Confirmed with Link: Blues Announce Schenn 24th Blues Captain

[Linkens Mastery]

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[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

As expected, good choice

 

[stl76]

Not a bad choice, no complaints from me.

Hopefully in a few years Thomas can grow into that role and the C will get shifted to him when the time comes.

 

[Blueston]

Not a bad choice, no complaints from me.

Hopefully in a few years Thomas can grow into that role and the C will get shifted to him when the time comes.

nah, schenn is just keeping seat warm for dvo.

 

[BlueKnight]

Excellent choice and a good ole Sasky boy.

Congrats Schenn

 

[Thallis]

Would have preferred no captain but good for him

 

[BlueDream]

The clear choice.

Love Schenn, congrats to him.

 

[Mike Liut]

I would have been ok with Schenn, Thomas or Parayko. Schenn is a fine choice

 

[kimzey59]

nah, schenn is just keeping seat warm for dvo.

1- Way too early for that kind of talk.
2- Of the guys drafted recently, Stenberg is the one who screams future Captain.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Congrats to Schenn. Well deserved.

Solid leadership group as a whole.

 

[Brian39]

I don't love it, but I don't at all dislike it and I'm not at all surprised. Hopefully at some point in his tenure we get to see another captain on captain fight in a Blues/Blackhawks game. Backes throttling Toews seems like a lifetime ago.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Congrats to Schenn.

He was the obvious choice once ROR got dealt.

I will say I was a bit nervous that his leadership qualities had been overblown when it came out that we might not have a captain this year, and with the way Army and Chief’s post-season press conferences went.

 

[rumrokh]

Could be complete coincidence, but I think the Blues looked more like a cohesive team as they gave Schenn a bunch of minutes after the deadline trades. Of course that's naturally going to happen when you unload significant forwards, but not only was he more effective and productive, I think the rest of the team responded.

There are always leadership criticisms when the team struggles (often speculative garbage), but it really felt like the players knew Tarasenko and O'Reilly were done with the Blues and that hung over them the entire season. It makes perfect sense to give the captaincy to the guy who at least outwardly appeared to start healing that wound.

 

[mk80]

I don't love it, but I don't at all dislike it and I'm not at all surprised. Hopefully at some point in his tenure we get to see another captain on captain fight in a Blues/Blackhawks game. Backes throttling Toews seems like a lifetime ago.

The Blackhawks are at least going without a captain this year. I do wonder if they will go with a more veteran guy when they name one, or give it to Bedard young like the Oilers did with McDavid. I suspect the latter after this season, but that's purely speculative on my part.

 

[TheDizee]

means he will be gone within 2-3 years

 

[jura]

captain puff

 

[Blueston]

i think any of the newly designated leadership group were viable choices as captain. i thought they might go with thomas as he is part of next generation that they are rebuilding towards, but i get why they may feel he ain't ready yet (which is why i thought they might wait a year). so if you don't think thomas is quite ready and you feel it's important to name captain this year, not that i think either of those are a given but the team seem like they do, then this is logical path.

and i love schenn. he is soul of the team and has been for a few years, at least since Steen's departure. if you want to bring back the spirit of the blues that we seem to have been missing, he is logical choice. and that is as good as argument for him as any. he may not still be one of our core players when we win Cup again, but nobody i'd more like to see get the Cup from the commish than our grizzled vet Schenn.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I feel like there's a possibility that if they went with Thomas it could have been portrayed to the fanbase or the stock holders as the Blues basically giving up on the season before it even started. But giving it to Schenn can be viewed as "We are not rolling over, we are looking at winning as soon as this year".

 

[Brian39]

Could be complete coincidence, but I think the Blues looked more like a cohesive team as they gave Schenn a bunch of minutes after the deadline trades. Of course that's naturally going to happen when you unload significant forwards, but not only was he more effective and productive, I think the rest of the team responded.

There are always leadership criticisms when the team struggles (often speculative garbage), but it really felt like the players knew Tarasenko and O'Reilly were done with the Blues and that hung over them the entire season. It makes perfect sense to give the captaincy to the guy who at least outwardly appeared to start healing that wound.

He was really good immediately following the Tarasenko trade (6 points in 3 games over 18:47 a night). That was about 40 seconds a night more than he had been getting. But then for the 6 games after the ROR trade his usage went up to 21:11 a night and he (like the entire team) was awful. 0 points, only 5 shots, and a -7 in 6 games. Then we dialed his ice time back to the usual levels and he was awesome from March until the end of the season (22 points, a +7, and a healthy 40 shots over 18:21 a night in the final 22 games).

I think it is very fair to say he stepped up after the trade deadline, but I did want to point out that he stepped up in his role as an 18ish minute a night 2C and not as a 20+ minute a night 1C.

The Blackhawks are at least going without a captain this year. I do wonder if they will go with a more veteran guy when they name one, or give it to Bedard young like the Oilers did with McDavid. I suspect the latter after this season, but that's purely speculative on my part.

