ST.
LOUIS – The
St. Louis Blues tried the here and the now. It’s obviously clear
that the long-term plan with Logan Mailloux is the best course of
action.
Instead
of having the defenseman sitting out more than he’s playing, the
Blues have assigned the 22-year-old to Springfield of the American
Hockey League on Sunday and are recalling defenseman Hunter Skinner.
The
start for Mailloux and the Blues wasn’t what they were hoping for
in the present, but the Blues (5-8-3) are in a try-to-win-now mode,
and Mailloux, who had no points in nine games and was a healthy
scratch seven times in 16 games, including four of the past five.
“The
season for the Blues and Logan hasn’t started the way we wanted
to,” Blues
general manager Doug Armstrong said. “I think it’s important for him to go down and play a number of
games to get his game back in order and to unlock his mind. Right
now, he’s playing like he’s locked up a little bit where he’s
playing not to make a mistake and you can’t play in the NHL at that
level. When we talked earlier in the year, we were hoping it’s
going to go smoothly. It hasn’t gone smoothly for him. It hasn’t
gone smoothly for us.
“I’ve
said to you guys before that sometimes, organizations fail players
and players fail organizations. What we don’t want to do is fail
him. At the start of the year, we weren’t playing well and he was
partnered with another young player (Tyler
Tucker).
Probably didn’t give him the best opportunity. It’s time for a
reset and I believe him going down, and there’s a finite time he’s
going to go down with the understanding that things change depending
on play. We believe in Logan. It’s something I’ve talked to him
about. We’re in it for the marathon, not the sprint. We’re
expecting him to go down, play well and when he gets back up, give
him that opportunity.”
Armstrong
didn’t want to talk lack of confidence, but it was obvious Mailloux
was squeezing the stick and doing things on the ice that just didn’t
fit with the style needed at this level; he’s only played in 17
combined games for the Blues and Montreal Canadiens, who sent
Mailloux to the Blues on July 1 for forward Zack Bolduc.
“It’s
a reset,” Armstrong
said.
‘Let him go play, I don’t want to say stress-free because he’s
not going down there to play pond hockey. As you watch him now, he’s
playing not to make a mistake. You go through cycles in hockey where
you get good breaks or bad breaks. It seems no matter what he does,
it ends up with a bad break. I’m not making excuses for him, but he
needs a reset. To sit out and then go in on a team that’s not
functioning at a high level right now like we are, we’re not
supporting him when he’s in there. It’s not fair to him. We have
a long-term plan. We have to make sure what we’re doing is not only
fair to the Blues organization today, but our players for tomorrow.
The
Blues aren’t off to the best of starts to the season, being 31st
in the league with 13 points and a league-worst minus-19 goal
differential.
Mailloux
can go to Springfield and play heavy minutes and in all situations,
despite the struggles of the Thunderbirds, who are 1-8-1-1.
“We’ve
been a very poor team at the start of the season,” Armstrong
said.
“You look at our record, I think we’re 31st in the league. I
think he started the year not with a veteran partner and then our
team not playing well. We didn’t stack the odds in his favor with
our play. So I think going down and just breathing, not having that
anxiety every day of my next shift. Again, it’s not like he’s
asking for this. I’m sure he’s not happy about going down. He
understands. I think he understands the process when he gets back up,
we need a player that can go in and play. I don’t think he’s
going to gain that right now by sitting here and watching and going
in and it being a tight game, and not using him correctly. I think we
have to share the responsibility to make sure we’re putting him in
a proper environment.”
Armstrong
wanted to make clear that this is an indefinitely time but not the
entire season.
“It’s
a finite time going down there. I don’t want to share it, but based
on play. It’s going to be for a few games, but we expect him to
play well and come back up here with a clearer mind,” Armstrong
said.
‘It’s a finite plan unless things don’t go well, meaning he
doesn’t take the bait. But I think he’s going to.
“We
want to see him comfortable with the puck, using his skating, using
his physical tools. Just playing a 200-foot game. He’ll get some
power-play time down there. Things that he’s done in the American
League he hasn’t done here, give him an opportunity. It’s a
reset. It’s not what anyone wanted or what anyone’s hoping it’d
be. But we have to look at it, or I have to look at it as a manager
what is best for the organization and what is best for the
organization is for him to be a good player. This is a step, we hope,
in getting him to the level he needs to get to.”
Initial
reaction will be that the Blues got fleeced in this trade, that they
should have kept Bolduc, something they were prepared for.
“I
certainly respect and read and understand the angst of the fans, but
my goal, our goal is to do what’s best for the player and the
organization,” Armstrong said. “There could be support for him to
go down and play well. There could be negativity. But you can’t
make your decisions based on public perception. I think this is best
for him and the Blues. That’s why we’re doing it.”
As
for why Skinner, who has
a goal and an assist in 11 games with the Thunderbirds, instead of
the newly-reacquired Calle Rosen, Armstrong and the Blues were
pleased with Skinner’s training camp. He was one of the final cuts
in early October.
“Right-hand
shot, good training camp, physical edge,” Armstrong
said.
“Earned the right. … Earned the right with his play last year.
Nothing major.”
Observations From Blues’ 4-3 Overtime Loss Vs. Kraken
Blues lose on late goalie interference call that should have gone their way; another yo-yo game in which St. Louis starts strong, levels off, finishes well until league fumbles another infraction that wasn’t called; please explain why someone would take their foot off the gas; Kyrou good in return
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