2007-08 St. Louis Blues Rebuild: Take 2

[Moondoggie78]

8/15/2007
The year is 2007. Dave Checketts has announced to the city of St Louis and across the NHL that he has hired a new GM and HC of the St. Louis Blues. The previous two seasons have been hard to not say a disappointment. The NHL world was shocked by the hiring of 30 year old Zack Meyer. Meyer, who is only really known locally as someone who has lead the local junior team to the championship.

"I'm happy to accept this position and feel like I am up for a challenge to take over an NHL team. I know that this team is something very important to the city of St. Louis, and I want to give my city what it deserves, and it deserves a Cup."

When asked what we can expect from the new GM and coach, Meyer had this to say. "As the GM and coach, my primary focus would be on developing a strong foundation for the team. I'd prioritize scouting and nurturing young talent, implementing a strategic playing style, fostering a positive team culture, and working closely with the existing roster to optimize their skills and potential. Additionally, I'd aim to create a cohesive plan that aligns with the long-term goals of the organization while staying flexible to adapt to the dynamic nature of the sport."

The Blues are still looking for their next captain. When asking Meyer if he has already a decision on who they want to be the leader, "We are still considering this and want to make sure that we are putting someone in that position just to put them there. Like I said, we have a lot of work to do and we need to make sure there is a method to the madness. Dave (Checketts) and I know that there is a lot of work to do and we have been in constant communication with each other.

[Moondoggie78]

This roster has a lot of work to do.

[Moondoggie78]

9/15/2007
First major team shakeup
The St. Louis Blues shopped Center Doug Weight. After listening to a few offers from around the league, the San Jose Sharks offered a center piece that sparked some interest. After a little bit of negotiating, a deal was made.

"Being 36, I take nothing for granted being in this league. It is a gift each and every day. Getting traded still comes as a shock whenever things like this happen. But, I'd like to view this as a fresh opportunity. I plan to use my experience to adapt swiftly, contribute to my new teams success, and embrace the chance to make a positive impact in a different environment and support my new teammates" Weight commented.

"It's never easy trading a player, let alone a veteran like Doug who brings a lot to the locker room. Doug did everything that we asked of him, but sometimes we have to move past that and understand that this is a business. We wish him all the luck in San Jose and we are extremely excited to be gaining a player like Logan in our organization. He (Logan) is someone that we have had our eye on for quite some time. We're not going to rush him into the organization and want him to get his feet wet and a taste of what professional hockey is like. We are looking at a potential spot for him in the NHL roster, but we know that we do not want to rush him. So he could see a little bit of time down in the AHL before he comes up to the big club."

[Moondoggie78]

12/13/2007
Team / Player accomplishment
Keith Tkachuk has played 1000 games in the NHL

[Moondoggie78]

2/7/2008
The St. Louis Blues have announced a trade. DJ King has been moved to the LA Kings.

2/26/2008
The St. Louis Blues beat reporter broke the news this morning when they stated that Manny Legace had been traded to Montreal. The full details took a little bit to come to surface but it seems a package deal.
St. Louis would announce sending Manny Legace, Jeff Woywitka, and Micki DuPont to the Canadians. In return, 21 year old Andrej Sekera.
"We like Sekera's game and think that he can bring a lot to our squad. We're building for the future and we want Andrej to come in and be able to contribute to this team right away."

[Moondoggie78]

2/27/2008
The deadline bell has rang and the St. Louis Blues have confirmed there are no more trades to announce.

GM Zack Meyer has address the media this afternoon in regards to the approach at this years trade deadline.

"Looking at this team, we knew coming in that we would have to be a bit aggressive at the deadline to acquire some pieces for the future. Making additions by subtraction is never something anyone likes to do, but we needed to establish that foundation of the team. The players that we moved were hard pills to swallow, but after speaking with them, they both understood the business side of things and are just happy to compete for a Cup. Guys like Mayers and Kariya are excellent pieces to any team and I can't thank them enough for everything they provided to this team and I wish them nothing but luck in their future".

When being asked if there was any chance of chasing them as potential free agents, Meyer responded with "We'll see. Never know."

Meyer then address the new incoming players. "Yeah boy oh boy we are looking forward to these guys. Gio...whew. You talk about a guy who can handle both sides of the puck, play PK and PP. We knew that we had a surplus of guys on the blue like that were defensive focused. But, the league is transitioning. Its growing. We needed a guy who could also shoot and be a big play maker for the guys up front and we feel like Gio is going to be that guy who take also take a little bit of pressure off of EJ (Erik Johnson)."

"JVR (van Riemsdyk), was someone that was looked at heavily from the previous draft. From my understanding, a trade just couldn't be worked out at the time. I'm extremely happy to have him in the organization and know that he is going to be looked at to be a core piece to this team. He and (Erik) Johnson played together during the 05-06 USNTDP and had nothing but great things to say about him. JVR can't wait to hit the ice and meet the boys"

The following corresponding moves allows for prospect, David Perron, to be called up and make his NHL debut.

