Blues’ woes turn up heat on Murray
Underachieving team must either fire coach or start moving players
 | Andy Murray is on the hot seat as his St. Louis Blues continue to underachieve. |
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The fat is in the fire in St. Louis: On the NHL Network’s “On the Fly” on Wednesday, TSN's Darren Dreger spoke on what could become the season's first coach firing. Andy Murray is on the hot seat as his St. Louis Blues continue to underachieve.
No surprise to Blues fans: The team's failure is most glaring at home, where it is 4-7-1. Despite solid goaltending, the Blues have been skating in slush since returning from Sweden, where they opened the season with two victories over the Red Wings. They can score six times one game and get shut down cold the next game.
Expectations went through the Scottrade Center roof when the Blues returned home from Sweden, thanks to their wins over the hated Wings after last season's surprising run to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Blues spent the summer touting home-grown young talent, including former first-round picks Erik Johnson, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and David Perron. Another first-rounder, Alex Pietrangelo, is on the bubble and could be headed back to juniors — whether he deserves it — because of a logjam of defensemen. The team's "stopper line" remains the best threesome Murray puts on the ice, anchored by center Jay McClement. And yet, the Blues entered Thursday's game against Phoenix as an underdog. Wasn't it supposed to be the Blues who were contending in the West, not the shocked, demoralized Coyotes? (The Blues did manage to win in overtime).
The problems begin with their streaky, ineffective offense. The Blues have scored two goals or fewer in 12 of 18 games and eight of 10 at home. Their power play is a cipher. Worse, key veterans can't find the net. Paul Kariya has gone 10 games without a point, and Keith Tkachuk has gone seven. Brad Boyes, their top goal scorer last season, and David Backes are pancakes.
Among the disappointments is Bergland, who had 21 goals and 26 assists last season. He has two goals and two assists so far and will play with the stoppers on Thursday rather than on one of the top two lines. He told Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he's playing too passive a game. Maybe time with the stoppers will do him good.
But with the stars grinding their sticks into sawdust, it's clear just getting shots isn't enough. "What the team has lacked through the first 18 games are guys that can close the deal — the finishers," Blues beat man Norm Sanders wrote in the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat.
The Blues' problem on offense also can be traced to a lack of playmakers. They lack a big-time set-up center. Nobody, it seems, is in the right position to make passes that turn into goals. Tkachuk and Backes are playing out of position at center, where they are scorers, not passers.
Owner Dave Checketts called the team out last week. Team president John Davidson has noted the Blues' disturbing penchant for slow starts. And they also can't seem to build on leads and have trouble holding them because they can't put the puck in the net.
Dreger didn't pin the blame on Murray, who was a coach of the year finalist last season; but he did raise the question. Canning Murray would be costly, because the Blues recently picked up his contract through the 2010-11 season. And in announcing the deal, Davidson said of Murray, "When he has a little tough love and the players react properly, they know it's for the right reason. He can squeeze a little blood out of a stone, there's no question."
But tough love can go only so far. And the Blues need more than a swift kick in the pants. They need a shakeup. They could trade a defenseman for scoring help; would they dare consider trading Pietrangelo? They have too many defensive defensemen and not enough puck-movers and point-shooters.
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Two Post-Dispatch hockey men, Rutherford and Jeff Gordon, made the best points this week in a discussion on Murray. Rutherford: Murray has yet to get the team to produce consistently over a season. Gordon: Murray's program has stalled, and he has five or six games to get it running again.
The difference between the Coyotes and Blues is coaching. The Coyotes have bought into what Dave Tippett brought to the team, thanks to help from captain Shane Doan and defenseman Ed Jovanovski. The Blues aren't buying what Murray is selling.
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