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Trevor Beaton

Trevor Beaton

Game Day Preview – Leafs @ Blues, Feb 12,2010

By Trevor Beaton on February 12, 2010

The Leafs are in town, a team incredibly thin on talent up front and are 12 points back of the Blues in the NHL standings. Should be an easy 2 points…….

Sadly, the Blues don’t seem to like taking advantage of teams they actually should beat, and this game falls right into that category.

The Leafs are an interesting team, if anything. As a Canadian, I am forced by law to watch news stories on the Leafs ahead of all other sports stories, no matter the importance. No matter what’s going on in Leafland, something is always a story. And this team actually has a few legit stories of late.

New Additions :

The trades that brought in Dion Phaneuf and J-S Giguere have seemed to improve the Leafs (despite take a large chunk of goals out of their lineup. Phaneuf, according to Leafs announcers, has brought newfound energy and confidence to his teammates. He’s apparantly completely changed his game in the 24 hours after he was traded. With the Leafs, when he goes for a big hit and misses, he’s just being aggresive. With the Flames, he was out of position. In Toronto, when he runs around his own end, he’s a presence. In Calgary, he was lost. Funny how perspective, and announcers, can influence a player’s effectiveness.

The addition of Giguere actually seems to be a big improvement. An improvement over what was there was a given, but he’s actually played quite well in his 3 games. Giguere when good, can be very effective. He may be the best goalie ever at getting hit with pucks, not really making any moves to make the save, but he’s perfected the art of “being big” in his butterfly.

The Leafs do present a danger though. They consistently put forth the effort needed to do well in the NHL, they just severly lack the finish required to produce in the NHL (Sound familiar Blues fans?) If they get a few bounces on a given night they can put up some goals.

Enough about the Leafs though. A positive for the Blues of late has been their play at home. The last three home games, against three very good teams (CHI, SJ and DET), the Blues have taken the play to it’s opponent. They haven’t got the results, but they’ve shown they can play with that quality of team. They generated numerous chances against very smart, structured hockey teams. Against a team like Toronto, a team that plays without a lot of structure, chances should continue, assuming the Blues play like they have of late.

Expect to see Chris Mason in goal tonight after a strong game against Detroit. Coach Payne seems to want to run with Mason down the stretch, based on the last couple of games. Giguere will obviously be in Toronto’s net.

Players to watch

Blues – Paul Kariya

After finally breaking the goose egg at home on Tuesday, Kariya may be due to go on a bit of a tear. He also has had success against Toronto in the past. His play of late has been very good, and he’s been generating chances, for himself and others, at a very high rate.

Leafs – Phil Kesell

A streaky scorer, he’s starting to heat up again with 4 goals in his last 3 games.  This after an extended period of low production. Young Tyler Bozak is playing well as his center, and may be giving Kessell a boost of energy. If you can play physical against Kessell, something that is hard to do for a player that plays the perimeter moreso, you can affect his game. Jackman and Polak will be expected to do this. Polak, with his speed, is an ideal defenceman to paly against Kessell.

Key to the Game

Don’t look past the Leafs. I don’t care if Ovechkin and an incredible hot Capitals team (although they’ve lost 2 straight) is coming to town tomorrow. These two points are huge tonight, if for no other reason, that tomorrow’s game will be tough.

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Detroit in an Unfamiliar Position

By Trevor Beaton on December 10, 2009

Blues fans have been saying it for years…..”Detroit’s too old, this is the year they’ll struggle to make the playoffs”. I’ve tended to think the same way over the past couple years, but this year I finally accepted the fact that they might just be good forever. I’m sure glad i was wrong.

Watching Detroit play this year, you can clearly see they are missing aspects of their game that they’ve had in years past. Opponents are no longer in awe, just watching them throw the puck around at will. Opponents now take runs at Red Wing players. They see that a strong physical presence can really affect the way they play.

All of this was a plain as day to anyone who has watched the Blues play the Wings this year. In Sweden, the Blues went through stretches where they physically dominated the Wings. I haven’t seen any team do that to the Wings in a long time. The first period against the Wings from a couple weeks back was the most dominant stretch against Detroit that I’ve seen this decade.

All of this is extremely enjoyable to fans of the Bluenote, who’ve sat through many years of watching Detroit dominate the NHL, always putting together very strong teams that controlled the pace of the game at will.

