OT: Should Doug Armstrong get fired?

[TheDizee]

The mess we have been put through for the past 3 seasons is 100% on Armstrong, along with this clown coach he has right now.

It all links back to three key things:

Using money for Creampuff on Schenn.
Paying Kyrou idiotic money for someone who did not nor ever will deserve the contract he got.
Signing Krug.

This trainwreck is on him. This team is unwatchable.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

The mess we have been put through for the past 3 seasons is 100% on Armstrong, along with this clown coach he has right now.

It all links back to three key things:

Using money for Creampuff on Schenn.
Paying Kyrou idiotic money for someone who did not nor ever will deserve the contract he got.
Signing Krug.

This trainwreck is on him. This team is unwatchable.

I've posted this once, but will "say" it again. I have a very strong inkling (my intuition is strong af) that the Pietro saga had nothing to do with anything except getting Vegas a Cup. It was the market (and Bettman) that forced Pietro to Vegas, similar to Pujols to Anaheim.

And now we have the parties involved playing up the kabuki with different narratives each time they're asked. All of the contract details and the back and forth is 100% BS Kabuki theater.

 

[BleedBlue14]

This was either going to happen in a year from now, or when it did.

It’s really easy to look back vs doing it in the moment.

We’re down our top 3 LDs (including Krug), our best player, and possibly another LD depending on how bad POJs injury is.

We’re also in the middle of a retool with light shining at the end of the tunnel.

All of the serious money we have owed save Kyrou, Thomas, Buch and Parayko is up in 2-3 years. We have a ridiculous amount of 1st round picks in the organization from the past 5 drafts, and we very well look to be adding a top 10 pick this season.

I’m not trying to overlook that yes mistakes were made, but I’d say fixing the mistakes isn’t going to cost us the prime of Thomas and that’s a huge win.

As to the Pietro situation. It’s really easy to speculate both ways. There would also be a compounding effect if we gave him ridiculous money to ensure he stayed here. He’s missed a good chunk of games, had a lot of injuries and plays in a much better situation for himself. It’s impossible to know how the 5 years since he’s been in Vegas would’ve gone if he were still in St Louis.

Schenn signing made sense at the time we were supposed to be in a competitive window. Krug signing also made sense, JBo was on the backend of his career (although unfortunately it was shorter than necessary), and we didn’t have much of a PP defenseman - even including Pietro. I’m not sure I can say the Faulk trade made any sense - but it wasn’t a costly price of acquisition looking back at it.

I know you don’t have an ounce of patience in your bones, and it probably won’t be looked back on as Armstrong’s doing once Steen takes over, but he’s putting the franchise in a pretty good position currently.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

To the above, Yes it is always easier to look back. I remember I was firmly in the "don't let door hit you on the way out" camp. I'm certainly not going to fill in some phantom narrative details of contract negotiations and what he said or they said or whatever.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

All things considered, missing 3 top 4 D. Having 3 kids not seize the day as top 4 candidates. I can’t say firing Army should even be on the table.

 

[Drubilly]

All things considered, missing 3 top 4 D. Having 3 kids not seize the day as top 4 candidates. I can’t say firing Army should even be on the table.

What about an actuary table though??

 

[AyeBah]

This was either going to happen in a year from now, or when it did.

It’s really easy to look back vs doing it in the moment.

We’re down our top 3 LDs (including Krug), our best player, and possibly another LD depending on how bad POJs injury is.

We’re also in the middle of a retool with light shining at the end of the tunnel.

All of the serious money we have owed save Kyrou, Thomas, Buch and Parayko is up in 2-3 years. We have a ridiculous amount of 1st round picks in the organization from the past 5 drafts, and we very well look to be adding a top 10 pick this season.

I’m not trying to overlook that yes mistakes were made, but I’d say fixing the mistakes isn’t going to cost us the prime of Thomas and that’s a huge win.

As to the Pietro situation. It’s really easy to speculate both ways. There would also be a compounding effect if we gave him ridiculous money to ensure he stayed here. He’s missed a good chunk of games, had a lot of injuries and plays in a much better situation for himself. It’s impossible to know how the 5 years since he’s been in Vegas would’ve gone if he were still in St Louis.

Schenn signing made sense at the time we were supposed to be in a competitive window. Krug signing also made sense, JBo was on the backend of his career (although unfortunately it was shorter than necessary), and we didn’t have much of a PP defenseman - even including Pietro. I’m not sure I can say the Faulk trade made any sense - but it wasn’t a costly price of acquisition looking back at it.

I know you don’t have an ounce of patience in your bones, and it probably won’t be looked back on as Armstrong’s doing once Steen takes over, but he’s putting the franchise in a pretty good position currently.

I get all that but why not burn this thing to the studs? Parayko, Binnington, and Buch should have/ should be traded for futures. they will be old and out of their prime by the time this team is competitive again. We're just watching assets depreciate in real time. Teams will have plenty of cap space this summer so I'd like to see some selling go on. I can't take 5-7 years of drafting at average position 13 and going nowhere.

