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Blues

Player News - Blues

Date: Team: Pos:
Niklas Lundstrom - G - Blues

St. Louis Blues sign Niklas Lundstrom to three-year, entry-level contract.

Lundstrom was the Blues' fifth-round draft pick in 2011. He spent last season with AIK of the Swedish Elite League, posting a 3-9-0 mark and a 3.10 GAA and .901 save percentage. Lundstrom also appeared in three games during Sweden's silver-medal campaign at the 2013 World Junior Championships.
Source: NHL.com
May 21 - 12:40 PM
Vladimir Tarasenko - W - Blues

Vladimir Tarasenko is expected to be an important part of St. Louis' future and he received that message before leaving the team after their playoff elimination.

"I was very impressed with his season," GM Doug Armstrong said. "Now he has to go home and he has to come back in and be a player that we can count on. He left with a mandate that, 'Your name is on the board in an important spot now.'" Tarasenko played in just one playoff game in the Blues' first-round exit against Los Angeles after producing eight goals and 19 points in 38 games during his rookie season.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 16 - 6:24 PM
Ken Hitchcock - C - Blues

Blues GM Doug Armstrong called his team's goaltending situation "cloudy."

Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak are both candidates for the number one role and signed through next season, but they'll also have to compete with 22-year-old Jake Allen. "I think anything could happen," Armstrong said. "It was a difficult year for both Elliott and Jaro, and I think Jake took great advantage of it. He’s proven to us now that he has to go in the equation. Brian got off to a poor start, resurrected himself, had a great finish. Jaro, unfortunately, had injuries. We were giving him the ball and then ... he got injured again, and the season progressed and he didn’t get back in the net. So it’s a cloudy issue right now to be honest with you, our goaltending situation, because of how the season has progressed. It’s a positive cloud in one sense, in that Jake has given us things we have to look at." It's possible that the Blues will trade Halak or Elliott to clear the logjam.
Related: Jaroslav Halak, Brian Elliott, Jake Allen
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 15 - 11:20 AM
Ty Rattie - W - Blues

Ty Rattie earned the MVP Award in the WHL playoffs.

"It's a great feeling to know that all your hard work, all of your team's hard work, finally paid off," Rattie said. "To lift that trophy was a surreal feeling." He had 20 goals and 36 points in 21 postseason contests after recording 48 goals and 110 points in 62 regular season games. He'll be worth keeping an eye on during the Blues' training camp.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 15 - 11:16 AM
Ken Hitchcock - C - Blues

St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock and GM Doug Armstrong both mentioned the need for the team's "homegrown" players to take a big step next season.

There's been a lot of talk about the Blues not possessing an elite finisher, but St. Louis also has multiple former first-round picks on the roster. Players like T.J. Oshie, Chris Stewart and Patrik Berglund need to develop into more consistent offensive players in the postseason while youngsters Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko get more experience under their belts.
Related: Chris Stewart, Patrik Berglund, T.J. Oshie
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 14 - 11:17 AM
Ken Hitchcock - C - Blues

It doesn't sound like the St. Louis Blues are going to make sweeping changes following their first-round exit.

"My belief in playoff success is you knock on the door, you get to the door enough times and sooner or later you get through," Blues GM Doug Armstrong said. "Where we're at now is we're at the door consistently for two years, we're going to get back there. If we put ourselves in this position year-in and year-out, at some point we'll get through." He added that he feels the team is moving in the right direction.
Source: Bellevue News-Democrat
May 13 - 9:41 AM
Jori Lehtera - C - Blues

St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong essentially said that it's up to Jori Lehtera if he wants to join up with the team next season.

The 25-year-old Finnish center was the 65th pick of the 2008 NHL Draft. He's been close to a point-per-game player in the KHL the past two seasons, so it's possible that he can fit in well with a team that could use more offense.
Source: Lou Korac on Twitter
May 12 - 3:34 PM
Andy McDonald - W - Blues

NHL.com's Lou Korac reports that St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong didn't exactly give his teams unrestricted free agents glowing reviews.

