St. Louis Blues Causing Lots Of Panties To Twist Suddenly

While the St. Louis Blues are still celebrating with the Stanley Cup, suddenly the story surrounding them has taken turns for the worse.

There is an old saying that basically describes that you can never make everyone happy. That is apparently happening to the St. Louis Blues right now.

Despite the players still basking in the glow of winning the Stanley Cup, the story around them has started to turn a little sour. Whether it is a small group of fans or, oddly, some random hockey people, there are lots of small things that have their panties twisted. Apparently some people just do not have better things to do with their time. Trying to rain on other people’s parade is their cup of tea, I suppose.

We’ll start with something that should have just been a good thing all around. The Blues general manager, Doug Armstrong, might have gotten away with another steal, but some fans only see the negative.

Jordan Binnington’s contract

You would be hard pressed to find fans that were actually upset with the contract given to Jordan Binnington. Interestingly, they do exist.

The main crux of their argument is regarding Binnington’s length of service. As a person that was not in Binnington’s corner right from the start, I am not going to sit here and say that is wrong.

The guy only has a total of 58 NHL games under his belt and 26 of those came in the playoffs. Now, you can argue those 26 were the most pressure packed anybody will ever face, but the fact remains he has less than a full season in his resume.

But even as someone that took the longest time to come to the side of Binnington, how much can you argue against paying a guy that just won you the Stanley Cup? Even if he falters, this contract is somewhat of a steal.

Binnington is scheduled to make $4.4 million per season for two years. That is less money than than every starting goaltender in the division except for Minnesota and Colorado and the Avalanche are only on that list because their starter just left.

Some complain the two year deal takes up all the remaining parts of Binnington’s restricted free agency, but let’s be real here. Unless this went to arbitration, there was no way this was going to be a one-year deal.

Two years is perfect in my estimation. If Binnington turned out to be a flash in the pan, you are only on the hook for one more season. If he turns out to be the goalie he was in 2018-19, you sign him for a raise and will have Jake Allen off the books by that time since they both go into free agency the same year.

However, that brings up another side to this story. There are still a lot of fans that are upset the Blues have not and and remain unlikely to trade Allen.

Despite the fact this was discussed by our site, and several reporters weeks ago, it still came as a shock to give Binnington over $4 million AND keep Allen. I struggle to see their point of view, but it is what it is.

What surprises me is the variety of ways this is viewed. On the one hand, you have the largest contingent that says you simply cannot pay that much money to two goalies.

This argument is pretty foolish based mainly on the idea that saving $2-3 million is going to land the Blues some fantastic free agent. Personally, I’d rather have a backup goaltender I know I can count on and can step in and start if Binnington gets hurt rather than a third liner that will score less than 10 goals for the same amount of money or less.

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I’d also rather have a goaltender that is capable of starting, thus getting starter-type money like Allen, rather than the abject failure that was the Chad Johnson experiment. You get what you pay for in most instances.

Also, while a Twitter follower claimed it was not even comparing fruit, let alone apples to apples, I still maintain that it is insane that so many fans were foaming at the mouth at the idea of trading for Carey Price and his $10.5 million salary, but balk at the idea of paying two quality goaltenders over $1 million less than one goaltender. Perhaps you can argue that Price is that much better, but we will never know since his salary will likely prevent Montreal from ever surrounding him with enough talent to get to the final, much less win one.

In my estimation, this was a steal. I figured the Blues would go to a third year on the contract, but two years is smart. I was foolishly hoping for something closer to $3 million, just for cap room, but the rate is about right and just slightly higher than Matt Murray, who also won in his rookie year.

Cup Controversy

Speaking of people having too much time on their hands, apparently the Blues are getting some stuffed shirts in a tizzy based on what they are doing during their day with the Cup.

Our friends over at Game Time detailed how THN’s Ken Campbell got all butthurt about Robby Fabbri‘s day with the trophy. It mainly boils down to Campbell being upset that Fabbri allowed his dogs to eat from the Stanley Cup.

Also pointed out in the Game Time article is how ridiculous it is to have a fit over dogs licking food from the bowl with all the other things that have gone on with hockey’s trophy.

We forget, if we ever knew, that the reason there is even a Keeper of the Cup is because the Edmonton Oilers took the thing to a strip club. A photo of the event ended up on the front page of the Edmonton paper and the league decided to have a chaperone with the Stanley Cup after that.

As mentioned in the article, Kris Draper‘s daughter went number 2 in the Cup. It’s been at the bottom of a pool, thrown on a bonfire, left on the side of the road and worse, but the way the Blues forward is treating it was worthy of disdain, it seems.

I’m sure part of this is just something to draw controversy during a newsless time, but c’mon Campbell. There have to be other things to talk about rather than some pasta being eaten by dogs. Hell, I was more upset that Alex Pietrangelo had pasta in red sauce in the Cup when I heard the acidity can damage the bowl.

But, if nothing else, the guy with the Cup knows better than any of us. If he is allowing it, who are any of us to say that is a step too far? Just because it hurts poor Mr. Campbell’s sensitivities does not mean anything should change.