Blues fans have watched several key pieces from the 2015-16 roster find new homes over the summer. Brian Elliott was traded to Calgary. David Backes signed with Boston. Troy Brouwer joined Elliott by signing with Calgary. On paper, the Blues look like a weaker team entering 2016-17 after seeing important veterans exit in favor of a stronger commitment to youth.
Will the Blues take a step back in the upcoming season? It’s a possibility and the team’s GM, Doug Armstrong, has personally admitted there’s a chance the Blues will take a step backward before moving forward again.
Via the Boston Globe:
“It’s going to be an interesting case study on how quickly this group takes up the leadership. Can they do it in September? Or does it take them a year? There’s certainly a faith that over time, they’re going to pick it up without any issue. Obviously you want them to pick it up as quickly as possible. We don’t want to take any backwards movement in our organization. But sometimes you do expose yourself to maybe taking half a step back to take a couple steps forward. It just seemed like with the commitments we want to make to a player like Schwartz — the one we made with Tarasenko, what we did with Jake Allen at 25-26 years old, Colton Parayko we think is a really good player — people get caught in the crosshairs. That’s the unfortunate side of the business.”
In summary, the Blues knowingly accepted the risks of committing to their younger stars in the hopes it will yield continued – and bigger – success in the future. That’s a mentality most would accept, but at the same time the Blues only have themselves to blame for their current situation. They’ve been forced to expose themselves and have been unable to spend on any big free agents because of how they have handled contracts across the roster.
Blues fans may understand Armstrong’s comments, but they won’t be happy. Considering the team is coming off a deep playoff run and is about to skate in its 50th season, hearing that the club may take a step back while still hunting for its first Cup is difficult to swallow. The team has been mocked for how it has handled their transactions this summer and those frustrations may escalate now that the GM has admitted things may get worse before they get better.
