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.

Blues Make Strong Move and Re-Sign Brian Elliott

The St. Louis Blues have made a strong move to regain their equilibrium when they re-signed goaltender Brian Elliott and announced that they would not be seeking a contract with goaltender Ryan Miller. In a tweet on May 19^th, Elliott thanked the fans for making his decision easy to stay in St. Louis.

Photo courtesy of blues.nhl.com

Elliott has been a member of the Blues organization since signing as a free agent in July 2011. In the three years short years he has been in St. Louis, Elliot has become a household name and a fan favorite. His wife, Amanda, has also made her presence felt through the charity work she spearheads throughout the community.

It is true that the Blues have not had a successful playoff run since Elliott joined the team. To be honest, the Blues have never had a successful playoff run since the inception of the team. Many people feel the Blues should be shopping for two new goalies since their ungraceful exit from the first round of the playoffs this past season. But Elliott has had limited playoff time between the pipes.

The Blues made a tremendous error when they traded for Ryan Miller and gave up Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart and a strong prospect. This will be a move that people will reminisce about with a grimace. Doug Armstrong, general manager for the Blues, looked like a class A moron for making one of the worst deals in Blues history.

Miller imploded and head coach Ken Hitchcock kept him in goal even though Elliott was waiting in the wings. So, I guess fans should really being placing the blame for a horrible playoff run at the feet of Armstrong, Hitchcock and Miller.

As the Blues look toward next season, it is a given that Brian Elliott will be a part of the team. His three year deal will make him a mainstay and help this team pick themselves up. The Blues will need to regroup and rebuild a strong bond on and off the ice to give them any hope of making a playoff run in the 2014-2015 season.

I am happy to see Elliott returning. The big question mark will be which other goaltender will join the Blues. Will they bring up their hot prospect, Jake Allen or will they go fishing for a seasoned goaltender? Allen has proven to be good, but he is not ready to take over the number one slot. He still needs experience at the NHL level.

Either way, I am excited for the start of the 2014-2015 season and watching the Blues built themselves back up into the powerhouse they have the potential to become.

St. Louis Blues Ken Hitchcock gets Contract Extension

COMMENTARY | After the St. Louis Blues made a rather ungraceful exit from the first round of the playoffs, many fans wanted head coach Ken Hitchcock ousted from his position of power. The upper management of the Blues sees things much more differently than the fans. They have given Hitchcock a contract extension for the 2014-2015 season. In my opinion, this was a strong move on the part of the Blues organization.

The Blues have also made a move to insure that associate coach Brad Shaw and assistant coach Ray Bennett will also be a part of the upcoming season. Assistant coach Gary Agnew as well as goaltending coach Corey Hirsch will not be returning next season. With the vacancies, the Blues can search for additions to the coaching staff that will enhance the staff and work well toward the good of the team.

Courtesy of blues.nhl.com

Hitchcock came into the Blues organization as head coach mid-season on November 7, 2011. Since then the team has made three consecutive playoff appearances. This past season, the club had their best season with 52 wins. He is the all-time leader in point percentage. He won the NHL’s Jack Adams Award, honoring him as the league’s best coach.

Throughout his illustrious career, Hitchcock has won a Stanley Cup in 1999 with the Dallas Stars and Olympic Gold Medals for Team Canada at the 2002, 2010 and 2014 games. He is the seventh all-time winning coach and is second in all-time wins among active coaches. As for the Blue’s organization, Hitchcock is ranked third for most wins.

Enough about Hitch’s stats though, everyone knows that he is a good coach who can condition players to win hockey games. The big question though is why did the fans turn on him like rabid dogs? I think it was a variety of factors including the fact that the Blues once again were shut down after being called the heavy favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Fans truly believed that a miracle would occur and that the Blues would go all the way. They believed this even though the Blues had traded for a goaltender that was extremely fragile emotionally and would not be able to shut down the opposing team. The team after the Olympic break slowed down and several injuries to key players right at the close of the season was a sneak preview of things to come in the first round of the playoffs.

