How can Perron be easily the better player when he can't even command the same salary as Brouwer on the open market? The Blues are so dumb they over paid for Perron in free agency as the only other team to call Perron other than the Blues were the Canadiens and they offered substantially less. Furthermore, the Penguins didn't make their Cup run last year until they unloaded Perron. Lets disregard the leadership Brouwer brought, the physicality and edge he gave the Blues. Lets write off his production in the playoffs last year even though it was probably the first time in his career he was asked to play on a scoring line in the post season and he responded beautifully. Yeah, lets disregard Brouwer's durability, his 200 plus hits a year. We got Perron back - great!
Commanding more in free agency doesn't make you a better player. Look at guys like Ladd and Boedker who commanded more than Perron and are having significantly worse seasons. You do realize Perron is third among the team in points so far right? Real dumb of us to sign him.
Trading Perron wasn't the reason the Penguins made the Cup finals. It had more to do with them changing their coach and Crosby actually playing up to his talent level.
Brouwer's role last year in the playoffs was similar to the roles he played in Chicago and Washington. He was a consistent 20 goal scorer with them, of course he would be put in a scoring role in the postseason.
Perron hasn't missed significant time since the 2011-12 season. In fact, he's missed a total of 16 games in the last 4 seasons combined.
I beg to differ. Armstrong took over the Blues with an established young nucleus with several players locked in bargain priced contracts. He was put in a very favorable position to succeed. I'll give him credit for hiring Hitch, as that was a beauty and it was by far the best move he ever made for himself as GM of the Blues. Hitch elevated those Blues teams. But a sharper, more astute GM would of taken this franchise to 1 or 2 Cup Finals. Instead, we've now entered a new phase where all those bargain priced contracts have expired and decisions are being made. IMO he's taking this team in the wrong direction & subsequently out of Cup contention. And the fact that the Blues have ZERO offensive talent readily available in their pipeline speaks volumes. Yeah, let Armstrong stick around a little longer so he can really take the Blues to new places. It won't surprise me at all if he ends up letting Shattenkirk walk. Armstrong has no vision, lacks imagination, is unable to use free agency properly in conjunction with trading his own assets for a 1st round pick. You can win and secure the future at the same time, but Armstrong trading for a number 1 pick is unheard of. But oh yeah, he's dealt away 3 since he's been here.
Doug Armstrong took over as GM in 2010. There was certainly a solid core in place with Backes/Oshie/Pietrangelo/Steen/Johnson, but nothing too impressive. Tarasenko and Schwartz were drafted when Armstrong took over. As for bargain contracts:
Oshie was still on his ELC.
Pietrangelo was still on his ELC.
Berglund was still on his ELC.
Steen's contract had just expired. Armstrong signed him to a new 4 year deal on July 1.
EJ's contract just expired. He was signed to a 2 year deal in August by Armstrong.
Backes was in the final year of a 3 year 7.5M contract.
McDonald was already signed to a 4 year contract at 4.7M AAV.
So really, the only bargain contracts that were in place were Backes, which was set to expire after that season, and McDonald. Everyone else, Armstrong had to sign himself. He's the one who signed Pietrangelo, Oshie, Steen, Tarasenko, Shattenkirk, Bouwmeester, etc. to fair deals. Let's not act like he was a beneficiary of good contracts, he had to go out and negotiate them himself. The most difficult contract to negotiate in a player's career is typically the one right after the ELC. The GM has to determine whether they are going bridge or long-term, as both come with their own set of risks. Armstrong had to handle these for Oshie/Pietrangelo/Berglund/Tarasenko/Schwartz/Shattenkirk and so on.
How exactly would a sharper, more astute GM, have taken this team to the Cup finals? You make it sound like it's so simple to just craft a well-rounded team that are Cup contenders while simultaneously have a strong prospect pool. Look at the past Cup winners and their prospect pools. The Hawks/Kings/Pens have hardly anything in the pipeline. I would love to hear how teams can win and secure the future at the same time.
Blues have some good offensive prospects in the system with guys like Barbashev, Thompson, and Kyrou. Are they the cream of the crop? No, but the Blues aren't really in a position where they need these prospects urgently. Even young guys like Yakupov/Jaskin/Rattie are finding it tough to hold down a permanent position on the club.
I'm curious about your statement that Armstrong is "unable to use free agency properly in conjunction with trading his own assets for a 1st round pick". Are you saying Armstrong should be trading our players for 1st round picks and replacing them through free agency? The only time Armstrong should have even considered trading a player for a first round pick is Shattenkirk this past offseason. The Blues are in a win-now mode, who should we have traded for 1st round picks? I guess Oshie is one, but then we wouldn't have gotten your favorite player in Troy Brouwer. He traded Perron for what was essentially a late first round pick. I'd like to know who he could have dealt to gain a first round pick. Furthermore, signing players in UFA usually ends in a death sentence due to the overpayment required. Let's be glad Armstrong didn't give a ridiculous contract to someone like Clarkson or Ladd.
I agree that Armstrong hasn't done an exemplary job in taking this club over the top, but he certainly did well to build a very solid foundation for the Blues going forward. He does lack a vision for this team which has been the ultimate detriment, but these issues surfaced in the past couple years. That doesn't mean we can discount what he's done in the early years of his tenure. The EJ/Shattenkirk trade was a terrific trade on his part. Signing Stastny to a short term deal despite being a UFA is another. He's does a very good job at getting players signed to fair value contracts.
It seems like you expect a GM to be perfect at balancing both the present and future of a team. That's not possible in today's NHL. There will always be ebb and flow in a team's success rate. You're going to have a window where the Cup is your main priority, and once that core begins to age you enter rebuild/retool mode where you start valuing youth.
I understand where you're coming from in your criticism of Armstrong, but you're grossly undervaluing the positive moves he's made for this club while over exaggerating his deficiencies.
