SB Nation User Blog: The Goalie Guy

Something has to change...

The Goalie Guy — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:33:52 -0000

The Blues aren't playing mean. They aren't playing smart. And they do this at home, which is the one place where it should be easier to do both. I'm not on the "Fire Murray" bandwagon; I mean,he was a finalist for the Jack Adams award LAST YEAR. With virtually the same roster. But we're not playing like we did the second half of last year. Did the Canucks somehow manage to expose how to beat the Blues? I don't think so. The Blues gave them no quarter in the series; Luongo was the biggest difference. So how does the organization fix what's going on here? I think, unfortunately, the answer is to fire Andy Murray, and the main reason is that the old saying is true: it's easier to fire one person than it is to fire 20. The other is that if you were going to make a trade, who *could* you trade from this major league roster and reasonably expect a team-revitalizing difference maker in return? It's a short list: Perron, Oshie, Johnson, Berglund, Backes, Polak, McClement. Prospects aren't going to cut it; teams with bare cupboadrs have already begun to stock them through the draft, and they want players who can help NOW. Which is what we are looking for, too. Trading a disappointing underachiever for a disappointing underachiever is treading water for the franchise.

(Yes, I left Orange Jello off the list - he's not NHL-ready yet. Not because he doesn't have the skills, but he's not big enough to survive the pounding every night, especially on a team with physically challenged defensemen. Unfortunately, there's nothing left for him to learn in juniors.)

I also have a list of things that aren't his fault:

Opposing players stand around our net and in our crease without getting moved out or tied up.

Our forwards regularly get too close to the net to get those juicy rebounds.

Brad Boyes consistently makes bad shoot/pass decisions on the ice.

Players don't realize that they need to make themselves available for the pass when Perron goes into the corners/behind the net.

Erik Johnson thinks the only way to get out of the zone to is to skate/stick handle, or try the homerun pass.

Barret Jackman thinks he's Erik Johnson, and tries the same things.

Brad Winchester is invisible this year.

Paul Kariya is tiny and soft.

Andy McDonald is tiny and tough.

Cam Janssen can't be on the ice without being a defensive and offensive liability.

Keith Tkachuk is willing, but old.

That the defense corps is undersized except for Polak and EJ - who is making second year defensemen mistakes.

We can't put the puck on net without any regularity.

Murray is not responsible for any of that. But this team is not performing to the level anybody expected, including him. Have the players tuned him out? I don't think so. I know what it looks like when a team quits on the coach (Keenan) and this isn't it. If you're ownership, what do YOU do?

Poll

What record do the Blues need on their upcoming trip to save The Green Goblin's job?

7 or 8 points - anything less proves that he's lost the team.

0 votes

6 points - Give him some margin of error.

4 votes

4 points - It's the dreaded western canada swing.

2 votes

Doesn't matter - the boss won't dump him til after the holidays.

9 votes

Doesn't matter - Ownership has the patience of Job.

4 votes

19 votes | Poll has closed

It was "Star Wars" Night at the Scottie. More like "The Empire Strikes Back."

The Goalie Guy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:33:44 -0000

It was a gigantic joke. Mason got left hanging out to dry more than my great-grandmother's laundry. Larue was his usual, "No loose body part, no foul" refereeing, while the other striped idiot continued his one-man campaign against the Blues by swallowing his whistle in the Blues offensive zone, while looking for ANYTHING he could call against the blues. (Check his stats.)

But, in the theme of the night, here's one for you:

Why are Imperial Storm Troopers like St. Louis Blues hockey players?

They both shoot a lot and can't hit a damn thing.

Well THAT sucked....

The Goalie Guy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:27:11 -0000

via superchargedcamira.files.wordpress.com

OK, the refereeing sucked. Anytime you don't allow someone to defend themselves against an intent to injure, it's BOGUS. Ott... dead man! Barch... he's a dead man! Fistric... dead! Unfortunately, the Blues designated hitter is marked as a goon, and so he is treated like one by the refs, while a turd like Ott is free to hit very late and hit low without retribution. We need an Ott-type player who can get away with shit. Winchester... Beej...?