There are many reasons for there step back, they’ve dealth with injuries, Johan Franzen is a big loss for any team. They’ve lost players due to the Salary Cap, losing Hossa, Samuelson and Kopecky was a big chunk to lose from their offence. Both of these reason are valid reasons for this team to struggle. But they aren’t the biggest.

I’ve had lots of respect for Detroit’s GM Ken Holland over the past number of years, and always commended how he put his teams together. Everyone points to them losing players like Yzerman, Shanahan, Federov, Hull and a host of other, yet they keep on winning. I was always impressed with that. His late round draft gems in Datysuk and Zetterberg certainly don’t hurt his reputation.

However, there was always an asterisk next to Holland’s emaculate resume. That asterisk is Niklas Lidstrom. Having Lidstrom on your team for that long can make any GM look brilliant. Lidstrom, over the last decade and some, has been the most dominant and consistent player in the league. He, in my eyes, and many “experts” eyes, is the second best defenceman of all time, behind Bobby Orr. His quiet demeanour and cerebral approach to the game made him less noticeable than he probably should have been.

I’ve always felt that I wouldn’t really judge Holland’s talent as a GM until he put a team together without Lidstrom. Lidstrom is still playing, but he seems to be a very large step from the player he was just a short while ago. He seems to make positional errors that he never did make, and his perfect outlet passes now miss the tape much more often than they did in the past.

You can point to the injuries, the player departures, Datysuk and Zetterberg’s less than spectacular seasons as reasons for Detroit’s struggles, and all do have an impact. However, I don’t think that any have the same effect that Lidstrom not being the Lidstrom of old does.

When you have a player of that calibre, player at a level as high as he was in the past, it settles everyone on the team down and instills a certain amount of confidence in each and every player. Being that comfortable every time that Lidstrom is on the ice, knowing that he will hardly ever, if ever, make a mistake is a feeling that the current players probably do not have.

Lidstrom in his prime was pretty close to a guaranteed win for 30 minutes of every game. If you could play even with the opponent when Lidstrom wasn’t on the ice, your chances for winning were incredibly good. Lidstrom was a huge reason why Holland was confident in just have goalies like Legace, Vernon, and Osgood as their main goaltenders.

Because Lidstrom had this effect, Holland was free to spend the money he didn’t have to spend on goaltending, on another quality player that would further bolster an already potent offence.

Once Lidstrom retires, or even starting now with his drop in play, I don’t think we’ll ever see Detroit get on a run like they’ve been on (not that many teams do). He really is irreplaceable.

All of this is good news for fans of the BlueNote.

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4 Years of St.Louis Drafting

By Trevor Beaton on November 25, 2009

With all of the recent talk of the need for the Blues to make a trade and to move some assets (read: prospects) it got me thinking of the amazing quality of the Blues drafting over the last 4 years. The job that Jarmo Kekalainen has done is nothing short of extraordinary. Saying that, these prospects haven’t all proven that they are going to be impact players in the NHL, but all early signs point to a very successful drafting record.

To prove, what I believe to be, the extremely high quality of drafting by the Blues, I’ll go through the draft picks from 2005 – 2008. I’ll list who the Blues took and when, and show the player (and sometimes multiple players) picked directly before them. This doesn’t give a definitive answer, I know, but it should provide everyone a good indication for the quality of players that the Blues drafted, and how easily they could have been off the board when the Blues were selecting. Let’s get this started.

2005

TJ Oshie – 24th overall.

Nik Bergfors (23rd), Matt Lashoff, Tuuka Rask, Kenndal McArdle, Jakub Kindl, Ryan Parent, Martin Hanzel and Alex Bourret(16th).

It’s not even close in choosing Oshie over those players (Rask could turn into a very good goalie). Kopitar went 11th overall, easily the steal of the draft. Pouliot, Skille, Brule, and Brian Lee were all taken pre-Kopitar.

2006

Erik Johnson – 1st Overall.

The injury last year didn’t help, but all signs still point to him being a franchise type defenceman. Staal, Toews, Backstrom and Kessel all are high end players, but none should be taken ahead of EJ.

Patrik Berglund – 25th Overall

Dennis Persson (24th), Simeon Varlamov, Claude Giroux, Bob Sanguinetti, David Fisher, Mark Mitera, Chris Stewart, Trevor Lewis, Ty Wishart, Riku Helenius(15th). Pretty safe bet that most people haven’t even heard of a few of those guys. I’m a big Claude Giroux fan, but I’d still take a big center like Berglund over him. Most people shouldn’t be overly concerned with Berglund’s start this year. It’s not a good thing, but it’s fairly common for a player like in his situation.

