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St. Louis Blues: Doug Armstrong and Ken Hitchcock Proving Valuable Assets

By Steven McNeil

May 3, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock speaks with the media after game three of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. The St. Louis Blues defeat the Dallas Stars 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock speaks with the media after game three of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. The St. Louis Blues defeat the Dallas Stars 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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The St. Louis Blues have proven that they have what it takes to win in the playoffs. The mantra of past failures are gone and this team is ready for the next round.

How often have we heard or said, “this St. Louis Blues team simply doesn’t have what it takes to go deep in the playoffs” or that “Ken Hitchcock and Doug Armstrong need to be fired immediately”. While these are natural things for fans to say when a team fails to live up to expectations, the Blues are showing that they absolutely know what they are doing.

After a tough first round exit for the fourth straight season, Doug Armstrong made the unpopular decision to trade a popular player in T.J. Oshie for veteran forward Troy Brouwer. The move was made to give this team more proven playoff performers and a player who was going to fit well in Ken HItchcock’s system.

Ken Hitchcock has been criticized for implementing a system that isn’t as wide open as some would like. He has been criticized for not being able to get his players to “buy in”. However, here we are in the Western Conference Final after two tough series that saw the Blues win the seventh game of the series in both instances.

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Ken Hitchcock and Doug Armstrong have been building this team piece by piece for this exact reason. After the loss to the Blackhawks in 2014, we saw Armstrong address the team’s lack of a “#1 Center” by bringing in Jori Lehtera and Paul Stastny. Last season, after a disappointing loss to the Minnesota Wild, Armstrong made a lot of changes and bold moves to finally get this team playoff ready.

Last season, after a disappointing loss to the Minnesota Wild, Armstrong made a lot of changes and bold moves to finally get this team playoff ready. The trade of T.J. Oshie was just one of the bold moves that Armstrong made over the offseason. Doug also made the tough decision of not offering longtime Blues’ defenseman

Doug also made the tough decision of not offering longtime Blues’ defenseman Barret Jackman a contract. This move allowed Joel Edmundson and Colton Parayko to step in and fill the bottom pairings.

Armstrong also let Marcel Goc and Chris Porter leave via Free Agency and set his eyes on bringing in Kyle Brodziak to center the fourth line. Brodziak was a key part of the Minnesota Wild’s defeat of the St. Louis Blues in 2015, so Armstrong knew that he would add to the Blues’ depth.

May 11, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Hitchcock and Armstrong’s trust in Patrik Berglund has allowed him to develop into a solid player. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Hitchcock and Armstrong’s trust in Patrik Berglund has allowed him to develop into a solid player. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

A preseason tryout with Scottie Upshall turned out to be more than just a shot in the dark at adding another body as Upshall filled in admirably throughout the season as a thirteenth forward option.

Upshall proved his value as Hitchcock plugged him in on the fourth line when Steve Ott went down with an injury in December. Since that happened, Upshall has been a valuable asset to this team and has even shown.

Even though the Blues went without a move at the deadline, Doug Armstrong knew that he had an injured Alex Steen returning from injury (a player Hitch has lauded as the best on the team). Armstrong could have sprung for a forward who could have improved the team, but it would have cost him valuable assets in the future.

This helped him avoid a flop of a deal like the Ryan Miller trade he made two years ago.

All of this doesn’t take into effect how valuable Robby Fabbri has been to this club. Had a preseason injury to Patrik Berglund not happened the Blues could have been left waiting on another impact player that has proved to be very valuable during this postseason. Doug Armstrong and Ken Hitchcock’s commitment to giving him a shot has proved be a fabulous move for this club.

Next: These Aren't the Same Blues Anymore

These are just a few of the things these two have done to help this team get to where they are now. While we all have doubted them and have questioned their moves, they absolutely deserve credit for where this team is today. Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, they deserve to stay and deserve to be the ones to get the majority of the credit for this run.

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