The St. Louis Blues made some waves in the second week of June. It was also the calm before the store that is the week leading up to the NHL Draft.
The St. Louis Blues opened up the week very strong. They officially named their coaching staff to the public, which was likely filled out long ago. The Blues named Rick Wilson as assistant coach and Mike Yeo as associate coach.
In addition to being associate coach, Yeo was announced as the head coach once Ken Hitchcock steps down. Time will tell whether this decision is a mistake or not, but the bottom line is the Blues have their coaching staff set for the forseeable future.
Also, as mentioned, this decision was likely made long ago and only announced on Monday. Yeo was one of the first names that came out as rumor when the Blues were looking for a new staff and there weren’t many, if any, rumors afterward. It seems likely the Blues either made the hire that day or knew they were going to and had a few more discussions and just held the announcement until after the Stanley Cup Finals.
This past week, we also released our next in a series of looks at potential free agents for the Blues to think about. That article can be seen here.
Sadly, the more research done into the free agent list makes that route less and less appealing, personally. The money seems to be coming out to around what the Blues would likely need to spend on their own UFA’s and the production is very spotty.
Trades seem a better way to improve the team, but getting those to work out is just as much of a crap shoot. Other than that, the Blues may need to just figure out a way to present their best offers to Troy Bouwer and David Backes – who is looking all but gone – and hope it is going to be good enough. The price will be the key.
View from the Midwest Weekly Division Recap
Other interesting notes were that the Blues are likely to be heading west a lot more with Las Vegas all but certain of getting an NHL franchise. That will bring up all sorts of new problems with potential expansion drafts, but that’s a topic for discussion once this all becomes official.
The Blues continued to have goaltending issues with their prospect, Luke Opilka, having surgery on his hip. He is expected to have a full recovery, but anything having to do with a joint is always sketchy. Fans of the team and of the player can only hope for his best and a speedy recovery.
The Blues ended the week with a few more news notes. The released their preseason schedule and also re-signed Dmitirj Jaskin to a two year deal. The money and the terms were smart on the signing and though a lot of people are down on Jaskin, it gives the Blues affordable depth that still has potential to out perform the contract.
A belated Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. In case you missed it, you can check out the Blues players that have been part of some pretty good father-son combos.
Next: Could Tage Thompson Wear the Note on Draft Day?
This week coming up has the potential to be very exciting. With the draft coming on the weekend, there is the potential for a lot of deals or at least rumors of deals. We’ll have more looks at some of the potential picks the Blues will consider and also get the news out as fast as we can about the latest you want from the Blues.
Also, we have a new contributor on the site, Travis Grither. Be sure to welcome him to the clan.