2007-08 St. Louis Blues Rebuild: Take 2

[Moondoggie78]

Originally Posted by CanuckJohnny

Wow a universe where Bob Hartley is the Canucks coach lol.

Big money for McClement, is he performing really well?

He’s able to play 1st line for us right now. A 3 year deal with roughly a $3m AAV who can lead the PK is pretty nice right now. I’m still entertaining offers for him though if I can find something that works. The rebuild is slow but it’s making progress.

[Moondoggie78]

January News

All-Star Game rosters announced
Eastern Conference
Goalies:
Cam Ward - Carolina Hurricanes
Tuukka Rask - Boston Bruins

Defense:
Brian Campbell - Buffalo Sabres
Dan Girardi - New York Rangers
Bryan Berard - New York Islanders
Andrei Markov - Montreal Canadiens
Jay Bouwmeester - Florida Panthers
Dennis Wideman - Boston Bruins

Forwards:
Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins
Eric Staal - Carolina Hurricanes
Martin St. Louis - Tampa Bay Lightning
Alex Ovechkin - Washington Capitals
Phil Kessel - Boston Bruins
Jason Spezza - Ottawa Senators
Olli Jokinen - Florida Panthers
Patrik Elias - New Jersey Devils
Alexi Kovalev - Montreal Canadiens
Jeff Carter - Philadelphia Flyers
Alexander Radulov - Atlanta Thrashers
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Toronto Maple Leafs

Western Conference
Goalie:
Nikolai Khabibulin - Chicago Blackhawks
Niklas Backstrom - Minnesota Wild

Defense:
Nicklas Lidstrom - Detroit Red Wings
Ryan Suter - Nashville Predators
Mark Giordano - St. Louis Blues
Dion Phaneuf - Calgary Flames
Keith Yandle - Phoenix Coyotes
Bren Burns - Minnesota Wild

Forwards:
Joe Thornton - San Jose Sharks
Anze Kopitar - Los Angeles Kings
Jarome Iginla - Calgary Flames
Shane Doan - Phoenix Coyotes
Marian Gaborik - Minnesota Wild
Henrik Sedin - Vancouver Canucks
Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim Ducks
Mike Ribeiro - Dallas Stars
Ales Hemsky - Edmonton Oilers
Patrick Kane - Chicago Blackhawks
Rick Nash - Columbus Blue Jackets
Paul Stasny - Colorado Avalanche

===============

Around the League
Patrick Elias nets 300th goal

[Moondoggie78]

February News
Marian Hossa tallied 300 goals

Jozef Stumpel racks up 500 assists
Nicklas Lidstrom produces 750 assists

Patrice Brisebois plays 1000th game
Sergei Fedorov plays 1250th game


NHL Trade Deadline Month
Trade
San Jose sends
Jonathan Cheechoo, RW, 25

Los Angeles sends
Erik Ersberg, G, 26

===========

Colorado sends
Peter Forsberg, C, 35

Philadelphia sends
2009 6th round draft pick

==========

St. Louis sends
Ryan Johnson, C, 32
2009 3rd round draft pick
Rights to Eddie Lack, G, 21

Boston sends
David Krejci, C, 22

"We would like to thank Ryan Johnson for his time here with the Blues. There was nothing that he did wrong or issues in the locker room. I'll make that clear. This was a hockey trade. Plain and simple. Ryan was great job for us, especially on the defensive side of the puck. Acquiring a player like Krejci allows us to have more options and focusing putting the puck in the net. He has a great vision on the ice and players seem to really like him across the league. We look forward to seeing what he can do with our club.' -- GM Meyer had to say after the trade
==========

St. Louis sends
Vasili Kosheckin, G, 25

Toronto sends
Hal Gill, RD, 33
2009 2nd round draft pick
2010 2nd round draft pick

"Kosheckin wanted the starter job. Simple as that. When we brought him in, we informed him that there would be competition in net and he could compete for the job. But when Rinne became available during waivers, some of the plans changed. Kosheckin deserves to be in the starter position in this league. We wish him nothing but the best."
==========

