3 decisions that sent the St. Louis Blues to mediocre status
Doug Armstrong has made some great moves, and also some very poor decisions.
From the 2011-12 season all the way through 2021-22, the St. Louis Blues were a perennial playoff team. If you reach back to 2000 and make your way to the present, one could point to the Blues as a regular in the postseason. Those days have faded quickly, with the team falling plenty short last season and starting shitty enough this season to see Craig Berube fired.
While new coach Drew Bannister has gotten improvement from the power play and some well played games against top tier teams, it’s hard to celebrate that when St. Louis was a top team themselves not too long ago. Today, they are a rock solid mediocre 21-19-2, which amounts more succinctly to 21 wins and 21 losses. The only difference is the last column means it at least brought the team a point in the standings, so it wasn’t a complete waste of effort.
But when did the mediocre steps begin? More importantly, who made them and why? I’m looking at Doug Armstrong, a general manager who can pull off a great trade yet also suffers from poor judgement and a true desire to hand out no trade clauses like candy to less than great players. He helped St. Louis win Lord Stanley’s Cup in 2019, but has buried them in moves made under a tight cap. The pandemic did squeeze Armstrong, who made no qualms at the time about wanting another Cup. But every team dealt with that reality, just like every civilian dealt with the virus. He screwed up, and I’m here to tell you how and why. There are more than three reasons, but let’s stick to that amount to ram the nail into the board.
3) Letting Petro walk
I know there have been arguments made about Alex Pietrangelo embracing the free agent market and wanting to move to Las Vegas; I just refuse to believe it. Something had to be done between the two parties that set off a path of no return. Armstrong could have been brazen or cocky, thinking he could strong arm the mature Pietrangelo. Maybe he didn’t deem the man important enough to hand a no move clause to. It’s funny because he likes to hand them out so often.
Petro was more than a captain and first line defenseman; he was a leader that was only going to get better. The Golden Knights are enjoying a wonderful phase right now called “Older angry Petro,” and I’m jealous. If Armstrong played his cards right, a man who won a Cup here (poised for another run at the time) and had a good home may have stayed.
The defense went to shit when the GM decided Colton Parayko was more deserving of a long term deal than a much better player in #27. It went to crap when Armstrong acquired Justin Faulk and stiff armed Pietrangelo. Unlike the departure of Albert Pujols, even before a nice reunion later on, this was a contract the team should have handed over. Some players are too important.
2) Perron denied
While he isn’t as vital as Pietrangelo, one could mark the decline of the power play with the departure of David Perron. After returning for a third time, and winning that Cup, the Frenchman was deemed not worthy of another million or two before last season, resulting in him going to Detroit. Perron was upset and some would say surprised that he wasn’t even offered a contract.
After putting up 60-58-57 points in three straight seasons, Armstrong let him walk. Screw off if you think the cap couldn’t be worked or tweaked. The Chicago Blackhawks found a way to get Connor Bedard in a not so legit fashion. Dougie gave up, believing perhaps a little too much in his golden child, Jordan Kyrou.
Perron put up another 56 points for Detroit, and has 19 through 37 games this year. There was a fit in St. Louis and possibly a way for him to retire here where he spent such a big chunk of his career. But nope! Armstrong thought the team was set, and he was wrong.
Defense ruined. Check.
Power play and offense lessened. Check.
How about that mobility to make more moves?
1) Big contracts, no trade clause madness
It would be easier to find another younger Pietrangelo or retain a beast like Perron if Armstrong didn’t hamstring himself with immovable contracts. The Parayko deal doesn’t allow you to move him easily due to the term and the partial no trade clause.
Torey Krug also has a long deal and has been in decline for two seasons now. It’s like Paul Kariya when he came to St. Louis; decent yet a lot less than the package you desired. Krug has a full no trade clause, so good luck moving him. Armstrong wanted to trade him last year but suddenly realized his head was jammed up his own ass by the clause he gave the player.
Kevin Shattenkirk denied a trade once. Many other players carried that unique power over their boss. It’s the reason John Mozeliak despises them; too much control to the player. Unless they’re a talent like Petro that doesn’t decay with age and ripens instead to a meaner version of the player you loved. Most players aren’t worth that.
I would have given Pietrangelo a no trade, move, and wiggle-free clause. Keep him in St. Louis and keep the nucleus of the Blues intact. Or, do other stuff and fire your best coach in decades over a rough start.
There’s a reason Armstrong accepted blame for this downhill spiral. He’s at the epicenter of the wrongdoing, even with the good fortune brought to the team and city. If we lived in a world where accomplishments carried more shelf time than the sand right before a wave rolls in, it wouldn’t be so wicked. He composed a great roster, and let it become brittle. The 2019-20 season was unfortunately cut short, but more damage was done with the decisions made afterwards.
It won’t be easy to climb out of this mess, so get comfy with mediocrity for a few seasons. Armstrong himself has gone from Cup hungry suit to a guy telling a fanbase to hold onto their ticket at the deli because the slicer is screwed up. Celebrate the games where they are a pretty good hockey team for 40 minutes, salivating at their ability to hang in there against Boston. Just remember it’s a brand new world in the West, and the Blues aren’t exactly armed for that fight.
Kyrou and Robert Thomas are going to be fine and having Pavel Buchnevich on your team makes the whole a lot better. Jordan Binnington is a good but not always great goaltender. Bannister can work his magic, but there’s a ceiling he’ll bang up against.
It’s not like Berube was coaching blind. This team and roster is limited, and will barely contend for a wildcard spot this spring. Meanwhile, Armstrong sleeps in his messy bed. The fresh air from the Cup win is gone, and fans now wait for the next turn.
Thanks for reading, and buy more bourbon.