if ownership makes money only in the extra play zone, going for the extra games has to be the priority and hope of all involved. a good pick that takes 5 years to develope and even then needs to be surrounded by a solid supporting cast isn’t a substatute for cost vs revenue problems. besides which, as we will see with ej, that pick still gets payed, and quite a bit, before he is ready to be the stud he is designed to become.

how bad off are the blues?

no idea i know last season forbes ran a glowing report on the health of the nhl and we all know the cap went UP this season, however the blues debt structure (if i remember correctly) was horrendous. one of the worse in the league, and the forbes showed operating, not total costs/revenues so that skewed the usablitiy quite a bit, the preds were shown significantly negative on forbes but had reported a modest profit last season in their local papers despite ownership issues.

so anywayz.

fandom question, but realistically it should be a business question, cos that is what a playoff push affects the most. bottom lines.

if the business model stresses the push, and we make it, granted there are still massive questions. making the playoffs is not “job accomplished”

again, what about mason. he is inconsistant and a slow starter at best. but is he to be a rewarded blues if he makes it in again? does ej get even money monies if he has a successful playoff game or two under his belt before the contract? does pk’s unfortunate blues tenure mean the blues should be shy about older ufa’s?

making the playoffs gets the owners money. but it can also have contract issues that should be carefully investigated. if we know anything about the blues, making the playoffs for 20 years, missign the playoffs for 3, or barely making the playoffs. the blues must make exceptionally smart contract offers to be able to “grow the brand” and hope to be able to have the players, money, picks to make moves during a season to fix problems that arrive.

so as fans, yes certainly concerns and valid ones about the effort and consistancy of the team and individuals on the team, but those answers are only solved with an atmosphere of winning. winning late, winning early, winning on the road- whatever. i’m not sure anyone loses their way into the cup.

I keep looking at the numbers and I think it is logistically impossible for the Blues to make the playoffs. But I do agree that missing them may not be all bad, the kids will have to learn that things won’t be just handed to them based on what we think they will do later. They have to earn things now or don’t.

At the very least I can root for Cal and Gary cos I will dance with joy when Fuck Detroit is on the outside no matter where the Blues are.

Even if the Blues win 13 of 13 I think they will eventually learn that “turning it on” simply doesn’t work in the playoffs. They will be exhausted from gutting out so many games in a row and will not have built good habits from a solid years worth of work, and will lost in the first round.

But as long as the young core is consistently improving, they should be better next year. Bringing in a couple UFA vets as leaders might help, but so will not having golf cart injuries. A good coach can show the players that you need to show up early in the season too, so I’m not too worried about next year for the Blues.

go on a tear and kill everyone. In the immortal words of one Herman Edwards . . . “”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk5sMHj58I" target="new">You PLAY to WIN the GAME. HELLO?! You PLAY to WIN the GAME! We don’t PLAY to just PLAY!"

But hey, it’s looking like that’s not working. If the team lays down in the last 13, it will show up in ticket sales next year, so they can’t afford to do that. But whether it’s now or in a week, it’s looking like it’s about time to figure out who’s going to be part of next year’s team.

But if they go and fuck shit up and make the playoffs . . . I’ll take it. And that’s not bad for business.

Next season our young promising players will be a year older and a year better, everyone we base the team around is still going to be younger than their prime. We will lose a few non factor players and pick up some more rookies that will be the future of the team. Time itself will make this team better, im not worried about not making it this year. It would be fun but its still a bright future, and who knows, next season could be the one.

Honestly I couldnt agree with this article more, its something I’ve found myself thinking about often over the last month or so. Of course its bad for business to not be in the playoffs but if our missing the playoffs now means us making the playoffs on a more consistent basis in the future it could be a costly, but eventually worthwhile lesson. Like rich folk say, you have to spend money to make money, and the poor version, you have to break a few eggs to make an omlet.

Im still sticking with this is year three of a five year build, and while by year three there should probaby be playoffs, it will pretty much be a trifle if at the end of year five you have a team who can compete for one of top 4 spots in the conference for an extended period of time.

Not torn as in one of Carnie’s balloon knots but torn on what is best for the Blues as far as making the playoffs. Any ice time you get in the big show is valuable, especially to a team as green as the Blues. The more the better even if you go out in the first couple rounds. It’s a completely different game in the post season and we need some PO time under our belts for a run at the cup in a few years. That’s the plan right?

On the other hand I get Sean’s point of them backsliding early on and thinking they can just mash the pedal and get in right as they slam the door closed. Bad habit to get into and hard to break. To me mailing it in like that is a breakdown in team leadership. Good team leaders like Messier or Barc Plager wouldn’t let that shit happen on their watch. Why is it happening in STL?

I’m bothered by the fact that the team didn’t take the correct lesson from last year. As stated above,

It’s a completely different game in the post season

and they should have learned that by getting swept. I wish we were further along the rebuilding process, and we should be. After the ‘05-’06 disaster, I looked at the pieces we were building, and said, “2010 will be our year”. They took a step backward in ‘07-’08, and I pushed my prediction back to 2011. Now we’ve taken another step backward, and don’t even try to tell me we’re still rebuilding. The team NEEDED to improve this year, and they have not. I haven’t looked at all the stats, and I don’t need to. The only stat that matters is W-L-O and they have NOT improved that this year. Before the season I daresay we all thought this team was a lock to make the playoffs. Now it looks like I won’t need to save my spot on Market St. til June 2012 at least.

At least by then I’ll be old enough to park in the handicapped slots.