We’ve Done It !!!!

[a smell of green grass]

I've seen a Blues team so devoid of talent that it was going to take years to rebuild. This is not that. No doubt there needs to be some tweaking. He'll make a couple of trades that will bring back some young talent. It certainly looks like we'll get a top 5 pick that might help us next year.

We've got players in the minors that within the next two years will be up on the big club. I'm not happy rooting for them to lose, but it is what it is.

I don't root for them to lose. Last night no exception. They are what they are if the players want to play I'll cheer them on and let the chips fall where they fall.

I agree though....this team is not going into a tear down and I'm pleased with that.

And btw, no one ever brings up ownership regarding this teams basic building/competing strategy. DA could not have torn this team down no matter what his wishes were.

You make 2 good points I agree with:

1) I still root for them to win — even if I predict against them in the PTS.

2). Like ANY team, each GM still has to work within the constraints of ownership. So Tom Stillman and the other minority owners will influence Army’s decisions.

Given what Stillman and Army have said about this not being a market that can sustain a long rebuild with multiple years of not even contending for the playoffs, I think from the moment the Cup window closed (whether they recognized that event as 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023), the marching orders have all along been "sell vets for youth while retaining enough to remain close enough to the playoffs".

That's not because Army is too stupid to realize the mushy middle is "no man's land", nor is it because Stillman is greedy. It's because they need to remain competitive enough for long enough each season to drive enough gate sales to keep their investor owners happy. Stillman can't afford to keep paying for a franchise losing money each year, and the owners in his group who can might not want to make changes sooner than we'd want (ie selling off long term contracts for financial reasons, not hockey ones... Pronger).

It's a tough balancing act, and admittedly I think Army hasn't walked it very well. But that's with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, most of the moves seemed reasonable to me. The only one I remember disagreeing with was the Buchnevich extension.

We have heard from the owners. We have heard from the GM. Now let's hear from a longtime fan.

Being in the "Mushy Middle" means that the NHL HOFers will play EVERYWHERE BUT ST LOUIS. I'm not OK with that!!!! That may be fine for some St Louis fans, but after 5 years of this, I'm absolutely certain that I'm not signing up for that forever more.

Hear this Blues Management? Take your team to Saskatoon. I don't care where you go.

[BudOnTap]

I've seen a Blues team so devoid of talent that it was going to take years to rebuild. This is not that. No doubt there needs to be some tweaking. He'll make a couple of trades that will bring back some young talent. It certainly looks like we'll get a top 5 pick that might help us next year.

We've got players in the minors that within the next two years will be up on the big club. I'm not happy rooting for them to lose, but it is what it is.

I don't root for them to lose. Last night no exception. They are what they are if the players want to play I'll cheer them on and let the chips fall where they fall.

I agree though....this team is not going into a tear down and I'm pleased with that.

And btw, no one ever brings up ownership regarding this teams basic building/competing strategy. DA could not have torn this team down no matter what his wishes were.

You make 2 good points I agree with:

1) I still root for them to win — even if I predict against them in the PTS.

2). Like ANY team, each GM still has to work within the constraints of ownership. So Tom Stillman and the other minority owners will influence Army’s decisions.

Given what Stillman and Army have said about this not being a market that can sustain a long rebuild with multiple years of not even contending for the playoffs, I think from the moment the Cup window closed (whether they recognized that event as 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023), the marching orders have all along been "sell vets for youth while retaining enough to remain close enough to the playoffs".

That's not because Army is too stupid to realize the mushy middle is "no man's land", nor is it because Stillman is greedy. It's because they need to remain competitive enough for long enough each season to drive enough gate sales to keep their investor owners happy. Stillman can't afford to keep paying for a franchise losing money each year, and the owners in his group who can might not want to make changes sooner than we'd want (ie selling off long term contracts for financial reasons, not hockey ones... Pronger).

It's a tough balancing act, and admittedly I think Army hasn't walked it very well. But that's with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, most of the moves seemed reasonable to me. The only one I remember disagreeing with was the Buchnevich extension.

We have heard from the owners. We have heard from the GM. Now let's hear from a longtime fan.

