Fowler: The extension that kills

[son_of_foolsgold]

-10 is his current rating....yuck!

[AtillaTheBlue1]

i did enjoy the people on here claiming it was a great deal

[The Average Gatsby]

I don’t think that really means much. There’s not going to be very many plus players on a last place team.

[blackinkbiz]

-10 is his current rating....yuck!

This extension and the Mailloux trade were the two unneeded and thus self-inflicted wounds I didn't care for.

[Mr.Snuggleupagus]

Armstrong always tries to look smart and sign players prematurely (Buchnevich, Leddy, Fowler, Scandella, etc). Then he ends up; trading them, waiving them, terminating their contract, offering incentives to take them off his hands, etc. I don't know how he's gonna maneuver out of this Buchnevich NTC/8+ million.

[TheJackBurton]

Seriously? He absolutely lit it up for us last year there was no way he wasn't getting an extension.

Good lord people.

[sdaltons]

If -10 makes the extension bad, we should probably lock Tucker up for a long time !!

[Tony Palazzolo]

Seriously? He absolutely lit it up for us last year there was no way he wasn't getting an extension.

Good lord people.

He hasn't been the player he was last year, but none of them are. It's still a good contract for a veteran that should be better. You also have to remember the plus/minus is a useful stat, but losing teams pull the goalie and ENG counts the same.

[DawgDad]

Seriously? He absolutely lit it up for us last year there was no way he wasn't getting an extension.

Good lord people.

Yes he did. I would have extended him. Now he's virtually invisible. But so is nearly every other veteran on the team, mainly the same guys that were playing really good hockey at the end of last season. I mean, how many goals do Buchnevich, Holloway, Schenn, Thomas, and Parayko have?

My theory is these guys were pushing it to the limit last season and that bubble burst in WPG Game 7. Now they wilt in the face of adversity and have lost trust in each other, a very fragile group of players. The type of players who can turn this around are (right now) broken, physically, mentally, or perhaps by declining skills. Guys who could and should step up, like Fowler, seem overwhelmed.

[blues2112]

Seriously? He absolutely lit it up for us last year there was no way he wasn't getting an extension.

Good lord people.

Take out Fowler and who becomes 2LHD? Tucker? If so, then who's 3LHD?

This board needs narrower ledges and taller skyscrapers.

[skilles]

Kills what? That extension was a no brainer for the Blues and one they would sign again all day.

If anybody should have regrets on that signing its probably Fowler.

[smilinjoefission]

Seriously? He absolutely lit it up for us last year there was no way he wasn't getting an extension.

Good lord people.

He was under contract for this season, there was no need for an extension.

[netboy65]

Seriously? He absolutely lit it up for us last year there was no way he wasn't getting an extension.

Good lord people.

He was under contract for this season, there was no need for an extension.

$4M or whatever he got isn’t breaking the bank. People just want to complain. As others have said, get rid of him and who are you playing instead?

[hockey jedi]

Most of our players are playing their tails off. Haven't any of you ever been on a team like this that plays hard and has talent, but just doesn't play hard together? I think the very best thing to do is to not overreact and the coaching staff will nurse them through this. It might take the whole season and we will probably miss the playoffs. Or this could turn around in a short period.

One gripe I have is the system. Our transition out of our defensive end has been bad and other teams are sensing it. They are forechecking us. We keep doing these no look passes on our own zone, which is fun to watch but very dangerous. It's affecting our team flow and results in giveaways and shots against. Fowler is not the problem. Neither was acquiring Malloux (although we all thought he was more NHL ready than he is). I believe we were all under the delusion that we'd pick up where we left off before Holloway got hurt last year. It just hasn't worked out yet.

[Frank Barone]

Most of our players are playing their tails off. Haven't any of you ever been on a team like this that plays hard and has talent, but just doesn't play hard together? I think the very best thing to do is to not overreact and the coaching staff will nurse them through this. It might take the whole season and we will probably miss the playoffs. Or this could turn around in a short period.

One gripe I have is the system. Our transition out of our defensive end has been bad and other teams are sensing it. They are forechecking us. We keep doing these no look passes on our own zone, which is fun to watch but very dangerous. It's affecting our team flow and results in giveaways and shots against. Fowler is not the problem. Neither was acquiring Malloux (although we all thought he was more NHL ready than he is). I believe we were all under the delusion that we'd pick up where we left off before Holloway got hurt last year. It just hasn't worked out yet.

The most glaring personnel issue this team has is a hole at LD. We talked about this a lot over the summer. The Blues need a third highly competent LD to go with Broberg and Fowler. If they had one more LD at the caliber of those two, they could play Kessel, Skinner or Mailloux along with that player and they would be better off. I thought Leddy would have been a better partner for Mailloux but that didn't happen. Then I thought they would acquire a sturdy vet to pair with Mailloux but that didn't happen either. I think they are overusing their top four D and that is hurting them.

I may have been thinking about Mailloux's game incorrectly. He may be more of a primarily offensive defenseman right now and not a two-way guy. If he had a lock down vet partner, he could roam more and his defensive shortcomings wouldn't be such a problem, at least for this early part of his career. I have been hopeful that Lindstein could come in and be part of the top 6 (he may be the best we've got despite his inexperience), but he is on a bad team right now in Springfield and also not in a good place with his play.

[SameOldBlues]

Seriously? He absolutely lit it up for us last year there was no way he wasn't getting an extension.

Good lord people.

He was under contract for this season, there was no need for an extension.

And thats exactly why I posted at the time that there was no need to sign him yet and they may regret it, while everyone else was saying great deal. He wasnt going anywhere and this just reeks of Army trying to show everyone that he’s the smartest guy in the room again, and he’s just not, when it comes to prematurely signing vets to inflated contracts.