Still all that aside, except for the first ten minutes, we weren't in this game. This team reacts too much, we haven't initiated. It's time to name names:

Winchester, Crombeen and Backes need to start attacking people in the corners of the offensive zone.

Paul Kariya hasn't done jack shit. He looks like he's forgotten how to play.

Polak's a big guy. When opposing forwards go into the corner, he needs to physically separate them from the puck.

Brad Boyes, you need to watch tape of Mike Bossy and Brett Hull until you get the fucking idea of a goal scorer. Repeat after me: "I will drop the puck to another forward and then get into shooting position instead of trying to drive to the net. I am a trigger man. My job is to shoot first, ask questions later."

Power play unit 1: MOVE THE GODDAMN PUCK AROUND THE PERIMETER AND MAKE THEM CHASE YOU SO YOU CAN GET THEM OUT OF THE BOX! Everybody in the NHL knows that your favorite play is that diagonal across the box to the top of the circle for a one-timer. Ya think they don't practice breaking that up?

Patrik Berglund: DO something in the offensive zone dammit! Don't just skate around cluelessly playing whack-a-mole with the puck.

Feel free to pile on. Anybody else bug you with their lack of play so far this year?

Oh, the one bright light from tonight is Petro. I was impressed with his defensive positioning (except on the Stars third goal), his assertiveness and puck sense, and I give him high marks for defending his teammate Coliaccovo after that late low bridge, if not much sense, going after the bigger Ott. We need to see more of him.

Kariya Out for Season?

The Goalie Guy — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 18:20:11 -0000

And does it really matter at this point, in this season? The Six Million Dollar Disappointment has disappeared at times over the past season-and-a-half, even when he was on the ice. Things looked better early, because this team was downright scary on offense. Then he left after 11, and the offense suffered, but when McDonald went down, we had effort guys out the yotz where other teams had skill players. Sound eerily familiar?

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/8994878/Kariya-to-undergo-hip-surgery

Couldn't get to the team website.

The Only Goalie Controversy: Do We Have A Good One Anywhere?

The Goalie Guy — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:23:18 -0000

OK Sean, I'll bite. Ever since Keenan ran Curtis Joseph off (and left the Blues without a goalie coach-a situation which would haunt them for YEARS), the team philosophy was to draft backups and pick up a #1 netminder through free agency. Good goalies are a dime-a-dozen on the FA market, and if you have a good team, a good goalie will get you fairly deep into the playoffs. (Sound familiar?)

However, difference-makers in net are rare, and once a team gets one, they hang on to him at all costs. These guys are hard to find on the FA market, instead, they are used as trade bait if you get a surplus. I think the bigger question is, why can't the Blues organization develop goalies?

Brent Johnson: talent, no coach, no one to kick him in the ass and make him work in practice every day. Biggest problem: poor technique overall. Still haunts him as a backup in Washington. Watched him give up two sharp-angle goals last year in the 5-3 loss to the Blues.

Jason Bacashuiua: Failed to reach potential, turned into a goalie who could either steal or give away a game. When Blues acquired him, he was rated as one of the top 3 NHL goaltending prospects at his age/experience level. Biggest problem: rebounds, poor technique on angles.

Marek Schwarz: When I saw this kid in his first NHL game, I was enthusiastic. He was raw, but he had "IT". Other organizations thought so, too. (Brian--help me out here.) Now, he's extremely inconsistent, and has gotten worse, not better. Biggest problem: rebounds, lack of concentration.

Hannu Toivonen: Biggest problem: Can't deal with giving up goals. Head case with severe confidence issues. Until he realizes that goalies have to have short-term memory (just like baseball closers, NFL cornerbacks, basketball shooters) and you can't worry about the last one that you didn't stop, his talent and size don't mean shit.

Ben Bishop: He's HUGE. He has great lateral movement. Biggest current problem: rebounds. Ken Dryden made his living by being fundamentally perfect, limiting rebounds, and letting his size do the rest. Why can't Bishop do the same? Why can't Bishop be taught the same way?

Once they committed to growing a good goaltender, I think that the Blues have drafted talent; it just never seems to develop. Organizational failing or just bad luck? That's the next question I want to ask JD next chance I get.