Tomas Kana – 31st Overall

Swing and a miss, or so it seems so far.

Jonus Junland – 64th Overall

Jamie McBain (63rd), Dick Axelsson, Simon Danis-Pepin, Jesse Joensuu, Codey Burki, Alexander Vasyunov, and Mike Weber (57th). No one on there that jumps out at me. Junland continues to tear it up in the AHL and probably deserves, and will most likely receive, a call up this year. Solid 3rd rounder to say the least.

2007

Lars Eller – 13th Overall

Ryan McDonough (10th), Brandon Sutter, Keaton Ellerby, Logan Couture, Zach Hamill, Jakub Voracek, Sam Gagner, Karl Alzner, Thomas Hickey and Kyle Turris(3rd). Some pretty good players, but none possess the ceiling that Eller has. His early stint with the big club showed flashes of what he’s capable of, and he’s been dynamite in the AHL, an impressive feat for someone adjusting to NA hockey. Turris and Voracek are the only ones on that list that you could consider taking instead of Eller.

Ian Cole – 18th Overall

Alexei Cherapanov(17th), Colton Gilles, Alex Plante, Kevin Shattenkirk(14th). Cherepanov would have been a really good player and would have went earlier if it weren’t for the lack of a Russian transfer agreement. The others don’t appear to have Cole’s potential. Book is still out on Cole until we see him in pro hockey, however all indications point to his game being better suited to the pro game than the NCAA.

David Perron – 26th Overall

Patrick White, Mikael Backlund, Jonathum Blum, Max Pacioretty, Riley Nash, Angelo Esposito and Logan MacMillan. I’m not even going to comment on this, as it’s just to plainly obvious.

2008

Alex Pietrangelo – 4th Overall

Zack Bogosian, Drew Doughty and Steven Stamkos. Nobody will argue that Petro should have went sooner, but his skill set has been easily recognizable this year, and, in my opinion, has proven why everyone said his ceiling is the highest of the three defenceman. Saying that, Doughty will still end up the best of the bunch.

Philip MacRae (33rd) and Jake Allen (34th Overall)

Voylov, Markstromm, McCollum, Leveille, Tikhonov, and Carlson. Book is still out on this one as both are still in junior. Allen is widely considered the best goalie in Canadian Junior Hockey and MacRae has been very good in the OHL. People say MacRae’s skillset at the development camp this summer. Difficult to judge this early on however. Tikhonov has gotten some time in Pheonix and Carlson just debuted with the Capitals last week and looked very good. Both picks by Jarmo still appear to be very solid.

It’s a pretty impressive list of draft picks. It shows how good of a job that the Blues scouting and front office is doing, and it also makes you realize the poor drafting record before this crew took over. You can add in Polak and Backes to the list as well, as they were both overlooked by many teams.  Ben Bishop could turn into a fantastic 3rd pick as well.

All of this talent that the Blues have compiled has been quiet of late, but it should provide some comfort for many frustrated Blues fans. A 20 game stretch of struggling to get on the scoresheet should be a concern, but a quality list such as this should provide the faith that the future is still incredibly bright for the Blues. With most of this future either in the Blues lineup (Perron, EJ, Oshie, Berglund, Polak and Backes) or very close to it (Eller, Bishop, Sonne, Palushaj, and Junland), the shine from this bright future shouldn’t be that far off.

With any luck it will arrive with some turkey this Thanksgiving weekend.

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Examining the Options for Pietrangelo

By Trevor Beaton on November 20, 2009

So we’ve finally reached that all important 9th game played for Alex Pietrangelo. As expected the Blues spoke about what would happen with Pietrangelo now that he’s about to play the game that starts his NHL contract life. What was unexpected, to many, was that they said they have yet to decide what will happen with Pietrangelo.

There are a number of situations that could play out in this case. One thing that appears certain is that he will play his 10th game and have his contract kick in. This will cause him to be a restricted free agent in the same summer as Lars Eller.

I’m not one to really worry about entry level contracts kicking in, even though it does have an effect down the road. My biggest concern, and what appears to be the biggest concern of the Blues management is the overall development of a young player. If that means keeping him up here for 40 games and sending him back down, than so be it. Even though I wouldn’t go that route if it was my choice.

