SB Nation - Roman Polak

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:

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?

Wednesday Links: Making this site not a blog one link at a time edition

averagejoe — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:00:33 -0000

Happy Wednesday to all. Let's do some links.

Blues news

The Blues don't want to have to come back back like they did last year. OK, so then why have they shit the bed so much during the first 25 games? [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
So you know that Tomas Vokoun/Keith Ballard incident ... turns out two Blues know the feeling. John Davidson was the inflicted ... [Canadian Press]
... And Al MacInnis was the angry player. [StarTribune.com]
Roman Polak, Mike Weaver and Darryl Sydor are among the 25 best defensive-defencemen. [From The Rink]

Hockey news

Tuesday's results. [Yahoo! Sports]
Four games on Tuesday, four games on Wednesday. [Yahoo! Sports]
NHL refs are homers. [Behind the Net]
The fellas at PPP sure are happy about the Leafs beating the Canadiens. [Pension Plan Puppets]
Maple Leafs' goaltender Jonas Gustavsson a.k.a. the Monster, is in the hospital after his heart was acting up. Yikes. [TSN]
From Chris Gift: Maple Leaf Gardens is making a comeback. [TSN]
Joel Quenneville gets coaching win No. 500. [Associated Press]
Vokoun is day-to-day. [Litter Box Cats]
Attendance is falling in Nashville. [On the Forecheck]
Marc Savard just got paid. [TSN]
In case you missed it, Alex Ovechkin has been suspended. [TSN]
Gary Bettman won't talk about the 2014 Olympic games. [ESPN]
The Canadiens have been sold. [ESPN]
Ouch: Rostislav Kelsa will be on the shelf with a torn groin. [TSN]

Other links

George Costanza is a wise man. [Sloshspot]
These signs don't fuck around. [Oddly Specific]
Get your beer knowledge on. [The Oatmeal]

Video

Carnie sent this in a few days ago and uhhh ... I forgot about it. Enjoy Poker Faces.

gametimelinks(at)gmail.com. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to bed.

The NHL's top defensive defencemen

James Mirtle — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:56:24 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Browse more photos »

As with the top defensive forwards list, this is the same Rod Langway Award business I've been putting out for a couple years now. It ranks players defensively based on (a) quality of competition at even strength, (b) goals against per minute played at even strength and (c) goals against per minute played on the penalty kill.

Players also have to have played at least 15 games and fill a significant role on their team's shorthanded unit. Credit, as always, to Behind The Net for the data.

Here are the top 25 a little past the quarter-way mark:

	NAME	TEAM	GP	QCMP	EVGA/60	SHGA/60
1	CHRIS PRONGER	PHI	24	0.12	1.38	4.41
2	DUNCAN KEITH	CHI	25	0.14	1.59	4.12
3	JAY BOUWMEESTER	CGY	26	0.08	1.39	4.51
4	ROMAN POLAK	STL	24	0.12	1.71	5.06
5	PAVEL KUBINA	ATL	23	0.06	1.71	3.38
6	MIKE MOTTAU	N.J	23	0.09	1.69	5.00
7	COLIN WHITE	N.J	24	0.11	2.06	4.63
8	JEFF SCHULTZ	WSH	20	0.09	1.38	6.08
9	NICK LIDSTROM	DET	26	0.08	2.15	3.83
10	MIKE WEAVER	STL	23	0.03	1.12	4.38
11	BRENT SEABROOK	CHI	23	0.17	1.50	6.84
12	M-E VLASIC	S.J	28	0.13	2.51	3.01
13	ROB BLAKE	S.J	17	0.18	2.58	3.85
14	ED JOVANOVSKI	PHX	18	0.08	2.35	1.24
15	MILAN JURCINA	WSH	20	0.16	2.26	5.60
16	NIKLAS HJALMARSSON	CHI	25	0.04	1.56	5.02
17	ANDY SUTTON	NYI	26	0.08	1.60	6.26
18	ZBYNEK MICHALEK	PHX	17	0.07	1.92	5.53
19	ZDENO CHARA	BOS	26	0.23	2.65	4.97
20	RADEK MARTINEK	NYI	16	0.10	1.81	6.47
21	DARRYL SYDOR	STL	18	0.05	1.19	6.75
22	CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF	VAN	26	-0.06	1.31	3.52
23	GREG ZANON	MIN	24	0.06	1.81	6.31
24	JOSH GORGES	MTL	26	-0.05	1.39	3.91
25	WILLIE MITCHELL	VAN	26	0.15	1.85	7.85

