somebody get Mac to talk selanne into coming here

As far as I’m concerned, this is the funny part:

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=11801

Dated Thursday, 12-13-07, 2:54 PM EST

“Despite the rumors,there are no trades in the works involving the St. Louis Blues. I just got off the phone with a high ranking Blues official.”

So, either Strickland is completely full of shit (which is what I’m betting on), or this “high ranking Blues official” was blowing smoke up his ass.

Either way… LMMFAO!

Listening to the Rivermen game vs. the Chicago Wolves tonight… apparently, Tom Callahan doesn’t know that Michal Birner has been traded to Anaheim, because he just announced that Birner was scratched, and he doesn’t seem to be sure about why.

I’m sorry to see Birner go, but having one less forward in Peoria will mean that the rookies — Drazenovic and Lemtyugov, especially — will get more playing time, and sit less often.

B.

OK, Callahan just announced that Birner was involved in the McDonald trade. Apparently, Birner was pencilled into the starting lineup tonight, and pulled at the last minute.

B.

Hey, another goal for Lemtyugov. Good stuff…

B.

Thank you baby Jesus. Thank you.

ya thats funny, as soon as I read that post at hockeybuzz, I figured something was going to happen. I’m sure they were blowing smoke up his ass, he’s their puppet, and they know it.

early christmas present :)

man i saw this coming a mile away i was just shocked it was a steal for doug weight. i thought for sure it was backman and/or brewer in my hopes being also invovled and landing us schneider as well.

as greg said ty baby jesus ty. lolololollmmfao!!!!!!!!1

r u serious, we get macdonald for a super slow old guy who fools no one for a guy who might have struggled on the ducks but has incredible speed and playmaking skills is over half a decade younger and is signed for next year and we save almost $200,000 in cap space this year????wooo whooo!!!!!! bye bye dougie. it’s been a pleasure to rebuild our team on your overrated crapness.

the question i have is why did dougie do it?

though he and his family were st louisians. dougie planning to retire next year?

Wow. See JR’s blog (containing tomorrow’s PD story). Weight looks to be very bitter about this.

It looks like he was forced out of town.

A side thought: Let’s hope if the powerplay continues to fail, the next one to be axed is the assistant coach who allegedly specializes in powerplay tactics.

it’s hard to argue with getting a center iceman who has shown the potential that andy mcdonald has in the last couple seasons (despite his struggles so far this year). i think it’s also encouraging that he played with kariya for a few years.

like greg mentioned, dougie seems downright pissed about how it went down. i just wonder what happened to produce quotes like this:

“When asked how the deal unfolded and why he waived his no-trade clause, Weight said: “I just don’t feel like I want to comment on that. It is what it is . . . Over the last 15 years, I’ve developed a pretty good reputation and I’m an honest person. I have no need to leave this city throwing mud, you know. I’m not going to comment on how it went down. If somebody asks me, I’ll tell them . . . and I guarantee my teammates and friends will know exactly what happen.”
”http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/sports-morning-skate/2007/12/weight-traded-to-anaheim/" target="_blank">http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/sports-morning-skate/2007/12/weight-traded-to-anaheim/

i put a lot of faith in j.d. that he seems like a standup guy. i wonder where it all went so bad with dougie. i hate to see him leave on such bad terms. hopefully this stays isolated and doesn’t affect the play of the guys who are still blues.

don’t get me wrong. i will miss doug weight wearing the bluenote. i met him at a couple 14 fund events and he was probably one of the most down-to-earth people, not to mention professional athletes, to talk to. still, as a strict hockey decision, i think this has a lot of upside, provided doug’s close friends on the team don’t take offense at the deal.

Word I heard was an Andy Murray/Doug Weight feud. Makes sense with Weight winding up on the 3rd/4th lines before the team went into “market Weight” mode and put him on the top line (which, didn’t make sense at the time – why break up the BTK line – but now seems very clear).

This could end up being as big a steal as the Boyes trade. McDonald could be that good with the Blues. Davidson is exactly right when he says there’s no way Weight would have been a Blue next year after his contract expired. Somehow JD turned that into an All-Star caliber player.

Holy. Shit.

Hey JD, I’ve got this 1996 Mazda 626. Can you turn it into a Mercedes for me? Thanks.

Man, I love turning the PC on, heading over to Game Time and get great news like this.

I’m kinda sad to see Doug go, but this is just great, great news!

Leave town for a few days and what happens? The team loses 3 in a row, and Doug Weight is a Duck.

 The Ducks needed to create cap space for next year in order to make Niedermayer active under the rules. With Weight having a 0 cap number next year as a FA, this was the best deal the Ducks could get.

