St. Louis Blues Alexander Steen Continues To Divide Fans

Alexander Steen can still provide an important role for the St. Louis Blues for the remainder of his contract. Accepting that role will be key, however.

When the St. Louis Blues acquired Alexander Steen way back in 2008, most fans knew little about him. All we really knew was the Blues might have been giving up on Lee Stempniak too soon and picking up two unknowns.

The reality was the Blues got a steady defender in Carlo Coliaccovo, Stempniak had a few flashes here or there but did not amount to much. Steen turned out to be the gem of the deal, providing a good scoring touch earlier in his Blues tenure and a hard-nosed defensive style as he got older and the Blues would advance farther in the playoffs.

However, the most interesting thing about Steen might be outside of the rink. The Blues fans always have their whipping boys and some fans that choose to defend said players, but there might not have been a player that has generated such a sharp divide that has not played in goal for the Note.

Those that defend Steen now, in the past and in the future do so with a shocking amount of zeal. Try saying something negative about Steener on Twitter during any Blues game and watch the conversation chain unfold. If you can keep your wits about you, it can be amusing, but again, outside of goaltending arguments, this one player might generate the most.

Then there is this mysterious cloud surrounding Steen and his involvement with certain backroom issues. There have never been any confirmed or verified reports, but there has been enough smoke surrounding his name to think there has to be fire.

More from Editorials

• St. Louis Blues Need Kasperi Kapanen To Be On Best Behavior
• Hayes’ Debut And Other Bold Predictions for the St. Louis Blues
• St. Louis Blues Captaincy Is Suddenly A Huge Problem For 2023-24
• St. Louis Blues National Games Cause More Problems Than They’re Worth
• St. Louis Blues Brayden Schenn Has To Be An Impact Player In 2023-24

One thing we know with 99% certainty, Steen did not really get along with Ken Hitchcock. That goes into the smoke category, but there were many strong rumors that Steen (and perhaps others) went to General Manager Doug Armstrong and told him it was time for the bench boss to go.

Armstrong did not listen the first time and the team made the conference finals. Unfortunately, the team did not build off that and seemed to give up on Hitch and whispers floated that Steen was a driving force. You would hope those players would be more professional than that, but who knows with human nature. Nevertheless, that is all pure conjecture.

The strange thing is those rumors don’t seem to mix with what we have seen as a public persona for Steen. There are few Blues that are out in the community and taking part in charitable works more than Steen. He was regularly one of the players interacting with Layla during her recovery and seems to genuinely enjoy being in the city of St. Louis.

We have rumors of heavy clashes between team Steen and team Pietrangelo after Alex Pietrangelo was named team captain. That divide seemed to be tearing the team apart in 2018-19 until Craig Berube put a stop to such childishness. On the flip side of that, Steen seems, publicly, to be well liked by the majority of his teammates.

So, what is the truth about this player? The truth is we will never really know, so it all boils down to what you want to believe. That is why Steen is such an enigma for me.

I fully believe he was the driving force behind Hitch getting fired and since it was based on the team giving up, it took him down several pegs. I cannot deny the positive role and impact he has had on this team either. So, it is quite likely that all of the above can be true, to varying degrees, and Steen is just a complex human being.

That said, his reaction to current events will be a large reason why the Blues have success or fail in 2019-20. That is not to say the team will lean on him for production, but rather they will need him to know his role and shut his mouth to borrow a Rock phrase.

Perhaps the shut your mouth part is too much, but Steen has to continue accepting his role. One of the biggest reasons the Blues had so much success after Berube took over was team health and everyone finally playing in their proper role.

Steen’s proper role, at this point in his career, is on the fourth line. If the team has injury, he still has the skill to move further up the lineup, but he needs to have his minutes limited so he can give his all each shift.

There is still enough offensive talent there to make the fourth line dangerous, especially if players like Ivan Barbashev and Oskar Sundqvist continue their rapid improvements. He is also a sound defensive player, which makes it perfect to match a fourth line against a top-line opponent or perhaps a second line, depending on the matchup.

If Steen stays healthy in 2019-20, he should easily eclipse 30 points, even in a fourth line role. In 65 games in 2018-19, he scored 10 goals and 17 assists. Give him 10 more games or more and I could easily see 12 goals and 35 points if the Blues are clicking.

The problem Steen continues to present is a financial one. At $5.75 million per season, Steen is the third highest paid player on the team, playing a fourth line role and being tied for the oldest on the team.

The Blues were smart to stay away from this kind of situation with David Backes, but are still living through it with Steen. Is leadership and occasional scoring enough to justify that kind of salary? The issue is the Blues have no choice as it is hard to get a good return on a 35-year old forward making over $5 million.

So, the Blues are relying on Steen to continue his progression in his career and accept his role. That does not mean he has to be less vocal or change his game.

Mainly it means he needs to avoid a situation where any more rumors pop up. If he is unhappy with his role as a fourth line player, he needs to play harder in an attempt to earn a different spot, not create any problems with other players or the coach.

If all the rumors are just rumors, Steen will do just that. He will provide beneficial supplemental scoring and be one of the best fourth line players in the entire league – one that any team would be willing to have.

If he cannot, it might be a crack in the team’s foundation and the rumor mill will turn once more. Fan of his or not, we all hope for the first option since the team having four lines clicking was a huge reason they became Stanley Cup champions.