St. Louis Blues 2010 Offseason Thread

[Popeye_Card]

I can understand King's frustration with the Blues though, and thus the drawn-out contract negotiations. Even after coming back from the broken hand last year, he skated like 4 times. In one of those he gladly stepped up to take on Boogard, who had been taking some liberties with the Blues earlier in the year and he broke his nose. His reward for that? More time in the press box while Cam got back out there.

[Popeye_Card]

I didn't complete that thought.

It was clear to King (and everyone else) that Cam was the choice going forward in StL. So I can understand his reluctance to just sign right away for the same price as a guy who sucks.

[JCShutout]

Looks like management confirm that Brewer will continue to wear the C.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/p ... 2bc8b.html

Davidson said the Blues don't have a "next captain" picked out, or a specific player waiting to take that role.
"It's an evolution process," Davidson said. "You may not have your next captain for five years, who knows? It's like going to the Army at West Point. You've got colonels and you've got generals. From that group, people evolve as you get older. There's a lot of kids in (the Blues' locker room) that have been captains of their junior teams. A lot of them have leadership skills. But it will evolve at this level. It will tell us. You love to have your leadership come from within your own room, but that's all part of the process ... it's an interesting process."

Some concern at LGB about Brewer being resigned because of the bolded part. I don't mind them resigning Brewer for 2 years at $1.5-$1.8 million per. I think he'd be a fine #3/4.

[TheoSqua]

Yeah I don't get the Brewer hate. I watch a lot of blues games, so it's not like I never see him play. He's no Chris Pronger and he's not a #1 defenceman but he's still good. He has good range, decent size, is fast enough to play a bit outside his zone, and has mediocre hands and passing ability.

Part of his problem was being played as a #1 d-man with #1 minutes. The first 2 months of his season last year he was playing 30-40 shifts and 25+ minutes a night. He's just not good enough for that. Once Payne took over and better assessed roles Brewer started playing less minutes and fewer shifts he was a -1 over his last 31 games. Still not amazing, but definitely better than the -16 he achieved in his first 20 games of the season.

I figure with a full offseason to work on conditioning and no injuries, a better understanding of his role, and more talent stepping into resonsibility on the D-Line that this year players like Brewer and Jackman will be relied on a little bit less in the past and will become better players.

I wouldn't be surprised one bit to see Brewer crack 30-40 points and have a positive +/- this season.

[JCShutout]

I think the Brewer hate comes from his salary. I would think hardly anyone would be frustrated if Lohse had stunk on a 1 year deal or even, say, a 3 year, $16 million deal.

[thrill]

http://ingoalmag.com/masks/exclusive-fi ... -new-mask/
Halak's mask.

[TheoSqua]

I think the Brewer hate comes from his salary. I would think hardly anyone would be frustrated if Lohse had stunk on a 1 year deal or even, say, a 3 year, $16 million deal.

I don't blame Brewer for that though, it's all on management. Even Lohse, Moz had to know giving him that big of a deal was a huge risk and now they're paying for it. But you can't fault Kyle Lohse for taking what he's offered.

[StL Dan]

Do any of you follow @CamJanssen55 on Twitter?

His latest tweet: "Another great day of working out w the boys. Pretty excited for the season that the StL Blues are gonna have. Watch out Western Conference."

[TheoSqua]

I would hope he'd feel that way.

[JackofDiamonds]

I would hope he'd feel that way.

Do any of you follow @CamJanssen55 on Twitter?

His latest tweet: "Another day of working out. Pretty terrified for the season that the StL Blues are gonna have. Oh God, is this actually going to happen again?Watch us fall out of the playoffs in the Western Conference."

Yep... that would be decidedly less encouraging.