/Stewart trade occurred and the Blues locker room was thrown into turmoil. Changes happened quickly and the team had to adjust to losing two important members of the team, they had to welcome into their close-knit family two new members. There was much hype surrounding the trade and expectations ran high.

Fast-forward to the Blues play-off flop and the major disappointment that the Blues organization had to face. They lost two keystone players who were rocks in the locker room and gained a sub-par forward in Ott and a narcissistic goaltender in Miller.

Throughout all of this the Blues and Sobotka’s agent have been volleying offers and demands back and forth with no satisfactory agreement in sight. The Blues thought, according to general manager, Doug Armstrong, that they were close to a deal with Sobotka. But they failed to understand that while Sobotka liked playing in St. Louis, he is an emotional person. He may seem calm, cool and quiet when you meet him in person, but he has let his emotions rule his mind in the past.

Sobotka wth Roman Polak (courtesy of Instagram)

Sobotka was angered and devastated when he was traded to St. Louis in 2010 and wanted desperately to go back to Boston, as he stated over social media many times the first few months he was in St. Louis. He lost a good friend and fellow European player when Jaroslav Halak was traded. But the final nail in the contract coffin was when his great friend, Roman Polak, was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

While the Blues made a qualifying offer for Sobotka and are now headed to arbitration, Sobotka chose to go outside the NHL and give the proverbial finger to the Blues organization and its fans. The Blues will retain rights to Sobotka and if he decides to come back to the NHL, the Blues will hold his contract. The big question going through my mind is this: if Sobotka returns to the NHL after his contract is up in the KHL, will St. Louis fans forgive him and accept him back into their hearts as a treasured player?

Vladimir Sobotka is an amazing player; I have even in the past called him an elite player. He will flourish in the KHL and while we will miss him here in the NHL, especially the St. Louis Blues fans. I truly believe that his decision to leave the NHL for the KHL was a combination of being overly emotional and an inflated sense of self-worth. The Blues made a solid offer to Sobotka, several offers in reality. Sobotka seems to think that he is worth more than the $3 million per year top offer given by the Blues and it seems that the KHL also thought so, giving him $4 million per year.

Best of luck to you, Vladimir, it has been great watching you grow as a player these past years while in St. Louis. I hope that you do decide to return to the NHL as you are a fun player to watch and analyze.

Yahoo Contributor Closing Down

I am saddened to say that Yahoo has made the decision to close its doors in regards to contributors. Therefore, most of my work regarding the St. Louis Blues that has been posted on Yahoo Sports will no longer be available on Yahoo.

I am in the process of moving those articles to this blog so you can still enjoy them. Any links that you find within this blog that do not work correctly, please message me and tell me where the link is located. I will go in and update it.

It saddens me to lose this writing venue, but it will give me the opportunity to write more content for this blog. You can also check out my other blog, Micki Holley - Freelance Writer for additional pieces, although those articles do not necessarily pertain to the St. Louis Blues.

Blessings,
Micki Holley

St Louis Makes Another Bone-headed Move: Roman Polak is headed to Toronto Maple Leafs

St. Louis Blues General Manager, Doug Armstrong, is at it again. He is wheeling and dealing to the ultimate detriment of the team as a whole. The man should really be muzzled and stuffed in a closet when he gets on these power trips.

NHL draft in Philadelphia, PA has been going smoothly. The Blues have an opportunity to bring in some very talented players in the system. Then a deal comes across that involves Blues defenseman, Roman Polak and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, Carl Gunnarsson plus a draft pick. Of course power-hungry Armstrong jumped at the opportunity to once again look like a grade A ass.  

That said, Polak is on his way to the Maple Leafs and we get the pleasure of watching another sub-par defenseman flounder in front of the net. I will agree with the Polak critics that his post-season was less than stellar, but pick a Blues’ player who did not fumble and fall on their face during the Chicago Blackhawks series. Polak is a solid player and I have been a proponent of his since he came to the Blues.

Unfortunately, Armstong’s bone-headed deal to move Polak out is one of his best “worst-ever” trades. I place this one right up there with the Miller/Ott – Halak/Stewart trade and the Perron - Paajarvi trade.

Polak will be missed my many Blues fans and there will be a huge hole in the Blues defense as well as in the locker room next season due to this trade. I personally wish Roman and his family the very best in their new city. He is closing this chapter of his career and embarking on a new venture. Show them what you are made of and make Armstong regret his hasty decision.