Being in the "Mushy Middle" means that the NHL HOFers will play EVERYWHERE BUT ST LOUIS. I'm not OK with that!!!! That may be fine for some St Louis fans, but after 5 years of this, I'm absolutely certain that I'm not signing up for that forever more.

Hear this Blues Management? Take your team to Saskatoon. I don't care where you go.

this sounds so final that you're only logical recourse is to stop posting here altogether then. i mean, if you had an ounce of integrity and honest self-reflection in your entire body.

[a smell of green grass]

I've seen a Blues team so devoid of talent that it was going to take years to rebuild. This is not that. No doubt there needs to be some tweaking. He'll make a couple of trades that will bring back some young talent. It certainly looks like we'll get a top 5 pick that might help us next year.

We've got players in the minors that within the next two years will be up on the big club. I'm not happy rooting for them to lose, but it is what it is.

I don't root for them to lose. Last night no exception. They are what they are if the players want to play I'll cheer them on and let the chips fall where they fall.

I agree though....this team is not going into a tear down and I'm pleased with that.

And btw, no one ever brings up ownership regarding this teams basic building/competing strategy. DA could not have torn this team down no matter what his wishes were.

You make 2 good points I agree with:

1) I still root for them to win — even if I predict against them in the PTS.

2). Like ANY team, each GM still has to work within the constraints of ownership. So Tom Stillman and the other minority owners will influence Army’s decisions.

Given what Stillman and Army have said about this not being a market that can sustain a long rebuild with multiple years of not even contending for the playoffs, I think from the moment the Cup window closed (whether they recognized that event as 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023), the marching orders have all along been "sell vets for youth while retaining enough to remain close enough to the playoffs".

That's not because Army is too stupid to realize the mushy middle is "no man's land", nor is it because Stillman is greedy. It's because they need to remain competitive enough for long enough each season to drive enough gate sales to keep their investor owners happy. Stillman can't afford to keep paying for a franchise losing money each year, and the owners in his group who can might not want to make changes sooner than we'd want (ie selling off long term contracts for financial reasons, not hockey ones... Pronger).

It's a tough balancing act, and admittedly I think Army hasn't walked it very well. But that's with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, most of the moves seemed reasonable to me. The only one I remember disagreeing with was the Buchnevich extension.

We have heard from the owners. We have heard from the GM. Now let's hear from a longtime fan.

Being in the "Mushy Middle" means that the NHL HOFers will play EVERYWHERE BUT ST LOUIS. I'm not OK with that!!!! That may be fine for some St Louis fans, but after 5 years of this, I'm absolutely certain that I'm not signing up for that forever more.

Hear this Blues Management? Take your team to Saskatoon. I don't care where you go.

this sounds so final that you're only logical recourse is to stop posting here altogether then. i mean, if you had an ounce of integrity and honest self-reflection in your entire body.

This offseason will tell me where the Blues intend to keep all fans for the long term. If I smell that the answer is Mushy Middle Hell, you can count on me disappearing fast and complete.

[BudOnTap]

I've seen a Blues team so devoid of talent that it was going to take years to rebuild. This is not that. No doubt there needs to be some tweaking. He'll make a couple of trades that will bring back some young talent. It certainly looks like we'll get a top 5 pick that might help us next year.

We've got players in the minors that within the next two years will be up on the big club. I'm not happy rooting for them to lose, but it is what it is.

I don't root for them to lose. Last night no exception. They are what they are if the players want to play I'll cheer them on and let the chips fall where they fall.

I agree though....this team is not going into a tear down and I'm pleased with that.

And btw, no one ever brings up ownership regarding this teams basic building/competing strategy. DA could not have torn this team down no matter what his wishes were.

You make 2 good points I agree with:

1) I still root for them to win — even if I predict against them in the PTS.

2). Like ANY team, each GM still has to work within the constraints of ownership. So Tom Stillman and the other minority owners will influence Army’s decisions.

Given what Stillman and Army have said about this not being a market that can sustain a long rebuild with multiple years of not even contending for the playoffs, I think from the moment the Cup window closed (whether they recognized that event as 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023), the marching orders have all along been "sell vets for youth while retaining enough to remain close enough to the playoffs".

