Here's What We All Want From The New Owners

As some of the hardcore (and/or stalkers) around here know, I grew up a Bears' fan. Yes, it seems that I have a thing for teams that have a hard time winning the big games. But a great moment in recent Chicago Bears' history was the signing of Lovie Smith as the head coach. I thought he'd be a great fit due to his defense-first mentality and the defense-first roster of the Bears.

But I knew it was a good move when he said in his very first press conference that he had three goals:

1. Beat the Packers.
2. Win the Division.
3. Win a Super Bowl.

Wow. Is that the best, most succinct mission statement ever? Now the Blues' owner has been saying a lot of great things, too. I like his initial plan (build through the system, sign key players at appropriate times). I like the types of players he's talking about needing (a mix of vets, heart-and-soul guys, young talent). I like that he won't commit to keeping the present management in place (pack your trash, boys).

But I would love it if someone from the organization would come out and steal a quote from Lovie. The owner, the new GM, new coach, whoever. I'd just love to have a guy who is in a position to influence these things come out and say:

"We won't consider a season a success unless we win the season series against Detroit. After that, we want to win the Central Division every year. Lastly, we expect to bring a Stanley Cup to St. Louis within five years."

I'm flexible on the last two parts, but I'd love to see someone come out and just admit what we all know is true: this team has a complex about the freakin' Red Wings, and until the franchise gets over that, they can't even begin to think about other goals. Even when the Blues won the President's Trophy for best record in the whole league. That year, even the most optimistic of blue-bleeders we're saying (or thinking) "please let someone else knock off Detroit".

That kind of defeatist thinking cuts to the heart of the Blues' failure to win a Cup despite being in the playoffs for 25 straight years. Until the Blues exercise the demon of Detroit, they don't stand a chance of winning anything significant. If they have a great year, but still lose the season series to Detroit, the seed of doubt is in their heads.

Do like Lovie. Say it, then do it. Build a team to specifically beat the Red Wings. Get players who have no respect for that stupid flying wheel. Give them no quarter and expect none in return. Defend our building at all costs. Take a piss on Joe Louis Arena. Beat those guys definitively and the rest will follow. Division championships are available for those who can beat Detroit head-to-head. The confidence that comes from that bolsters a team in the playoffs.

Get someone to say it. We hate Detroit and we know that the most important thing is to beat them.

Bears fans have a saying that if the team went 2-14, but beat Green Bay twice, that's a winning season.

Can we just admit that beating Detroit has become more important than anything else? If the Blues went 8-74, but swept the Wings, I think I could get through the summer just coming up with witty comebacks for the next time I see a bunch of Yzerman-wearing bandwagoners streaming into our rink.

Is It December?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it snowing outside and Patrick Lalime and Reinhard are playing some distorted game of Dueling Blowouts?

Either someone stuck me in a time machine last week or else I'm having one of those series-ending surprise endings where I wake up and say, "I just had the weirdest dream. The Blues were younger, cheaper, more fun and were actually winning games...."

What can I say about a 6-0 blowout to the Sharks that isn't already being cried about irrationally on every messageboard in town? Nothing, I guess. Let's just hope that the Flames take us lightly and that Curtis Sanford wakes up and realizes that his knee is feeling much better now.



In other news, I've got a lot more to write about, but not enough time. Games Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Monday have me all locked up between now and then, but I'll jump on whenever possible.

Best. GT Reader. Ever. Part Deux!

If you don't remember my story from a couple weeks ago about one of my best readers, it is posted below. Tonight, I got to meet him a little better, as he flipped a complimentary ticket to your truly for a sweet box he had set up. Surprisingly unworried about inviting a homeless-looking small time publisher into a private box, Chris and his mom and the rest of the family had quite the sweet set up. I wish I could have stayed longer, but had a ton of work to do tonight for Calgary.

But I'm telling you, I can pick 'em. I know the hardcore fans when I see them. Here's how I know Chris and his mom are among the hardcore.

Two years ago, they were in a head-on collision which ejected Chris from the vehicle. Both of them suffered broken legs.

They didn't miss a home game.

Our current ownership group should hang their heads in shame. Shame, I says!

Anyway, thanks for the ticket Mom and Chris. See you Thursday.

Cup Winners

Some day our Blues will win the Stanley Cup. And with this new rebuild, I think I'll live to see it. I hope that it'll be at a point when I can enjoy it and my grandkids don't have to wake me up to tell me that it happened.

