Near the beginning of May, I wrote a post discussing Paul Stastny and the fact he has a lot to prove in his second year with the Blues. Though Stastny wasn’t horrible in 2014-15, he didn’t live up to enormous expectations and an equally large paycheck. This sentiment was widely felt by Blues fans and it turns out that Doug Armstrong shares the same feelings.
Armstrong recently spoke with Sportsnet:
“Paul Stastny needs to be a bigger part of our group. He’s our highest-paid player, we need him to be a bigger and better part of our team.
I won’t go into it…but we have a greater understanding of the man now.”
Armstrong stated the obvious, but his last line is worth dissecting. A greater understanding? Shouldn’t the Blues have known what to do with their pricey asset they signed to a massive contract last season? The Blues certainly used Stastny in some … interesting … ways over the year, sometimes saddling him with Patrik Berglund or using him on the third line. This isn’t a slam against Berglund, but they definitely could have given Stastny a better shot at succeeding by changing up his line.
Part of the blame lies on the Blues with how they used Stastny, but don’t let the player himself off the hook. He needs to go out and make something happen, regardless of who is skating alongside him.
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