 

[joe galiba]

I get all that but why not burn this thing to the studs? Parayko, Binnington, and Buch should have/ should be traded for futures. they will be old and out of their prime by the time this team is competitive again. We're just watching assets depreciate in real time. Teams will have plenty of cap space this summer so I'd like to see some selling go on. I can't take 5-7 years of drafting at average position 13 and going nowhere.

and the Blues are never going to do this, ever, unless a billionaire who doesn’t care how much money he loses buys the team

 

[AyeBah]

and the Blues are never going to do this, ever, unless a billionaire who doesn’t care how much money he loses buys the team

Is our ownership group really that much worse off than the Sharks or Blue Jackets type of teams?

 

[joe galiba]

Is our ownership group really that much worse off than the Sharks or Blue Jackets type of teams?

they are not going to take the hit in attendance and viewership to be terrible on the hope that maybe it will work, the NHL is littered with complete rebuilds that don’t work, the ownership group has a bunch of owners that are doing it for civic reasons, they aren’t hockey fans, breaking even is fine, losing money wouldn’t be

 

[ChicagoBlues]

they are not going to take the hit in attendance and viewership to be terrible on the hope that maybe it will work, the NHL is littered with complete rebuilds that don’t work, the ownership group has a bunch of owners that are doing it for civic reasons, they aren’t hockey fans, breaking even is fine, losing money wouldn’t be

Yep. Burning it down to the studs is not going to happen nor is it even remotely a good idea. But that’s my opinion.

 

[BlueSeal]

I get all that but why not burn this thing to the studs? Parayko, Binnington, and Buch should have/ should be traded for futures. they will be old and out of their prime by the time this team is competitive again. We're just watching assets depreciate in real time. Teams will have plenty of cap space this summer so I'd like to see some selling go on. I can't take 5-7 years of drafting at average position 13 and going nowhere.

That is our reality, whether we like it or not. We got a Cup out of this whole fiasco, so I'm fine with whatever. We will seesaw a loss here, a win here, a losing streak here, a winning streak there and we'll end the season where you (and I have been) predict.

I have zero faith that the kids will show up and be signifigant enough to make a huge difference after all is said and done. Those pieces will be traded for the pieces that may be the difference. But hey, I love to be proven wrong and absolutely welcome it, I just refuse to put any hope and faith into it, no matter what the 'paper' stats say.

I feel that Army is not going to do anything signifigant and will leave whatever building is to come to our next GM. This entire thing feels has the 'coming close to retirement' vibe, which is fine since they're training our new guy while the team runs rough, which is a great learning experience over being gifted a loaded roster and learning absolutely nothing because of their success.

It's definitely going to be interesting and I'm along for the ride!

 

[Xerloris]

That is our reality, whether we like it or not. We got a Cup out of this whole fiasco, so I'm fine with whatever. We will seesaw a loss here, a win here, a losing streak here, a winning streak there and we'll end the season where you (and I have been) predict.

I have zero faith that the kids will show up and be signifigant enough to make a huge difference after all is said and done. Those pieces will be traded for the pieces that may be the difference. But hey, I love to be proven wrong and absolutely welcome it, I just refuse to put any hope and faith into it, no matter what the 'paper' stats say.

I feel that Army is not going to do anything signifigant and will leave whatever building is to come to our next GM. This entire thing feels has the 'coming close to retirement' vibe, which is fine since they're training our new guy while the team runs rough, which is a great learning experience over being gifted a loaded roster and learning absolutely nothing because of their success.

It's definitely going to be interesting and I'm along for the ride!

You must be really fun at parties.

 

[Reality Czech]

Is our ownership group really that much worse off than the Sharks or Blue Jackets type of teams?

Do you really wanna trade places with the Sharks or Blue Jackets? 5 or more years of horrible hockey for the hope that maybe, possibly they'll compete for a Cup after that? Getting the 1st overall is a great boost for a franchise but even the worst team in the league only has roughly a 25-30% chance of getting that top pick. Teams like the Jackets and Sabres have had high picks for a long time now and they're no better off than the Blues right now.

I don't really get Blues fans who want to tear it all down. Teams go that route when they have no other choice, but the Blues were fortunate enough to draft two players in Thomas and Kyrou that might allow us to bypass bottoming out while remaining somewhat competitive in the meantime.

This last decade has been the most successful in franchise history and fans act like Armstrong doesn't have a clue. Even his worst years as GM, we're not that far off a .500 record. Blues fans should be grateful but instead many of them do nothing but complain.

 

[BlueSeal]

You must be really fun at parties.

You sir are not going to convince me to start going to parties. I know your game! lol.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

We’d tank and end up with EJ 2.0 from a 1st overall if we’re lucky to get one at all.

 

[BlueSeal]

We’d tank and end up with EJ 2.0 from a 1st overall if we’re lucky to get one at all.

This is where I am confused. If we're going to tank, ok let's do it and go after Bedard. But we didn't. Upper management or just Army is holding on to far too much hope that this will all equate to a short retool. If we have that much faith in the kids coming up, why not blow it all up and use the picks etc to build it right?

 

[AyeBah]

This is where I am confused. If we're going to tank, ok let's do it and go after Bedard. But we didn't. Upper management or just Army is holding on to far too much hope that this will all equate to a short retool. If we have that much faith in the kids coming up, why not blow it all up and use the picks etc to build it right?

So much faith in the "retool" that Bolduc rots away in the pressbox. Send him down if he's not going to play