Doug Armstrong interview - Feb.

[Celtic Note]

Just listened to the two man advantage podcast on the Athletic. Burnside and Lebrun had an interview with Armstrong. Some notes:

Not selling or buying. Any trade made will be a hockey trade. Player acquired will need to make a contribution this year and at the very least the next as well.

Chief has this team playing well enough that the coaching search has contracted significantly. (Sounds as though a good finish to the year will put him in a good position to have the interm part removed.) Army likes that Craig has a straightforward, old school, mans-man message. Here is how we need to play to be successful. You will be held to that standard.

This team is different than last years. Army lost faith last year, so he sold off Stastny. This year they have earned his faith, so no reason to move players just for an asset.

Won’t be buyers for depth because we have it in the minors.

Never thought Binnington would be leading this team. Loves the story.

Wants Thomas to move up the lineup. Talked a bit about space for him. (“Space” wasn’t exactly clearly discussed.)

Young players are getting paid more earlier in their deals. Expects contract discussions to extend into the season with more frequency. See the Nylander situation as example.

Armstrong is interested in seeing how the new breed of GMs will operate during this trade deadline. This isn’t like years past where everyone had been around for a while and knew each other.

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[Falco Lombardi]

Yeah I also just listened. Good interview.

At this point, I'd be pretty surprised if a trade is made at all.

 

[izzy]

yeah maybe he makes a move for someone similar to pageau, middle 6er with another year left. but maroon would have to be moved

 

[Novacain]

Yeah I also just listened. Good interview.

At this point, I'd be pretty surprised if a trade is made at all.

It would have to be a very weird scenario. The team is coming together very well, so a hockey trade would have to be overwhelming just to not screw with our chemistry.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

Honestly the team is playing so well I don’t know that I would want to make a trade unless it’s for a high end player.

 

[Note Worthy]

As weird as it sounds because they played so terrible at the beginning of the year, I don't think they need to make a trade. I mean, where is there a glaring weakness? Maybe goaltending because there's no guarantee Binnington can keep this up. But other than maybe that the defense has been playing great really since mid-December and the forward group is playing great and we still get Perron back.

I honestly don't think any trade is needed. I'd just stay pat.

 

[Alklha]

Not selling or buying. Any trade made will be a hockey trade. Player acquired will need to make a contribution this year and at the very least the next as well.

That's not really a surprise. I'm not really sure we have the expendable assets to make moves either. If we make a move then I can see it being for a buy low candidate that could be a good fit, someone like Rieder for mid/late pick possibly.

Chief has this team playing well enough that the coaching search has contracted significantly. (Sounds as though a good finish to the year will put him in a good position to have the interm part removed.) Army likes that Craig has a straightforward, old school, mans-man message. Here is how we need to play to be successful. You will be held to that standard.

It's not a surprise that Armstrong likes old school. The worry with a coach like Berube is that it the message is one dimensional and the effectiveness fades.

Young players are getting paid more earlier in their deals. Expects contract discussions to extend into the season with more frequency. See the Nylander situation as example.

I'm not really sure how true this is.

The Matthews contract is an outlier; an utterly horrendous contract that can't be defended.

The Nylander contract? Young players with multiple 60+ point seasons have been getting term for quite a while. The money involved is pretty in line with the inflation. It is on the slightly higher side, but he had a comparable in that kind of range and they were dealing with a GM who hasn't exactly shined in this area.

Talking about negotiations going into the season becoming common? I doubt it. I mean, the contract that Nylander signed isn't exactly outwith the norms. It just took them a while to get there and that could easily have been down to an inexperienced GM.

It's comparable to the Pietrangelo situation, that only went into training camp and it was settled on the exact same contract Karlsson signed a year earlier. The expereinced GM knew when to push to get the deal done.

 

[PiggySmalls]

It's not a surprise that Armstrong likes old school. The worry with a coach like Berube is that it the message is one dimensional and the effectiveness fades.