Hats off to JD, although I think Weight was one of the real character guys in the locker room. We’ll see what Weight’s off-ice value is. McDonald’s one of those solid guys who needs to have talent on his flanks to make his numbers jump (like Brendan Morrison a few years back.) Enjoy the snow, be back in the Scottie next week.

Man, I knew Anaheim was over a barrel and someone was going to give it to them, I’m just pleasantly surprised it was the Blues. I will miss Doug Weight though. I fully expect to participate in a standing O next time the Ducks come to town.

I find Doug Weight to be a good player and a gentleman. It is sad to see such a good guy leave.

I also am a fan of Strickland. We all wish we had the connections he does. Do you really think the Blues would come out to anyone and say, “Oh hell yeah, we are looking to make a deal. Here’s what we are thinking…” Not on your life. I think I’ll always stick up for Strickland. I find his articles very entertaining and informative.

I also welcom Andy McDonald with open arms. He’s a good North American player.

I didn’t see this one coming. I hate to see DW go but we just got younger at center by 7 years as well as having someone under contract for next year. It is a shame that there is animosity on DW’s part and I hope that doesn’t make it into the locker room because AM seems to have most everyone on the same page.
I am interested to see if McDonald is the next Boyes. If so, JD’s genius quotient is going to go through the roof. I just hope the other GMs don’t pick up on the trend and stop dealing with him…

surprised no one’s talking about jersey numbers yet. MacDonald wears 19 and DJ King currently has that.
also, now with Weight gone, will Perron swipe up his old Mainiacs number (39)?

a friend of mine suggested to me the reason am was run out of la is he pissed offed and isolated a lot of players and they no longer wanted to play for him. he’s been suggestiing before this trade that some players might not be happy with am at the moment, especially telling were the commetts about enough money being out there on the pp.

brewer for wideman!!!

Answer Man wrote:

“I also am a fan of Strickland. We all wish we had the connections he does. Do you really think the Blues would come out to anyone and say, “Oh hell yeah, we are looking to make a deal. Here’s what we are thinking…” Not on your life. I think I’ll always stick up for Strickland. I find his articles very entertaining and informative.”

—————

After our recent spat, AM, and after what I posted above, it’s tough to look at this and not see a dig at me. But I’ll take up the gauntlet.

No, of course no one expects the Blues to tell Strickland, or any writer, that they’re planning to make a trade, and this is what they’re planning to do.

But, that being the case, Strickland could have just said nothing whatosever on the subject in his little gossip column. For him to make a point of emphatically stating on his blog that “nothing is in the works,” and to name-drop (or “position-drop,” if you will) his contacts in the organization…

…well, that sounds to me like Strickland is more interested in being thought of as an “insider” than in being a serious objective journalist.

He took a big risk by coming out and stating that nothing was going down, just like he took a big risk earlier this season in saying (in very condescending fashion) that Petr Cajanek “wasn’t going anywhere.”

A week later, Cajanek’s in Peoria and negotiating a deal with a Russian Superleague team.

The Cajanek assertion blew up in Strickland’s face, and this latest attempt to play himself off as an in-the-know “insider” should blow up in his face, too.

Strickland has just about zero credibility left, as far as I’m concerned… and he didn’t have a hell of a lot to start with.

Side note: Hey, Boss… maybe this would make an interesting “Blue In The Face.”

“Is Andy Strickland more full of shit than a Christmas goose, or is he the King of All Media and are we humble members of the lumpenproletariat unworthy to roll in his spittle?”

;-)

BMW, GTPD, Esq.

Oh, and on the actual subject of this thread, I share AM’s sentiments about Doug Weight being a good player and a gentleman, and I too am very sorry to see him depart. I wish Doug Weight nothing but the best, and hope that he returns to St. Louis and the Blues in some capacity in the very near future.

I’ve always thought of Doug Weight as potential coach material, and I’d love to see the Blues give him that opportunity somewhere in the organizaton, if he wants it.

doug weight and edmonds head to same location…secret trades, secret rendevous or secret lovers? you decide.

insert photos throughout the yrs of the two together….the intrigue, the collusion, what weight was hinting at in the paper, things don’t always appear as they seem…the truth revealed. fire and ice, summer and winter olympics coming together in an also very ancient greek way.

Anyone notice J.D. kept Burke from dealing a defenseman with this deal, so the demand for D-men is still high? And which NHL team in St. Louis happens to have a surplus of defensemen? I’ll give you another hint — they have a statue of a deformed bunny in front of their rink.

The deformed bunny clue is gonna give that away.

