Festivus is here and with it comes the annual airing of grievances. Last year I chose to air plenty of grievances against the St. Louis Blues and it only felt appropriate to renew that tradition this season. Sadly, this year’s list is pretty similar to last year’s, so things might feel familiar.
As always, you’re encouraged to add your own grievances in the comments.
I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you’re gonna hear about it!
That Awful Road Record
It’s been discussed at length already, but I’m not going to stop complaining until the Blues look better on the road. How can you be so dominant at home and so, so bad on the road? It’s crazy. A better record at home is expected, but the huge discrepancy in how the Blues play at Scottrade compared to any other arena is baffling.
There’s no way the Blues can be successful late in the year if they can’t figure out how to bring their strategies, execution and success with them when they travel.
All Those Penalties
The Blues have been awesome on the PK, but there’s nothing awesome about how many penalties they’ve taken. Realistically, the Blues have been extremely lucky that their PK units have been up to the task as they could have easily crumpled and giving up a boatload of opposing power play goals.
The most frustrating thing here is how the Blues continually commit penalties they know are going to be penalties. It’s a classic case of insanity. Stop doing the same thing that keeps getting you sent to the box!
Also, cut out the bench penalties.
Blown Leads
I’m not going to look up how many leads the Blues have blown this year because I know it will only make me mad. Simply, they’ve blown too many and really need to figure out why they can’t preserve any kind of lead. It’s demoralizing and kind of embarrassing.
Unanswered Goals
Related to the blown lead grievance is the Unanswered Goal grievance. When the Blues give up a goal, more usually follow right behind it. Giving up goals is a part of hockey, but it’s how you respond to giving up that goal that defines what kind of team you are. The Blues are the kind of team that let a small hill turn into a mountain. They give one up and then give up one or two more. That’s a brutal way to play the game.
Parayko’s Broken Sticks
For the love of everything that is good, get Colton Parayko a stick that won’t break every single time he shoots the puck.
Work on the Shootout
The Blues have had great goaltending in the shootout, but the shootout attempts by the Blues have been dreadful. The Blues have been sitting at the bottom of the league in shootout shot percentage almost all season and while no one is arguing whether or not its a silly gimmick, the Blues could really use those extra points by converting on some more of their attempts.
Arena Upgrades
The Scottrade Center needs some upgrades and I don’t really care where the money comes from to do it. Public funding has been reportedly pushed off the table, which seems kind of silly since so much public money was apparently on the table to keep the Rams around.
Why not the Scottrade Center? Has everyone – especially St. Louis county – forgotten that Scottrade both hosts the Blues for at least 41 games a year and is also a prime destination for concerts and other events? I generally don’t like to see public taxes used for arenas or stadiums, but this is one case where it makes sense.
Yakupov
If you’re going to bring Yakupov in, give the guy a freaking chance. How can anything be determined when he barely sees any action for long stretches of time? The Blues are forcing themselves into a difficult decision by failing to assess what kind of asset he even is.
New Coach, New GM
If this year pans out how many think it will pan out, change needs to come. That doesn’t mean letting Hitchcock walk off into the sunset at the end of a disappointing year. That means firing Hitch and firing Doug Armstrong. Firing a coach, especially one with a tired message, can yield immediate dividends. Firing a GM is a bit different, but it may be deserved considering the Blues are in the difficult cap position and rough lineup position because of Armstrong.
Honestly, that Lehtera extension is still difficult to stomach. More on Lehtera later.
Let’s Get Physical, Physical
Nothing good happens when you’re weak in front of the net. That statement applies to both your own net and the opponent’s net. The Blues need to get stronger and clear out their crease instead of letting their opponent have time and space which usually leads to relatively easy goals. On the other side of the ice, the Blues need to make life hell in front of the enemy crease. That’s difficult to do without David Backes and Troy Brouwer, but it has to get done.
The Blues look weak at times and some of that blame falls on the GM.
Jori Lehtera
No explanation needed.
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