This is why I'm not into the immediate thought of pegging him to be the full time bench boss, I like how he is holding players accountable. But It wasn't too long ago to forget the turn around the team had after Hitch was let go and many thought Yeo was the right man for the job. Depending on how well certain teams finish in the post season (ala Lightning) there could be some better options at HC.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Let this be the year the Blues walk through the post-season minefield and get to the SCF. What a storybook season we'd see. It would be a legend for the ages. I've always felt when the Blues win the Cup it will be a year no one thought they would. But when I look around the West, I really don't see any team that St Louis can't compete with. If they get the right breaks at the right time, and goaltending holds up (big if, but you work here, you all know that) anything is possible. I'd prefer if someone knocks off Tampa before then, but if that's what it comes down to its a hell of a lot better chance than anything else they've ever had.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

It'll be interesting to see if Winnipeg, San Jose, and Nashville force Army into making a move.

I've been reading Winnipeg and Nashville are trying for Duchene and Stone. SJ is looking at Zuccarello.

We're not better than those teams and we may fall further toward the middle of the pack if they all add top 6 to top 3 forwards while we just add Perron and his 4 goals in 57 career playoff games.

I'm not sure there's a terrible rush to win the Cup this year, though. ROR, Tarasenko, Parayko, Schwartz, Thomas, Dunn are strong long term core pieces. Petro and Schenn just have one more year, though. At the very least we will have a great chance next year. And we will be able to get a better look at Binnington. Especially in the playoffs. I'm sure the front office is a little worried about going all in this year with a rookie goalie that they, admittedly, didn't see being this good.

 

[RandallRitchey]

Personally the only move is make is to try and improve the third line.

I've been much more impressed with Maroon here lately, but I would still prefer to see him moved. A guy like Jean-Gabriel Pageau peaks my interest. Very versatile, plays with speed and grit. Outside of that, leave it.

 

[Dbrownss]

Maroon is playing more to a role now instead of trying to be a finesse top 6 guy and it's working. The problem will be line construction more then the pieces. Then again....if they are playing to an identity that isnt tied to their contract, it may be fine. If we end up with Steen-Bozak-Maroon as a 3rd and they play a more "dont get scored mentality, it may be fine.


I'd still like to see a guy brought in but I'm ok with nothing too. If the Jets/Preds add Stone/Duchene....there isnt any move we can make to compete with that. Just give the guys a vote of confidence and let them try to be the spoilers in the playoffs. If we go deep, awesome. If not, at least we bounced back

 

[PiggySmalls]

Of the 3 touted contending teams (Sharks, Jets, Preds) each of them have an aspect that I see problems with trying to get past in the Playoffs.

Jets- I think are the closest assembled team to the Blues in terms of structure and style. Plays a similar defensive style of collapsing inwards to prevent penetration of their house (inside of the circles). Key to that series would be depth scoring.

Sharks- Their possession and cycling is hard to beat, if Blues find themselves hemmed up in their own zone, it is going to be tough to overcome. While Blues are improving on exiting/clearing their own zone. They still have alot of snafus there.

Preds- While Blues have been playing with alot better speed, they still would have trouble matching Pred's speed in a series. Their only bet would be try to slow the game down to better fit their possession driven offense. Like they did Saturday and the first 2 periods on Sunday.

Now I do think those 3 teams are indeed beatable. Just so many variables on how this team will perform. So many new faces that we don't know how they will step up. Only player I think will go crazy is ROR, he has been waiting so long to be in the playoffs that he is going to give 110% every night. Will Thomas take his game up a notch like he has before in his junior days. Will Perron show up for the playoffs? So many what ifs.

 

[TK 421]

On the NBC broadcasted game recently Joe Micheletti mentioned speaking to Berube and said Berube is actually very progressive. He said Craig looks at what's working around the league and adapts his own strategy based on that. That flies directly in the face of the idea that he's stuck with doing things a certain way. I was really surprised to hear that and it just goes to show that commonly accepted perception can be very misleading.

 

[Blueston]

On the NBC broadcasted game recently Joe Micheletti mentioned speaking to Berube and said Berube is actually very progressive. He said Craig looks at what's working around the league and adapts his own strategy based on that. That flies directly in the face of the idea that he's stuck with doing things a certain way. I was really surprised to hear that and it just goes to show that commonly accepted perception can be very misleading.

I think when Army talked about Berube being man's man and old school, it was meant in respect to his straightforward communication style. Don't think he meant it as comment on style of play, just that he isn't BS artist.

 

[TK 421]

I think when Army talked about Berube being man's man and old school, it was meant in respect to his straightforward communication style. Don't think he meant it as comment on style of play, just that he isn't BS artist.