Another great deal by JD. Merry Christmas to all!

the Blues roster page has MacDonald listed as #10.
gasp does that #10 jersey come with a “C” on it too, in respect for Drake? rolls eyes

speaking of Captains, I could’ve sworn I saw during the Panthers game that Tkachuk’s “A” is now on Ryan Johnson’s jersey. Jackman still had his. so with Weight gone, does Walt get it back?

who would you give it (“C” or "A") to?

all i can ask is why would u ever put an “A” on ryan johnson? unless you’re promoting hard work and no goal scoring.

GT Prosp. – No, none of this is a swipe at you. I’ll tell you when it is and I wouldn’t use this forum to do so. I didn’t read your entire post but all I’m trying to convey is I’m tired of people dogging Strickland. I like the guy and I love his articles. He’s gotten a lot of heat in the past and I find a lot of it to be too much. He has always been good to me so I will always be good to him.

You are a big part of GT and I won’t jab anyone on our team but I will always speak my mind like I know you do too.

I am glad to see some changes. I am a big Doug Weight fan, but I think the team made a good move here. The game is very speed oriented now. This trade will help us a lot. I agree that this may be another Brad Boyes deal in the making.

Strickland explained his “No trades upcoming” report on hockeybuzz. He explained that he was reporting that because Weight had nixed a trade earlier in the week and I believe he was not at liberty to report anything about the Ducks trade or was not told of it yet.
It seems like that deal went from 0-done very quickly. JD and LP were probably so excited by this one they said yes and then gave DW the Chris Simon treatment until he waived the no trade clause.

no thread for the game, so i’m just going to say brewer did it again. then i was stunned when they announced at the game he had the assist on macdonald’s goal. i was so stunned i phoned my friend to make sure i saw what i saw and in the end salvador got what he deserved as did brewer, which was sal assist brewer a whole bunch of nothing.

backman is worthless. i don’t like blaming the refs when the blues weren’t spectacular but…yeah i know, but wow…walt gets interference when kipper’s out of the crease and while he crashed the net with the puck. when kipper rubs his trapper in backes’s face and i watch a ref watch it happen no call. again, i wonder where are they from and is it possible that it influenced the calls in the game.

that said, backman sucked he doesn’t want the puck and won’t hit but will take an obvious interefernce penalty. looks to me like the blues are going to have to think this one through. he’s got zero tradability. a buy out could hem you in on the cap. do you bite the bullet and send him down and hope someone picks him up? you don’t want him getting picked up on renrty waivers though cause the cost to the cap is just as prohibitive. maybe a swedish team or another european team might be interested in him.
but steve wagner in peoria while brewer and backman play is laughable. also why in the hell is perron getting very minited ice time and jamal mayers is on the second line??? jammer’s having his best year as a blue but he’s maybe barely good enough to crack a third line, he’s more of the best fourth liner in the league. i say that b/c he’s not a point producer, his hands, though light years better this year, still don’t allow him to play higher than a fourth line in my mind. the ref-u-suck chant was thunderous. when ignorant hockey fans(ignornant in the dictionary sense, just most people in st. louis don’t know much about hockey; i.e. the following conversation takes place behind me, “inginla. i don’t like him. he’s just a gritty player. but i like conroy.” now the fan’s intention was not this is a talented player that has grit but more like this guy doesn’t have skill, so whether or not you like iginla, he is a talented player. also fruther note, “that’s keith primeau…” i interupt him this time unable to hear a guy talking about coaching hockey dowing jerome’s skill level and not knowing this is wayne not keith was invovled in the joe thorton trade guy), know you’re wrong on calling goaltender interference then you know the officiating is crap.

yea i was going to post when i got home form the game about brewer. however he was the second goat of the game, the first goat was eric johnson. i swear as johnson is making a nice play in his end then carring the puck into the offensive zone i’m saying, this kid is going to turn the puck over without getting it deep, get himself caught in the offensive zone, and the oforward he ha screwed is going to get burned trying to play d.

not to mention the 4 mph passing play behind the net was between brewer and johnson, when the net intercelpted the pass and the flames jumpoed in it was all over

Chris D: About Backman. No Swedish team will buy his contract. NONE. I very much doubt that the teams that could afford it (there’s only a small handful of them) would want to spend that kind of money on one underperforming player. No matter if he’s Swedish. Backman’s not a leader type and he never was a big offensive threat, not even when he played over here. So, sadly, no. Maybe some Russian team would want him, but no Swedish ones, for damn sure.

still in a funk about Dougie…sorry. He finally gets the wings he was brought here for and it was a set-up for a trade? Sucks Big time for me personally. Andy McD – (can we get some more guys with Mc before their name – since Big A – none of them are the best of the best.) better impress the shit out of me to get over this dis to Dougie.
The team built the PR campaign of “Whatever it Takes” around him and his leadership and he gets strong-armed into waiving his NTC?? NOT COOL!!!
Funny, we were talking at the 14Fund Volunteer party Thursday night about the opening montage and how cool it is. We were hoping it would be our All-Star submission this year, without Dougie and the “Leadership” part of it, it just isn’t the same.
I also HATE helping out the Ducks to do anything to improve….maybe the other rumor out there that Paulie is calling Teemu to come here will pan out – that might take the bitterness out of it a bit.