Among the most interesting names on that list: Andy McDonald, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jordan Leopold and Scott Nichol. With a cloudy goaltending situation also in mind, this could be an interesting offseason.
Related: Jamie Langenbrunner, Scott Nichol, Jordan Leopold
Source: Lou Korac on Twitter
May 12 - 3:18 PM
Jaroslav Halak - G - Blues

St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong acknowledged the elephant in the room: the team's goaltending situation is "cloudy."

All three of Jaroslav Halak, Brian Elliott and Jake Allen could argue that they deserve playing time. Of note: Allen is a restricted free agent this summer while Elliott and Halak have one year left on their deals. It could be an interesting offseason storyline.
Related: Jake Allen, Brian Elliott
Source: Jeremy Rutherford on Twitter
May 12 - 2:24 PM
Jaroslav Halak - G - Blues

Reports out of St. Louis say that Jaroslav Halak and coach Ken Hitchcock had a heated argument on the morning of Game 4.

Halak was quite perturbed that he did not play in the regular season finale as he was healthy enough to, but Hitchcock used Brian Elliott as fourth place was still on the line. The Blues won 3-1 but Halak still felt he should have played. The blowup before Game 4 was caused by Halak being late for a team meeting and things apparently got out of hand quickly. Halak still has a year left on his contract but it remains to be seen if he will spend it in St. Louis with Hitchcock at the helm.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 12 - 10:29 AM
David Backes - C - Blues

With the St. Louis Blues eliminated, David Backes will play for the U.S. team in the 2013 World Hockey Championships.

Backes generated a disappointing offensive output in the 2013 regular season, managing 28 points in 48 games on just 100 SOG. His six goals would've been well short of the pace he generated in 2010-11 (31 tallies) and 2011-12 (24).
Source: USA Hockey on Twitter
May 11 - 6:04 PM
T.J. Oshie - W - Blues

T.J. Oshie recorded a team-worst minus-4 for the Blues in their opening round series loss to Los Angeles.

Oshie returned from a late-season injury to suit up for the Blues in Game One of the series, but it's fair to question whether he returned too soon, as he became a defensive liability. The winger is a talented scorer and we shouldn't read too much into such a small sample, but let's hope coach Ken Hitchcock has a short memory entering next season.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 11 - 7:56 AM
Roman Polak - D - Blues

Blues defenseman Roman Polak is upset with his play on the eventual game-winning goal for the Kings Friday.

With second remaining in the second period of a 1-1 game, Kings forward Dustin Penner fired a long shot on goal in desperation, but Polak's attempt to block it screened goaltender Brian Elliot and led to the go-ahead marker for Los Angeles. "It was a bad play by me," he said. "There were just two seconds left. I tried to block it and I just got a piece of it."
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 11 - 7:49 AM
Ken Hitchcock - C - Blues

Ken Hitchcock says the St. Louis Blues should be "disappointed in the opportunity we missed."

The Blues lost four straight games after taking a 2-0 lead in the series against the Kings and it's hard to blame Hitchcock for being as upset as he was after Friday's series-clinching 2-1 loss. "I hope our players, when they pause and reflect on it, are really pissed off," Hitchcock said. It was the second straight year the Blues were bounced by the Kings, but what has to be really frustrating is how well they played for long stretches of the series. We don't imagine the sting of this loss will fade anytime soon.
Source: Jeremy Rutherford on Twitter
May 11 - 1:38 AM
Chris Porter - W - Blues

Chris Porter scored the lone goal for the St. Louis Blues in a 2-1 loss Friday night.

Porter was in the right place at the right time as a Roman Polak shot deflected off Porter and past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. Porter had just two goals and eight points in 29 games this season and is more of a depth forward at this point in his career.
May 11 - 1:34 AM

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