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Is ‘Get Better’ The Answer To The St. Louis Blues Woes?

By Kate Cimini

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St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen took to Twitter Friday morning to thank St. Louis fans for supporting the entire team over the duration of the regular season and the single series the Blues appeared in during the postseason.

He, like team General Manager Doug Armstrong and team owner Tom Stillman said in separate interviews, did not dwell upon the disappointing end to the season, but rather praised the fans for their dedication and the atmosphere they brought to the Scottrade Center night after night.

Steen promised fans that the Blues would take what could be a learning opportunity for the team and for coaching staff, and instead use their discontent as fuel for next year’s cup run.

I am glad that Steen took the time to thank fans for their beleaguered but everlasting love for a team that seems to simply run out of gas every April while having taken the regular-season run as seriously as possible. It’s a classy move, and, frankly, at this point in time it’s practically expected.

Is a simple “get better” really the answer?

The Blues did not perform as they should have, and Steen’s recognition of that and his promise to achieve seems to be a step in the leadership direction that others have pointed out is lacking on the Blues right now.

Steen was a consistent worker on the wing, and may not be the best scorer in the league but he acquitted himself well over the regular season, notching 24 goals and 40 assists in 74 games. He’s a smidge expensive for my taste (5.8 million for 64 points is pretty high, you have to admit), but his contract is up at the end of next season, giving the Blues the opportunity to negotiate him down slightly or replace him with a younger, cheaper left wing.

It’s very likely Steen will be around next season, if only because there aren’t a lot of teams willing to take on that kind of cap hit for 24 goals. If he is still around in October, as part of the team that is retained he will be looked to as one of the players who sets the tone for the team and the room. I don’t disagree that the 2015-2016 Blues need to use this year’s loss to a team that then was swept  by Chicago, playing with a shortened defensive bench, to deepen their hunger for a Cup.

But is a simple “get better” really the answer?

I think Steen’s point must be made in a more nuanced fashion.

Yes, the Blues need to come out with a vengeance next season. But they also need to take the summer to figure out why, exactly, St. Louis dominates during the regular season and cannot manage to pull it together in a seven-game series.

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Steen may not be officially in charge of the dressing room, drills or practices. Some of you might argue that all a player can do is work twice as hard as before to bring his or her game to a new level if he or she doesn’t like the way the previous season ended.

However, they have more influence on each other and on their coaching staff than they are aware at times. The Blues are made of a large number of individuals, and some thoughtful discussions between coaches and players go a long way.

By Steen treating this problem as though it simply comes down to motivation is overlooking the pacing problems and lack of a cohesive vision shared by the players and coaching staff. These issues need to be addressed before the start of a new season, because once it gets to the point where coaches and players are grumbling about each other to the media, it’s guaranteed to make the marathon sprint that is the postseason that much harder, that much more difficult.

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