Edmonton sends
Dwayne Roloson, G, 39

Colorado sends
Ian Laperriere, RW, 35

==========

Colorado sends
Jaroslav Hlinka, LW, 32, 30% retained

Edmonton sends
Matt Greene, RD, 25

==========

Colorado sends
Scott Parker, RW, 31

Edmonton sends
Drew Larman, C, 23

Across the league
Brian Campbell re-signs with Buffalo - 3 years $4,010,000 AAV

[Moondoggie78]

March News
Martin Lapointe plays 1000th game
Miroslav Satan plays 1000th game

Scott Niedermayer reaches 500 assists

Martin St. Louis records 600 points

Pavel Datsyuk signs extension with DET - 5 years $4,910,000 AAV
Jere Lehtinen re-signs with DAL - 2 years $2,600,000 AAV
Eric Brewer re-signs with STL - 3 years $2,920,000 AAV

Blues Updates
Jose Theodore claimed off waivers


April News
Paul Kariya scores 400th goal

Martin Straka records 500th assist
Mats Sundin produces 750th assist

Ray Whitney plays 1000th game
Sean O'Donnell plays 1000th game

Blues player update(s)
Roman Polak out 3 weeks after sustaining a ruptured testicle

RW Juraj Kolnik signs extension - 2 years $725,000 AAV
LW Lee Stempniak extended - 2 years $3,465,000 AAV
D Barret Jackman extended - 3 years $2,800,000 AAV

[rhaums]

Oooh excited to see how the playoffs play out

[Moondoggie78]

April News
Paul Kariya scores 400th goal

Martin Straka records 500th assist
Mats Sundin produces 750th assist

Ray Whitney plays 1000th game
Sean O'Donnell plays 1000th game

Blues player update(s)
Roman Polak out 3 weeks after sustaining a ruptured testicle

RW Juraj Kolnik signs extension - 2 years $725,000 AAV
LW Lee Stempniak extended - 2 years $3,465,000 AAV
D Barret Jackman extended - 3 years $2,800,000 AAV

[Moondoggie78]

May News
The Minnesota Wild have won the Stanley Cup!

Award Ceremony
Ted Lindsay Award - Sidney Crosby
Art Ross Trophy - Sidney Crosby
Maurice Richard Trophy - Sidney Crosby
Lady Byng Trophy - Daniel Sedin
Bill Masterton Trophy - Ian Laperriere
Mark Messier Leadership Award - Chris Pronger
Jennings Trophy - Tuukka Rask
Hart Trophy - Sidney Crosby
Conn Smythe - Brent Burns
Calder Trophy - Steven Stamkos
Norris Trophy - Brian Campbell
Frank J Selke Trophy - John Madden
Vezina Trophy - Niklas Backstrom
Jack Adams Award - Claude Julien

2009 NHL All-Stars Declared
First Team
Goal - Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild
Defense - Brian Campbell, Buffalo Sabres
Defense - Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
Left Wing - Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Center - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Right Wing - Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning

Second Team
Goal - Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
Defense - Keith Yandle, Phoenix Coyotes
Defense - Ryan Whitney, Pittsburgh Penguins
Left Wing - Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
Center - Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
Right Wing - Phil Kessel, Boston Bruins

NHL All-Rookie Team Revealed
Goal - Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
Defense - Drew Doughty, Columbus Blue Jackets
Defense - Erik Karlsson, New York Islanders
Left Wing - David Perron, St. Louis Blues
Center - Steven Stamkos, Atlanta Thrashers
Right Wing - Kyle Okposo, New York Islanders

COL announces Joel Quenneville has been released as head coach
COL hires Alain Vigneault as new head coach
SJ announces Ron Wilson has been fired as head coach
SJ hires Joel Quenneville as new head coach
NSH releases Barry Trotz from head coach position
NSH hires Ron Wilson as new head coach

[CanuckJohnny]

Wow Buffalo takes the Penguins and Crosby in 7 games to get to the Finals. Minny with their first Cup good for them.

