St. Louis Blues Management Not Pleased And Vocal About It

The St. Louis Blues struggles of late have been nothing but obvious, for even the most good natured of fans. However, some interesting comments lately suggest that fans are not the only unhappy ones.

The struggles of the St. Louis Blues over the last month or so have been no secret. Fan displeasure with how the team has done since Jaden Schwartz’ injury has not been hidden away either.

These are all things we have come to expect. That is to say that fan upheaval is nothing new. There are people out there that literally get up in arms after one loss even if the team rattled off 10 wins before.

So, when a true losing spell happens where you lose three in a row and then win two or however it works out, the people in the seats and watching at home will not be happy. They have no shame in showing it, as you can tell any time you visit social media or chat boards.

The people that almost never talk, openly, about any dissatisfaction with their team are members of the management staff. That is currently not the case.

In a discussion with Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong seemed clearly perturbed by the way his club has been going. It’s not as though he made comments like a fan would, but for a manager it was still telling.

When discussing the team’s struggles, Armstrong said ““We’re certainly aware of that, and that’s the coach’s responsibility to come up with a game plan to give the players so we can execute that.”

Now, if you take those words on face value, then he’s saying nothing we do not already know. However, I believe there is subtext there.

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Mike Yeo’s job is in no danger and should not be. However, it seems that statement is meant more to say that the coach needs to come up with a game plan that will change things, not just that he

is going to do it. For me, Armstrong is essentially saying he’s not happy with the adjustments, or lack thereof, by Yeo.

Armstrong was particularly unhappy with how the team’s power play has gone.

“First and foremost, it has to start with our special teams and our power play,” Armstrong continued in the Post-Disptach. “Our power play’s gonna have to win us some games here in the second half of the year.”

"“Quite honestly, it’s gonna be very difficult to secure a playoff position, and have success if and when we get there, if our power play’s in the bottom 10 percent of the NHL,” Armstrong said."

Again, these are not earth-shattering statements. It’s stuff that fans discuss every single day.

It’s the fact that the man in charge of things is actually making a point to point it out. He’s not skirting around the issue with statements of false praise and then sprinkling in a little criticism. Armstrong is flat-out saying his team is not getting it done when it matters most lately.

That is refreshing on one hand and scary on the other. Even the smartest among us fans can usually be brushed off and questioned because we don’t see the day in and out efforts. When the GM feels fine sticking it to his team a little bit.

The big question now is whether they will make any moves or just hope the Blues have another late surge like in spring of 2017.

I encourage you to click the link above and read the entire article. Armstrong discussed the goaltenders, the team’s fall after Schwartz’ injury and trade issues as well (most fans might not like his willingness to hang onto prospects).

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The bottom line is that this team needs to come out of the gate hot and stay hot. Their general manager is clearly a little upset and though he phrased it very diplomatically, you don’t usually hear these kinds of comments.

There is no chance the team blows anything up in the offseason if they have another early exit. However, this team needs to shape up because there is already a discussion at the higher levels of the possibility and that means the players need to show that won’t happen.