The St. Louis Blues are reportedly “open for business” as their season has not gotten off to the best start. The Blues are just one point ahead of the Nashville Predators in the Central Division cellar, and seem stuck in neutral.
Despite the Blues’ 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night, the club is still miles away from getting back into the playoff race.
That situation has prompted GM Doug Armstrong to advertise that he’s willing to part with just about everyone on the roster, for the right price.
However, one notable insider, Elliotte Friedman, believes the Blues’ GM is just bluffing. In the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Friedman delved into the situation. He mentioned a purported text message to other GMs in the league in which Armstrong is advertising “holiday discounts” on Blues’ players.
But as far as Friedman sees it, it’s a tactic that Armstrong has used before to spark his team. And when you think about it, Friedman seems to be onto something.
It would be ludicrous for the Blues to sell off major pieces at this point. While there is plenty of talk about contenders looking for help anywhere they can find it, it doesn’t seem plausible that Armstrong would punt on the season in mid-November.
If anything, Armstrong could be looking to pin the blame on his players without singling anyone out. It’s a bit of a risky move that could backfire on him.
Blues GM doesn’t want his successor to inherit a mess
Another key point that Friedman made was that this season is Doug Armstrong’s final season as GM of the St. Louis Blues. While that doesn’t necessarily mean Armstrong is stepping away from the game, it means that he doesn’t want his successor, Alex Steen, to take on a mess.
Torching the Blues’ roster and hurtling the team towards a rebuild would constitute a mess. Unless Steen and Armstrong worked together to orchestrate a rebuild, the chances of one happening this season are slim to none.
Armstrong would be willing to make a major move if it meant setting up Steen for success down the road. Otherwise, maintaining the status quo would be the best course of action. In business, like in the NHL, oftentimes the best move is to make none at all. All too often, we’ve seen GMs pressured into making moves for the sake of doing so.
Those moves rarely work out. In fact, it’s in those situations where plenty of GMs lose their jobs. So, Blues fans could take a step back, catch their breath, and wait for the next month or so to play out. We could take up this conversation again in early December. By then, we could have much more clarity regarding the overall trade market and what the Blues are willing to do this season.