That's not because Army is too stupid to realize the mushy middle is "no man's land", nor is it because Stillman is greedy. It's because they need to remain competitive enough for long enough each season to drive enough gate sales to keep their investor owners happy. Stillman can't afford to keep paying for a franchise losing money each year, and the owners in his group who can might not want to make changes sooner than we'd want (ie selling off long term contracts for financial reasons, not hockey ones... Pronger).

It's a tough balancing act, and admittedly I think Army hasn't walked it very well. But that's with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, most of the moves seemed reasonable to me. The only one I remember disagreeing with was the Buchnevich extension.

We have heard from the owners. We have heard from the GM. Now let's hear from a longtime fan.

Being in the "Mushy Middle" means that the NHL HOFers will play EVERYWHERE BUT ST LOUIS. I'm not OK with that!!!! That may be fine for some St Louis fans, but after 5 years of this, I'm absolutely certain that I'm not signing up for that forever more.

Hear this Blues Management? Take your team to Saskatoon. I don't care where you go.

this sounds so final that you're only logical recourse is to stop posting here altogether then. i mean, if you had an ounce of integrity and honest self-reflection in your entire body.

This offseason will tell me where the Blues intend to keep all fans for the long term. If I smell that the answer is Mushy Middle Hell, you can count on me disappearing fast and complete.

I’d like to believe you. Tell me why I should when you’ve never held to anything you’ve claimed previously?

[a smell of green grass]

I've seen a Blues team so devoid of talent that it was going to take years to rebuild. This is not that. No doubt there needs to be some tweaking. He'll make a couple of trades that will bring back some young talent. It certainly looks like we'll get a top 5 pick that might help us next year.

We've got players in the minors that within the next two years will be up on the big club. I'm not happy rooting for them to lose, but it is what it is.

I don't root for them to lose. Last night no exception. They are what they are if the players want to play I'll cheer them on and let the chips fall where they fall.

I agree though....this team is not going into a tear down and I'm pleased with that.

And btw, no one ever brings up ownership regarding this teams basic building/competing strategy. DA could not have torn this team down no matter what his wishes were.

You make 2 good points I agree with:

1) I still root for them to win — even if I predict against them in the PTS.

2). Like ANY team, each GM still has to work within the constraints of ownership. So Tom Stillman and the other minority owners will influence Army’s decisions.

Given what Stillman and Army have said about this not being a market that can sustain a long rebuild with multiple years of not even contending for the playoffs, I think from the moment the Cup window closed (whether they recognized that event as 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023), the marching orders have all along been "sell vets for youth while retaining enough to remain close enough to the playoffs".

That's not because Army is too stupid to realize the mushy middle is "no man's land", nor is it because Stillman is greedy. It's because they need to remain competitive enough for long enough each season to drive enough gate sales to keep their investor owners happy. Stillman can't afford to keep paying for a franchise losing money each year, and the owners in his group who can might not want to make changes sooner than we'd want (ie selling off long term contracts for financial reasons, not hockey ones... Pronger).

It's a tough balancing act, and admittedly I think Army hasn't walked it very well. But that's with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, most of the moves seemed reasonable to me. The only one I remember disagreeing with was the Buchnevich extension.

We have heard from the owners. We have heard from the GM. Now let's hear from a longtime fan.

Being in the "Mushy Middle" means that the NHL HOFers will play EVERYWHERE BUT ST LOUIS. I'm not OK with that!!!! That may be fine for some St Louis fans, but after 5 years of this, I'm absolutely certain that I'm not signing up for that forever more.

Hear this Blues Management? Take your team to Saskatoon. I don't care where you go.

this sounds so final that you're only logical recourse is to stop posting here altogether then. i mean, if you had an ounce of integrity and honest self-reflection in your entire body.

This offseason will tell me where the Blues intend to keep all fans for the long term. If I smell that the answer is Mushy Middle Hell, you can count on me disappearing fast and complete.

I’d like to believe you. Tell me why I should when you’ve never held to anything you’ve claimed previously?

Some may think that I enjoy this B-ing that I do on BluesTalk. I assure you that I am more tired of creating it, than you are of reading it.

In fact, I see my B-ing going down significantly one way or the other.

