Brian Elliott was an outstanding goaltender for the St. Louis Blues. Unfortunately, the team wasn’t particularly outstanding or respectful when it came to how they treated one of the best goalies in franchise history.
Elliott was traded to the Calgary Flames during the 2016 NHL Draft in exchange for the 35th overall pick and a conditional third-round pick in 2018 should Elliott sign an extension with the Flames. The deal was immediately met with anger from Blues fans who felt the Blues should have kept Elliott and that he should have fetched a higher price.
Before talking relationship, a quick analysis of the trade. The Blues likely moved Elliott to clear up a bit of cap space (he had a $2.5 million hit) and to avoid having to make a difficult decision next year when Elliott’s contract expired. The future expansion draft meant that it was never likely the team would keep both on the roster. While those are rational arguments, they totally fly in the face of the “win now” attitude the Blues supposedly have. Even if Elliott asked for a trade, the deal the team accepted shows exactly how they valued the netminder.
If your goal is to win immediately, does it make much sense to trade your best goalie? It might if the return fetches you an immediate upgrade, but that doesn’t appear to be the case unless the Blues pull off a shocking second trade. Allen isn’t a bad goalie (he’s very good), but he’s not Elliott.
“Not Elliott” has been the motto of the Blues for years. Elliott has consistently been the second option. Whether it was the Ryan Miller trade or the decision to start Allen in the playoffs in 2014-15, Elliott wasn’t the top option. When he was in 2015-16, the Blues made it further than they have since 2001. That’s not a coincidence. How is he rewarded? He’s shown the door for a modest return.
Elliott was awesome in 2015-16. Maybe better than awesome. His save percentage of .930 was the best in the league while his GAA of 2.07 was third. He didn’t receive much love in the Vezina voting, but you could make a strong case that he deserved the award. If 2016-17 really is the big “win now” push, it’s only appropriate the Blues turn their back on Elliott once more despite his incredible effort.
Elliott exits holding the franchise record for shutouts with 25 – at least until the Blues find a way to give that to someone else too.
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