SB Nation - Ty Conklin

Best (and worst) Free Agent signings by the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2000-09

Hooks Orpik — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:00:19 -0000

Yesterday we took a look at the draft picks, and by popular requests, here's a look at free agency hits and misses.

Free agency has been a tool that Pittsburgh hasn't used much. In the early part of the decade they couldn't afford the spending sprees that drunken GM's went on (like Bobby Holik's $45 million over 5 seasons back in 2002). Then when the salary cap was in effect, they could only afford to add bit pieces and stay under the cap.

Still, we have some guys to review and question -- either how they got the money they did or how the Penguins got such a steal! Yours, after the jump

Worst

#5 - Mark Recchi (signed in summer 2004, two year contract, signed in 2006, signed in summer 2007 one year deal with $1.75 million cap hit)

The term wasn't bad, but the player didn't mesh. Recchi played exclusively with Sidney Crosby, and it didn't seem like he had enough gas in the tank to keep up. Recchi was traded and won the Cup with Carolina in between his stints in Pittsburgh this decade, but by the start of the 2007-08 season he had only 8 points (and 2 goals) in the first 19 games and the Pens waived him.

#4 - Miroslav Satan (signed in summer 2008, one year contract $3.5 million cap hit)

Satan was another player that didn't work out. Though he wasn't terrible with 17 goals in 65 games, that isn't exactly awful, but who envisioned the team waiving him and having him play out 10 games in the minors to stay under the salary cap? Not the ideal situation for either party, though credit Satan's class of never complaining throughout the whole ordeal.

#3 - Dany Sabourin (signed in summer 2007, two year contract with a $512,000 cap hit per season)

Signed back from the Vancouver organization to be a reliable backup, Dany Sabourin was more of just a backup. His presence and contract kept Ty Conklin in the minors in '07 and Sabourin faired so rough the Pens decided to trade him away in '09 after he gave up 3+ goals in eight of nine appearances (some of them in relief).

#2 - John LeClair (signed in summer 2005, two year contract with a $1.8 million cap hit per season)

A part of Craig Patrick's post-lockout re-tool, the 36 year old winger was added to the Penguins. While he had a decent first season with 51 points in 73 games, LeClair was in full decline. He'd only score 2 goals (and 7 points) in the first 21 games of the 2006-07 before it was over. LeClair was waived, placed re-entry waivers, then unconditonally released by Pittsburgh and that was the sad end to a once stellar career.

#1 - Zigmund Palffy (signed in summer 2005, three year contract with a $4.5 million cap hit per season)

Palffy broke the number 1 rule, so he ends up at #1. He literally quit on the team, walking into the GM's office on an off-day and announcing "retirement". Shockingly, he's played in Slovakian league the past two seasons. Palffy had 42 points in 42 games with the Pens and seemed to be a decent fit with Crosby and the Pens. Whether he didn't like then-new coach Michel Therrien's defensive systems, or the losses in Pittsburgh or just felt tired of dealing with NHL level physical abuse, he quit and he's the goat of goats. (The NHL allowed his salary to come off the books upon his "retirement", if you were wondering).

Best

# 7 - Mike Rupp (signed in summer 2009, two year deal for $825,000 cap hit per year)

Ray Shero made an under the radar signing that set off alarms here, but now we see why. Rupp's been a great teammate, wiling to fight if someone's been wronged. But he's also shown an undiscovered scoring touch, scoring 9 goals in his first 32 games in a Pens jersey, when he'd only scored 27 goals in his whole 325 game career prior.

#6 - Matt Cooke (signed in summer 2008, two year deal for $1,200,000 cap hit per year)

Faced with the dilemma of having their resident sand-paper, gritty penalty killing forward demanding a three year contract, the Penguins let 33 year old Jarkko Ruutu go to Ottawa and brought in a very similiar player in 30 year old Matt Cooke. Cooke formed a bond with Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal, kills penalties well, and can pitch in limited offensive help.

#5 - Jay McKee (signed in summer 2009, one year deal for $800,000 cap hit)

McKee was looking to raise his profile around the league after being bought out by the St. Louis Blues. That gave him some money, so he didn't need a lot from his new team. The Penguins were needing a defensive replacement for departed players in Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill. Win meet win. And when everyone wins, the Penguins win.

#4 - Ty Conklin (signed in summer 2007, one year deal for $500,000 cap hit)

Conklin was signed as pure depth; he'd start the year in the AHL and only make his way up when Marc-Andre Fleury fell to injury. But when Conklin was in, the Penguins season was in the balance. Conklin went 18-8-5 with a 2.51 GAA and near-league leading .923 save percentage. He breathed life into the Pens season and once Fleury was back they took it within two games of winning it all.

#3 - Mark Eaton (signed in summer of 2006, $1.6 million cap hit per year; signed summer 2008, $2 million cap hit)

One of Shero's first moves in becoming GM of Pittsburgh was signing over a guy he knew from Nashville. Eaton hasn't disappointed, so long as he's been healthy, being a valued part of the Penguins' Stanley Cup winning team. He ranks this high on the list for his years of service, as well as being signed to reasonable contracts twice.

#2 - Petr Sykora (signed in summer 2007; $2.625 million cap hit per year)

Sykora chipped in 53 goals in two regular seasons, including 28 PP markers, and six more in the playoffs. Who could forget the 3 OT game to force a Game Six versus Detroit in the Stanley Cup final in '08. He was signed to score goals, and that's what he did, up to the point it was obvious he didn't mesh into Dan Bylsma's aggressive, skating heavy system.

#1 - Sergei Gonchar (signed in summer 2005; $5 million cap hit per year)

Amazingly, this was considered one of the worst contracts in it's infancy, as Gonchar had a difficult time adjusting to his new team and the unorganized system employed by former coach Ed Olczyk. But once he settled in and the team grew around him, Gonchar blossomed from an offensive-defenseman into a well-rounded #1 guy and leader of a Stanley Cup winning team.

So there you have it. Mind you, these weren't nearly all the signings, and I didn't consider re-signings (like bringing back Gary Roberts or Brooks Orpik) even though that possibly could be considered in-bounds. There's more good than bad, because, well I think the Penguins have managed free agency pretty well. It's not a staple of their team building philosophy, but that's by design. For the most part, free agency was used to augment the existing roster with bits and pieces. The one year it wasn't (2005), it's probably no coincidence that 2 of the 3 most noteworthy contracts are in the "bad" column.

Friday links: Wishing for a home ice win tonight edition

averagejoe — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:00:24 -0000

It's Friday. I can't wait for this week to end.