"Nothing more for David to prove down in the AHL. He's proved that he is ready to make the leap. He's strong on the puck with great hands and already a very mature vision out on the ice."

[Moondoggie78]

The 2007-08 Stanley Cup playoffs have completed. The Detroit Red Wings will be hoisting the Cup

[CanuckJohnny]

Good work so far. Looking forward to the offseason.

[Moondoggie78]

Originally Posted by CanuckJohnny

Good work so far. Looking forward to the offseason.

Thanks! Trying to live up to what some of you all legends are doing here!

[Moondoggie78]

6/21/2008
Award Ceremony
Maurice Richard Trophy - Alex Ovechkin
Art Ross - Alex Ovechkin
Plus Minus Award - Mikael Samuelsson
Jennings Trophy - Chris Osgood
Bill Masterton Trophy - Nicklas Lidstrom
Mark Messier Leadership Award - Nicklas Lidstrom
Ted Lindsay Award - Sidney Crosby
Hart Trophy - Sidney Crosby
Conn Smythe Trophy - Pavel Datsyuk
Calder Trophy - Patrick Kane
Norris Trophy - Nicklas Lidstrom
Frank Selke Trophy - John Madden
Vezna Trophy - Martin Brodeur
Jack Adams Award - John Stevens (Philadelphia Flyers)

[Moondoggie78]

The Draft Order has been set!

[Moondoggie78]

2008 NHL Entry Draft

The NHL Entry Level draft has completed. St. Louis Blues made it very well known they were there for business.

Entering into the draft with the 6th overall pick. The Blues selected Defenseman Roman Josi. Josi's strongest part of his game is his playmaking ability. Scouts have made it known that he is capable of handling a pretty heavy workload and won't tire out easily. What he lacks in the physical department, his playmaking skills will make up.



But St. Louis wasn't done yet. They moved up in the draft to select another defensemen.
St. Louis received New York Rangers' 1st overall draft pick for RD Bryce Salvador, RW Dan Hinote, RD Andrej Sekera, 2008 3rd Round pick, and 2009 2nd Round pick (San Jose).

"We saw that Pietrangelo was still available on the board. To walk away with both Josi and Petro, that is something that doesn't come by often".

Alex Pietrangelo, selected at 9th overall, is a strong puck moving defensemen. He has good strength and vision on the ice and looked at to log heavy minutes with his strong on ice hockey IQ. He is a great skater. Like Josi, he isn't extremely physical but he gets the job done on the ice.

[Moondoggie78]

St. Louis wins big at the draft
NHL analysts have reviewed the draft and St. Louis was announced to have walked away with the best draft.


St. Louis Blues walk away from the draft with:
R. Josi, A. Pietrangelo, E. Lack, J. Lehtera, J. Demers, M. Raffl, J. Mursak, and A. Lindback.

================================================== =====

A review of the 1st round 2008 draft class is as follows:
1.01 - New York Islanders - RD - E. Karlsson
1.02 - Atlanta Thrashers - C - S. Stamkos
1.03 - Dallas Stars - RD - J. Carlson
1.04 - Columbus Blue Jackets - RD - D. Doughty
1.05 - Edmonton Oilers - RW - J. Eberle
1.06 - St. Louis Blues - LD - R. Josi
1.07 - Tampa Bay Lightning - G - B. Holtby
1.08 - Toronto Maple Leafs - RW - J. Bailey
1.09 - St. Louis Blues - A. Pietrangelo
1.10 - Vancouver Canucks - RD - J. Spurgeon
1.11 - Phoenix Coyotes - G - F. Anderson
1.12 - Colorado Avalanche - RD - C. Tanev
1.13 - Calgary Flames - G - D. Kuemper
1.14 - Montreal Canadiens - G - M. Jones
1.15 - Ottawa Senators - G - J. Markstrom
1.16 - Los Angeles Kings - G - S. Bobrovsky
1.17 - Buffalo Sabres - G - J. Allen
1.18 - Anaheim Ducks - LW - A. Lee
1.19 - Carolina Hurricanes - C - D. Stepan
1.20 - Chicago Blackhawks - C - A. Henrique
1.21 - Boston Bruins - LW - J. Hayes
1.22 - Florida Panthers - T. Brodie
1.23 - Nashville Predators - RD - M. Stone
1.24 - Philadelphia Flyers - LW - M. Hoffman
1.25 - New Jersey Devils - LD - M. Ekholm
1.26 - Washington Capitals - RD - J. Schultz
1.27 - Pittsburgh Penguins - RW - T. Johnson
1.28 - San Jose Sharks - RW - T. Ennis
1.29 - Minnesota Wild - G - M. Condon
1.30 - Detroit Red Wings - RW - C. Atkinson

[Moondoggie78]

Offseason Noteables Around The League


Vancouver Canucks relieve Alain Vigneault of head coaching job. Hire Bruce Cassidy
Carolina Hurricanes axe Peter Laviolette from head coach. Hire Dan Bylsma
Atlanta Thrashers send Bob Hartley packing. Bobby Francis hired.


