bluenotezone.com » Jeremy Rutherford

Report: Pietrangelo Out Tonight | Recall Fairchild

Jeff Quirin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:37:10 +0000

Per a tweet from Blues beat writer Jeremy Rutherford, a defenseman is out for tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals.

Hitch says 1 defensemen is not able to play tonight, but wouldn’t elaborate. Best guess is Petro who’s been sick lately. Call-up necessary.

All I have to say is, “this scenario is why a team shouldn’t travel with only six healthy defensemen”! Instead of someone already with the club now an extra body must be scmabled from Peoria and somehow make it out to DC in time for the game.

Based on performance and skill set, Cade Fairchild likely gets the recall. If they want a “proven player” who can handle NHL minutes, Danny Syvret will be the replacement. Stay tuned for updates.

Update: 12:10 pm CST

Rutherford confirms Cade Fairchild has been recalled and will make his NHL debut tonight. No word on who is out yet.

In 19 games with the Blues AHL affiliate, Peoria Rivermen, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher has registered 2 goals, 7 points and leads the club with a Plus-16 rating. Fairchild was selected by the Blues in the 4th round, 96th overall, of the 2007 draft.

Update: 1:30 pm CST

Rutherford confirms via Twitter that Alex Pietrangelo is out of the lineup and Fairchild will replace him tonight.

It Came From Twitter: Chris Carpenter Practices with Blues

Kelly Quirin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:00:23 +0000

Earlier today, “It Came From Twitter” gave the during practice report of the reaction to Chris Carpenter skating with the Blues. After practice, Twitter continued to be a flurry of Carpenter updates. David Perron even brought up the question of which World Series star would make a better hockey player- Chris Carpenter or David Freese.

David Perron (@DP_57) Tweeted:

Alex Steen (@Steener20) Tweeted:

Kevin Shattenkirk (@shattdeuces) Tweeted:

Blues “Insider” Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) Tweeted:

Blues Beat Writer Lou Korac (@lkorac10) Tweeted:

Lou Korac also tweeted that Polak didn’t know who Carpenter was this morning in the locker room, which started quite the ruckus on Twitter. Korac later explained in a tweet that the whole thing was in jest.

While today’s practice has made media news locally, with the beat writers and St. Louis Blues site running reports on Carpenter, it also gained popularity throughout the hockey community. The NHL even tweeted a link to video of Carpenter skating with the Blues. Big news for our usually not so popular Blues.

A CBC employee in Canada (@rstlaurent_src) even contacted Jeremy Rutherford on Twitter asking for footage from today:

You can find all of the reports on Carpenter’s Blues Debut here:

St. Louis Blues: Carpenter Laces Up Skates

NHL.com: Chris Carpenter Practicing with the Blues and Chris Carpenter Checks into Blues Practice

Norm Sanders (@normsanders on Twitter) on BND.com: World Series Hero Carpenter Joins Blues for Practice

Lou Korac (@lkorac10 on Twitter): In the Slot- Carpenter Trades in His Cleats for Blades

Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford on Twitter): Morning Skate- Cards’ Carpenter Skates with Blues

Andy Strickland (@andystrickland on Twitter) on True Hockey: Elliot to Start Friday (includes his info on Carpenter)

It Came From Twitter: Cardinals hang out with Blues before being celebrated at Scottrade

Kelly Quirin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:43:24 +0000

Tomorrow night, the Blues will be celebrating the Cardinals World Series win at the game on November 4. The celebration will feature Tony LaRussa dropping the puck to start the game. Fans who wear Cardinals gear to the game can get buy one get one free hot dogs at the concession stands. In addition, the Blues are offering $11.11 (11 in 11) Mezzanine tickets and $29 (In honor of Game 7 Winner Chris Carpenter) Plaza Level Tickets to the game.

The Blues are celebrating the Cardinals, but in today’s “It Came From Twitter,” we learn that the Cardinals are also enjoying the Blues.

According to the Blues beat writers and media folks, Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter is out practicing with the Blues today. Apparently, he looked pretty good on the ice (he is a former hockey player), and then he enjoyed the rest of the practice from the bench before heading back out on the ice after practice. Here’s what the beat writers chirped about his performance:

Lou Korac (@lkorac10) Tweeted:

Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) Tweeted:

Norm Sanders (@NormSanders) Tweeted:

John Kelly (@jkellyhockey) Tweeted:

The Mills Ice Zone (@STLMillsIceZone) Tweeted:

Also, Cardinals Manager (now retired) Tony LaRussa was also at the Blues practice, although he watched from the sidelines and chatted with Blues President John Davidson.

