St. Louis Blues: Jake Allen Might Actually Break Justin Faulk From Funk

For the St. Louis Blues to be at their best, they need Justin Faulk to be at his, despite new surroundings. There might be a somewhat surprising person that could break him out of his funk.

Every team in the NHL and across sports will tell you all about how great their locker room is and how tight the group inside is. Some of it is true and some is BS because we hear stories eventually. Currently the St. Louis Blues locker room is actually one of the most tight knit you will find.

The thing that many fans do not understand is that Jake Allen is not only a part of that locker room, but a well-liked and respected member of it. Those fans cannot see past their undying hatred of the player and come up with all sorts of ridiculous claims to justify it. We have reached a point where the only thing more disgusting and divisive than the Allen conversation is any conversation having to do with national politicians.

What can’t be denied is that Allen is a part of the Blues. Whether you personally like him or not, he is on this team and will continue to be no matter how much complaining is done.

What is continually forgotten is Allen does a lot for the team, even if he’s not on the ice. He does not just show up, put his pads on and take his seat on the bench.

Allen took it upon himself to mimic all the goaltenders the Blues would face in the 2019 playoffs. This way, the team could get a feel for what they would be up against. Nobody told him to do that. He did it because he is a good teammate and put the group before himself.

Now, Allen, even if inadvertently, might be doing just such a service for one man. Allen and newcomer Justin Faulk just went on a fishing trip and maybe that is just what the doctor ordered.

It cannot be denied that many fans are disappointed with what they have seen in Faulk so far. By no means has he been a bad player, but given the hype and the contract given to him, he has not performed up to expectations.

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Through 15 games, Faulk only has five assists. That puts him on pace for a lowly 27 points which would be the lowest of his career since his first two seasons, one of which he was obviously a rookie and the other in which he only played in 38 games due to injury.

The season is still young, but the question now is whether this is a blip or something that will last. In St. Louis, we have seen players have a poor year all the way through after being acquired or let go and we have also seen them turn it around in season.

Ryan O’Reilly is just such a player. O’Reilly got off to a slow start, as did the team.

Though he had some personal success, he was not clicking with his teammates. Coming into a new situation can be difficult and even when these players are leaders, they do not want to come into a new room and act like they know it all or are the king of hockey. O’Reilly even admitted to simply sitting back and allowing things to happen since it was not his locker room. It was not until much later in the season that he felt comfortable to sit up and voice himself.

Faulk might be going through the same thing. The guy has talent and leadership abilities, or else the Carolina Hurricanes would not have made him their captain and assistant. Sometimes it is just hard to make it work in new place, especially when he had been with Carolina for eight years.

That is why something as small as a fishing trip could have tremendous impact for Faulk and the Blues. Sometimes, as trivial as it might seem, all it takes is feeling included or feeling like you have that one person you connect with.

Maybe for Faulk that will be Allen. Maybe a fishing trip in British Columbia will make Faulk feel more at ease and he can apply that to the ice.

Nobody knows how these things work or there would be a blueprint to making a new teammate feel at home. Would it not be something if one of the fans’ whipping boys was a big reason for a key player to feel welcome and turn their season around?

Maybe it amounts to nothing. However, one small act like hanging out can make a world of difference. We will see if it does here.