Blues news

The Oilers vs. Blues tonight. Here's a preview. [CBS Sports]
Ty Conklin has done well as a backup. I'm not used to the Blues having a backup who doesn't make me cringe. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
The Oilers are trying to make history in St. Louis. [Toronto Sun]
Pascal Pelletier is pretty happy to get out of the of Syracuse and into the Blues orgnaization. Also, his eyes are very close together. [Peoria Journal Star]
From the good Dr. (drfrankentweed) comes a nice little article on the Eureka fury, Cam Janssen. [Duffer's Dabbles]

Hockey news

Thursday's results. [Yahoo! Sports]
In case you want to watch something while the Blues are on, here are Friday's games. [Yahoo! Sports]
Fenway Park is being set up to play hockey. Stanley Cup of Chowder has some videos of the set up. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
Dominik only roots for teams that can't score goals. Outside of John Tavares and Matt Moulsan, the Islanders are having trouble putting the puck in the net. [Lighthouse Hockey]
Dan Cleary will be out for a month after hurting himself against the Blues. [TSN]
Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone are both day-to-day. Gotta love the NHL injury rules. [TSN]
At 51, Slave Fetisov — one of the Russian Red Wings — will play for CSKA Moscow on Friday. And it's not a stunt. The team actually needs him. [TSN]
Pierre LeBrun wants to copy baseball and have Summer meetings for the NHL. [ESPN]

Other links

I'm pretty sure we have some House fans around here. I'm told this is the show in a nutshell. [Pic]

Video

I don't know if this video is supposed to be a commentary about how movie trailers are pointless, but all I can say is I'd see this movie.

Poor College Student has the weekend shift. Send him links at gametimelinks(at)gmail.com

Ty Conklin, Blues shut out Red Wings 1-0

joehass — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:31:10 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Ty Conklin stops a Tomas Homstrom shot. Conklin made 42 saves for the shut-out victory.

Browse more photos »

During the offseason, the Detroit Red Wings made the decision to go with Jimmy Howard as the goalie of the future, releasing Ty Conklin who signed with the St. Louis Blues. Wednesday night at Joe Louis Arena, the former goalie of the future bested the current one.

Brad Boyes scored just 1:56 into the first period, and the red lights would remain off the rest of the night as the Blues shut out the Red Wings 1-0. On a night when the Red Wings had 42 shots on goal and another 43 attempts on net, Conklin stood on his head.

For a Detroit team that has been struggling all season long with putting the puck into the net, tonight's game became a painful reminder of their struggles. Henrik Zetterberg had 11 shot attempts, including seven shots. Pavel Datsuyk had 10 shot attempts. Only three skaters didn't have at least one shot on net (Brett Lebda, Brad May, and Kris Draper).

On his goal, McDonald moved the puck out from behind Jimmy Howard to his left. He passed it out to Carlo Colaiacovo between the faceoff dots. Colaiacovo spotted an open Brad Boyes about 20 feet out, who put it past Howard for his eighth of the season. It would be the only blemish on Howard's record, but it's the only one the Blues needed.

The Red Wings will have an off day before the Anaheim Ducks make their second visit to Joe Louis Arena this season.

Player of the game: Jimmy Howard. Howard's only goal allowed was more of a defensive failure than a goaltending one, but on most nights, that's the kind of performance that should garner a W instead of an L.

Game 32 Preview: Avalanche at Blues

David Driscoll-Carignan — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:00:22 -0000


Colorado Avalanche	6 MT / 8 ET / 1 GMT	St Louis Blues
16-9-6	December 7th, 2009	12-10-5
38 pts	Scottrade Center	29 pts
4th in West	St Louis, MO	t-12th in West

It's almost over. Tonight, the Avalanche will play in their 21st road game while they've played just 11 games at the Pepsi Center. No other team has played more road games or less home games at this point in the season. After tonight, the Avalanche will have 50 games remaining and 30 of those will be at home (where the Avalanche are 7-2-2). When we saw this schedule this summer, we thought the Avalanche might be out of contention by this point. They've done far better than expected, though, and currently sit 4th in the Western Conference. While they are falling back to the pack a bit, their 9-7-4 record on the road is better than expected (and keep in mind, that includes 4 sets of back-to-back road games).

The travel schedule gets a lot easier from here on in. The Avalanche play just one more road game between tomorrow and Christmas. They have a two 3-game road trips in late-December and early-January and then from January 11th until the playoffs, the don't have any road trips longer than 2 games. And four of the 5 remaining 2-game road trips are back-to-backs (figures), so these guys will be spending a LOT of time at home the rest of the way. Is that going to be a good thing for the team? We'll have to wait and see.

They still have to play tonight, though. The Avalanche are playing a fairly mediocre team in the Blues. While the Avs have already gathered 5 points on their 5-game road trip, this is really a "must-win" kind of game. Why? The Avalanche are currently 1 point behind the Flames in the standings and 1 point ahead of the Kings in the standings. Want to guess who the Flames and Kings are playing tonight? Yep. Each other. A regulation loss by Colorado and they either lose ground to Calgary or get passed by the Kings.

The Blues haven't been able to score much this year, but they've been able to keep other teams off the scoreboard with the 9th lowest goals against average in the league. Chris Mason and Ty Conklin have both put up great numbers this year and oh, by the way, the Blues' penalty kill is 4th best in the league. The Avalanche haven't exactly been lighting up the lamp lately, so goals will definitely be at a premium this evening. Even with a rock-solid Peter Budaj between the pipes (Anderson is still out), the Avalanche will need another strong effort from him and the defense in front as this has all the makings of another 3-2 type hockey game.

Avalanche vs Blues coverage

St. Louis Game Time

Colorado			St Louis
7th	38	Points	23rd	29
9th	2.97	GF/G	25th	2.48
19th	2.90	GA/G	9th	2.59
19th	19.2	PP%	30th	12.9
15th	80.2	PK%	4th	84.8
30th	25.7	S/G	14th	29.9
26th	33.1	SA/G	22nd	31.1
29th	46.2	FO%	18th	49.1
16th	14	PIM/G	23rd	14.6
Stastny	31 pts	Top Scorer	Johnson	19 pts

Blues Win; Killer Instinct Still Needed.

gallagher — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:13:50 -0000

First things first: They got the two points, which is important.

However....

The trend of not being able to finish off the end of a game is becoming a problem. The Kings score tonight with 34 seconds left to force OT. The Red Wings score with 57 seconds left to force OT and end up getting the win. The Stars score with 26 seconds left on Nov. 25 to force OT. It's a trend now and it's got to be addressed.

Much like the extra gear players have to access come the playoffs, the Blues need to have an extra gear to go to when teams pull their goalie and put 6-on-5 pressure on the Blues net. This year the Note have shown an inability to exercise that extra "want" when the other team is desperate. They need to find a way to be on the puck and to clear the puck.

Coaches will call it stepping on the necks of their opponents. It's a killer instinct that teams have to have to exert their will on their enemies. It's an inexact science and I'd have to say it's one of those "I know it when I see it" qualities. The Blues need to identify their closers and have them on the ice in these situations.

But enough of that for now. The Blues did what they had to and got the two points, making it four for Cali and pulling themselves within striking distance of Detroit (currently up one point) and Columbus (up two points, game in hand) and continuing to distance themselves from the Western Basement (three points from ninth-place Vancouver).

