St. Louis Blues Morning Links: Goaltending Changes Good For All?

Hello Blues fans! The St. Louis Blues are going through some organizational changes. They are in need of a new goaltending coach, but finding the right fit might be hard.

The St. Louis Blues are going through what just about every team goes through at this point in the year. If you aren’t playing, you are making changes behind the scenes.

Not all changes involve players or management. This year, the Blues are in search of their third (possibly fourth depending on your point of view) goaltending coach over the calendar year.

St. Louis started the season with Jim Corsi as the goalie coach. Once he went out with Ken Hitchcock, the team brought Martin Broduer down from the offices to fill the roll. Ty Conklin was supposed to help out too, but was apparently only around the team a handful of days.

In the end, the situation could not have worked out much better. Whether it was purely on Broduer or the simple fact of a change in voices, the Blues goaltenders did a 180.

Jake Allen and Carter Hutton both had fallen down and could seemingly not get up. Their save percentages had dipped below .900 and their goals allowed numbers were beginning to balloon.

The change was a breath of fresh air. Hutton returned to being one of the best backups in the league despite not being used much down the stretch.

Allen turned from one of the worst starters in the NHL at the time to one of the best. Though he still has detractors, Allen was widely regarded as the main reason, if not the only one, the Blues got past Minnesota in the first round.

That point could be argued, but Allen came up huge no matter your opinion. He had stopped almost 100 shots in the first two games of the series. Though the shot totals went down, he was still facing quality chances and keeping them out.

The same could be said in the Nashville series. Allen was not the show-stealer as he was in Minnesota, but he was keeping the Blues in ever game. St. Louis just could not score enough to give Allen support.

Now, the Blues are in a bit of a pickle. Broduer has said he wants to focus on front office work and will not return to lead the goaltenders. He will lead the search for a new one.

The problem is what to look for. The Blues are focusing on hiring someone that will help Allen out the most.

That is great if you can find it, but with no two goalies being quite the same, do you run the risk of alienating the other guys?

The Blues are aware of this. “…we’re going to try to find the attributes of a goalie coach that can help Jake. But we’ve also got (Ville) Husso coming, and we’ve got (Carter Hutton) here,” said Doug Armstrong.

“We’re going to get an organizational guy, but are focused on what’s going to give Jake a chance to have the best success.”

That sounds great, but that might be hard to find. If you look for a mentor for one guy, the chances of not finding one that fits everyone seem greater.

There is not much the Blues can do though. If Broduer doesn’t want the extra work, the team has to find a good replacement.

Hopefully whoever gets chosen fits the bill. Whether you respect Broduer’s decision or not, if there is any chink in the goaltending armor to begin next year, there will be fans calling for him to step in again and that’s not fair to anyone.

Here are your St. Louis Blues morning links to get your day going right.

We have learned from past experience that management can say one thing and then do another. That said, any fans hoping Vladimir Sobotka might be used as trade bait will be sorely disappointed if everything coming out of the team’s end of year talks is to be believed. (STLToday)

Bleedin’ Blue will have several season recapping articles coming in the next few weeks. We will be doing our own season ending grades as well. That said, it’s fun to see what everyone thinks so check out Jeff Gordon’s (not the racing one) Blues season grades. (Post-Dispatch)

It is hard to deny any player the right to play for their national team, especially if they have never had the opportunity. That said, Colton Parayko is racking up the games and while he is young, he might want to learn to take a break now and then. (St. Louis Gametime)

When Nail Yakupov never suited up for the Blues in the playoffs, many assumed it was due to his lack of production down the stretch. In the end, while it can be argued that might still have been the case, he needed surgery for a late season injury. (Arch Authority)

Next: Tavares Likely Too Rich For Blues' Blood

The relationship with Ken Hitchcock and his goaltenders in the past has had plenty of ups and downs. Count Ben Bishop as one hoping to have an up relationship as he is looking forward to working with Hitch in Dallas. (NHL)

The Washington Capitals are in the spot the Blues were last season. They had the roster formed to finally push through only to find a way not to. Now, they are left with only questions, an empty feeling and wondering what to do with their star that can’t do it when the lights shine brightest. (ESPN)

Have a great day Blues fans!