Lou Korac (@lkorac10) Tweeted:

Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) Tweeted:

Norm Sanders (@NormSanders) Tweeted:

John Kelly (@jkellyhockey) Tweeted:

It’s good to see that the World Series Champs are out having a bit of fun with the Blues. After seeing the Blues support another hometown team, it’s great to see the Cardinals doing the same.

“It Came From Twitter” Blues Support Cardinals

Kelly Quirin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:42:01 +0000

Last night, the St. Louis Cardinals played in Game 6 of the World Series. After a comedy of errors, the team pulled together to win and force Game 7. Fans in St. Louis went crazy, and a group of fans in Calgary did the same. During the Cardinals game last night, the St. Louis Blues celebrated their “hometown team” on Twitter, and showed their support for their team working hard for a championship. The Blues players, media member, and even Rivermen players, banded together on Twitter, and apparently loudly in their Calgary hotel, to show their support of the Cardinals. The better parts of their Twitter conversations are below.

From Blues Players:
David Perron: @DP_57

Kevin Shattenkirk: @Shattdeuces

Alex Steen: @Steener20

From Rivermen Players:
Ian Cole: @Icole28

Stefan Della Rovere: @SDelly90

Jake Allen: @34jallen

From Blues Media:
Darren Pang: @Panger40

Chris Kerber: @chriskerber

Kelly Chase: @chasenpucks39

Jeremy Rutherford: @jprutherford

A Few Blues Ownership Questions Answered by Rutherford’s Chat

Jeff Quirin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:52:46 +0000

St. Louis Post Dispatch beat writer Jeremy Rutherford does a weekly chat on STLToday.com In this weeks installment he fielded many questions relating to his report that the Blues rejected Max Chambers $167 million offer to buy the franchise. His answers are must see.

- – -

CupInMyLifetime: Per your article, the sale to Chambers seems like a no-brainer. A guy willing to pay more than what the team is worth, add up to $10mil in payroll, and keep the Blues in St Louis? Every Blues fan’s dream ownership situation.Are Checketts and Towerbrooke possibly concerned about where said “cash” is coming from, or what’s the deal? That’s about the only thing I can think of that would hinder the sale.

Jeremy Rutherford: When things look too good to be true, you have to have some skepticism. I spoke to Chambers several times over the past few days and he is certainly eager to own a hockey team. He obviously said all of the things Blues’ fans wanted to hear. But there is a lot more to getting approved as an owner in the NHL. I am not privy to his financing (where he’s getting his money), inside the mind of Dave Checketts (why they’re not negotiating with him) or inside the mind of Gary Bettman (whether the league would approve him). For one day, we took Chambers at his word. Now we’ll see if anything develops. But I would not get overly excited about some of the things that were mentioned until more steps are taken.

Translation: The details provided by Chambers can’t be verified. Wait and see.

CuriousGeorge: Jr: Do you see the Blues accepting any deal under $190 million or are they just trying to get Chambers to up his bid? How long can they hold off Citigroup? Doesn’t the indebtedness to Citi influence the sale price? After all, interest on that debt continues to build the longer they hold out.

Jeremy Rutherford: My two cents: The Blues are trying to get as much as they can, and they’ll negotiate (or won’t negotiate) any way they have to get what they feel the franchise is worth. If they or the NHL feels that Chambers isn’t credible, that’s a story for a different day. But if he has $167 million and can prove, which I don’t know if he has, then why not sit down with him and negotiate? According to him, they said NO to $167 and followed up with no negotiations.The $120 million loan with Citigroup is the big issue. Banks like Citigroup are known to give pro sports teams multiple extensions, but they’ve already given Checketts one extension and they’ve attempted (and some believe successfully) to sell off some of the debt at a discounted rate. How much longer before the loan goes into default. Another big issue, how long will TowerBrook let this go without a deal? When Oct. 8 comes and the Blues start making payroll and face other expenses, when will TowerBrook say “Sell to the highest bidder.” You would think they’ve already done that, but apparently they’re holding out for more, too.