Next up is the surprisingly good Avalanche, who have been falling back a bit lately (3-4-3 in their last 10 before tonight's game) and can be beaten.

Some other notes from today:

Brad Boyes scored twice today with imperfect shots; the one in the second period was a whiff that eluded the goalie and the shootout goal hit Quick and still bounced over his shoulder and got in. If the hockey gods have any compassion at all, Boyes will take this as a lesson and realize that his shots don't have to be perfect roof shots to get in the net. Hit the target, NAMBLA, hit the target and good things will happen.
T.J. Oshie is getting his motor running again and it's good to see. Add to that Patrik Berglund's confident play and the excellent play of David Perron again and I know that I for one am starting to calm down the slowly building panic I was starting to feel about the young forwards.
Speaking of the youngsters, Roman Polak and Erik Johnson both looked solid again, boosting confidence in the future, while Darryl Sydor looked a step slower than normal and Barret Jackman looked like he forgot how dominant and angry he was agaiant San Jose Thursday. Young guys, show the old guys. Seriously, let's get this squared away.
Chris Mason has one and is playing great. Ty Conklin has started to grow one and has been great. It's officially time to Fear The Beard. My recommendation is to make it team policy to start growing them. Besides, you know Oshie's and Perron's would be high hilarity.
No idea why Paul Kariya can't score at home, but he clearly still has the ability. That power play slapshot was freaking Viagra. One of the broadcasters made the assertion that Kariya has been the team's best forward for the last couple weeks. Slow down, fella. He hasn't been the best, but I will say that he has shown a willingness to take a hit that was absent earlier in the year and I think it has helped his all-around game.
Oh, and finally, I don't know what it is about Tim Peel and his ability to make bad calls against the Blues, but the wave-off of the first goal because of goaltender interferance was complete cockfuckery. As Dominik pointed out in the GDT comments, it's frustrating when referees make calls based on the last split-second of a play. Tkachuk was around the goaltender interference, but it was caused by the Kings defenseman in the crease.

Next game is Monday night, but feel free to stop by anytime, we're always here for you.

And for those of you wondering what I mean by visual Viagra, here's Exhibit A:

That's Colaiacovo. As In ColaiacOh No He Didn't!

gallagher — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:30:20 -0000

I was stomping around my living room cursing decision-making. "It's a two-on-one and you pass to Jackman? You never pass to Jackman on a two-on-one!"

Well, shit. At least I had a reason to drink tonight all gift-wrapped for me. And then this happened:

Carlo Cokiacockvono, you are one beautiful, sick bitch. A spin-o-rama blast to tie up the game with eight seconds left that forced the OT/SO, got the Blues two points and shut that building of wine-drinking, tofu-eating, "Let's Go Shar-arks" chanters up.

The Sharks are the best team in the league. They sit atop the standings and it's easy to see why. They are talented, deep and frighteningly confident. And the Blues outplayed them virtually all night. This is what we've been waiting for. Hopefully it's what they've been waiting for too.

Some other observations from the couch:

I like the lines the ol Coach put together for this game. The Oshie-Backes-Kariya line was great, the Boyes-McDonald-Perron line was good (though Perron was pretty absent until late), the Schnoz-Silent-Beej line was as effective as ever (I liked hearing that they took the goal against as motivation), and the Berglund-Tkachuk-Winchester line seems to be good for IceBerg, who showed us a little bit of that TechnoViking swagger that has been missing all year.
Ty Conklin is my kind of back-up. The guy made some huge saves tonight, did everything required to win and seems to have no problem being the No. 2 guy.
Erik Johnson is getting better every single game. What would he be like right now if that golf cart hadn't swept the knee and taken him out all of last year?
This team played tonight like they played most of the end of last year when no one wanted to play them. They were relentless, they were physical, they were skilled and they were dangerous.
T.J. Oshie found a new shootout move. His go-to move last year was silly, but this is the NHL and the rest of the league's goalies caught up to it. Nabokov looked positively whipped on Teej's sweet game-winner.

Saturday matinee in Los Angeles. Far as I can tell, we owe those bastards a little pay-back too. Hopefully some of that San Jose karma I mentioned pre-game is left over for some other California teams.

Which Blues Could Make The Olympics?

Brad Lee — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:51:01 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

This face was built for dangerous activities. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Browse more photos »

The hockey blogs on the SB Nation network have been putting together previews for the 2010 Olympics. The idea is to put together educated guesses about which players from each team will participate in the Winter Games. We don't want to get left out, so keep reading to see our predictions for players making the Olympics.

Jay McClement, Canada
With his combination of speed, hard work, determination and Zen-like ability to control his emotions in the game, Silent Jay should pack his bags for Vancouver. And when we say pack his bags, we mean he needs to put his cross country skis and rifle in travel bags so he can participate in the biathlon. Ah, the biathlon. It combines the obscure sports of cross country skiing and shooting. The biathlon requires the participants to ski as fast as they can for long stretches then stop and hit small targets at distance with their rifle. That requires the shooter to slow his breathing and heartbeat to get a steady bead on the target. McClement is perfect for it.

Paul Kariya, Canada
One of the fastest and agile skaters on the Blues with a combination of sparkling moves and aversion to contact, Kariya should pack his bags. And he should make sure to include his skates that have toe picks. Kariya is the perfect ice dancer. Just add sequins.

T.J. Oshie, USA
Backwards hat, check. Frosted hair tips, check. Wild energy, check. Reckless abandon, double check. Oshie will be a hit in freestyle snowboarding, preferably the half pipe. Tell me he's not the prototypical snowboarder. Plus he'd guarantee a sellout and hundreds of screaming 16-year-olds.

Ty Conklin, Chris Mason, Canada
This tandem, they just look like they get along really well. They're openly happy for the other after victories and look genuinely concerned after defeats. Goaltenders are a different breed. They're odd. Different. Oddballs, you see. So they have a bond that most players can't even fathom. That's why they will be threats to contend in doubles luge. Have you seen these people in their skin-tight suits all spooned together? You think any two guys can just mount each other and the sled before hurtling down the ice-covered track? Most guys would piss their pants, and on doubles luge you really don't want that. Conk and Mase, they have everything.

David Backes, USA
The Olympics next year are in Vancouver. That's part of Canada last time we checked. And they sometimes highlight some of the local sports during the games. A dark horse to win a medal has to be David Backes in bear wrestling. He'll be in a battle with some work to do before becoming nearly a lock, but it's a safe bet he'll be moving on up the rankings as long as the bears agree to fight him. If not, he'll be moving down.

Patrik Berglund, Sweden
The second-year Swede has been gliding up and down the ice, just kind of scuffling along the entire season. Berglund should pack his broom for curling.