Pronger, Keith, Bouwmeester — sure, those are all names synonymous with tough defence. But how about Mike Weaver? Or Pavel Kubina?

It's early, but all of these players are playing significant defensive roles on their teams. Some benefit from having a great goaltender behind them, but there are a lot of blueliners here from weak teams, too.

Someone like Weaver, who has a really low profile, is considered by his coach a pretty big part of shutting down top opposition:

"I'd say Weaver is one of our best puck-movers," Murray said. "He's not a finisher, but in terms of moving the puck out of our zone and putting it in the hands of our forwards, he's pretty good. He's not a guy that contributes on the offensive side. But what is an amazing stat, he's plus-5. And for quite a while there, he and Roman (Polak) were playing the top line on every team. He's a plus-5."

Those are the sorts of guys I'm trying to highlight here, and for the most part, I think this works — even if there are some surprises. The real test is which guys can maintain play like this all season.

Game 26 Preview: The Jackets take on the Blues

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

by Paul Vernon - AP

View full size photo »

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

Blues Release Pent-Up Goals On Canucks

Brad Lee — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:51:27 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

They throw the hats! And look, a bra! (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

Browse more photos »

When it rains, it pours. Goals. Lots and lots of goals.

In their 6-1 win Tuesday night, the Blues scored four goals in the first period. That's as many goals as they scored in their last five games...COMBINED. Chalk this up as only the second win in the Drinkscotch Center this season. Oh, and David Perron had a hat trick. Hope you left the game topless, people.

Couple thoughts.

- It kind of figures that such a big, hopefully momentum-changing win happens when the first Blues game of the year isn't on local television.

- Thankfully Andrew Raycroft realized he's Andrew Raycroft. He had a sub-2.00 GAA before Thursday night. Not anymore. And then the Canucks brought out the recuperating Roberto Luongo. Since he can't score, that didn't do the trick, however I'm sure Vancouver was happy to avoid a 10-1 game.

- Perron, Andy McDonald and Brad Boyes combined for 10 points in the game. It would be nice if this outburst slingshots Boyes specifically. That dude is streaky. Hope this is the start of one.

- B.J. Crombeen and Cam Janssen both got into two fights in the game. Roman Polak got a 10-minute major. Maybe some of that feisty behavior rubbed off on the entire team. On Team 1380 last week, Janssen said he was frustrated against Phoenix last Thursday when he wasn't allowed to go when he wanted to and didn't understand the coaching staff's decisions. Doubt he'll be saying that now.

- David Perron just might be a star after all. I know we go back and forth on Perron, seemingly after every game. He's a kid. He's still getting stronger and learning. The potential is still there and oozing out all over the place. Like goals.

- This doesn't make up for last season's playoff sweep, but I'm sure there were a lot of smiles in the dressing room and hopefully a more relaxed atmosphere when the Blues go back at it Thursday night.

Now, it's video time. We serve you a Happy Meal, a frog and NAMBLA.

Thanks for your support of St. Louis Game Time. On a night when most fans can't actually see the game unless they had a ticket, we had more than 1,200 comments in the GDT. We thank you and hope you come back soon.

Blues Outworked, Outskated. I Blame Sweden.

gallagher — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:26:41 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

Not even T.J. Oshie could get going tonight against the Thrashers.

Browse more photos »

Today, as with most home games due to work outside the building selling our little game-day paper, I arrived late. I got into my seat somewhere around the 10 minute mark, which also happened to coincide with the Tharshers second goal, giving the away guys a 2-1 lead. I told the folks who sit around me that I'd gotten in just in time to see two goals. They, being good hockey fans, told me to go back outside and stand in the rain.