Translation: It’s an odd situation and the loan, as well as the start of the season loom large.

Puck: JR,
Who holds the final say-so on accepting or rejecting bids for the Blues? If it is Towerbrook, then they must not mind holding on to the Blues for as long as the bank is willing to float a loan. Also, do you recall the price Checketts & Co. paid for the Blues? Would $167 Million cover the purchase price plus losses and interest to date?

Jeremy Rutherford: Good question. My best answer is TowerBrook since they have the biggest investment. I don’t pretend to know what TowerBrook is thinking It’s been a while since I put in a call into them but more than once TowerBrook referred questions to Checketts’ company, SCP Worldwide.Obviously with the deadline on Checketts’ loan extension coming Sept. 30, and no sale imminent, TowerBrook either believes another extension will happen, they are planning to help Checketts or they’re not worried about it. If TowerBrook wanted out of the deal ASAP, they’d make the sale happen and take a haircut. But they seem to be sticking to their asking price.The report when Checketts bought the Blues was that he paid $150. Those numbers can be skewed, though, when you factor in debt, etc. I think it was closer to $130-140.

Translation: It stands to reason that TowerBrook is calling the shots and if they wanted to make a deal happen they could. (My 2 bits: They’re holding out till there is no more time left or someone clicks the buyout button)

Puckwatcher: JR
With regard to the 167M story this morning did Chambers approach the Post with the story, or was it that you persuade him?
Thanks for keeping fans in touch all summer!

Jeremy Rutherford:
Chambers contacted me. He was ready to talk

Translation: Chambers is playing the PR card. (My 2 bits: That card works two ways. Who knows if Chambers cares)

pagethollow: JR – thanks for chatting and I enjoy your columns as well. As the sale of the team, Stillman should have information and knowledge that gives him a “leg up” on the competing buyers. His offer was for a reported $101million. In your opinion, does Stillman really know something or was his offer a “low ball” figure? I’m basing this comment with the knowledge that Forbes valued the team at $165million or thereabout. It’s hard to understand how Stillman, an insider, could come up with a figure that is so far below what Checketts is supposedly asking ($190million?).

Jeremy Rutherford:
It’s difficult to know what information the groups have when they are making their bids. Game Plan has to make all of the numbers available to the interested parties, so while it’s been assumed that Stillman has more privy information, I don’t know that that’s the case.What I’ve heard from many sources is that the Blues are not in good, sound financial shape and it’s going to take some time to turn that around. Chambers told me yesterday (but it didn’t appear in the article) that a new Blues owner would have to be prepared to lose $12-14 million per year for a couple of years once they took over the team.

So how did Stillman come up with $110-120 million as his bid? Hard to tell. But I’m guessing he didn’t build his beer distributorship from the ground up by making bad business decisions.

Translation: The situation may be more dire than it looks superficially.

tjm7b6: Chambers had mentioned in your article that a sale midseason would hinder any opportunity to make changes for 8-9 months. Seeing as its very unlikely that this sale happens before the season starts, is it likely that it won’t be til next offseason so its a smoother transition? Also, do you know what changes Chambers might have been talking about? I don’t see how trades and what not couldn’t be managed once the sale is final, even if it is midseason.Also, If/When the sale isn’t final before the Sept. deadline, are the Blues going to be in a Phoenix position and be taken over by the league til a sale is finalized. I would imagine they would sell much cheaper and faster if the league takes over rather than Checketts Group trying to get every penny possible of their inflated asking price.

Jeremy Rutherford:
It would be easier for any ownership group to take over any team in the offseason, as opposed to December or January. Game Plan, the group running the Blues’ sale, said the same thing when the team was put on the block. That’s why their goal was for it to happen before the regular season. Obviously, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. As far as Chambers’ comments, I believe he was referring to the structure of the organization, not trades, etc.I don’t know what will happen when the Sept. 30 deadline comes … while there is no imminent plans for the NHL to take over the Blues, I can’t rule out that possibility from happening, at least based on the information I have.

Translation: It’s hard to take over a business in the middle of their busy season. Who knows what happens at the next deadline. (My 2 bits: Another soft deadline announcement or timetable will makes its way to reporters)

Mike C: Did you come away impressed by Chambers or did he seem ‘sketchy’? Somewhere in between?