But when it does happen, I can guarantee one thing: I will know, forever, the names of every member of the team who gets his name on the Cup.

It's the greatest honor and an unparalleled tradition in sports. Every winner gets his name inscribed on the trophy awarded to the winners. Nothing else compares. Football and baseball and basketball have nice enough looking trophies, but the players don't actually become part of the trophy like they do in hockey.

Here's the other great thing about the Cup. It takes such effort from the entire team that everyone who has a part in the win gets their name on it. Not those who scored. Not those who played most of the games. Not those who suited up in the Finals. Everyone. If you play 41 regular season games and not one playoff game, you get on the Cup. Play in the playoffs, even if it's just one game? You're on.

It's recognition that hockey is a team sport and even the gritty leadership grinder guys are important in winning the game, just as the high-flying goal scoring guys are important. I love that.

So, when our time comes, I'm going to etch our guys on my brain just like the guy at the Hockey Hall of Fame etches their names on the Cup. I'll be rattling them off like a cheap parlor trick for the rest of my life.

"Grandpa, who won the Stanley Cup for the Blues?"

And off I'll go.

I was thinking about this because I was looking at a list of Cup winners. Wanna see some guys who have their names etched in history? You'd never guess some of these guys.

04 Tampa - Martin Cibak. Chris Dingman. Stan Neckar. Nolan Pratt. Eric Perrin. Darren Rumble.
03 Devils - Jim McKenzie. Pascal Rheaume. Corey Schwab.
02 Wings - Can't bring myself to read the list.
01 Avs - Chris Dingman! Scott Parker. Nolan Pratt!
00 Devils - Brad Bombadir. Steve Brule.
99 Stars - Tony Hrkac. Jon Sim.

I mean look at that list. How are Nolan Pratt and Chris Dingman two time Stanley Cup winners? Martin Cibak? Steve Brule? Pascal Rheaume? How many of these guys are drinking free off of this for the rest of their lives?

Career minor leaguers who had one year in the N. Career grinders who wind up in the right place at the right time. Punchers who play to protect the skill guys all year and never pull on their jersey during the playoffs.

Doesn't matter how they did it. Stanley Cup winners all of them. That's wild.

If you're the 53rd man on the Pittsburgh Steelers, pretty much no one believes you two years after you won. But in the NHL, if you're Martin Cibak, your name is on the trophy forever.

Now where's my free beer, bitch?

Stupid Hockey Truisms

Sometimes stupid shite winds up in my head. Then I caint shake it. Most of the time it's hockey crap. Sometimes it becomes a 'From The Editor' piece. Sometimes it's not substantial enough. Then you get stuck with it.

Here's soem stuff that's bugging me lately about hockey.

Detroit is Hockeytown. Detroit is full of shite. 'Official' numbers show that the Red Wings arena is playing before 100.2% capacity. I watched them play the Ducks tonight on TSN and there were literally thousands of empty seats in that building.

The Blue sreport official sales of around 13,000 seats per game. Ha. Anyone who has been to one of the big games, like CRosby and Pittsburgh, knows that that building hasn't seen 13,000 asses since back when the Blues were in the playoffs.

Hell, if the Blues have put 10,000 in the stands for a single game this year, I haven't seen it.

So, the dickwads in Hockeytown are doing the same thing as the Blues - counting the season ticket sales (and all those corporate seats that aren't being filled). Fine, so what? You can't sell out your barn on a weekday when the Ducks are in town. I get it. Just don't think that you're hockeytown if you can't sell out your barn. Minnesota? That game is sold out. Toronto? Sold. Ottawa? Sold. Calgary? Sold. Colorado? Sold.

But you Detroit bandwagon bitches have stolen the Hockeytown name. Once Pizzatown starts to suck, that place is going to be all seats and one lone dude in a McCarty sweater.

The Blues Suck.
As I watch out-of-town broadcasts, announcers like to count down games to play and the race for the playoffs. They almost always count games against the Note, like they're sure wins.

Back in the fall, that worked. It doesn't now. You stupid, stupid announcers. This is your job, for chrissake! Have you not noticed that the Blues have only lost outright in three of the last 20 games? That means they won outright or went to OT/SO in 85% of their games since January 17th. I doubt I'd count those Blues match ups as sure points.

The Blackhawks Suck.

Ok, that one actually is true.