Doug is my age, Andy is not. That’s all I need to know about that trade.

Great move.

maybe the whole team and andy murray should take a page from the legace-tkachuk book and share a nice man-hug to smooth everything over. by the way, only having a 10 game pack, it’s been way too long since i’ve gotten to see a tkachuk-legace-win-hug. hopefully one is coming up soon.

also, i’m amused by this image from jr’s column on stltoday this morning…
“Several years ago when both played in Anaheim, the two stood back-to-back in the Ducks’ locker room to compare their height. Though Kariya and McDonald are both listed at 5 feet 11, the newest Blue insists that he towers over Kariya by millimeters.”
let the homo-erotic jokes ensue (especially in light of answer man’s characterization of kariya as skinny and hairless in the last night’s gametime. i totally didn’t need that image seered into my brain, thank you.)

What am I reading on the Post forum – there was a “live band” last night during the game? People are saying how great it was because it was just like college hockey. Thank you but I’m not paying $40/game to see college hockey – anyone there last night??

the blues pep band sucks. without reguard to the fans growing chant of lets go blues that was approaching zuess like loudness they couldn’t wait to have the spotlight and smothered out the crowd.

stupid idea really. i don’t want a college atmosphere either. there’s already too many sounds interfering with the naturaul cheers of the crowd.

 i got to say this was an awesome trade. now doug will wake up and try to prove he can still play instead of working as hard here without the threat of a trade.
it was am’s fault though running cajaneck out of town and forcing dougie back to center. when am moved him to wing last weight looked five years younger.

I was there. I must say, it was actually interesting. I think they sounded awesome.

However, and there is always a however in life, they did suck at timing several times. They competed with the natural croud chants a few times. But they did help get the croud going again when there was a lull. (Typically after a typical Brewer assist, to the other team).

I am still undecided on the band. If they get their timing fixed, and help the croud instead of competing, I think it may work. But as Chris D says, if they continue to “want the spotline, fans be damned” then they must go.
That being said, they are better than that other band they tried several times.

Welcome to St. Lou Andy. Hope we continue to be impressed with you.

Now, on to Detwat. I am going to make a bold prediction.
“The Blues will beat Detwat Thursday night. 5-3.”
This three day break will help reset the team and they will be up for the this game. They will have a better PP and PK, as well as a better freakin 5on5 defense. The refs won’t suck as bad either. (Ya, I know, NOW I am dreaming.)

Oh, and Brewer still sucks.

Dan

i kinda liked it. it was the st louis universityband i think they took for a game. dont expect it always. the blues seemed to want to pump the commerical crowd noise up, and the band was in the lower bowl (upper part of the lower bowl maybe, but lower bowl.

they did the saints, and the bud song, then just some reg songs.

the thing that i don’t like is the incessent blues brothers song that anyone should instantly recognize as CHICAGOAN!!!!!!

agreed about the blues brothers. with the sound systme though you need rattling bass to move people. some songs had that exciting edge but sometimes it felt like a gradeschool rehersal. it was about timing and just cause you get the tv timeout(which they played all except for two of them—tv lookalikes and skate shuffle), doesn’t mean you go off on your own tagent and steal the fans’ thunder. they would be a lot more fun if they felt like they were with the fans or if we’re chanting let’s go blues during the game if they did the same with their drums and reinforcing the lone horn with their brass.

marcus…really? damn. maybe some russian team out there likes backman. anybody who is 6’4" should be capable of body checking and doing it hard behind the net. sometimes i catch the reaction on his face when he gets hit hard, it says something like come on i didn’t hit you hard. maybe he can pull it together for a good streak right before the trade deadline and the blues axe him and he goes on to have a decent career…well okay i don’t believe it will happen either.

Reading between the lines of the Post article on the Weight-McDonald trade, i believe it went down something like this…

JD: “Dougie, we would really like for you to waive your no-trade clause. I’ve got Burke over a barrel here and it will really help the hockey team.”

DW:“I don’t think so, I really like it here and I don’t wanna move my family.”

JD:“Dougie, I really want this trade. Waive your no-trade clause or you’re gonna sit.”

DW (after waiting 2 days):“Okay”

I have no actual information, just my guess from the published comments.

Trade Weight, and Blues go from 4th to 14th.. Go Figure