"I promise," I said, "if we're down by one in the third period, I'll go stand outside in the rain."

So, at the 17:16 mark of the third, when Roman Polak scored to pull the Blues to within one goal (and presumably to return to the bench to fart in someone's helmet), I quickly gathered my things, told everyone I would hold up my end of the bargain and left to go stand out in front of the building in the rain. Alas, it was all for naught, as the Blues failed to score with the goalie pulled, but that isn't my fault; I did my part.

And yes, I believe in that kind of stuff and yes, that all really happened.

I don't want to take anything away from the Atlanta Thrashers tonight. They are a much-improved team compared to what little of them I have seen in the past. They skate hard, they finish their checks, they go to the net and they protect their own well. Beyond that, Ilya Kovalchuk, who I admittedly have not watched much, is ridiculously talented. He deserved goal number 300 of his career tonight (though goal 301 was one that Al Iafrate would think is "for pussies"). Fans of that team have plenty to be excited about, probably more so than any other year in their existence.

But tonight's loss was less about the Thrashers and more about the Blues. What we saw tonight was exactly what I was chicken-littleing about before the team left for Sweden. They looked slow and listless. They didn't put an actual hard bodycheck on anyone until late in the third period. Their passes were sloppy, as were their set plays. Have you ever seen a pro team coming through the neutral zone four-on-two and then watched as the winger throws a rink-wide pass at the blueline? I don't know if dumbfounding is a word, but that particular play was dumbfounding.

To me, this looked exactly like a tired hockey club. I'm sure we'll hear lots of spin tomorrow about how this had nothing to do with the overseas trip, but I'd love to hear some candid answers from the players as to whether or not they feel tired still.

Tonight before the game I was talking with some other fans outside and the topic of how much different this year is compared to the lean years, like 2005, right after the lockout. That was one bad Blues team, we all agreed. They were slow and untalented. Thank your gods that's over we all agreed.

Not so fast, wiseasses.

For those of you who were among the masses actively steering clear of the Blues in 2005, you just got a little taste of it. Nasty, eh?

The question now remains as to which team shows up Saturday when the Kings arrive. The Kings are a young, fast-skating and talented team. If a seemingly jet-lagged Blues team like we saw tonight shows up, they will get slaughtered by the Kings. If the team we all saw skating and playing hard in Sweden shows up, we've got an entertaining game on our hands.

Thursday links: The Darkness kicks ass, I don't care what you say edition

averagejoe — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:00:32 -0000

Looks like a lot of you don't like The Darkness. I'm sorry that you can't recognize awesomeness, I really am. Let's get to the links.

Blues news

If you can get past Derek Armstrong staring a hole through you ... you can read an interesting piece about the newest Blue -- a Blue I'm convinced makes the big club and plays significant minutes. [Blues]
A season preview of the 'Note. [Sporting News]
Carlo Colaiacovo is happy and, most importantly, healthy. He's going to have a big season for the Blues. So big, that the team trades one of its young puck-moving d-men in midseason for a scoring threat. My fearless prediction for the season. [Stltoday.com]
When David Backes talks, you listen. By the way, did anyone else notice Backes wore an 'A' in the preseason opener? [Sporting News]
Large Ben Bishop, who is a beast in NHL 09 based on his large frame, isn't in the doghouse with the Blues. [Stltoday.com]
JR chat. Go. [Stltoday.com]

Hockey news

Pre-season action from last night. [Yahoo!]
And here's a look at the not-real games going down tonight. [Yahoo!]
Manny Legace is happy in Atlanta. No more emo Manny? I'll believe it when I see his first post-loss post-game interview. [Sporting News]
Some former players are trying to become John Davidson. [Sporting News]
Patrik Elias is going to be out some time with a groin issue. Adjust your fantasy lineups accordingly. [TSN]
Theoren Fleury is really going to play in an NHL. Good luck? [TSN]
Interesting story about fake Twitter accounts. The Capitals are encouraging all players to get real accounts, so people won't be confused by fake ones. Roman Polak doesn't understand that fuss. [WaPo]
Which rookies will make an impact this season? Here's a guess at 10. [Puck Daddy]
Nikolai Zherdev talks about leaving the NHL for the KHL. [Puck Daddy]

