For a moment there I thought something big might be brewing. Word was Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad were absent from practice (where Monty was evidently pushing them hard after last night's dismal showing,) and there was to be press availability from Army after the practice. Immediately my mind was filled with happy thoughts of the Blues General Manager fleecing another NHL team of valuable pieces for an on-again off-again Buchy and the desiccated husk of Brandon Saad.
Sadly, it was not to be.
Instead, we learned that Saad had been waived because the Blues couldn't find a trade partner willing to give anything up to acquire him. If no one puts in a claim for him Saad will report down to Springfield to clog up their lineup for a change. Army also emphasized there was no intention of recalling anyone interesting from Springfield to take these roster spots (Saad's and the recently traded Scott Perunovich's.) So, for Blues fans what you see is what you get. That will be good and bad. Good in that we will get to see what Texier and Bolduc can do with increased playing time; Bad in that we will be treated to a steady diet of Suter's aging out of the league.
It is a little maddening because it is obvious the team can play better than they are currently showing. Monty has been mixing and matching on the lines hoping to catch a spark somewhere, but it just isn't happening. At this point, were someone to give me the keys to the car, I would set the lines and leave them alone. Get the WTF line set as your 4th, and install the Schenn, Kyrou, Holloway line as your 1st. Hope that familiarity can breed some chemistry. It seems unlikely that Army will be able to improve the roster much if at all.
Comments