Alex Steen, Canada
It's as plain as the nose on his face, Steen is perfect for ski jumping. The said nose will cut the wind like a shark's fin through room temperature Velveeta. Plus he's mostly from Europe, so he's got that going for him, which is nice.

B.J. Crombeen, USA
Look at the marked-up, bruised, cut, toothless mug on this guy and know he has no fear. He's perfect for skeleton. You don't know what skeleton is? That's the sport where you climb on a sled that's about the size of a cafeteria tray and all the control of one and you slide down the ice track, cranium first at huge rates of speed - even when they measure it at kilometers per hour. Godspeed, B.J. Just remember there's no freaking brakes.

Roman Polak, Czech Republic
Now he's got a lot of work to do to make the Czech Republic men's ice hockey team. But he's pretty much a lock to make Team Italy. Or Poland's.

Are there any players/sports we missed? Give 'em in the comments.

---

Remember, Blues at Sharks tonight. GDT will be hopped up on Red Bull. Come back, won't you?

The Trading Block: Who The Blues Could Move

gallagher — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:30:12 -0000

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

The trade of Lee Stempniak signaled to the Blues that it wouldn't be Andy Murray that would be held accountable for their slow start. Who could be this year's Stempniak?

Browse more photos »

On Nov. 23 last year the Blues were 8-8-2 and 13th in the Western Conference, dead-last in the Central Division. They'd suffered some odd injuries, including an emergency appendectomy to one of their players. Fans were grumbling about the coaching of Andy Murray and the lack of team scoring (just 55 goals in 18 games to that point).

The next day the team traded Lee Stempniak, considered by most followers of the team to be one of the franchise's youthful building blocks, to Toronto for Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo. The deal was a classic sell-high, buy-low for the Blues, as Stempniak had a bit of a point streak going at the time (he had three goals and 10 assists in 14 games to that point) and had been a 27-goal scorer once before in his short career. Meanwhile, both Colaiacovo and Steen had long since worn out their welcome in the Center Of The Hockey Universe as underperforming former first round picks.

But the trade was more than a "let's get two-for-one" deal for the Blues; this was a direct message to the players that Murray would be staying and if their performance continued to be mediocre, it was they that would be a-going.

The team continued to struggle along through November and December before going 6-4-1 in January and then, of course, going on The Run that ended with the Blues in the sixth seed in the West.

With the exception of waiving Manny Legace on Feb. 6, the Blues made no other roster moves after the Stempniak deal. Considering the similar state of the team today and the recent comments made by team owner David Checketts that the time to move forward is now, if the team doesn't start to climb the standings soon, another move will be made to shake up the roster. For the sake of this argument, we're going to assume that Andy Murray will not be fired and that the team will deal with first quarter doldrums in the same manner that they did last year and trade someone.

But who fits the bill to be traded this year? Last year's trade of Stempniak was unforeseen and shocking to fans, media and presumably, the players. If a trade is to be made this year, it'd likely be designed to shake up the players who remain behind. The problem is identifying a player who is shocking to see leave and sends the message, but not be the type of player that goes on to make you regret his departure.

Similarly, the roster is full of players that fans might want to see traded, but simply cannot be moved for one reason or another.

We'll analyze the current roster to see who is tradeable and who is not, leaving the minor leaguers and prospects out of the discussion as we're not talking about specific packages or team needs at this point. In the end, we'll give our most likely candidates to be moved if the Blues decide to dangle one of their players.

David Backes

#42 / Right Wing / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-3

Weight: 216

Born: May 01, 1984

G A P +/- PIM

2009 - David Backes 4 6 10 1 38

David Backes, RW: The Blues thought highly enough of Backes to match Vancouver's RFA offer to him before last season, agreeing to overpay him to the tune of $2.5 million a year. Backes paid back the Blues in spades last year with his 31-goal effort and his nightly physical domination. He became known as Chuck Norris around these parts and it was justly deserved.

But is he tradeable today? Backes' slow start made him an early candidate for consideration in a shake up trade, but his six points in his last four games has made him an even more potent trading piece. If the Blues were to trade Backes it would definitely shake up the roster and send the message that no one here is untouchable, but giving up on the 25-year-old could end up being seriously short-sighted. The return might be great, but what of the loss? Have we seen the top of Backes' game or is he just getting started?

Patrik Berglund

#21 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-4

Weight: 187

Born: Jun 02, 1988

G A P +/- PIM

2009 - Patrik Berglund 3 2 5 -4 2

Patrik Berglund, C: The former first rounder from 2006 enjoyed a great rookie season, becoming coveted around the league for his 21 goals and 47 points in 76 games, despite playing in twice as many games as he ever had in a season previously. This season, however, has been the epitome of the sophomore slump for the young TechnoViking. He is on pace for just 11 goals and 18 points. His minus-4 stands out when compared to his solid plus-19 from last year.

Is he tradeable? Certainly. Would it be shocking? Absolutely. Would it be giving up on a talent who has not reached his final height yet? Probably. Depending on the return that could be gotten back, Berglund could find himself the target of a "needs a change of scenery" trade.

Brad Boyes

#22 / Right Wing / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 195

Born: Apr 17, 1982

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Brad Boyes	6	9	15	-5	2

Brad Boyes, C/RW: In his short NHL career, Boyes has bounced from Toronto to San Jose to Boston to St. Louis. His talent is evident as he has scored 43 and 33 goals over the last two seasons, but his streaky nature and perceived lack of hard work has kept him on the move. He is on pace for 29 goals this year, despite a recent streak of nine points in his last 10 games. At just 27 years old, he is still an NHL commodity and would surely find suitors if he were on the Blues' trade block.

But can the Blues trade a guy who one could argue is the only real sniper on the team? The last person to score 33 goals in the Bluenote was Tkachuk in 2003-04. The last to score 43 was Brett Hull in 1995-96. Yes, Brett Hull. In 1996. He'd likely draw some talent back to the team, but scoring, even if it is streaky, is not a strength from which the Blues have a deep well to deal.

Eric Brewer

#4 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-3

Weight: 222

Born: Apr 17, 1979

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Eric Brewer	1	2	3	-8	11

Eric Brewer, D: Calm down, boo-birds. Yes, Brewer might find himself atop many fans' Trade Now lists, but the Robot Captain seems to still be respected within the organization. His statistics continue to track along his career normal, in that area around 20-29 points, but his glaring minus-8 will keep the fans letting him know, "Brewer You Suck!"

If he hadn't missed a calendar year of hockey with various knee and back surgeries and if he wasn't currently on the shelf with another 'lower body' injury, Brewer might have some value. But add to those red flags his current contract of $4.5 million for this year and next and it's unlikely Brewer is going anywhere anytime soon.

Carlo Colaiacovo

#28 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Jan 27, 1983

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Carlo Colaiacovo	2	7	9	0	17

Carlo Colaiacovo, D: The beneficiary of last year's "change of scenery" trade, Colaiacovo has revived his career in St. Louis. The offensive defenseman, who never put up more than 24 points in an NHL season before, finished last year with 30 and is on pace for even more points this season, his contract year. He remains haunted by the injury bug, though he managed to play a career-high 73 games last season.