Other links

This is a really cool blog about letters that deserve more attention. [Letters of Note]
Some good tips for first dates. [Maxim]
Some really bad food names. [Stupid Idiots]
Pedo Bear makes me laugh. [Holy Taco]
From some guy named "Sean Gallagher." Enjoy "Awkward Facebook likes. [CollegeHumor]

Video

The boss man Mr. Gallagher sent along a bunch of videos. This one made me laugh. From Senor Gallagher: "This has no relevance to the site, but it makes me laugh every time. plus a friend once pointed out that this is the essential difference between boys and girls - girls could never peer pressure a friend into doing this. With boys, it's inevitable."

Trampoline Claims Latest Victim - Watch more Funny Videos

gametimelinks(at)gmail.com

Wasting Time Just Became A Problem.

gallagher — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:30:15 -0000

I'm one of those hockey fans who came to the game late. Without re-hashing my whole history (which you can find elsewhere on this site, I'm sure), due to a serious oversight by my parents, I was not properly introduced to the game of hockey until I was in my early 20's. That particular moment in time also happened to be a portion of history known as "before the internet was useful." Which, obviously, seriously hampered an out-of-towner's ability to grow his knowledge of the game and its players.

Being in Columbia, Mo at the time, I had no great way to learn more about the Blues, their players, how the game was played and what other teams and players were good. Boxscores from the paper the day after the game were not enough. So I did what hundreds of thousands (or maybe just hundreds or thousands) of us did: I turned to video games to teach me about hockey and the NHL. Not only was it a great way to learn more about the game, but it was an even better way to get ready to go out on a Friday night.

No one I knew would have worn that Gretzky jersey to go out, but I did know guys who rolled their jeans like that....

I switched from playing whatever version of football we were playing to the NHL game that was available. Those brain cells are long since gone now, but I'd have to guess that it was whatever game was available in the EA family at the time. (I seem to remember a wrap-around goal move that was fairly effective, though.) Over the course of the next couple years I used video games to help me learn which teams were good (Pittsburgh and Chicago always seemed strong), which were not (Oh, Ottawa, what a mess) and the fact that once you got good at the game, it was fairly easy to make the Blues a juggernaut that could not be challenged by anyone.

Over the subsequent years I learned more and more about the NHL and the Blues through a subscription to The Hockey News (a magazine that nearly made me shit when I first stumbled onto it in the high desert of California, but now seems hopelessly behind when it comes to spreading actual hockey news), a subscription to the Center Ice package when I lived in Cali and in Virginia, and, of course, the emergence of the internet.

But always there was the video game.

The NHL game was the only one I bought when I got my first Sega Genesis and it has long been the first game I buy when I upgrade my gaming system as it was when I got the Playstation and the Playstation 2. However, I did not grab a copy of the current game when I bought my XBox 360.

Why didn't I get it for the XBox, you ask? Why did I give up on the video game NHL? It's a simple answer, really.

I simply knew myself too well, and I knew that I just don't have the time any more.

I'd bought virtually every year's version of the EA Sports game (sorry NHL 2K series, but I got yours one time and the shit was so buggy I nearly went on a rampage) from about 1996 until 2005. Then, after the lockout, I got the crazy idea to start a game-day hockey paper based on a recently deceased game-day hockey paper known as the Game Night Revue. Whatever spare time I had during the hockey season quickly went the way of Katie Wolfmeyer's career prospects as a criminal mastermind.