I know it isn't going to happen this year, but he is under contract for 5 years and my assumption is that the Hawks will name a captain at some point before Schenn retires. I will be shocked if Bedard isn't wearing the C before Schenn plays his last Blues/Hawks game and that is the fight I want to see.

 

[Blueston]

He was really good immediately following the Tarasenko trade (6 points in 3 games over 18:47 a night). That was about 40 seconds a night more than he had been getting. But then for the 6 games after the ROR trade his usage went up to 21:11 a night and he (like the entire team) was awful. 0 points, only 5 shots, and a -7 in 6 games. Then we dialed his ice time back to the usual levels and he was awesome from March until the end of the season (22 points, a +7, and a healthy 40 shots over 18:21 a night in the final 22 games).

I think it is very fair to say he stepped up after the trade deadline, but I did want to point out that he stepped up in his role as an 18ish minute a night 2C and not as a 20+ minute a night 1C.

and i think you would agree that a point per game center who plays 18:21 minutes a night at a +20+ pace would be great value for what Schenn is being paid. it's not fair for folks (not you) to criticize him for not being the 1c he isn't being paid to be (and the the club doesn't expect him to be). he is dang good player and has been dang good blue. and while most everyone expects him to age poorly, there is definitely precedent for talented physical guy like schenn to be quite effective player into mid-late 30s (shanahan, iginla, walt, etc.)

 

[rumrokh]

I think it is very fair to say he stepped up after the trade deadline, but I did want to point out that he stepped up in his role as an 18ish minute a night 2C and not as a 20+ minute a night 1C.

Yes? Cool?

 

[Blueston]

EF on RT: "Don’t think Thomas was surprised Brayden Schenn became St. Louis’s captain. Asked if anyone with the Blues brought up the possibility of him taking the reins, he replied, “No, to be honest.” We were the only ones who asked? “First time hearing about it.”

Thomas, who was named an alternate captain Tuesday, had some good insight discussing his minor public skirmish with Craig Berube where the forward defended the team during a radio interview the morning after the frustrated coach wondered if poor play was because some of the Blues' best players “don’t care about the team.”

“We both gained some respect for each other,” he said of Berube. Do you think it was a test? “Maybe. I don’t know. I think there could have been a test in there, but at the end of the day, I felt it was right to stick up for our guys.” Prior to 2022-23, the last time the Blues missed the playoffs they recovered by winning the Stanley Cup (2019). Thomas said he spent the summer focusing on creating a sequel."

 

[Brian39]

and i think you would agree that a point per game center who plays 18:21 minutes a night at a +20+ pace would be great value for what Schenn is being paid. it's not fair for folks (not you) to criticize him for not being the 1c he isn't being paid to be (and the the club doesn't expect him to be). he is dang good player and has been dang good blue. and while most everyone expects him to age poorly, there is definitely precedent for talented physical guy like schenn to be quite effective player into mid-late 30s (shanahan, iginla, walt, etc.)

To clarify, nothing in my post was meant as a criticism of him.

He's best suited as a 2C. There is nothing wrong with that and fortunately for our team we have a 1C ahead of him on the roster to ensure that he doesn't need to be extended into a role he's not perfectly suited for. We're in great shape if we get the version of Schenn we got post-trade deadline. And you can be an excellent captain as a 2C and eventually a 3C when regression comes and (hopefully) Dvorsky is ready for top 6 center duties.

I'd have still preferred entering the season with no C to send a team-wide message that last year was unacceptable and that no one should be comfortable. I like the idea of Berube being able to call 4 vets wearing As into his room at the start of camp and telling them that someone had to earn that C in the first 20 games of the season. But I also get the advantage of telling Schenn it is his responsibility to lead this group and I'm not at all mad about him wearing the letter.

On a different note, this is a clear indication to me that this front office is going to do everything possible to avoid a long-term rebuild that includes throwing another season or two in the garbage. Schenn was the most vocal critic about Army selling in 2018 among the players. Tanking for the future isn't in his DNA and that should only become less attractive as he continues to age. To me, the biggest reason to name him captain now is for him to drive a culture of winning with the group we have and not building a foundation for the next group. You name him captain before camp to cement a win-now attitude.

 

[Blueston]

On a different note, this is a clear indication to me that this front office is going to do everything possible to avoid a long-term rebuild that includes throwing another season or two in the garbage. Schenn was the most vocal critic about Army selling in 2018 among the players. Tanking for the future isn't in his DNA and that should only become less attractive as he continues to age. To me, the biggest reason to name him captain now is for him to drive a culture of winning with the group we have and not building a foundation for the next group. You name him captain before camp to cement a win-now attitude.

Army absolutely wants to recreate our culture of winning. That had slipped and this and bringing in Sunny and Hayes are about it. I think that more than whether we miss 1 or 3 playoffs is what is driving him to not go scorched earth rebuild.

 

[DoubleK81]

I love Schenn and the decision to give him the C. He's shown that he's willing to do what is needed to help the team in the bigger picture and he's one of very few left on this team with the balls to stick up for his teammates on the ice.