St. Louis Blues Leave The Past Where It Belongs

As the St. Louis Blues get back into the fighting spirit in training camp, they look back onto past playoff failures and use it as fuel for the upcoming NHL campaign.

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Team captain, David Backes, put it the best.

If I were to tell you we lost in Minnesota and I flipped a switch and was golfing all summer and didn’t think another thought about it, that would be pretty disappointing and pretty shocking. For me, it was a long individual reflection …

Our Blues understand losing in the 1st round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is not acceptable. For a team to dominate as it has in recent seasons to lose in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs year in and year out is simply not good enough.

As a St. Louis Blues fan, it’s sort of reassuring that the playoff failures of recent seasons bother the players to this degree. I hope last year’s playoff failure can be used as fuel to succeed this year. It was a learning experience that deserves to be remembered and left where it belongs, in the past.

Apr 24, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Barret Jackman (5) in the game against the Minnesota Wild during the first period in game five of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Backes went on to say, “We’re going to miss those guys in the room and on the ice, but there has been some changeover and I think it’s pretty significant. We need to turn the page as a group because if you sit there and play boo-hoo, that’s not productive. They’ll be missed, but they’re not here and we’ve got to find ways to have success.”

The guys he’ll miss are T.J. Oshie and Barrett Jackman. Oshie was traded to the Washington Capitals, and Jackman signed with the Nashville Predators this off-season. I like this statement from Captain Backes. It shows the value he has in this St. Louis Blues locker room.

Oshie’s trade to Washington brought over big-bodied forward, Troy Brouwer. Brouwer remarked on his new team’s makeup saying, “I think they’ve done a good job assembling the team over the past couple of years. Every team always tries to bring in a few pieces here and there, and better themselves, and I’m hoping that I can be one of those players that helps push this team over the top.”

Jan 7, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; St. Louis Blues forward TJ Oshie (74) skates against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Blues fans also hope to see Brouwer become a missing piece to push the team further in the playoffs. While he’s a different type of winger than Oshie, he provides a different kind of offensive approach which could free up space for the more pure scorers on the ice to find the net.

Backes is the man for the job to make sure his teammates are focused on winning games for the St. Louis Blues. Sure, two alternate captains are now playing elsewhere, but the end goal remains the same. Win for the Blue Note.

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