Jeremy Rutherford:

The prospective buyers sign confidentiality agreements. The fact that Chambers went on the record with details of the negotiations leads me to believe that either has strong intestinal fortitude or he’s not in tune with the big picture. Either way, he is ticked about the process and he wanted to get it off his chest

Translation: Consider the source with a grain of salt.

- – -

What can we take away from JR’s answers?

- Chambers gave him info and he ran with it.

- His legitimacy is still in question.

- The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight, its too dark to estimate how far away it really is.

Even though I know the situation is slowly progressing, the method in which current ownership is handling the sale is beginning to grate on my nerves. I accept that the Blues are a business and that businessmen are trying to make a deal to make a buck. But toying around with your consumer base? Continually providing misleading information (bloody soft deadlines”)? At what point does the yo-yo game stop? sadly, it looks like no one really knows.

Late Night Report: New Potential Player in Blues Sale

Jeff Quirin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:08:57 +0000

Keep your eyes on STLToday.com and your favorite Twitter app tomorrow. An update on the sale of the St. Louis Blues appears to be on the way.

Per a tweet from St. Louis Post Dispatch beat writer Jeremy Rutherford, there may be a new group interested in purchasing the Blues.

One name that comes to mind is Steve Duchense. While most may not consider him a NHL star (yeah he really isn’t…), but he is linked to Allen Americans owner Doug Miller who is one of several groups interested in acquiring the Dallas Stars. If Miller is exploring all options, having a former Blues defenseman on board wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Some will hope for Brett Hull, but he is with the Stars organization. I guess as a result of all of the ownership turmoil he could “be out”, but I’d imagine that type of news would have made waves already.

Wayne Gretzky? I think we all saw what happened in Phoenix, but if he was just the face selling the team and not so involved in the “hockey decisions”, it may not be a bad thing if the interested buyer was him.

Q’s Cuties: Blues vs Avalanche 2-22

Kelly Quirin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 23:51:52 +0000

Welcome to tonight’s cutie watch! After Saturday’s blow-out win against the Ducks, the Blues faltered against the Blackhawks yesterday afternoon. Another blown lead, and Blues fans are left wondering what it will take to have their team make a turnaround. Was yesterday a fluke? Possibly. The Blues need a lot more fire in their skates if they hope to try to make a playoff run. “Every Game Counts” has been the motto this season, but the games that really matter haven’t been made count. Halak is still not ready to return to action, so look for Conklin to start in goal, and for Bishop to continue to be with the Blues as back up. Tonight’s game is the rescheduled “blizzard” game. How will the Blues face off against the team they had their recent “blockbuster” trade with? Only time will tell. Here is who I will be keeping an eye on:

Kevin Shattenkirk #12: This cutie is the new defenseman for the Blues. In his first game with the Blues, “Shatty” had an assist. While this point brought him to 27 points for the season (7 G, 20 A), it also broke an 8 game pointless streak. It should be interesting to see this young defenseman face the team who just traded him. This is Shattenkirk’s first NHL season, and at age 22 he is developing to be a defenseman that looks for points. Keep your eye on this cutie to provide decent defense for the Blues- his plus-minus was a 0 in yesterday’s disappointing loss.

Avalanche Cutie to Watch: The Avalanche sit just one spot below the Blues- as the 2nd worst team in the West. Their 57 points is only 6 behind the Blues 63, so the Blues should be looking at this game as a must not lose battle. The Avalanche are coming off a 4-0 loss to the Sharks. While they no longer have Stewart the “Blues-killer” on their team, Matt Duchene is returning after a hand injury tonight. This point leader is also treacherous against the Blues. Here’s who I’ll be watching:

Erik Johnson #6, Defense: This cutie is headed back to St. Louis for his second game as an Avalanche. Twitter has been alive today with Johnson’s comments about the Blues and being traded. He’s quoted as saying the Blues visiting locker room needs work and that he wants to make Armstrong “regret trading” him (Video Available on Puck Daddy by Greg Wyshynski). Check out Lou Korac, Norm Sanders, Jeremy Rutherford, Greg Wyshnski, and Andy Strickland on Twitter (and their blog posts today) for the all of the Johnson scoop today. Personally, I think Johnson should focus more on making himself an excellent hockey player instead of a good one and leave the comments in his head. Watch for this cutie to be trying to prove his worth against the Blues tonight…. he seems to be wanting to make a statement in St. Louis.