Wild v Blues / Kings v Blues

Sorry I don't have time to put together one of my patented well-prosed posts (cough cough), but I have to start working on Columbus like yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday, I went to the game with Son of GT, who was attending his first game. As guests of #8 and the lovely Mrs 8, we had a blast. My kid was into the whole thing and we got to stay the whole time (he's not yet 5, so there was some question in my mind).

The stars must have been aligned because not only did he get to see his first Blues game, have a blast, see an OT win, but on top of it all, Lee "Dutchie" Stempniak got the OT GW. Son of GT, a quick study, had both hands in the air, yelling at the top of his lungs. What a great game this is.

One last note on that experience. If you attend a lot of Blues games, you get used to the game day atmosphere. The fabric of the game. You forget how amazing that is when it's your first time. And you're three feet tall.

Between last night and tonight, the Blues have put up some great effort. The defense shuttled out old Eric Weinrich and therefore made room for old Steve Poapst to suit up again. Ug. Brad Lee is on to something with his LFP. Steve Poapst, until you hit waivers again, your name is LFP.

After Waiver Wire, the next oldest Blue on the defense is 26 years old. That's what we've been clamoring for all year. Looks like LP finally got our website forwarded to him.

The offense looks great, too. Tkachuk looked a little off tonight, and was, as #8 put it on Friday, 'quiet'. But I have faith that the big fella will be breaking out of it soon enough. McClement has looked positively Dutchie-like with his hardskating and drive to the net. Having him play in St. Louis has done him remarkable good.

I can't say enough good things about Dallas Drake's decision to stay here and gut this out as Captain. As everyone knows, I have no back-office connections with the Blues, so I don't know if Drake specifically asked not to be traded, but I do know just from study of the game that if he HAD specifically asked to be moved, he'd be gone. And no one would have judged him for it. He's getting older and he wants to win a Cup, like all of those guys do. Plenty of teams would have called the Blues about getting him. But he's here still, and I believe it's because he wants to be here.

Some Notes On Sweaters

I love the sweaters, especially the personalized ones. I love the strange ones the best. Whenever action is slow on ice, I scan the crowd for wacky sweaters (and people with the GT in their hands).

Strangest one Friday: Blues white with number 16. Nameplate: Turek.

Strangest one Saturday: Kings black with 36 Fukufuji on it. Fuku is a Kings goaltending prospect from Japan, but the kid is so far from ever wearing a Kings' jersey, you wonder if the scouting staff got the GM to pick him just so they could hear the name called and start laughing. I guess that's why the dude bought the jersey, too. It's funny, I guess, but is it like $200 funny?

Started wondering when I'll see the first Shishkanov jersey. The Wideman and Stempniak versions showed up in the stands pretty quickly.... The first person I see wearing a Shish jersey gets a GT free. If that person finds me to show it off, I'll throw in a free GT t-shirt when they roll off the line here shortly.

Ok, working away on Columbus. See you on Monday.

Oh, I also finally turned on reader comments on the blog here under duress from a couple folks. Fine, you win. Feel free to tell me I'm an idiot, it won't shut me up (just ask the wifeditor).

Going Quick - Two Games In A Row

Printing this bitch as I type. Printing at the GT HQ (opulent as ever) is really a step up. I've cut out a bunch of the little editorial errors that you can only catch when you see it in print. So, I think the streamlined look is better, plus I'm cutting down on the little errors that used to pervade this thing.

Maybe now my neighbor will stop calling it a 'zine.

As the printer churns away, the HQ is filled with a strange toner smell - the smell of progress, I say.

[Crazy deep reference alert]

Plus, as the thing is clanging away and papers are spitting out, I can't help but be reminded of the Chief Engineer from 'Das Boot'. If anyone has seen the epic 4 hour German U-Boat movie (in German, with English subtitles or dubbing), you can picture me, all grubby and dirty and tired, falling asleep with my head leaning on the engine as it hammers away. Either that or cheering it on, "go, you magnificent bastard!"



Anyway, hope to see some of you all at the game, but I may be inside instead of selling. My son has been asking every day when he gets to go to a Blues game. Maybe tomorrow is the day. If he's good and comes up with at least one good Top 11 list for Saturday's issue.

Avs v Blues

It sucks to lose a game like that to a team like the Avs. But it became obvious at some point during the third period that Sanford was going to have to pitch a shutout to get a win. And that's asking too much of him, even if the Avs are struggling. They're still a solid team and it'll take a pretty special effort to disk them a miss for 60 minutes. But Sanford came close.

