What to make of Pronger's comments on 101 Espn

[dhsux]

Hopefully for the last time, there was no "keeping" Barbs.

He wanted out for multiple reasons.

[Mr.Snuggleupagus]

Hopefully for the last time, there was no "keeping" Barbs.

He wanted out for multiple reasons.

Says who. Provide a link or your assumption stinks.

Besides, wouldn't matter anyway; the Blues would have Holloway, Neighbours & Schenn as the top 9 LWs (in my scenario).

[TheSolution]

Basically Pronger says the team has "no identity" and they have to re establish it every year. Im not sure Im buying that although Prongs is one of the voices i would lend most credence too. The core of the team has been here, why would they need to relearn habits and an identity every year? Does Colorado, Dallas, Vegas, Florida, Tampa, Winnepeg, LA? Those teams for instance and others seem to play the same way every night.

Are we saying then that the core of this team needs complete buy in to compete? The Blues have guys with proven track records of NHL production, the Blues could hardly be beat after the 4 Nations tourney, winning in all different ways, but most importantly, playing the right way.

How is it that a veteran group forgets then how to play the right way.


Granted, a key factor in STL now is

Dvorsky 2 NHL Games
Holloway 202 NHL Games
Snuggerud 24 NHL Games
Broberg 186 NHL Games
Mailloux 15 NHL Games
Kessel 73 NHL Games
Hofer 73 NHL Games
Tucker 103 NHL Games


But shouldnt the Blues have enough veteran presence to show the way?

This is why hockey is a dangerous sport for people to follow who don’t know it.

The team isn’t high end finesse. They’re not skilled. They don’t have elite offensive players.

They also aren’t tough, gritty and built in a way to compete against skill.

They’re in the middle of everything and that’s no good.

Which makes the Bolduc trade all that much worse. He’d fit in a gritty identity while producing.

You can build a gritty team drafting in the mid teens and trading for and signing the right guys.

You can’t built a high skill team unless you tank.

[WilliamWestcliffe]

This isn’t cryptic. It’s the same [shirt] everyone’s been saying…you have 4 of your top 6 that have zero interest playing the style that Armstrong and the coaches want.

So there’s near zero buy in from your core group each year until [shirt] hits the fan and a new coach is rolled in or trades are threatened.

Otherwise 90% of this teams identity and buy in is driven by the fringe supplemental players that seem to come and guy year after year…Sundqvist, Walker, faksa, Joseph, etc.

I’ll keep saying it, the core of this team needs a massive enema. Just reboot your top six before you poison the next wave of leaders coming in.