[Moondoggie78]

Originally Posted by CanuckJohnny

Wow Buffalo takes the Penguins and Crosby in 7 games to get to the Finals. Minny with their first Cup good for them.

My biggest take away was DET losing in the first round after killing it in the regular season.

[CanuckJohnny]

President's Trophy curse lives on

[Moondoggie78]

July News
Retirement Announcements
Glenn Metropolit, 35
Jozef Stumpel, 36
Rod Brind'Amour, 38
Niclas Havelid, 36
Tomas Holmstrom, 36
Todd Machant, 35
Brad May, 37
Owen Nolan, 37
Sandis Ozolinsh, 36
Mathieu Schneider, 40
Brendan Shanahan, 40
Martin Straka, 36
Doug Weight, 38
Stephane Yelle, 35
Martin Gerber, 34
Cristobal Huet, 33

League Changes
The Norris Trophy has been removed from
league awards. In its place, the Larry Robinson Award (Best Defensive Defensemen) and the Ray Bourque Award (Most Goals by Defensemen) have been created.

Trade Announcements

OTT sends
Brad Winchester, LW, 28

DAL sends
Tyler Spurgeon, C, 23

==========

NYR sends
Jaromir Jagr, RW, 37
Miroslav Satan, LW, 34

CHI sends
Dustin Byfuglien, RD, 24, 5% retained
Josh Unice, G, 20

========

EDM sends
Jarret Stoll, 27, 20% retained

WSH sends
Tomas Fleischmann, RW, 25

==========

NSH sends
Ryane Clowe, LW, 26

CAR sends
Jeff Hamilton, C, 31

==========

2009 NHL Draft Order
01. Colorado Avalanche
02. New York Rangers
03. Toronto Maple Leafs
04. Florida Panthers
05. San Jose Sharks
06. Atlanta Thrashers
07. Montreal Canadiens
08. Nashville Predators
09. Philadelphia Flyers
10. Dallas Stars
11. Calgary Flames
12. St. Louis Blues
13. Tampa Bay Lightning
14. Los Angeles Kings
15. Edmonton Oilers
16. Ottawa Senators
17. Vancouver Canucks
18. Columbus Blue Jackets
19. New York Rangers
20. Anaheim Ducks
21. Phoenix Coyotes
22. Carolina Hurricanes
23. Buffalo Sabres
24. Washington Capitals
25. New Jersey Devils
26. Chicago Blackhawks
27. Minnesota Wild
28. Pittsburgh Penguins
29. Boston Bruins
30. Detroit Red Wings

[CanuckJohnny]

Cool I didn't know you could make new awards. I knew you could change the names I guess. I'll have to look into that since I don't like how the AI picks some of the awards anyways.

Good luck with the draft

[Moondoggie78]

2009 NHL Draft Order
01. Colorado Avalanche - J. Tavares
02. New York Rangers - V. Hedman
03. Toronto Maple Leafs - C. Kreider
04. Florida Panthers - N. Kadri
05. San Jose Sharks - T. Barrie
06. Atlanta Thrashers - R. O'Reilly
07. Montreal Canadiens - J. Marchessault
08. Nashville Predators - B. Schenn
09. Philadelphia Flyers - M. Duchene
10. Dallas Stars - T. Krug
11. Calgary Flames - E. Kane
12. St. Louis Blues -- Traded to LAK -- K. Palmieri
13. Tampa Bay Lightning - R. Smith
14. Los Angeles Kings - R. Lehner
15. Edmonton Oilers - A. Shaw
16. Ottawa Senators - D. Savard
17. Vancouver Canucks - O. Ekman Larsson
18. Columbus Blue Jackets - C. de Haan
19. New York Rangers - O. Palat
20. Anaheim Ducks - C. DeSmith
21. Phoenix Coyotes - T. Tatar
22. Carolina Hurricanes - J. Silfverberg
23. Buffalo Sabres - N. Schmidt
24. Washington Capitals - B. Shinnimin
25. New Jersey Devils - N. Jensen
26. Chicago Blackhawks - M. Johansson
27. Minnesota Wild - N. Leddy
28. Pittsburgh Penguins - L. Vey
29. Boston Bruins - M. Callahan
30. Detroit Red Wings - T. van Riemsdyk