There are three possibilities that likely may play out between the Blues and Pietrangelo;

The first being, that Pietrangelo stays with the Blues club and plays regularly, sitting out the odd game.

The second being, he sticks with the club all year but is released to Team Canada for the World Junior tournament in Saskatoon this winter.

The third option is to keep Pietrangelo for a while longer and release him to his junior team later in the year for the latter part of the OHL season and playoffs.

There are plusses and minuses to each of these options. If I had the choice, I’d choose either option 1 or option 2. Option 1 appears to be the most likely, especially with the way it worked with David Perron in this organization. Playing as a 6th, sometimes 7th defenceman in the NHL will help progress Pietrangelo faster than 30 minutes a night in the OHL, on what currently is a very weak team in Niagara. Learning on the fly may cause some headaches for both Petro and the fans, but the benefits of playing and practicing with NHL players are huge.

The second option is a very desirable one as well. It would allow him to get the majority of the NHL season while experiencing the intense pressure of playing in the World Juniors on home soil. He didn’t play a prominent role on the team last year, and a leading role this year could give him a big boost of confidence. It’s a long stretch of time for the Blues to release him (roughly a month), but it would be very good experience.

The third option is one that most fans don’t seem to want to see. Pietrangelo going back to play in the OHL would make it appear that the 4th overall pick is not developing as quickly as most would have hoped. I don’t want to see him go back to junior, but I still wouldn’t give up on the player.

Besides the severe drop in competition that Petro would face in the OHL compared to what he currently deals with, he’d also be returning to a very weak Niagara team. An uber talented player wouldn’t gain a lot of valuable experience playing against lesser talent, while playing with even lesser talent. If Niagara were to trade Pietrangelo’s rights to another team, a late season push and a playoff run would alter the view on Pietrangelo going back to junior. A Memorial Cup tournament experience would be something similar to a World Junior experience.

It will be interesting to follow this story, and we appear to have the opportunity to follow it for some time as the Blues don’t appear to be in a hurry to announce their intentions one way or another.

As Blues fans, lets hope that Pietrangelo forced the Blues to only have one option…..to keep a very productive, mobile defenceman in the lineup on a regular basis. I’m expecting him to do just that.

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Blues Gameday – November 12th, 2009 Blues vs Preds

By Trevor Beaton on November 12, 2009

Game Info

Location: Scottrade Center,  St.Louis, Missouri                                                                                               Game-time: 7:00 pm Central
TV: FS-MW(HD)
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM

Previews

ESPN Preview

Blue’s Official Website Preview

After playing their divisional rivals to open the season, the Blues played their next 14 games against non-divisional teams. That changes tonight when the Nashville Predators come for a visit to the Scottrade Center. These two teams always play a tight physical game, a style of play that both coaches like to have their teams play.

After the offensive explosion Tuesday night against the Canucks where David Perron had his first hat-trick, Brad Boyes busted out of his scoring slump with 4 points and Andy McDonald had a goal and 2 assists as well, it will be interesting to see if the Blues can carry that momentum forward into tonights game.

This wont be an easy game by any means, as Nashville is playing some good hockey of late. They lost 4-3 to San Jose on Tuesday night, but probably deserved a better fate.

One would expect to see the same starting lineup tonight as we saw on Tuesday. Andy Murray never likes to changes a winning lineup, and after the fine performance on Tuesday, one can’t blame him for not messing with that roster.

The one change that I can see happening is Kariya being put back onto a more offensive line. Tuesday was probably his best game of the year, despite not scoring, and he looks to have regained some of his confidence with the puck. He was jumping into gaps better throughout Tuesday’s game, even in tight situations along the boards. Put that effort alongside a couple players with better finish than McClement and Crombeen, and some production should follow suit.

Shea Weber returned to the the Predator’s lineup for the last game. When he’s in the lineup, that’s a big boost for their Powerplay. His cannon from the point has to be on the PK units mind the entire 2 minutes. The fear of his shot, opens up passing lanes that he is good enough to take advantage of.

Player to Watch

Jordin Tootoo

toots1

Not a big offensive threat, but as a player that most/all Blues fans love to hate, he’s the most likely of players to do something that is worth watching. Whether it be a big hit, or causing a stir in post whistle scrums, Tootoo is worth keeping an eye on. He’s a player that isn’t afraid to back up his actions, although not likely to fight a guy like Janssen, he be more than willing to take on a Crombeen type player, which, from watching Crombeen’s fights, I can’t really blame Tootoo.

