Canadianloser wrote:
C for the blues because they are in dead last in the West, despite being ahead of 5 teams in the East. They have been mashed by injuries to there top players, but their rookies are getting good ice time, and they even managed to beat the Bruins the other night
I'd give the Blues a B- overall...A+ for effort, D+ for results.
Only 1 team (the Islanders?) has missed more man-games to injury, and when you look at who is injured and the seriousness of most of their injuries (multiple months/the whole season), it's pretty amazing that they aren't doing any worse. Additionally, the Blues went from one of the "oldest" teams to one of the youngest in terms of average player age, and a good majority of the players are only in their first couple of seasons of play. Right now, they play with a ton of heart, and they seem to really show up ready to play in games vs. top opponents.
Some people dog on Andy Murray, but I feel like he's coached about as good as can be expected in his situation. I have no doubt that next season the Blues will surprise a lot of people. I expect them to go after a goaltender, and that is probably the final piece of the puzzle that they are missing at the moment. They've rebuilt similarly to what the Blackhawks have done in the past few seasons, and now the Blackhawks are reaping the benefits of having developed a lot of young talent, so I would expect the same with the Blues.
David Backes is becoming my favorite player - he can do it all. And for those watching the All-star coverage, watch for Patrick Berglund and David Perron in the Young Stars Game - Berglund's a great scorer in the making and Perron a great playmaker. Not sure if T.J. Oshie will be in that game, but he's been very impressive in the past 10 or so games, and is honestly one of the most well-rounded (offensively and defensively) rookies I have seen in a while. All in all, the young talent is really exciting, and I think most Blues fans aren't too worried about this season because it's pretty definite that they will be a high caliber, competitive team in the very near future.