It is true that how well the team plays is a reflection of the coaching staff, however, take a look at how well the team played and the cohesiveness of the organization prior to the Miller/Ott – Halak/Stewart trade. This season, even with the implosion at the end, was a franchise best with 52 wins. That should account for something in Hitch’s favor. But fans are fickle creatures and they tend to only focus on the immediate ups or downs or the final result of the season. In other words, since the Blues self-destructed against their nemesis, the Chicago Blackhawks, that is what the fans have focused on. They do not focus on the fact that the team made history with their winning record or that the cohesion of the first part of the season was magic.

Hitch had to make the most of the Halak/Stewart trade. The locker room felt the emptiness of their departure. Ryan Miller and Steve Ott were unable to fill the void that was left. That hole was felt all through the remainder of the season. Jaroslav Halak was the type of person that his teammates looked to for a calming and levelheaded presence. Chris Stewart was the player who lit a fire under his teammates and rallied around those who were struggling. The players had worked hard on cultivating closeness and a trust that could not be built overnight. With the addition of two players and the departure of two close friends, the Blues as a team had to focus on rebuilding. With only a short time left before the post-season started, this was a virtually impossible task for Hitch and his coaching staff.

Many people have asked me if I think Hitchcock deserved a contract extension. My answer to them is emphatically yes. Hitch is a rock in the locker room and he has the ability to shape a team into a unified group and win hockey games. The post-season is a nasty monster that takes great teams and destroys them but lifts up mediocre teams to greatness. We have all seen this happen and know that while a team may be a heavy favorite to win it all, the pressure and the desperation of other teams can easily shake that team off its foundation.

The Blues have an excellent leader at the helm and this off-season we will see who else will join him for next season’s journey. Blues fans need to look ahead to next season and the expectations of a Stanley Cup instead behind at past disappointments. The Blues organization has obviously moved ahead and is confident in their head coach. I wish Hitch the very best and hope that the Blues are able to have another winning season.

St Louis Blues Playoff Woes Continue

I recently finished an article for Ice Nation UK, St. Louis Blues Cursed with Playoff Fizzle. The 2013-2014 season started with expectations high. The fans were certain that this was the year that the Stanley Cup would grace St. Louis. The players felt the anticipation and they rose to meet the challenge. It did look like they would truly go all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.

Then the Olympic break happened. The Blues had ten players slated to make the long trek to Sochi, Russia. Nine of the ten were actually able to make the journey. Forward Vladimir Sobotka was unable to play due to a knee injury.

After the players returned from the break they looked slow and tired. Distractions started weighing the team down and a breakdown in leadership was evident. Then Blues management made a monumental mistake. They completed the dreaded trade for Ryan Miller. While I’m sure this trade looked great on paper, the reality of bringing in Miller, who has choked in high-pressure situations before, was a blunder they could not afford to make.  Miller started strong but then quickly fizzled. The Blues pre-Miller trade had the composition and the endurance to go all the way. The Blues post-Miller trade looked frazzled and uncertain. They still won games, but they were winning them in overtime or shootouts. The Blues went from being a well put together team, a cohesive unit into a team scrambling for the slightest edge over their opponents. 

Injuries at the end of the season played a large role in shaking the confidence of the organization. The Blues had to rely on untried players to create offense while the defense scrambled to keep pucks away from a drowning Miller. The combination was not conducive to winning hockey games! The Blues simply imploded and ended up losing their bid for the President’s Trophy. They then had to

face their dreaded division rival, the Chicago Blackhawks.

I’m not going to re-hash the disappointing series and the disgraceful exit of the Blues in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Everyone already knows that story and feels the pain of the Blues’ playoff curse. While fans are sounding off loudly that the Blues are a horrible team and that they suck, let me offer a bit of level-headedness here. The Blues were strong contenders until general manager went out and destroyed the cohesiveness that head coach Ken Hitchcock worked so diligently to build at the start of the season. Bringing in a goaltender that was extremely vocal about his unhappiness in any situation he has faced whether it is a disappointing showing at the Olympics, not enough ice time at the All-Star Game or simply a bad game with his team was not the smartest move that could be made. Jaroslav Halak and Chris Stewart were able to fire their team up without breaking down or playing the blame game. Both offered a steady presence in the locker room and their teammates respected them. 

Hitchcock’s goal for training camp and the next season will be to rebuild that bond that he worked so hard to cultivate this past season. Hopefully Miller will not be resigned and the Blues can wash the bad taste that was left behind when that trade took place.