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Boyes had a solid game nothing handling the puck. A sign of better games to come.

The Breakout of Brad Boyes

By Trevor Beaton on November 11, 2009

Tuesday night sure was a happy night for Blues fans. For a group of people that haven’t had the chance to enjoy much offense in the last stretch of games, the first period last night was like Christmas morning.

Andy McDonald broke the ice just 18 seconds in on a nice drop pass by Brad Boyes. Yes, I said Brad Boyes. The same Brad Boyes who had gone 7 games without registering a point, finally produced in the style that he is expected to.

A playerBoyes of Brad Boyes skill set, often strives on confidence, whether Andy Murray will admit it or not. You could see the last number of games that he was starting to feel better and better with the puck on his stick. He was beginning to beat defenceman one on one again, he was getting more and more pucks on net. They weren’t going in, but they were starting to go on net.

A scorer like Boyes, when not getting chances, will start getting concerned if he’s lost something. If he is getting chances and creating scoring opportunities than he realizes that they will eventually start going in.

It is never the finishing aspect of scoring that is dependent on confidence. Beating defenceman and controlling puck breeds the confidence required to produce in the NHL. Brad Boyes has gained this confidence back over the last stretch of games, and last night was just an expected result of that confidence coming back.

Confidence in himself causes Brad Boyes to shoot the puck on David Perron’s first goal against Vancouver. It causes him to move more on the power play, leading him to get open for Andy McDonald to feed him for an easy one timer goal.

Last night is the Brad Boyes that Blues fans always want to see. He’ll never be the best defensive player, but when his confidence is high, this causes him to want the puck on his stick more often. This want for the puck, leads him into more puck battles and back checking situations.

Watching this Brad Boyes play, causes me to expect to see one of his known stretches of 8 or 9 goals in 10 games. With the solid netminding, and improved team defence, when Boyes can produce during a stretch like that it can easily lead to a great stretch for the Blues.

This current 6 game homestand would be a great time to get on one of those rolls. Blues fans need a run like that to re-energize the fan base that seemed to take a step back during the recent offensive slump the team went through.

I know from my vantage point, it’s hard not to get excited with the play of the Perron – McDonald – Boyes line last night.

Remembrance / Veteran’s Day

I sincerely hope that everyone takes some time today to remember / honour those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice in order for us to enjoy a beer and watch our Blues.

Lest we Forget.

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Will Returning Players be the Difference?

By Trevor Beaton on November 2, 2009

It might just be a Blues fan’s hope, but the return of the three players that the Blues are missing right now are more crucial than any stats will show.

jaxIt started with Jackman, a defenceman that wont find the scoresheet very often, but seems to have a steadying influence on the entire defence. His work on the PK can’t be understated. His return to the lineup should not be rushed however, as the dreaded high ankle sprain can reappear rather quickly, ala TJ Oshie last year.

Speaking of Oshie, all Blues Fan’s understand the importance of this player to the team. His constant energy seems to trickle through the lineup whenever he plays. He’s an ideal winger for a player such as Berglund. Yet another piece of the PK unit that is sorely missed.

Staying with another huge part of the PK unit is Alex Steen, possible our best forward before he got hurt. His all-around game was as good as it ever was at the beginning of the year, being part of arguably the best shutdown line in the league with Jay McClement and BJ Crombeen.

The combination of missing these types of players who really bring that level of intangibles to the team can’t e understated. Cam Janssen has improved his game, but the sooner these forwards return and force him out of the lineup, the better the Blues will be.

It can be argued that Yan Stastny is making a case for taking Brad Winchester out of the lineup. Winchester seems to have taken a step back last year. You see flashes last years play, but not in long stretches. The talk of him improving his skating over the summer doesn’t seem to have translated into early season success. It’s a shame, because as he showed last year, he has the tools to be a very effective player. He’s a player that also is a great team player and quickly comes to the defence of any fellow Blue is necessary.

One would hope that this can be turned around without the return of these three, and this team definitely still has the available resources to play winning hockey without them, but the boost of these type of players returning could be huge.