If the Blues think he can be re-signed and continue to be productive in a leading role for the team (he is only 26 now), he won't be traded. If they think he'll be squeezed out by upcoming defenders, Colaiacovo could be a prime trading piece.

Ty Conklin

#29 / Goalie / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 184

Born: Mar 30, 1976

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Ty Conklin	7	386	3	2			15	2.33	204	189	.926	1

Ty Conklin, G: Conklin has only been with the team for this season and played only seven games. he's been solid and (most importantly for a goalie) uncontroversial in the back-up goal. He fills a serious need for the team and he's paid appropraitely for this year and next.

There's no shock value to shake up the roster by trading Conklin and any trade involving him immediately opens a hole that has to be filled.

B.J. Crombeen

#26 / Right Wing / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-2

Weight: 212

Born: Jul 10, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - B.J. Crombeen	1	3	4	2	63

B.J. Crombeen, RW: The Beej has a very specific role on this team and depending on the night, he either plays it well by hitting and checking and making life a nightmare for the opposition, or he decides he's needed on the ice and puts himself on the ice for a too-many-men penalty. Basically, he's a role player who can chip in some points and allow older fans to boast that they remember when his dad played here.

Trading B.J. wouldn't be much of a blow to the team. Some might say that it sucks, but not too many fans or players would choke on the trade if it were made. There wouldn't be much of a return on a B.J. trade either because most people would see him as a starter, not the main event in any exchange.

Barret Jackman

#5 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 203

Born: Mar 05, 1981

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Barret Jackman	0	4	4	5	13

Barret Jackman, D: The World's Angriest Defender (TM), owner of the best You're An Idiot (R) look in the NHL, Jackman is an original Blue, drafted in the first round back in 1999. He has had to re-learn the game as a defensive defenseman after the new rules were implemented after the lockout. Despite his inexplicable role as "the guy we hate when Brewer is out of the lineup", Jackman plays a steady if unspectacular game and while he has seen time on the power play during the less-offesnive days, he clearly doesn't relish the offensive role and is happier defending his own net.

Jackman's trade would definitely shake up the team and the fanbase, though the return would not be terribly flashy due to his unflashy role and large contract ($4.5 million this year and next, $3.5 million in 2011-12).

Cam Janssen

#55 / Right Wing / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 210

Born: Apr 15, 1984

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Cam Janssen	0	0	0	-1	50

Cam Janssen, RW: It's almost superfluous to put Janssen's position in this description as all it does is designate where he lines up on face-offs. The local boy gone pro, Cam Smash, King of Eureka, spends his entire shift running around the rink looking for someone to run into or to punch. St. Louisans love their home-town products and Janssen is no exception. He plays a specific role and with his better skating and durability than heavyweight fighter D.J. King, Janssen has been useful to the team. Also, did we mention that the fans love him?

While his game has gotten better since he arrived here in February 2008, Janssen could be traded. The return would be low and the biggest shake up it would cause would be down I-55 south of 44, where they still need every body they can get to fill sandbags come spring.

Erik Johnson

#6 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-4

Weight: 219

Born: Mar 21, 1988

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Erik Johnson	4	14	18	6	16

Erik Johnson, D: Despite missing all of last year to a golf cart jousting incident (allegedly), the Eeeej leads the team in scoring, changes the way teams have to prepare for the Blues' attack, does a mean Napoleon Dynamite impression, isn't afraid to get down with your girlfriend in your car in Al MacInnis' driveway (allegedly) and is likely going to stage some sweet raid on Oshie's condo at some point to get his Elmo hat back.

How do you spell 'franchise'? Not sure, but it definitely has an E and a J in it. This kid isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Paul Kariya

#9 / Left Wing / St. Louis Blues

Height: 5-10

Weight: 180

Born: Oct 16, 1974

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Paul Kariya	6	5	11	4	12

Paul Kariya, LW: We owe Paul Kariya a bit of an apology. earlier this year we said something to the effect of, "The next time Paul Kariya takes a hit to make a play with be the first." Since that time, Kariya, who must have heard our admonishment through cyberspace, has been offering up his tiny, waif-like body to make plays. And, thankyouverymuch, it has resulted in Kariya's point totals rising, with points in each of the last three games.

Kariya is still on pace for a terrible offensive year, but that isn't the only reason that trading Kariya is a tough task. In fact there are 6 million reasons that other teams don't want to deal for Kariya. That hefty price tag, small offensive output and the final months of a contract owed to a notorious mercenary when it comes to free agency (just ask Anaheim, Colorado and Nashville) combine for a perfect storm of "hell no, we don't have interest in Kariya" among the rest of the NHL teams.

Chris Mason

#50 / Goalie / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 195

Born: Apr 20, 1976

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Chris Mason	19	1129	7	8			43	2.29	557	514	.923	0

Chris Mason, G: Mason is the goalie. He's not winning enough games because he's not getting enough help from the rest of the team. His personal stats are great (eighth in GAA and seventh in save percentage) and that's tough to do on a struggling team.

Trading Mason would happen if only one of two things were happening: 1. Tha Canucks called and said, "How about Luongo for that Mason fella straight up?" or 2. The Blues called a press conference and announced, "Screw this year, we love drafting high."

Jay McClement

#18 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-1

Weight: 201

Born: Mar 02, 1983

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Jay McClement	4	4	8	0	6

Jay McClement, C: Silent Jay, one of the original members of the Blues' post-lockout Kid Line (along with the traded Stempniak), has developed into a legitimate Selke candidate right before our eyes. His even plus/minus is all the more impressive when considering that he sees most of his minutes against other team's top lines. McClement is also locked up for two years after this season to a reasonable contract ($1.45 million per). Plus, his stock photo looks like he has a skelton's grin, which is awesome.

McClement's trade would shock the locker room more than the fans, especially casual fans who too often overlook his quiet, workmanlike contributions to team success. His contract, work ethic and skill set make him a perfect add for an opposing team. His trade wouldn't bring back the intangibles he adds. It could happen, but it would likely be shortsighted.

Andy McDonald

#10 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Height: 5-11

Weight: 183

Born: Aug 25, 1977

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Andy McDonald	6	8	14	-2	2

Andy McDonald, C: McDonald is struggling offensively this year but everyone has seen what he can do with the puck when he starts running hot. Plus, the Blues just locked him up for another three years after this year at an average of $4.7 million a year.

Trading McDonald would be the Blues saying that they made a mistake with a big contract and are having buyers' remorse. Which would put them on the 'sell low' end of the negotiations, the bad end to be on. The trade wouldn't shock fans or the locker room and the return would be less than impressive.

