Doug Armstrong, like many Blues fans, isn’t happy with how Ken Hitchcock used Paul Stastny last season. After returning from injury, Stastny mostly saw time on the third line and frequently saw his linemates juggled. Though the Blues made Stastny the highest-paid forward on the team, Hitchcock continued to play him in a limited role.
Armstrong has already stated he wants to see more from Stastny in 2015-16 and now he has told Hitchcock he expects Stastny to be used different.
Armstrong’s comments, via STLToday:
“It wasn’t out of lack of respect for Paul, it was because those other guys were playing well. Moving forward, Ken and I talked, and Paul’s got to be given that opportunity. Paul knows he needs to be a big part of our group and he wants that.”
If the Blues believe they paid a fair price for Stastny ($7 million annual cap hit), they should be ready to play him on a top line and with the team’s top talent. Any other role wouldn’t make sense and it looks like Armstrong finally made a point of telling Hitchcock that fact.
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