If the Blues BRING NHL DRAFT EXCITEMENT AND PROMISE TO ST. Louis FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS, I will have 100x less to B about.

If the Blues DO NOT, I will be gone from the NHL and BluesTalk 100%.

You and I will both gain a lot this offseason. Congrats to us.

[BudOnTap]

I've seen a Blues team so devoid of talent that it was going to take years to rebuild. This is not that. No doubt there needs to be some tweaking. He'll make a couple of trades that will bring back some young talent. It certainly looks like we'll get a top 5 pick that might help us next year.

We've got players in the minors that within the next two years will be up on the big club. I'm not happy rooting for them to lose, but it is what it is.

I don't root for them to lose. Last night no exception. They are what they are if the players want to play I'll cheer them on and let the chips fall where they fall.

I agree though....this team is not going into a tear down and I'm pleased with that.

And btw, no one ever brings up ownership regarding this teams basic building/competing strategy. DA could not have torn this team down no matter what his wishes were.

You make 2 good points I agree with:

1) I still root for them to win — even if I predict against them in the PTS.

2). Like ANY team, each GM still has to work within the constraints of ownership. So Tom Stillman and the other minority owners will influence Army’s decisions.

Given what Stillman and Army have said about this not being a market that can sustain a long rebuild with multiple years of not even contending for the playoffs, I think from the moment the Cup window closed (whether they recognized that event as 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023), the marching orders have all along been "sell vets for youth while retaining enough to remain close enough to the playoffs".

That's not because Army is too stupid to realize the mushy middle is "no man's land", nor is it because Stillman is greedy. It's because they need to remain competitive enough for long enough each season to drive enough gate sales to keep their investor owners happy. Stillman can't afford to keep paying for a franchise losing money each year, and the owners in his group who can might not want to make changes sooner than we'd want (ie selling off long term contracts for financial reasons, not hockey ones... Pronger).

It's a tough balancing act, and admittedly I think Army hasn't walked it very well. But that's with the benefit of hindsight. At the time, most of the moves seemed reasonable to me. The only one I remember disagreeing with was the Buchnevich extension.

We have heard from the owners. We have heard from the GM. Now let's hear from a longtime fan.

Being in the "Mushy Middle" means that the NHL HOFers will play EVERYWHERE BUT ST LOUIS. I'm not OK with that!!!! That may be fine for some St Louis fans, but after 5 years of this, I'm absolutely certain that I'm not signing up for that forever more.

Hear this Blues Management? Take your team to Saskatoon. I don't care where you go.

this sounds so final that you're only logical recourse is to stop posting here altogether then. i mean, if you had an ounce of integrity and honest self-reflection in your entire body.

This offseason will tell me where the Blues intend to keep all fans for the long term. If I smell that the answer is Mushy Middle Hell, you can count on me disappearing fast and complete.

I’d like to believe you. Tell me why I should when you’ve never held to anything you’ve claimed previously?

Some may think that I enjoy this B-ing that I do on BluesTalk. I assure you that I am more tired of creating it, than you are of reading it.

In fact, I see my B-ing going down significantly one way or the other.

If the Blues BRING NHL DRAFT EXCITEMENT AND PROMISE TO ST. Louis FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS, I will have 100x less to B about.

If the Blues DO NOT, I will be gone from the NHL and BluesTalk 100%.

You and I will both gain a lot this offseason. Congrats to us.

Zero truth here. Actions speak louder than your rants. Either severely cut down on your repetitive dribble or just go away entirely. You lack any sense of self-control and accountability, which is disturbing for an adult. As is the fact you can’t recognize that.

[blackinkbiz]

It's not all on Armstrong. The players had something to do with it. The vast majority of this forum went into the season with optimism about this team. It just didn't work out and then spiraled downward. Your sense of entitlement is really out there.

I agree that most of the team has vastly underperformed. I mean for fug's sake our top goal scorer has 14. But I do think Army's guilty of the ole' if it's not broken, don't fix it.

They've been trying to get this core to gel for a few years now and then right when they do, he basically changed out a player on 3 of the 4 lines and 2 of the 3 defensive pairings.

And oh yeah, Binnington's awful, as was Hofer the first month of the season.