Buying a NHL video game during the actual NHL season would be way too tempting for me. Even when the Blues aren't playing or happen to be out of town for a couple days, the Game Time machine constantly needs oil. If I'm spending a couple hours leading the Blues to yet another virtual Stanley Cup then the machine isn't gonna get its oil and it'll start getting squeaky and rusty. Then, by the time we get to the offseason, NHL Oh-Last Season just isn't as compelling of a purchase. Hell, the NHL 09 roster didn't even have T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund on it. Plus, Roman Polak is wearing Barclay Plager's No. 8. And that just is not right.

Why would I want to play that all summer?

And then Brad Lee decided that it'd be a great idea to bring his copy of NHL 09 over to the Game Time Headquarters for the staff get together we had just a few weeks ago. What a great idea, I thought. A bunch of hockey nerds hanging around, no games to watch... sure, bring the game and maybe people will pick up the sticks and play some games. Unfortunately, that's just what happened. And sometimes when a guy who is a pseudo hockey cartoonist for a game day hockey paper doesn't have the sense to maybe take it easy on a certain 8-year-old son of a game day hockey paper publisher and proceeds to beat the virtual tar out of him in game after game, that can lead to places that no one anticipated.

Brad Lee, aforementioned owner of said game, decided that it'd be a good idea to let the Son of GT borrow the game for a few days. And while, yes, that was a good idea because 1. Son of GT was more mature about his virtual NHL beatings at the hands of an adult than the adult was and 2. Brad Lee is a good dude who knows that a kid would really appreciate that.

However, Brad followed that up by completely screwing me over. He did so with one innocuous email. All it said was, "You should check out the Be A Pro mode. You start off in the minors and work your way up."

Until that moment I had done a pretty good job of resisting NHL 09. I played a couple games solo and I had played a couple games against the Son of GT (and, unlike a certain 'cartoonist' I didn't select the Pittsburgh fucking Penguins after he selected the Blues). The game was as fun as I'd remembered and had improved some since I'd last played, but overall it was resistible. I could actually envision having a copy in the house and not worry about playing games when I should be working on GT stuff.

Until that email. Until the Be A Pro mode entered my life. Until Be A Pro started to devour my spare time. Now I'm worried.

Seriously, I need this thing out of my house. Before the season starts. For real. I find myself thinking about the crappy game my player had in the last one before I turned off the system the night before. Or actually, before I turned it off earlier this morning.

For those who don't know what it is, Be A Pro mode allows you to make your own hockey player and determine everything about him. You name him (mine is named Zack De La Rocha). You define his role (power forward). You pick his look (pretty close to the namesake), his gear (Warrior stick, Easton skates, Eagle gloves, all much like someone I know uses during his own rec league games) and his number. Then you pick his pro team (Blues) and he is assigned to that team's minor league affiliate.

When you play Be A Pro, you watch from the bench when your player is off the ice and you control him when he's taking his shift. If you play well, you move up onto better lines on the team and work towards a promotion to the NHL.

As I mentioned, it has become a problem.

I've been able to avoid the NHL Oh-Time Sucker for years now. Now, thanks to Brad, not only am I addicted to last year's version, but I'm also finding myself noticing every electronics store and game shop in town. As many of you surely know by now, NHL 10 was released yesterday. I've seen the commercials. I've seen the demos. I've seen the list of improvements. And I know it's just a matter of time before I'm holding a copy in my hands in the XBox aisle of the store, turning it over and over in my hands.

Sixty bucks isn't that much when you consider how much fun you get out of it. I could probably even justify putting it on the GT credit card.

You know, once the season starts, you'll be able to leave it alone. You'll have too much to do. It'll be a road-trip kind of thing.

I mean, really, you're getting it as a present for your kid. He's been doing really well in school and all. I think.

Holy shit. It has a Be A GM mode now. Fuuuuuuuck.

Seriously. You could probably hide it from yourself when the Blues are in town. Or have the kid hide it.... Nah, that's crazy. I'll hide it from myself. That'll totally work.

And I'm going to have a problem on my hands.

Damn you, EA Sports! Damn you, Brad Lee! Damn you, Be A Pro mode!

But, you know, now that this article is done... I do have a few minutes of free time... and young Mr. De La Rocha could use a big game against that lame-o Blue Jackets squad....