This is perhaps an odd thought to offer up to the coaching staff of the St. Louis Blues. We are making all kinds of assessments about the needs of the club and we are hearing in response from the tight lipped GM that we have all of the tools already on the ice. I am going to have to agree with the GM on this one. The Blues fan in me wants to make two trades, one for Mike Richards (just because he is under-performing) and the other for Jeff Carter (because he is under-performing on a really bad team). Both of those guys know each other and play well together and are probably really pissed about the decision their former team made to move them away for Bryz. This being said, they are both really expensive and we would probably give up quite a bit to get them. I like our current players, our system players (though I still wish we had a little more in the way of depth and I know that isn't a popular opinion). So here goes my ass backwards way of fixing the little problem of who to trade and who to play (based on the hope that everyone is magically healthy before the end of the year).

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When the tornado struck Joplin in May last year, the St. Louis Blues were active in supporting the community and helping rebuild Joplin. Now, fans have a chance to continue that work alongside their favorite players.

The Blues, along with with other sports teams in Missouri, are taking the Governor's Joplin Challenge with the Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity. Each team will have its own neighborhood to build homes for tornado victims to purchase, and in total the project should result in 35 new homes for families in Joplin.

Now, here's where the fans can help:

1. Register to volunteer to build homes in Joplin. When you sign up, pick your favorite team and you'll get to work alongside your favorite athletes. You can sign up multiple times if you'd like to work with multiple teams as well. Specific work dates haven't been announced yet, but they will be available soon. Volunteer here.
2. Donate money or in-kind goods to the Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity. You can donate through your favorite team(s) or by making a general donation that isn't tied to a specific team. Donations are made by secure connection through PayPal. Donate here.
3. Spread the word. Like the Facebook page for the Challenge and spread the work on Twitter using #JoplinChallenge.

This is a great opportunity to help the people in Joplin, and thanks to everyone for pitching in!

Clarence had surgery on Wednesday. According to his family, and without knowing much in the way of details, his stomach was 'better than expected' and the surgery 'went very well.'

He is recovering and is heavily medicated. The family thinks he might be well enough to start seeing visitors by Saturday.

His family was very appreciative of all the printed-out emails and letters and comments from our stories here on the web, as well as the nice little gift we were able to give them courtesy of the Game Time family.

Thanks to everyone for their concern.

4:52 p.m. CST, January 30, 2012

It is the most unusual of dog rescues, involving three strays, a 700-mile journey, and a pro hockey superstar. It’s the story of Emmitt, Lincoln, and Ernie, who should feel pretty special.

The dogs were happy to be on the ground Friday night after their cross country trip with St. Louis Blues center and captain David Backes. Backes never imagined being a dog chauffeur.

"I did not," said with a smile, "but (it’s) pretty rewarding to see how happy these guys are to be here, and probably happy just to be out of that plane."

Yes, plane. Backes, his wife Kelly, and flight instructor Tim Voithover had taken off hours earlier. They flew from St. Louis to Houston, Texas to pick up the dogs.

"They have a really big stray population down there," Kelly said of the rescue mission.

The flight was not the high end charter a hockey all-star might be used to. It included David making "sugaritos" out of Skittles and Fruit Roll Ups. It also involved him doing some of the flying. Backes is a student pilot, well on his way to a license. We asked him how he finds the time to go for such an intricate license while going through the grind of an NHL season.

"It’s kind of, besides going to the shelter and helping the dogs, it’s kind of my serenity retreat going up in a plane and really no one can reach you and I’m doing something I love," he said.

Asked if Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has voiced any concerns, he laughed it off, "He hasn’t said anything. I think he knows I can take a pretty good impact."

They’re making a different kind of impact on the dogs, who they picked up on a Houston tarmac from the corridor rescue group. The goal is to bring them back to the no kill, 5 Acres Animal Shelter in St. Charles where Kelly is a board member and active volunteer.

They arrived back in the St. Louis area after nearly eight hours in the air round trip. Helping animals is a well documented passion of the Backes’, but this also allowed David extra time with his flight instructor.

Voithofer concedes being responsible for the safety of one of the city’s most popular pro athletes is a little daunting. He doesn’t want to be a target of a rabble of angry Blues fans, "Absolutely. The day he soloed I was standing out here so nervous and he did a great job, but it is very nerve wracking to know that."

David’s flying skills are also getting pretty good reviews from Kelly, "He’s doing a great job and I’ve been up with him a few times and I feel pretty safe with him."

Asked if it was much of a vote of confidence to say "pretty safe," she chuckled, "Well pretty safe. I’ll feel really safe once he has his license."

Emmitt, Lincoln, and Ernie appear to feel safe and sound, too.

Who do I have to kill... or sleep with.... or both... to get the Blues back on the ice and playing?

My God, how I hate the All-Star break,

Billy Madison on the STLToday Blues forum said he went by the old Blues practice rink Winterland in Bridgeton today and the Penalty Box bar out front is now some sort of appliance store. Definitely gone (although the sign for the plaza still has "Penalty Box" at the top of it). They're ripping down all of our old stomping grounds so we have a fire mission.

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No matter what happens to Ben Bishop this season, and in the rest of his hockey career, he and the St. Louis Blues organization can look back on the 2012 AHL All-Star Weekend with pride and satisfaction.

Bishop took another big step towards establishing himself as the dominant goaltender in the AHL by turning aside ten of 11 shots by the Eastern Conference All-Stars during the third period of Monday's AHL All-Star game, then stopping all four shots he faced in the shootout to steal a come-from-behind 8-7 win for the Western Conference All-Stars.

Pro hockey's tallest goaltender earned the All-Star Most Valuable Player award for his efforts, to go along with being named the Top Goaltender in Sunday's skills competition.

Bishop was not the only Blues' prospect to stand out in Monday's All-Star Game. Rookie blueliner Cade Fairchild was honored with starting on defense for the Western Conference, and also assisted on Darren Haydar's first period tally that (briefly) tied the game at 2-all.

Veteran forward T.J. Hensick showed why he is one of the top scorers in the AHL with a goal and an assist in the game, and by beating Eastern Conference goalie Tyson Sexsmith with the very first shot in the shootout.

LINK to the official AHL game sheet.

Ben Bishop of the Peoria Rivermen, who leads the AHL with six shutouts during the 2011-12 season, earned the Reebok Top Goaltender award by stopping 16 of 19 shots for the Western Conference. Bishop was 8-for-10 in the RBC Rapid Fire event, stopped two of three attempts in the Visit Atlantic City Pass and Score, and denied all six shooters in the Panasonic Breakaway Relay to capture the award.

Full story and link to results of all the Skills Competition events HERE.

Just in case you've been hiding under a rock and missed this NHL news:

Crosby suffered neck injury, now fully healed

Link above includes a video of the announcement.

Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby, out since Dec. 5, is suffering from a neck injury and a concussion, according to a statement from the team.

"The diagnosis of Dr. Robert S. Bray, a neurological spine specialist based in Los Angeles, is that Sidney Crosby had suffered a neck injury in addition to a concussion. Dr. Bray reports that the neck injury is fully healed. Those findings will be evaluated by independent specialists over the next few days.

"The most important goal all along has been Sidney's return to full health, and we are encouraged that progress continues to be made."

Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, was at the 2012 Molson Canadian NHL All-Star Skills Competition and spoke to the media about Crosby's condition. He said that Bray's diagnosis will be examined by other specialists in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Link to Jr. Blues recap here.

Link to box score here.

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