T.J. Oshie

#74 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Height: 5-11

Weight: 170

Born: Dec 23, 1986

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - T.J. Oshie	4	9	13	1	10

T.J. Oshie, C/W: Oshie only seems like he's in a the throes of a sophomore slump because his rookie season took the city by storm. Young Mister Furnace Face scored the NHL.com goal of the year, blew up Rick Nash so badly (twice) that the fans coined the phrase "Oshied", got voted by someone to be his or her mayor in an actual election and had his name chanted by over 19,000 people on multiple occasions last year. By comparison, a second season where he only tallies 50 points would seem like a let down.

Last year, even suggesting that Oshie be traded would be reason enough to go into Salman Rushdie-like hiding for a writer. This year, it would be like suggesting that Anheuser-Busch is better off being owned by a foreign company like Inbev. It's still fighting words in most places, but in others, well, whatever, they just drink Schlafly anyway. Which isn't to say that Oshie's trade wouldn't shock the team and the fans, beacause it certainly would. The problem is that Oshie can score, but his intangibles are worth at least as much as his points, so the return on him wouldn't match what the team would give up.

David Perron

#57 / Left Wing / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 180

Born: May 28, 1988

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - David Perron	9	7	16	-1	14

David Perron, LW: Perron leads the team in goals, works his poutine-loving ass off on every shift (doing a great rookie Oshie impression) and has an early nod for selection for this year's NHL.com goal of the year. Despite what has happened between Perron and the coach in the past, he is newly mature and coming into his own. And he's only 21.

Despite the fact that he's coming into a contract year and will certainly be looking for a huge pay increase this summer, the day a competing general manager picks up his phone to learn that the Blues are calling to offer Perron in a trade is that GM's best day ever. David Perron is untradeable at this point, no matter the return (sort of insanity, which can happen in the NHL) because of his ceiling.

Alex Pietrangelo

#27 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-3

Weight: 206

Born: Jan 18, 1990

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Alex Pietrangelo	1	1	2	-9	6

Alex Pietrangelo, D: There's a rule in hockey that goes something like this: goalies hit their stride and their prime later than any other position. Defensemen hit their stride and their prime earlier than goalies, but still not until later in their careers. Forwards can be thrown into the league earliest at all because creativity, speed and their shot can compensate for other factors.

Pietrangelo isn't playing enough in the NHL for most observers and he's got nothing left to learn in junior, but that hardly makes him prime trade bait. The fourth overall selection from just last year going on the trade block would garner a ton of calls from around the league, but the fact is that the offers would almost always be "you take our busting project for your young defenseman who isn't playing anyway".

Roman Polak

#46 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-1

Weight: 227

Born: Apr 28, 1986

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Roman Polak	2	4	6	6	22

Roman Polak, D: He's 23, he's locked up for this year and next for a little over a million bucks each, plays solid defense, can contribute offensively and is fast enough to rush the puck and get back to protect his own zone. He's quiet and unheralded and he's the Jay McClement of the defense. Plus, his fake Twitter account is awesome. As is farting in teammate's helmets.

The shock value is high, his replacement is fairly easy considering the Pietrangelo, Junland, Rundblad, Cole pipeline and the return on him would likely be comparable, if not exactly earth-shattering.

Alexander Steen

#20 / Left Wing / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-1

Weight: 205

Born: Mar 01, 1984

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Alexander Steen	1	1	2	-1	6

Alexander Steen, LW: Steen has been a staple on the McClement line almost since his arrival in St. Louis and he has also shown flashes of the offense that caused him to be drafted in the first round by Toronto back in 2002. But unlike his trade-mate Colaiacovo, Steen hasn't exactly made himself a more desired commodity around the NHL. he plays an important role for the team, but his role can be filled by plenty of similar players in Peoria who would love the opportunity.

No one nose what value Steen might have around the NHL, but we smell a boring trade if he's the tip of any deal because he's at the end of his contract and has likely reached his beak.

Darryl Sydor

#44 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-1

Weight: 211

Born: May 13, 1972

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Darryl Sydor	0	4	4	6	10

Darryl Sydor, D: Sydor's best days are well behind him. He's lucky that he happens to have a skill set that allows him to be paid premium dollars (a cool million for this season) to act as 'mentor' and not really be expected produce much offensively. Sydor's only value in trade would be at the deadline as a depth/veteran presence guy. As for shock value in trading Sydor at this point, it's unlikely there would be much shake up in the locker room after the initial "I couldn't believe he took Pronger's number in the first place" discussion.

Keith Tkachuk

#7 / Center / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-2

Weight: 232

Born: Mar 28, 1972

G A P +/- PIM

2009 - Keith Tkachuk 5 8 13 -3 22

Keith Tkachuk, LW/C: The days of trading Tkachuk for a big return are probably long gone. If the trade deadline were looming, there might be a ~~sucker~~ general manager or two out there who might still fall for the siren song of "big body, proven goal scorer, veteran presence" for their playoff run, but as for a trade today, there won't be many takers around the NHL.

Tkachuk is on a short, NHL-cheap contract and does have a strong locker room presence... which is exactly why the Blues want him and will be unlikely to trade him. It'd shake up the roster, but the return at this point wouldn't be worth the exchange.

Mike Weaver

#43 / Defenseman / St. Louis Blues

Height: 5-9

Weight: 182

Born: May 02, 1978

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Mike Weaver	0	1	1	5	8

Mike Weaver, D: Small but steady, Weaver doesn't get mentioned much because he is a defensive defenseman who does his job effectively. Not being mentioned much is a compliment for defensive defenseman.

As for trade value, Weaver has virtually none. There'd be little shock value to the team due to his journeyman status and zero shock value to the fans (have you ever seen a Weaver 43 jersey worn by a fan?) and the return would be the definition of infinitesimal.

Brad Winchester

#15 / Left Wing / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-5

Weight: 228

Born: Mar 01, 1981

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Brad Winchester	0	2	2	1	24

Brad Winchester, LW: It's hard to believe that a guy who stands 6'5 tall and weighs nearly 230 pounds could ever be described as invisible, but Winchester has done just that and in the process has proven how a guy who is taken 35th overall in the NHL draft (2000) can muster only 200 NHL games and 36 points in the following nine years.

Yeah, this is about trade value and shake up of the roster, neither of which describe Winchester.

***************************************

So where does that leave the Blues if they are looking to make a trade? Here are our best guesses, by category.

Untradeable Due To Value:

These guys aren't going anywhere because they are too important to the team now and/or in the future.

Erik Johnson. If the trade documents came to the NHL offices, even those numbskulls would void it based on sheer stupidity. Wayne Gretzky got traded, sure, but not when he was 21 and the best player on his team.
Chris Mason. What do you need the second you trade Chris Mason? A top-10 ranked starting netminder. Whoops!
Jay McClement. Much like Mason, if you trade McClement, you suddenly need a guy just like McClement.
T.J. Oshie. Oshie's intangibles outweigh anything the team would get for him unless some other GM was eating peyote and then firing up the Blackberry to offer up some ridiculous package for the kid. The P.R. hit alone would making trading the Teej a huge mistake.
David Perron. The kid will be worth three first round draft picks to some RFA-contract-offering idiot this summer, so if the Blues are willing to lose an emerging talent like Frenchie, they should wait until then to do it.

