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St. Louis Blues Better Choose A Goaltender Soon

By Todd Panula |

The topic of the St. Louis Blues goaltending seems to be a never-ending saga.  However, this article isn’t going to take on the issue of Jake Allen vs. Brian Elliott going into the playoffs.  Instead, the issue may soon be which guy stays and which might go.

For the young fans in the group this will be a first for you.  For others, you’ve been there before.  The league is thinking about expansion and rumors suggest it is likely to get voted through.

The most likely scenario seems to be adding expansion teams in the summer of 2017.  If that happens, then there are differing scenarios as to which players could be protected.  None of the scenarios benefits the Blues right now though.

The Blues have benefited more than most teams by having two goaltenders than most.  The Montreal Canadiens got off to one of the hottest starts in league history, only to see it all fall apart when Carey Price went down with an injury.  Now, the Canadiens are likely to miss the playoffs.

Imagine where the Blues would be in the standings if they did not have Brian Elliott to lean on when Jake Allen went down or Allen getting healthy at the exact moment that Elliott tweaked something.  It is not a pretty picture.

While there is an argument to be made that a team without a true starting goalie has no starting goalie, similar to the old axiom about QBs, St. Louis has made the most of it.  The team really hasn’t had one true starter with a true backup since 2007-08 with Manny Legace as the only netminder the team could lean on.

The Blues could very well be faced with the same scenario the summer after next.

If the league expands, there will be four goaltenders (maybe more since the rules haven’t been laid out about forming minor league squads) that are taken from current NHL rosters.  That means the Blues are in a precarious position given the quality of both of their stoppers.

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Some will say that Elliott could slide through the draft untaken since he will be 32 at the time of a potential expansion draft.  That is possible, but a definite gamble given that goaltenders can play well into their 30’s and be productive, especially if not expected to play 50+ games.

Elliott would definitely be a solid pickup for an expansion team, especially if they nab a younger goaltender they want Elliott to be a placeholder for.

Others will say that Allen could be the one that might go unprotected to keep Elliott on the roster.  Again a gamble due to the fact that, before his injury this season, Allen was top 10 in most goaltending statistics and tied for the league lead in shutouts.

Allen can be a bit inconsistent, but so is every goalie.  His stats from this season alone are more than enough for a team to want him to be their starter or at the very least their 1b choice.

Allen seems to be the more likely and better option to protect, given his age and the hints that the team seems to be leaning toward him being the goaltender of the future.  People in the Elliott camp will surely disagree, but it doesn’t matter.  The bottom line is the Blues better be planning for these scenarios.

Jordan Binnington and Pheonix Copely might be future NHL goaltenders, but the team has shown no faith in playing them.  Anders Nilsson has NHL experience, but there’s no reason to believe he would be able to step in and produce wins the way the Blues’ most recent tandems have together.

The Blues have to have a plan.  They knew enough about Allen a few years ago to make the decision to let Ben Bishop go.  There is no indication that any of the goaltenders in the current system breed that kind of confidence.

Sure, there’s a chance that this potential expansion draft could come and go and the Blues would still have Allen and Elliott on the team.  Pittsburgh and Anaheim will have similar situations, so maybe the Blues get looked over.

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The entire scenario is a scary one.  The Blues already have big contract decisions looming in the future and have to decide whether to trade or keep Kevin Shattenkirk.  Putting a stressful situation on a position that has been a rare comfort lately is not something any Blues fan wants to worry about right now.

There’s enough worry about who to bring back and who to let go and who to try and deal every summer without the extra strain of who to protect.  However, management better be worrying about it because Montreal is proving that you can go from first to worst (close anyway) with just one injured goaltender.

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