==========

"We have a trade to announce" -- Commissioner Gary Bettman

STL sends
Jay McClement, C, 26
Keith Tkachuk, LW, 37
Ian Cole, RD, 20
2009 1st round pick
2009 2nd round pick

LAK sends
Anze Kopitar, C, 21
Dustin Brown, RW, 24

==========

"We felt with our current assets that it would fit our current needs to move away from drafting in the first round and add to our current stock of players today. This helps offer us a really good chance to compete not only during the regular season but provide us the chance to compete in the postseason as well." GM Zack Meyer stated in a post draft interview.

"Losing a guy like Big Walt is a blow, that fact should not be overlooked. But, everyone that I have spoken with has had nothing but high regards to Brown and Kopitar. Both guys demand excellence. They come in to a locker room and immediately make their presence known. We knew they could be leaders in the locker room and fit into our core with their age as well"

==========

2009 NHL Entry Draft Review

The NHL has completed the 2009 draft. Going first overall to the Colorado Avalanche was John Tavares. The Islanders, choosing second, selected LD Victor Hedman, and the third overall pick was RW Chris Kreider, who went to the Maple Leafs.

The general consensus among media observers was that the Predators had the best overall draft, while the Bruins came in for some criticism.

The best three drafts
Predators, Blue Jackets, Oilers

The worst three drafts
Bruins, Capitals, Red Wings

[CanuckJohnny]

Wow big splash getting Kopi and Brown!

[Moondoggie78]

July News

NHL Trades
DAL sends
Loui Eriksson, RW, 23

CLB sends
Steve Sullivan, LW, 34

==========

EDM sends
Raffi Torres, LW, 27

NYI sends
Ruslan Fedotenko, LW, 30

==========

DAL sends
Joel Lundqvist, C, 27

ATL sends
Johan Hedberg, G, 36

==========

NSH sends
Dan Ellis, G, 29
Jeff Giuliano, LW, 30

PIT sends
Jonathan Sigalet, LD, 23
Rights to Connor James, RW, 26

==========

The Boston Bruins front office has matched the offer sheet from Detroit Red Wings. Nate Thompson will stay with Boston for 2 years and will be paid a total of $1,050,000.

==========

STL announces signings
Alex Pietrangelo, RD, 19
3 years - $812,250
Roman Josi, LD, 19
3 years - $812,250
Jori Lehtera, C, 21
2 years - $475,000


League signings
PHI - Matt Duchene - 3 years $810,000
ATL - Ryan O'Reilly - 3 years $810,000
COL - John Tavares - 3 years $810,000
CGY - Evander Kane - 3 years $810,000

[Moondoggie78]

August News
Hall of Fame Induction
Steve Yzerman - GP: 1514, G: 692, A:1063
1 Conn Smythe
1 Selke
1 Bill Masterton
1 Ted Lindsay
3 Stanley Cup

Al MacInnis - GP: 1416, G: 340, A: 934
1 Conn Smythe
1 Norris
1 Stanley Cup
Phil Housley - GP: 1495, G: 338, A: 894
0 awards
0 Stanley Cups

Doug Gilmour - GP: 1474, G: 450, A: 964
1 Selke
1 Stanley Cup


September News
Preseason
Jeff Halpern Hurt, Out 5 months - fractured hip
Ryan Whitney Hurt, Out 4 weeks - separated shoulder
Alexander Edler Hurt, Out 9 months - ruptured disc

[Moondoggie78]

League Preview
Stanley Cup favorite appear to be Pittsburgh Penguins led by Center Sidney Crosby. General Manager Ray Shero has built a squad that will be the team to beat this year, but they can expect challenges from Dale Tallon's Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators led by Jason Spezza.

The Detroit Red Wings stand out as the biggest dark horse with Pavel Datsyuk pushing them into contender status.