Untradeable Due To Lack Of Value:

These guys aren't going anywhere because the return is too small.

Eric Brewer. The Robot is too broken and expensive to warrant interest from another team.
Paul Kariya. It isn't 1996 anymore. Kariya costs too much, is too close to unrestricted free agency and is producing far too few points to be of any interest to any but the drunkest of general managers.
Andy McDonald. We have no doubt that McDonald will be valuable again one day, but right now he too closely resembles the guy who was easily required for a virtually worthless Doug Weight two seasons ago.

Untradeable Due To Role:

Unless these guys are a problem in the locker room, and there's no reason to think they are, no possible advantage can be gained from trading them.

Ty Conklin. This guy gets traded and has to immediately be replaced by a guy who plays like him, gets paid like him and has the same demeanor as him.
Cam Janssen. Add in the hometown bump you get for having this guy in the lineup, the team would have to get something special to let go of the P.R. advantage Janssen brings. No GM in the league is about to overpay for Janssen.

Could Be Traded For Low Impact:

These guys could get traded, but the return will be small and the shock to the team won't likely be enough to cause significant change.

B.J. Crombeen. Swapping a role player for a mid-to-late pick or another role player isn't going to have the impact the team is looking to get. Plus, why ruin a whole season of blow job jokes if you don't have to?
Alex Steen. The worst thing that can happen to a player is to get injured and then have someone step into your role and make everyone forget you were gone. Steen has played 11 games this year. Seems high, doesn't it?
Darryl Sydor. "Oh no! They traded a 37-year-old depth defenseman they brought in for one year and would have been gone in six months anyway! I guess they are serious; anyone can be traded!"
Mike Weaver. Seriously, how many people really know Mike Weaver is on the team right now anyway? Impact of trading him: all of his immediate family have to update their mailing address for him. As if anyone mails anything anymore.
Brad Winchester: "So we have an offer for 228 pounds worth of hockey pucks. We lose maybe one more fight but we do save about $200 in souvenir costs."

Are You Kidding Me? Seriously. Are You Kidding Me?:

You want shock value? You want some return on your exchange? These are the guys the management and staff are going to argue about trading and the guys who, if traded, would make you call your friends liars when they told you about the trade.

David Backes. Sure, he's struggling. Sure he gets paid a lot for a guy his age. Sure it's been a long time since anyone here has vehemently compared him to Chuck Norris. But general managers in the NHL aren't as easily freaked out by slow starts as fans are. If Backes were made available, the list of teams with nice offers in hand would be long. Trading Backes shakes up the team, nets a good return and lets everyone know that no one is safe. The downside is that he almost certainly becomes a monster and regularly returns to haunt his former team.
Brad Boyes. Most fantasy hockey guys will tell you that the second you trade a great player you immediatley make yourself believe he was never on your team. Boyes can be streaky and frustrating and may always leave you wanting more, but when he's on your team he's a guy that can change a game. Trading him likely brings a nice return, scares the other players into focus and makes all of us go fantasy GM and pretend he never played here, because he's got at least a couple more great scoring seasons ahead of him.
Patrik Berglund. In five years we'll know what we had in Patrik Berglund. He's no Peter Forsberg, but is he going to become the shifty Swedish version of Pavel Datsyuk? Or is he on the fast track to becoming our next Jim Campbell? If he gets traded and blossoms into the slick playmaker with a nasty power play one-timer that we saw in glimpses next year, we'll be tasting our own vomit for the next 10-15 years. If he becomes the next great suburban Mite coach, we'll be applauding his trade like we used to talk about the Christer Olsson for Pavol Demitra deal.
Alex Pietrangelo. Classic giving up too early trade. The kid is 19-years-old and if not for a bout of mono in his draft year could have been drafted before Drew Doughty and Zach Begosian. If he goes away the Blues are counting on Jonas Junland or David Rundblad, both high-risk, power play specialist type of players, to round out their game and fill his spot as they swap him for a slumping scorer of comparable value like Columbus' Nikita Filatov.

On The Block:

These are the guys whose age, reputation, contracts and shake up value to the current roster make them the most likely players to become 'former Blues' should the team decide to go that way.

Carlo Colaiacovo. The guy is young and stepping into his game, but the crunch on the blueline, his contract status and injury history makes him a prime candidate to get dangled out there. His ceiling is probably ahead of him, but he's expendable from a P.R. standpoint, a talent standpoint and in terms of return.
Barret Jackman. This would be even more shocking than the trade of Stempniak last year, but his contract and the depth of the Blues' defensive pipeline makes this a 'head' move more than a 'heart' move. The return would likely be good, too, as Jackman's reputation around the league is excellent.
Roman Polak. How different is Roman Polak today from Dennis Wideman back when he was traded for Brad Boyes? When considering the current and future depth on the blueline, if the Blues could trade Polak today for another streaky sniper do you think they'd do it? Yeah, us too.
Keith Tkachuk. He's the vet with the good story because his family lives here and everyone sees him around town, but he's been rumored to be in the middle of more than one split locker room in his time as a pro. Sending Tkachuk away shocks the Blues' system, forces a younger guy to step up and likely results in a decent return. Short of a no-trade clause we don't know about, it could happen.

******************************

Trade rumors are always a risky proposition and the saying goes that when a team is struggling it's easier to change out one guy (the coach) than a whole team, the Blues have proved in the past that they're willing to change out one player to shake up the others.

Will this year be any different?

Game 26 Preview: The Jackets take on the Blues

Mike MacLean — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:15:00 -0000

by Paul Vernon - AP

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This is a tale of two teams going in seperate directions. The Jackets are in a five-game tailspin, and the Blues have earned points in five of their last six games, including four wins in that span. The Blues have absolutely had their way with the Jackets in recent times, so this will be a tough one. It's a battle of the Masons in net, and the only lineup adjustment from last game is the insertion of Kris Russell into the lineup for Methot.

What the Jackets need to do tonight is match the physicality of the Blues, and Mason needs to continue to get better. The killer instinct has to be there for the entire game, this season has had many instances where Columbus has sat on leads playing the "prevent defence" and it has bit them in the ass.

I'd personally like to see Nasher level T.J. Oshie, not because I don't like the guy, but because Oshie showed last year that he is one of the few guys that can knock Nasher down. Rick's ability to drag defenders on his back is one of his specialties, but Oshie levelled the captain on a few different occassions. I'm sure Nash wants to show the kid that he won't be pushed around.

Fearless Prediction: Nash levels Oshie, Jackts stop the losing streak.