Bluenotes: JR on Illegal Curve

Jeff Quirin — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:03:34 +0000

Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch (Blues beat writer) will be on Illegal Curve Radio today. The show starts at 10:00 AM Central. If you cannot catch it live, get the episode on podcast.

For you hockey podcast junkies, Illegal Curve is a must have.

Follow JR on Twiter, @jprutherford.

Pietrangelo Back to Juniors

Jeff Quirin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:36:19 +0000

Doing a couple final checks around the Twitter world I uncovered a tidbit Blues fans will be extremely interested.

Per Jeremy Rutherford of the Post and Chris Kerber of KMOX, Alex Pietrangelo is heading back to his Junior’s team in Niagara.

Pietrangelo is heading back to his OHL Team the Niagara Ice Dogs. There are rumors however that he will be traded to a Juniors team contending for the playoffs.

While I do not see an official statement from the Blues on their site however, I have come to trust JR and Kerbs. Blues Vice President of Hockey Operations said on Team 1380 today that the team had already come to a decision on Pietrangelo’s status with the team and as of this afternoon that was not public knowledge. I am assuming that this decision was ready before his sluggish performance tonight against the US Team in the WJC Gold Medal game.

What does this mean Blues fans? Well a couple things.

1. The Blues are set on their current depth on defense.
2. They expect enough offensive output to come from Johnson, Colaiacovo, and Brewer to make this team competitive.
3. His offensive upside did not counter balance his defensive shortcomings.
4. They want to give Strachan and Junland a chance to get NHL time if the need arises. They do have more experience at higher levels than Alex.

I hope Alex doesn’t see this as the end of the world. I doubt he does, but I am sure it stings to find out that you aren’t going back to the NHL when you just lost the biggest game of your career to date. Alex has said that the front office has communicated clearly with him before on their plans for him. My guess is he takes his problems to task and improves on them. If Team Canada entrusted him with an “A” for the World Junior Championships, then the people with real hockey smarts see he is improving and maturing as a player.

Before fans start in with the “bust” label, let’s do a reality check.

- At the 2008 Draft it was said that of the 4 defensemen taken in the top 5 picks, he had the highest ceiling and the most development needed to get to the NHL level. Just because Doughty is lighting the world on fire and Alex isn’t, doesn’t mean tat Alex won’t get there.

- The Blues have 7 defensemn under contracts on the NHL roster already. By sending him back, his contract clock doesn’t start ticking yet. That means more years he is paid less, which helps the franchise pay the bills.

- The Blues have two very capable defensemen in Peoria who can step in to the same role Alex would. Strachan and Junland are just further along in their development than he is. The Blues will also have to re-sign both players and they need to see what they have in each guy going forward.

- Once his season is done back in Juniors, he can join up with Peoria if they are still playing.

I can say I am as disappointed as most Blues fans to hear this news. We all want to see the high draft picks blossom right away like other teams. However, there really is no room for him and he hasn’t shown enough progression to move himself up the Blues depth chart. So why burn a year of his contract? The Blues are working towards a special team filled with capable talent. Sometimes that talent doesn’t progress as quickly as the fans want. In this case Alex just isn’t progressed enough yet to warrant NHL ice time. When this team has the whole young core locked up and playing with experience, we won’t care that we had to send him back to Juniors.

Good luck back in Juniors Alex. Keep at it.

Blues News: Brewer Skating in Drills.

Jeff Quirin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:36:23 +0000

St. Louis Post Dispatch Blues writer Jeremy Rutherford and Dan O’Neill reported several Blues tidbits today.

- Eric Brewer has been participating in drills and has not been wearing the Orange “No Contact” Jersey. Brewer made it seem like there is little to read in to ditching the Orange Jersey. This is still excellent news. The Blues really do need a healthy Eric Brewer. I still attest it needs to be after Alex Pietrangelo plays in game number 10 this year.

- Rutherford and O’Neill report that Coach Andy Murray had TJ Oshie, David Perron, and Patrik Berglund working in drills as defenseman today. Apparently in effort to get their their motors working harder. Not sure if Perron needed that, but we’ll trust Coach on this one.

Hard to dig up news on the Blues when there is such a large layover between games. For now all is quiet. However, things can certainly change if there is another DOA performance on Thursday in the desert.