Scoring race will likely see Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby challenged by Alex Ovechkin of Washington and Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin.

Top defensemen in the league is generally considered to be Nashville's blueliner Shea Weber. But challenges coming from Minnesota's Brent Burns and Brian Campbell of Buffalo in the mix.

Finally, among goaltenders, Vancouver's Roberto Luongo stands out as the league's best, while New Jersey Devils netminder Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist of New York can steal games for their teams.

==========


Blues Season Outlook
The St. Louis Blues might not have done a lot in terms of drafting this offseason, but their biggest move was acquiring Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar from the LA Kings. After last season, the Blues look to start trending in the upward direction in the standings. Led by newly appointed Captain, Anze Kopitar, St. Louis is primed for a new season, and a new attitude entering the locker room.

When asked about coming in to a new organization and being named Captain, Kopitar was asked if he was excited, "Absolutely, I'm thrilled to be part of the St. Louis Blues organization and excited to lead this team to success in the new season. With talented rookies like Alex Pietrangelo and Roman Josi joining the squad, along with the support of our returning players, I believe we have a great opportunity to make a strong impact in the league. Guys like Backes, Oshie, and Perron, I hated playing against them because of how hard they would battle. Now it’s a little better knowing I'm going into battle with them."

"This season, we're here to compete." GM Zack Meyer was quoted during his season preview interview. "We've got a few new guys, likes Kopi and Brownie. A few incoming rookies like Petro and Josi. But we also have a lot of returning players like Backes, Couture, EJ, and Brewer. We look for those returning guys to help show the new ones around a bit. But these guys are professionals. The rebuilding phase needs to come to an end and we need to compete for each other now. I expect guys to go to battle for each other, play a full 60, and look to compete for a playoff spot this year. I trust in this team and they should too."

When asked about naming Kopitar the Captain coming into this season, Meyer responded with, "It’s a tough conversation. Eric was wondering how a Captain coming in to a new squad was going to be handled. When I informed him that I was naming Kopitar the new Captain of this team, he took the news well. He handled it like a professional."

[Moondoggie78]

The St. Louis Blues Opening Night roster

Lead by players like Anze Kopitar, Pekka Pinne, Brad Boyes, David Krejci, and Dustin Brown.

[CanuckJohnny]

you've built a solid group.

[Moondoggie78]

October News
Ray Whitney scores 300th goal
Alexei Kovalev scores 400th goal


Ray Whitney produces 500 assists

Alex Tanguay reaches 600 points
Patrick Marleau reaches 600 points
Andrew Brunette reaches 600 points

Chris Pronger - 1000 games played
Radek Dvorak - 1000 games played

Joe Sakic hurt - Out 4 months - torn thigh muscle
Vernon Fiddler - Out 4 weeks - strained tricep tendon
Maxin Afinogenov - Out 5 months - fractured knee
Andrej Meszaros - Out 5 months - fractured hip

Alexander Ovechkin - re-signs with Washington Capitals - 5 years $5,690,000

==========


November News
Jaromir Jagr scores 400th goal
Petr Sykora scores 300th goal

Shane Doan reaches 600 points
Brad Richards reaches 600 points

Radek Bonk plays 1000th game
Jason Smith plays 1000th game
Brian McCabe plays 1000th game
Sergei Gonchar plays 1000th game

Martin St. Louis re-signs with Tampa Bay - 1 year $3,670,000


Team Check-In
Overall record -- 16-9-0 -- 32 Points -- 1st Central -- 3rd Western Conference

Goal Leaders
Dustin Brown - 7
Anze Kopitar - 6
David Perron - 6
Brad Boyes - 5
Mark Giordano - 5

Assist Leaders
Brad Boyes - 16
Anze Kopitar - 12
Dustin Brown - 9
Logan Couture - 9
T.J. Oshie - 8

Point Leaders
Brad Boyes - 21
Anze Kopitar - 18
Dustin Brown - 16
Logan Couture - 13
T.J. Oshie - 11