They Won’t: Yeo Is An Armstrong Guy
People who follow my articles regularly know that I am a Doug Armstrong guy. That does not mean I think he’s the best GM ever or even one of the best in the league right now. I do think he has made some exemplary deals and a reasonable job with the salary cap.
I also am not one of these people that thinks Armstrong purposely does things so the Blues do not win. I believe he will try anything if it makes sense for the team’s present and future.
That said, I am not quite sure he would be willing to pull the plug on Yeo so early. Armstrong waited as long as humanly possible to let Ken Hitchcock go, even though there were signs the locker room was turning the other way, but that was because the team was winning.
Yeo is not winning as much as we had hoped. However, he was hand-picked by Armstrong to be the guy.
Armstrong could have ridden out Hitchcock’s last season with a lame-duck staff, see how everything played out and found a new coach in the offseason. Instead, he brought Yeo in to be the coach-in-waiting.
That emboldened the players that wanted Hitch out already, forcing Armstron’g hand. The question is whether he would be equally willing to say his own pick is a failure with only one full season under his belt (two if he stays the entire year in 2018-19).
I am just not certain that happens. Sure, if the Blues miss the playoffs, or even go into their annual winter funk which would all but eliminate them, then all bets are off.
For some reason, unless it all really goes south, I just do not get the feeling Armstrong would pull the plug yet. There are too many excuses, such as poor defense (which can be fixed via free agency), lack of chemistry, etc.
Maybe I’m wrong. I take no joy in thinking a person should lose their job or a team might be better off without, but when you have someone of a higher caliber available, it is hard not to want that person in the role instead. All I would ask is that he never grab his crotch again.
Time will tell how this plays out. Personally, I think Q stays out until the offseason to rest up. Unfortunately, by then, the number of suitors may double if the Blues do not pounce.