But, let's make no mistake: this is not the same team that got smoked 6-1 in Colorado the last time these two played.

Everyone who comes here knows that I have a tad bit of a positivity problem when it comes to these guys, but now it's actually got some meat to it. These guys are competing so hard every night, if not every shift. And the youth are inheriting the team. Jay McClement is moving up the lines due to his never-quit play. Dutchie Stempniak is firmly lodged on the second line. Wideman is a top four blueliner. Mike Glumac (what's a Glumac? anything as long as you let it set up overnight. thankyou, goodnight) is making chances for himself by moving his feet. I think he has a great opportunity to earn a job for next year.

And it's going to continue, as the Blues start announcing trades over the next two days. As vets go out, more kids are going to be pulling on the Note for the first time. Kids from the trades or, more likely, kids from Peoria. And their enthusiasm will continue to be infectious. Even the most bitter of you have to admit that this team is way more exciting to watch than the team we saw in November. I think it'll get better. And I think this is the right way to build a winning franchise. Give the youth their opportunities. Sprinkle in key vets. Draft well. Avoid three-promising-kids-for-one-great-vet deals.

We're seeing the start of it, so remember the feeling. The Blues won't turn the corner towards rebuilding next year or even the year after that. They turned the corner back in January. Once we get the stench of Wal-Mart off this team, then you'll see the mass media start talking about the franchise's new beginning, but they'll be wrong. It's already started.

The Coach Comes Back.
I didn't realize it until I saw an interview with him tonight, but I miss Coach Quenneville. I imagine a lot of you do, too. He was fired for the classic "you can't fire 20 players, so you fire one coach" bullshit excuse, and the Blues aregoing to regret it for a long time. At least he joins good company, with Cup winners Scotty Bowman and Jacques "could you read this for me, I forgot my glasses" Demers as former fired Blues bosses. The guy took the fall for a team that was in danger of breaking a meaningless streak of playoff appearances.

Great. So you fire the guy who has won more games for your team than any other coach in order to make the playoffs, where you promptly get run in five games. Fantastic long-range planning, fellas. You know, my windows were dirty last weekend, so I just bashed those bastards out with a tire iron. No more dirty windows! Can I have a hockey team now?

So, I have a problem with all of that. But I always had a bit of a problem with Q when he was here because he seemed to have a hard time giving the rookies room to learn the game (read: make mistakes). That obviously wouldn't work on a team that was undeniably veering towards a youth movement. So, when he was canned, I thought it was a nod towards the impending rebuild that we are living through right now.

But look at Q now. He's got a youngster in net, backed up by a rookie. He's got a rookie on the top line (who happens to have 32 goals). He is breaking in new guy Kurt Sauer on defense, one of the hardest NHL positions to learn (especially under a former d-man like Q). Whaddaya know? Quenneville can play youngsters in key roles. Now I wish he'd been kept on even more.

They say that professional head coaches HAVE to be moved every so often because their message gets stale. If the shortsighted basketball-loving owners had just waited one more season, Quenneville would have had essentially a whole new team. Old message becomes new message if all the personnel are new, correct?

Damn.

But here's the reason I knew I missed Quenneville as our coach. In the interview, he deadpanned his way through the whole thing. And I don't know what he was saying, but all I was hearing were classic Quenneville-isms.

"He played fine."
"I didn't mind him."
"Not a bad game."

And on and on. The guy's classic understatement made every semi-compliment seem like a ray of sunshine. I could picture him with this team, throwing out his atta-boys like they were two tons of crested Blues Gretzky jerseys (which I swear they have buried in the bowels over at Scores West Arena).

"Wideman? Yeah, he has a decent shot."
"Stempniak? He didn't bother me tonight."
"Sanford played a really OK game."

Sigh.

I miss Coach Q.

Gallagher's Trade Predictions.

So, I hear rumor of some other internet hockey rumor guy who managed to make half-truths and pseudo-information into an actual paying gig. Hey, good for him. Let me try my hand at it.

Dallas Drake
Edmonton: 65%; Ottawa: 15%; Carolina: 10% Other: 10%.

(See! See how I left that opening? This is great!)

Eric Weinrich (and that shooting range Visor)
Vancouver: 85%; Vancouver 10%; Other: 5%.

