The Reviews Are In; Brad Boyes Is Good!

By Brad Lee

"The trade deadline deal that brought Brad Boyes to the St. Louis Blues last February is looking better every day." -- Norm Sanders, Belleville News Democrat

"It was probably one of the best trades I've seen. He was on fire when he got here last year. I'm just glad he's here." -- Manny Legace, the man behind the mask

"Boyes is a great player and he sees the game really well. He's got that scoring knack of being in the right place at the right time. It's a lot of fun to play with him." -- Paul Kariya, close personal friend of Bradley Boyes

"Washington Capitals goaltender Brent Johnson found out in his return to St. Louis that Brad Boyes has settled in with his talented linemates quite well." -- Corey Masisak, some guy with the Washington Post

"He and Paul Kariya have meshed. They played an exhibition game together in Dallas and were very good. And that's when we saw a little bit of the chemistry that you look for. Walt (Tkachuk) has been the centre and geez, they've been good. Brad has fantastic hands. He's a little bit better a skater than people give him credit for. He's in great shape and Andy has him competing. It's all paying off." -- John Davidson, miracle worker

And the guy is humble too:

"Things are going well," Boyes said on Friday, a day before he scored two goals in a 4-3 win against Washington. "It's always fun contributing. But I think everyone is kind of putting the pieces together, playing their roles. That's obviously what it takes.

"That's the one thing I've heard is how much guys love it here," said Boyes, a restricted free agent at season's end. "Tkachuk came back here, Dougie Weight came back here, they have 40 or so alumni. Living here has been awesome. I really do enjoy it...

"The Blues are picking it up as well, the buzz around the city has been real good."

Boyes has eight goals in nine games and is the clubhouse leader for the Game Time Blues Player of the Month (sponsored by Jeffio's House of Liquor) for October.