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: St. Louis Game Time

Game Page: Blues vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TSN Preview: Blues vs Blue Jackets Preview

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Can the Blue Jackets stand up to the Blues physically? Last season, St. Louis ran roughshod over the Jackets, winning five of the six games. The Blue Jackets are 2-9-1 vs. the Blues since Nov. 4, 2007, including three straight losses. The Blues are 4-1-1 in their last six games, including a 4-3 shootout loss vs. Detroit on Saturday.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Raffi Torres	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Kristian Huselius	Derick Brassard	R.J. Umberger
Jason Chimera	Samuel Pahlsson	Jakub Voracek
Michael Blunden	Derek MacKenzie	Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin	Anton Stralman
Rostislav Klesla	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Mike Commodore

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Kris Russell, Alexandre Picard

INJURED: Fredrik Modin, Andrew Murray, Derek Dorsett

St. Louis Blues

David Perron	Andy MacDonald	Brad Boyes
Paul Kariya	David Backes	T.J. Oshie
Patrik Berglund	Jay McClement	B.J. Crombeen
Alexander Steen	Keith Tkachuk	Cam Janssen

Carlo Colaiacovo	Erik Johnson
Roman Polak	Barret Jackman
Eric Brewer	Mike Weaver

Chris Mason

Ty Conklin

Dallas Stars Fall to St. Louis Blues in Shootout 4-3

Brandon Worley — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:52:25 -0000

More photos » by Brandon Wade - AP

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It had been eight games since the Stars had lost in a shootout, and despite a spirited comeback effort in the third period they are now 1-for-6 in the skills competition after falling 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues.

Brenden Morrow scored his first goal in eight games, when he deflected a Mike Modano deflection past Ty Conklin with 26 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at three and send the contest to overtime. The Stars had gone up 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period only to have the Blues tie the game each time, before going ahead 3-2 in the third period off of a T.J. Oshie goal. Stephane Robidas had a power play goal to open the scoring and Toby Petersen blasted a slapshot past Conklin in transition, his third of the season.

It's tough to really gauge the Stars in this game, as the outcome was a result of both a hard working St. Louis team and some extremely poor execution in the defensive zone. The Stars once again showed their tenacity and resolve when their backs are against the wall, outshooting the Blues 9-1 after going down 3-2 in third period before tying it up in the final minute. At the same time, this was yet another game where the Stars came out and played as the better team only to allow the opposition to climb back into the game.

It was a hard fought affair and once again the Stars sought to exert physical dominance, outhitting the Blues 43-23 led by ten hits apiece by Steve Ott and Stephane Robidas. While the ramped up play was fun to watch, it's still discouraging to see the Stars continue to make the same mistakes around their own net while not taking advantage of early chances on offense. I'll get into this more below, but it also seemed that the Stars were so intent on playing this ramped up style of playing that almost forgot the basics of the system they were playing in. There were fundamental breakdowns throughout the game after a fast start, and the Stars were on their heels for most of the night

Overall, it's good for the Stars to at least pull a point out of the game. It could have been worse and while there were some good things to take away, once again the Stars must find a way to maintain consistency not only night to night, but within the confines of the game itself. The Stars will now travel back to Phoenix, to take on the Coyotes on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. CST.

More thoughts after the jump.

I wanted to talk a bit about the physicality aspect of the Dallas Stars before we got into some specifics from the Blues game. I've gone on record a few times as saying that there are times when the Stars need to be more physical and to play with an attitude; this sentiment usually comes after a disappointing and lackluster effort against a sub-par opponent. The past few games the Stars have ramped up their physicality, led by Brenden Morrow and of course Steve Ott. I must point out that there is a fine line to walk between being aggressive and assertive along the boards and in the neutral zone and being effective at it, and being reckless in the process. The Stars played sloppy hockey tonight at times and overall the game could be classified as a bit 'ugly'. Despite some great offensive chances for both teams (that led to a high level of excitement), the Stars failed to maintain that pressure they established in the opening minutes. This led to the Blues gaining momentum and never allowing the Stars as much a space as they enjoyed to start the game. Being a physically dominant team is not built to match the Stars' style. While they do need to have the presence to establish a tough forecheck and not allow much space in front of the net, you cannot sacrifice positioning for a big hit.
As for the Steve Ott fight with Eric Brewer: You knew something was going to happen and it wasn't going to come unprovoked. Ott techinically did nothing wrong as he swiped at the puck that was sitting between Conklin's pads, yet Brewer punished Ott with a brutal cross check to the back of the neck. Ott obviously took exception and the fight was on. While Brewer certainly got the best of Ott during the fight, it was good to see Ott stand up for himself there and really throw the punches. While normally Ott would just take the cross check and accept the penalty that would be awarded, it was apparent he was not pleased with the treatment of his back in front of the crease.
Can we all just acknowledge the greatness of Brad Richards and how valuable he is to the Stars? He didn't have his best game and struggled defensively at times, but once again Richards had a hand in multiple goals for the Stars. While he didn't have his best overall game, he turned it on in the final minutes of the game and was instrumental in the pressure the Stars put on in order to tie the game at the end.
I actually don't have a problem with Richards, Ribeiro and Robidas on the shootout. At some point, however, shouldn't we give Jamie Benn a shot?
While I commend Karlis Skrastins for his toughness, it seemed at times that he just wasn't as mobile as he needs to be. His first pushoff was always awkward and slow and several times he was unable to actively get to a puck around the net and was constantly chasing. A pass across the crease went right through him, leading directly to an easy goal. He was also unable to track down David Backes as he got to a juicy rebound in front of Turco.
The Dallas Stars were horrible on faceoffs yet again, winning just 38%. Modano struggled, Ribeiro was bad and when the Blues were gaining momentum the Stars were constantly unable to gain control of the puck off the faceoff. At this point, this is just going to be something we have to live with because it's obvious that none of the centers on this team are good in the circle.
Officially, the Stars had 18 giveaways compared to just 9 for the Blues.
Here are some notes from the Dallas Stars on the game:

Stats and Stuff:
• Dallas has earned at least a point in four of the last five games (3-1-1 record) and 12 of the last 16 games (8-4-4).
• The Stars scored a power play goal for the third consecutive game. They have scored five power play goals in their last three games.
• Stephane Robidas scored his fourth power play goal of the season. He came into the game ranked tied for second among defensemen in power play goals. Robidas now has seven points in his last seven games.
• Brad Richards picked up two assists tonight, giving him eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) over the last three games. He picked up his 12th power play assist of the season in the first period. Richards came into the game ranked third in the league in power play assists and tied for fourth in overall assists and points.
• Tom Wandell's first period assist gives him three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in his last three games.
• Brenden Morrow's goal gives him points in each of the last two games (1 goal, 1 assist).
• Mike Modano's two assists give him points in five of the last seven games (3 goals, 4 assists).
• Dallas drops to 1-5 on the season in shootout games, and 33-19 all-time.
• THREE STARS OF THE GAME: 1) David Backes, 2) T.J. Oshie, 3) Brad Richards