(Huzzah! This is awesome!) By the way, what're the odds he goes with a different colored shield when he changes teams? Got to be good, right?

Dean McAmmond
Calgary: 15%; Colorado 15%

Scott Young
Oh hell. This is actually a pain. I'll leave it to the rumor mongers.

The point is this: I think at least two of those guys are gone for sure. Three if they can actually get someone to believe that McAmmond still has a wrist shot.

I think teams actually want Drake. Teams want Weinrich (shhh, don't say anything too loud). Teams didn't Scott Young until he unloaded a couple 1999-era wristers up in Vancouver. Now I think a couple will look at him. I on't think anyone actually wants McAmmond, but you never know. All four could get moved. Three is possible. Two getting moved is likely.

But don't get all riled up yet. Unless Larry Pleau somehow pulls off a career move in negotiating, we won't see much in return for any of those guys. Mid-round picks. Risky prospects. That's about it.

On that I'd put about a 85% rating.

Coolest GT Reader. Ever.

I love this job. I really do. And mainly it's because of the little things (because big things are pretty much non-existant at this point).

Tonight, we had to have a discussion with one of the St. Louis Police Officers who wasn't as familiar with us or the city ordinances that we operate under as some of the other guys are. Most of the time, we see nothing but familiar faces on the men in blue who are around the Scores West Arena. Every now and then, we get a different guy. We have to show him our paperwork and explain the city's agreement with the Arena on city property versus private property and whatnot. Not a big deal, but tonight it caused a gap in our normal coverage, as the 16th St vendor was out of position for 10-15 minutes. During that time, I think we missed a few of the regulars. Why is this important? Because it set up this exchange:

I wound up out at the Metro corner, selling the paper. I noticed a guy walking up from behind who is a guy I sell to at every game. A die-hard. This guy, with the sweet retro Twist sweater is at every game. He's suffered through the worst contests and cheered through the best ones. Sometimes he's there with mom and sis.

When I recognized him, I said, "hey man! How's it going?"

He replied (as I paraphrase)
"I found you! Man, I didn't see you guys when I went in. When I was sitting down, I was thinking 'damn, no Game Time tonight'. Then, when the Zamboni came out, I saw a guy carrying one around. So I came back out.

"And I found you!"

That is why I do this, my friends. I can't even explain how cool that is to me and my writers and everyone else involved in this paper.

And I mean that literally. I've tried to write this paragraph five times and can't properly convey what your support means to us. So I'll let my man's words speak for themselves. We'll see you Friday night.

Blues v. Flames

Ah, Dutchie. Made us believe once again. The Flames were dominating the Note tonight. And despite Sandford's once again, valiant effort, they looked like they were just biding their time the whole way.

Until the Dutch Man scored.

Then I believed again. We can do it. They can do it. The Blues can beat a superior team again. But in the end, a team that is built just like the Blues hope to be built in just a couple years managed to hold them off. The 3-1 final is bogus because of Iginla's empty netter.

And guess what? I have an opinion about it. There is an NHL Urban Legend that goes (Al Iafrate, but name someone else if you must) had the puck on his stick late in a game. With an open net, he breaks into the clear and then...lofts the puck into the corner rather than taking the easy empty net goal.

After the game, he is asked by the media why he didn't pad his stas with the easy goal.

"Empty net goals are for fags."

I've also heard that he said "losers". I've also heard it attributed to other players. Whatever. I like the quote, even though it's so homophobic it makes me want to go watch Brokeback Mountain in protest.

The point is clear: don't score empty netters if not necessary, and if you do score one, don't celebrate it. Here's my point: if there are two minutes left and you're up by one - pot the EN goal and seal the win. If you're up two or more, skate the puck around and put it in the corner and, well, don't be a dick. If you're up by one and the puck is in the EN zone with 5 seconds left... don't score. If you do, you're a stat-padder. If you do...do NOT celebrate.

Iginlas scored an EN goal with 5.8 seconds left and then he celebrated with Leclerc. Giant smiles all around. Assholes. Now I can't wait until your team is down, Iginla, and the youthful, fast-skating and shooting Blues beat your ass. And then run up the score. I'm sure you'll be pissed and will yell at everyone on the ice, just like you did when you lost the Stanley Cup to the Lightning. A great winner, yes. A bad loser, yes. Iginla - I hope someone knocks your teeth out on March 23rd when you're here in St Louis.