Yeah I agree, I was more referencing my own view of Berube prior to hearing that and I'm sure others as well.

 

[CoMoBlues]

On the NBC broadcasted game recently Joe Micheletti mentioned speaking to Berube and said Berube is actually very progressive. He said Craig looks at what's working around the league and adapts his own strategy based on that. That flies directly in the face of the idea that he's stuck with doing things a certain way. I was really surprised to hear that and it just goes to show that commonly accepted perception can be very misleading.

Good point about Micheletti‘s comments during the game. One thing that piqued my interest was when Micheletti said that Berube’s first order of business after taking over, was to fix the locker room.

I thought only JR could comment on that, and he wasn’t doing much real reporting to help fans see his point of view. Like usual, take JR’s narratives with a massive grain of salt. He often comes to the wrong conclusion despite having more access than fans.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

I'm starting to think Berube could be a good option. Has anyone else noticed how much more we seem to be activating the defense now? As well as having more cycle pressure down low. We weren't doing that for a long time. Hopefully we keep it up.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I'm starting to think Berube could be a good option. Has anyone else noticed how much more we seem to be activating the defense now? As well as having more cycle pressure down low. We weren't doing that for a long time. Hopefully we keep it up.

I'm not sure Berube is an innovator, but he could just copy what works and be an 'early adopter' and be very successful. I think assistant coaches can contribute details, but a head coach has to bring the tone and the culture. Berube has succeeded in changing that in a relatively short amount of time. I don't think the PP should have been at the top of his list to work on, but its getting to be an area where improvement can make a difference. The right assistant can help him do that, without Berube needing to be an offensive genius.

 

[ItsOnlytheRiver]

Did he at least mention that it’s in the back of his mind that Yeo came in and turned things around right away too? I’m fine with him wanting to keep Berube if he thinks he’s the best for the job but don’t just do it because of a half season of inspired play.

 

[Colt55]

This is why I'm not into the immediate thought of pegging him to be the full time bench boss, I like how he is holding players accountable. But It wasn't too long ago to forget the turn around the team had after Hitch was let go and many thought Yeo was the right man for the job. Depending on how well certain teams finish in the post season (ala Lightning) there could be some better options at HC.

Funny thing is Berube has something that yeo and hitch don't. The ability to work with young players. If you think about it we have a lot of young players performing very well. Barbashev, machecrin, Thomas, Sanford, bennington, Dunn. We will also be infusing kostin, Blais, bokk, reinke in the near future.

I think Berube has done a fine job lets give him the benifit of the doubt.

 

[Blanick]

Funny thing is Berube has something that yeo and hitch don't. The ability to work with young players. If you think about it we have a lot of young players performing very well. Barbashev, machecrin, Thomas, Sanford, bennington, Dunn. We will also be infusing kostin, Blais, bokk, reinke in the near future.

I think Berube has done a fine job lets give him the benifit of the doubt.

Holy cow you finally found the Blues board. Welcome.

 

[Colt55]

Holy cow you finally found the Blues board. Welcome.

I been here once or twice. I observe others opinions to help form my own.

 

[Colt55]

I'm starting to think Berube could be a good option. Has anyone else noticed how much more we seem to be activating the defense now? As well as having more cycle pressure down low. We weren't doing that for a long time. Hopefully we keep it up.

I defiantly noticed the cycling and controlling of the puck. Also Berube system has a bit of trap in the neutral zone and it seems to slow the really fast teams down like the lighting.

 

[STL BLUES]

I'm not sure Berube is an innovator, but he could just copy what works and be an 'early adopter' and be very successful. I think assistant coaches can contribute details, but a head coach has to bring the tone and the culture. Berube has succeeded in changing that in a relatively short amount of time. I don't think the PP should have been at the top of his list to work on, but its getting to be an area where improvement can make a difference. The right assistant can help him do that, without Berube needing to be an offensive genius.

I once heard Scotty Bowman do a speech on how the NHL is a copy cat sport. Once somebody invents a new successful way other coaches copy it. A couple of years ago Peter Laviolette’s OZ support system worked wounders and now you see others copying it. Berube is our guy. He wouldn’t have had his meteoric rise if it weren’t for Winnington.