St. Louis Blues: What Is Armstrong Doing?

By A.P. Andes |

Contracts have been signed, trades have been made, and trades have even been made for draft picks by other NHL teams since the Stanley Cup Final ended.

The St. Louis Blues’ season ended in April. In less than a week it will be July. And what have the St. Louis Blues done? They have re-upped a coach with one of the worst playoff records in professional sports over the past several years and told one of their aging and least productive core members, Barret Jackman, that they will not re-sign him.

That’s it.

Oh. And the friendship between Head Coach Ken Hitchcock and then-Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock put an end to the possibility of the latter coming to the Blues’ rescue.

Let’s examine the things that have happened or have not happened, in no particular order.

Come to think of it, that kind of says it all: after the third unfathomably disappointing playoff soiling of the bed in a row, Army’s response is to take the summer off doing other things.

Probably the most exigent issue as you read these words is that the 2015 NHL Draft, by all accounts the most loaded, talented class since the legendary 2003 Draft, is taking place with the Blues being one of the only teams that does not have a first-round pick.

(In a small bit of good news, the Chicago Blackhawks are one of those other teams, thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers, but they also have a three-time Cup-winning team in the past six years. Methinks they’ll live.)

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Despite the fact that San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson took out a full-page ad in the media letting the world know he was willing to trade away his 9th overall pick, Armstrong evidently could not be bothered, in spite of having a bevy of forwards and defensemen to barter in return. He was no doubt picking out his wardrobe for the upcoming Toronto gig as GM for Team Canada in this summer’s World Cup.

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Connor McDavid walks off the stage after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Come to think of it, that kind of says it all: after the third unfathomably disappointing playoff soiling of the bed in a row, Army’s response is to take the summer off doing other things. (A thank-you to Blues fan James William Smith Sr. in pointing this out in a post this week to one of our articles.)

What are Blues fans supposed to make of this?

What else?

Oh, yeah. Right. Vladimir Tarasenko.

As everyone in the hockey universe knows, and as Blues GM Doug Armstrong himself stated in florid terms, Job One for Armstrong, the moment the buzzer sounded in Game Six and the Blues’ season was done, was to sign offensive juggernaut and blossoming superstar Vladimir Tarasenko.

Apr 24, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) controls the puck against the Minnesota Wild during the third period in game five of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. The Minnesota Wild defeat the St. Louis Blues 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The man has given every indication to this point that he is more likely to be the game’s preeminent player over the next several years than any other young talent presently playing in the NHL. Most crucially of all, Tarasenko has scored nearly a goal a game in the playoffs the past two seasons, a rate that the NHL’s greatest players have failed to even come close to over the past several years.

Why is the deal not done?

Not having it done by now is devastating for two reasons. First, the fan base and the team need to know he is locked up in the Gateway City. But, perhaps even more importantly, the Blues cannot realistically plan on what other moves they will make or not make until his contract is a done deal.

Signing Jake Allen would also be nice.

If the Blues and their fans must suffer through one last season of the antiquated Hitchcock system, which wins regular-season games but loses playoff games in record fashion, Milan Lucic was one of the players Armstrong should have targeted for a trade.

Too late. Today, Lucic went to, of all the teams the Blues will least look forward to playing against with him among their ranks, the Los Angeles Kings.

What else? Oh, right, T.J. Oshie.

In a truly Einsteinian move, Armstrong has clutched Oshie to his bosom until the NHL Governors could vote to implement 3-on-3 overtime after the end of regulation in regular-season games. Because Oshie’s most valuable asset by far is his shootout acumen, his value just plummeted. Like a stone.

Apr 20, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; St. Louis Blues forward T.J. Oshie (74) shoots during the first period in game three of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Nice going.

Other teams are re-signing key players or making trades to take care of their biggest needs. Several have already done so. The core of underachievers who need to go? Where are they now? Out the door?

Oshie? Check. Still in St. Louis. Bouwmeester? Check. Still got a locker there. Backes? Check. Stastny and his ridiculous $6.5 million per year salary? Safe and sound at Scottrade. Ott? Still there. Michalek too. And Gunnarsson.

Here is what the announcer at Scottrade ought to say at the opening home game puck drop next season: Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the 2014-15 St. Louis Blues.

Oh. Were you wondering what happened with Vladimir Sobotka? Sorry, Mate. He’s returning for yet another year to the KHL. Armstrong and the Blues didn’t even try to bring him back or sweeten the pie.

Pathetic.

And yet, all we will hear over the next week is all the hype and buzz surrounding the Blues’ fantabulous, brilliant 150th-round draft pick, Mssr. Hectorinaldo Xiao Schpatnikov-Smythe, the leading AAAAAA Lichtenstein Junior League scorer they are about to land.

Well.

Virtually every player in the first round will likely be an “impact player” in the NHL for years to come. Second and third rounds, not so much.

It doesn’t take the Hubble Telescope to see this. Our own Kate Cimini spoke at length about this very fact.

Finally, there is of course the most glaringly obvious issue of all: why in the world, after a cumulative 1-7 playoff record since 2003-04 that rivals that of any other head coach in any sport I can think of in terms of the sheer scale of playoff failure, including the third consecutive first-round bow-out of a team with home ice, is Hitchcock still even here?

What is Armstrong’s thought process? Although several head coaches not even including Mike Babcock were available, Armstrong clearly decided the best person in the hockey universe for the job was Ken Hitchcock.

Well, to quote Ross Perot: Now that’s just sad.

When the Blues have experienced year after year after year of first-round playoff ineptitude, this is a simply untenable, indefensible position.

Perhaps some day we will know why. For now, all we can do is suffer through another year under a coach and a system that appears stamped and pre-dated for obsolescence and failure in neon letters.

Here is what the announcer at Scottrade ought to say at the opening home game puck drop next season:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the 2014-15 St. Louis Blues.

Nope. That is not a typo. That is known as the truth. Stay tuned for further developments last year.

Armstrong better have some serious pyrotechnics and sleight of hand up his sleeve over the rest of the summer while phoning in his day job from Toronto. Because, unlike any other GM I can name, his grade as a GM in the off-season to this point is not even a D-.

It is a solid F.

See things differently? Sound off, Blues fans!

Next: St. Louis Blues Doug Armstrong Named Canada GM

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