It’s officially that time of year again for the St. Louis Blues and their fans. The time of year where whispers fly on the wind but there’s nothing concrete going on for several weeks.
Yes, it’s that time of year again where we hear about things, seek out every fleeting rumor and search up all the possibilities for our team. It’s that time of year again where you have to wait for anything to actually happen because there are still two teams playing. Two teams that aren’t the St. Louis Blues.
The week started off on a strong note. Whether it was a good note or not depends on your own feelings on the matter. Ken Hitchcock was brought back for his sixth season behind the Blues’ bench and reportedly his last. Many have mixed feelings on the matter, but given his experience, how close the team got to the finals and the lack of a true suitable replacement, it was a good decision.
With the news that Hitchcock would be returning, speculation began as to his possible replacement. GM Doug Armstrong said himself that Kirk Muller was someone they were interested in, but talks had not fleshed out those details. The fact that Muller and all the assistant coaches had only been offered one-year contracts to match Hitchcock’s seemed to be a sticking point.
That would prove to be true. Longtime assitant Brad Shaw, who had been with the team for a decade, declined an additional year before the Blues held the official press conference for Hitchcock and Armstrong. Muller would follow suit within a day, taking a position with the Montreal Canadiens – the team he won a Stanley Cup with as a player.
It was disappointing to see the Blues lose two quality assistant coaches. However, the internet reaction was a little overboard, as it tends to be.
While the Blues seem to be in no great hurry to find replacements, they are doing interviews. Some of the names that leaked out who could potentially fill the bench roles include Mike Yeo, Darryl Sydor and Craig Berube.
Yeo seems like the likeliest of fits. He has head coaching experience, led the Minnesota Wild to the playoffs three times and could take over for Hitchcock when he is done.
He is also possibly the scariest out of the three names bandied about so far and not because of his icy stare. Yes, he made the playoffs, but his Minnesota teams were some of the most boring to watch since the Jacques Lemaire teams when they were first founded.
His teams have lacked for scoring too. You could say it was due to less talent than the Blues have, but some of it is style too. Under his watch, the Wild only scored above the league average once and finished in the bottom 10 of scoring three times.
He may end up getting hired and he may prove us all wrong. His style matches Hitchcock more closely than the other current candidates and where there is this much smoke, there is usually fire. However, there are enough complaints about Hitchcock not letting the skaters do their thing and it seems the leash would be even tighter under Yeo.
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Looking Forward
Some of the other things beginning is the multitude that gets churned out of the rumor mill regarding both the free agent pool and the draft. There are several interesting rumors going about possible returns on a deal that would include Kevin Shattenkirk.
The Blues are also turning an eye to the future. With the draft approaching at the end of the month, the Blues are eyeing up players to pick or deals to make. There are several local prospects that could be on the Blues’ radar, but ones like Matthew Tkachuk and Clayton Keller would likely require trades to move up and acquire.
One thing is certain and that is it’s going to be a long, but interesting summer. We’ve still got a couple weeks of nothing but hearsay and rumor until anything concrete begins to materialize.
After that, things usually happen at lightning speed in the NHL. So, until next week’s review, keep it right here for the latest and enjoy the finals as much as possible given the current teams.