Retirements
Ed Belfour - Detroit
Phillippe Boucher - Dallas
Bobby Holik - Atlanta
Trevor Linden - Vancouver
Kirk Maltby - Detroit
Glenn Murray - Boston
Yanic Perreault - Chicago
Mark Recchi - Pittsburgh
Curtis Joseph - Phoenix
Patrick Lalime - Chicago

[CanuckJohnny]

Good draft, good job with the trade, I find it very difficult to acquire first round picks, especially top ten (which is good I think, it's rare to trade for those in real life without giving up a haul, like I remember Vancouver trading Cory Schneider for the 10th pick that became Horvat and that was when Schneider had a reputation as a rising young goalie who was already starter quality and elite potential but it doesn't happen a lot in the cap world and it's something that often gets cheesed in a computer game so I don't mind that it's almost impossible for me to trade for a high draft pick).

Man there were a lot of good D and goalies in that draft.

Happy retirement to Trevor Linden and good luck to Bruce Cassidy in Vancouver. (Maybe they can have a different Bruce there it is fifteen years before our IRL Bruce coach).

Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the offseason plays out.

[Moondoggie78]

Off-season Noteable ELC / FA Signings
Toronto - Josh Bailey
Columbus - Drew Doughty, Antoine Roussel
Atlanta - Steven Stamkos, Luke Schenn
Edmonton - Jordan Eberle, Tyler Myers
Chicago - Adam Henrique
Ottawa - Zach Bogosian
Tampa Bay - Travis Hamonic
New Jersey - Jan Rutta
Philadelphia - Mike Hoffman
Calgary - Darcy Kuemper, Michael Del Zotto
Colorado - Johnny Boychuk
Phoenix - Jared Staal, Adam Comrie
Florida - Jordan Nolan
Anaheim - Philip McRae
Detroit - Tomas Kopecky
St. Louis - Ben Bishop, TJ Oshie, Ian Cole

[Moondoggie78]

Oct 2, 2009
NHL waivers are in effect. St. Louis has made the announcement that they have claimed Goaltender Pekka Rinne from waivers off of Nashville.

"Pekka is a competitor. We noticed that earlier on when scouting him and have a feeling about him. When we saw the list of players that were made available from the roster waivers, we knew we had to jump at the opportunity. We're building for the future and acquiring a guy like him gives us a lot of options now."

Rinne is expected to backup newly signed Goalkeeper Vasili Kosheckin

[Moondoggie78]

2008 NHL Season Preview
The upcoming season is about to get underway. Stanley Cup favorites appear to be Anaheim, led by Center Ryan Getzlaf. GM Brian Burke has built a squad that will be the team to beat this season. They can expect challenges from Bryan Murray's Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins featuring Sidney Crosby.

Among the darkhorses, Philadelphia stands out as a possible challenger, with a big season by Jeff Carter capable of pushing them into contender status.

The scoring race will likely see Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, challenged by Alex Ovechkin of Washington and Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

The top defenceman in the league is generally considered to be the Detroit Red Wing's blueliner Nicklas Lidstrom, with Nashville's Shea Weber and Dan Boyle of Tampa Bay also in the running.

Finally, among goaltenders, New Jersey's Martin Brodeur stands out as the league's best, while New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist and Kari Lehtonen of Atlanta can also steal games for their teams.


St. Louis Blues Preview
The St. Louis Blues are still in a rebuilding phase and look to have the younger players out to play.

The roster will feature players such as:
Jay McClement
Brad Boyes
Pekka Rinne
Keith Tkachuk
David Backes
Ryan Johnson
Lee Stempniak
Erik Johnson
Mark Giordano
David Perron
TJ Oshie
Logan Couture
Barrett Jackman

[Moondoggie78]

October news
Brenden Shanahan plays 1500th game
Adam Foote plays 1000th game

Trade:
Nashville sends:
Vernon Fiddler, C, 28
2009 6th Round pick

Detroit sends:
Mikael Samuelsson, RW, 31
2009 2nd Round pick

St. Louis Blues announce Mats Trygg will be out for 3 months with a ruptured Achilles tendon

Ottawa Senators Center Mike Fisher out for 9 months due to ruptured disc


November News
Jozef Stumpel plays 1000th game
Brian Rolston plays 1000th games

Vincent Lecavalier has reached 600 points
Sergei Gonchar reaches 600 points

Trade:
San Jose sends:
Tomas Plihal, C, 25

Los Angeles sends:
Alec Martinez, LD, 21

Mark Streit out with injury for 10 months with a fractured skull


December News
Martin Brodeur plays 1000th game
Kris Draper plays 1000th game
Jason Arnott plays 1000th game

Alexi Kovalev reaches 900 points

Bruce Cassidy fired from Vancouver -- Bob Hartley named new Head Coach

Blues Update
C Jay McClement signs 3 year $9,180,000 deal

[CanuckJohnny]

Wow a universe where Bob Hartley is the Canucks coach lol.

Big money for McClement, is he performing really well?