Brewer’s Return

It sure was good seeing Eric Brewer on the ice again this past week. You could see some rust in his game in the last 2 games, but having him back was good. More suited to a shut down role, Brewer really should use his skating ability to get up in the play more often. Whenever he joins the rush, he seems to have the sense to put himself in the right position where the puck finds him. Doesn’t have the best finishing hands, but the more chances he creates, the better. I really liked when they paired him with Erik Johnson last game. They seemed to work fairly well together. If that pair sticks it would allow a pairing of Jackman, when healthy with Alex Pietrangelo. A partner like Jackman would serve Pietrangelo well, much like it did the Roman Polak last year, and Erik Johnson the year before. This pair wouldn’t be set in stone and in close games a player like Polak would be slotted in with Jackman. As has been discussed by many, there are decisions galore to be made on the Blues back-end in the coming weeks.

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Mike Weaver's spot on the blueline may be in jeopardy

The Value of Mike Weaver

By Trevor Beaton on October 29, 2009

It’s a question that Blues brass will have to address in the near future. Just how much do they value Mike Weaver? The Blues will, barring further injury, be in a situation they haven’t been in a while. Trying to find time to play their NHL quality defenceman.

Once Barret Jackman returns from his high ankle sprain, an injury that just seems to have appeared in the last 3 o4 years, the Blues will have a surplus of NHL quality defenceman. Some are locks to stay, Eric Brewer, Barret Jackman, Erik Johnson, and Roman Polak are guaranteed spots. Carlo Colaiacovo is all but guaranteed a spot despite his spotty play this year. That leaves two spots up for grabs for four players.

This is where the Blues have to decide how they value Mike Weaver. He was a rock for the Blues last year but has struggled at times this year. He’s got a very good, quick stick on defence, but his decision making has been questionable this year to say the least. No one will question the guy’s heart, but his level of play has it’s limits.

Up until this week, I think Mike Weaver was probably considered very safe. The emergence of a suddenly confident, assertive Alex Pietrangelo has, in a way, forced himself into the lineup.

It’s a good bet that Strachan will be sent back, just because of his contract situation, not requiring to clear waivers, although his play has warranted an NHL spot.

That leaves one spot for Darryl Sydor or Mike Weaver. The feel that you get from Blues management is that they have no intention of letting Darryl Sydor go. That leads to a comparison of the two players and what they bring to the Blues.

Mike Weaver's spot on the blueline may be in jeopardy

Experience – Sydor has this in spades, including a Stanley Cup championship under his belt.

Offence – Neither brings a lot to the table, but Sydor does still show the hockey sense to put the puck into positive positions for his forwards. Weaver creates less offence than Janssen, no offence to Janssen intended.

Defence – Both are fairly solid. Sydor relies mostly on instinct to overcome his slowing footspeed. Weaver relies on his active stick to overcome size and footspeed. Weaver is a better penalty killer, an important factor with Brewer and Jackman out, but with them both back, becomes less of a factor.

When comparing these two players, I just see more of a benefit of keeping Sydor around, if he’s willing to be a 7th defenceman and to see some pressbox time. Andy Murray actually spoke of Sydor needing some rest in the near future.

All of this discussion might be moot, as injuries are sure to take place, especially on this team so it seems. But all things being healthy, I don’t see a spot for Mike Weaver. It’s the tough part of the business, but a great teammate sometimes has to be let go.

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How Bad Can it Get for the Leafs?

By Trevor Beaton on October 23, 2009

torIt’s hard to imagine worrying about how bad it might get for the Leafs instead of worrying about how bad it currently is, but they are in a position to have one of the worst starts in history. Currently sitting at 0-6-1, they are in danger of going 0-for-October.

Being winless in 7 games isn’t good. Being winless in 7 game before starting a 5 game road trip starting in Western Canada is downright scary. They play in Vancouver tomorrow (Saturday) night against a team that is starting to come together. Luongo hasn’t been his usual self, but has looked better the last two games, and you have to like the Canucks chances when you have a goalie like Luongo going against what is easily the worst group of forwards in the NHL.

From Vancouver, they travel to Anaheim then on to a surprisingly good team in Dallas. From Dallas they go to Buffalo, a team that is playing very good defensively and Montreal, a team that is starting to move the puck like they should, and one that badly outplayed Atlanta and the Islanders in the last two games.

It’s very likely they could come out of this road trip sitting at 0-11-1, which would cause the city of Toronto to virtually implode. They’ve gotten used to really bad pro teams in Toronto (the Blue Jays never make the playoffs, the Raptors have been terrible the last few years, and the Argos (CFL) have been brutal this year), but for the Leafs to get off to a start like that after optimism was so high after the pre-season would be catastrophic.

It will be very interesting to see what the breaking point is for Leaf fans. How bad does this team have to play before they don’t sell out a game. Personally, I don’t think it’s possible, but one would have to think fans might revolt after a certain point. I know of a few fans already that just cannot watch the team play. As a Blues fan, Tuesday nights game against Pittsburgh wasn’t too enjoyable to watch. Picture that scenario over and over again, and you start to see how frustrating Leaf fans must be. Lots of us went through this in the last number of years, and we saw first hand the apathy that comes with a team like that.

The reasons for Toronto’s start are what make it so frustrating. Burke and Wilson were preaching a playoff spot prior to the season opener, and everyone (myself included) thought their additions on defence would make them very hard to play against. Watching Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin struggle like they have is downright painful. Luke Schenn, one of the few bright spots from last year, and a player that many Blues fans wanted instead of Pietrangelo has been downright awful this year. The goaltending hopes seem to be solely on Jonas Gustavsson’s shoulder, those same shoulders that have 97 minutes of NHL experience.

When you turn an expected strength (Defence) into a big weakness, and you put that on top of your complete lack of a top 6 NHL forward, it doesn’t give the fans a lot of hope in this team turning it around. As a Canadian, with countless Leaf fans around all the time, the longer this winless streak goes, the more enjoyable it is for myself. The analysis that goes into the Leafs up here is beyond extensive and seems to grow exponentially with every loss. The amount of discussion about how the Leafs played dodgeball in practice last week was tenfold of what the Blues would generate from a 5 game winning streak.

Will this misery for Leaf Nation end on this road trip. Part of me believes they have to eventually squeak out an ugly win somewhere, but looking at the road trip I wouldn’t bet against an 0-11-1 start. The one saving grace is the pressure on the opposing team as this streak goes longer. No team wants to be the first team to get beat by the winless Maple Leafs. Carolina players were openly talking about this before the game against the previously winless NY Islanders on Wednesday night.

It sure does look good on Burke and Wilson though. How would the Kessel trade look if Boston lands Taylor Hall with the first overall selection this June.

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David Backes’ Start

By Trevor Beaton on October 21, 2009

David Backes struggles out of the gate.

David Backes struggles out of the gate.

A perrenial slow starter, David Backes seems to be really trying to cement that reputation this season. Through the first 6 games of the season he’s been a shadow of the player we saw in the last 60 games of 2008-09. The importance of David Backes to this team is larger than a lot of people think. When he’s on his game he can control a large part of the game. Forechecking and puck possession down low are two of his biggest strenghs, and both of these have been sorely lacking this year. His poor point production is only a small indication of his play. 2 points in 6 games isn’t good, but it’s his lack of puck possession and physical play that needs to step up and make more room on the ice for players like McDonald and Boyes.

The fact that he’s struggling might not be a huge surprise, very often after a young player has a breakout campaign, he struggles early in the next season. Backes doesn’t seem like a young player in comparison to others in the Blues locker room, but people forget he’s only 25 and in his 4th full year in the NHL.

A quick way to tell how a players confidence is going is often to watch him away from the puck. If a player consistently curls instead of a quick two foot stop when a puck goes by, it often shows frustration. Not a lot of people buy into that theory but I’ve seen it countless times. I seem to see Backes curling from the play instead of quick stops and starts. This will happen more often when he plays center instead of wing, but it seems to be more noticeable than usual.

I have no concerns that Backes will regain the form that saw him score 30 plus goals last year, but the longer this play continues, the harder it is on the Blues to roll the three scoring lines that they ideally want to roll. A player like Backes might just need to stir the pot, and possible drop the gloves to get a little swagger back in his step.

As a player that doesn’t really fall into the “kid” or the “vet” classification, Backes consistently flies under the radar when it comes to both expectations and criticism. If Perron or Kariya underperforms they will hear about it before a player like Backes will.

Backes needs to simplify his game, get the puck, drop the shoulder and drive to the net. He’s a player that needs to play facing away from the net, protecting the puck, moreso than facing the net. I think he will start doing this, partly due to Andy Murray, and he’ll produce very similarily to last years 2nd half.

The sooner Backes makes this write-up seem silly, the better for the Blues.

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