Avalanche 2.7.09

St Louis Volume 4, Issue 27 Game Time February 7, 2009 Four Dollars To Waive Your Doubts The Game Day Guide To St. Louis Blues Hockey Established in 2005 By Brad Lee playing pretty good, I thought my season was starting to come around,” Legace said, referring to his meltdown in Detroit Many Blues fans expected the end of the Manny Legacy era Monday night. “Then to have the carpet pulled out from here in St. Louis was coming quickly. We just didn’t think it underneath you, it’s not a good feeling.” would happen Friday. Here’s the thing that’s not expressed in those words from Twenty-four hours ago the Blues placed their former All-Star Legace. The NHL is a business. And when the team is counting on goaltender on waivers with the intention of demoting him to the a player to stop pucks and win games, patience will wear thin. The Peoria Rivermen. He passed through waivers without a team Blues are under a ton of pressure to show results in order to claiming him and he is now expected to report to Central keep the turnstiles clicking and the beer vendors Illinois on Monday. Looking at Legace’s numbers, pouring. Legace talked about some things during you can see why the Blues made this move. But the interview that hinted at the business of there has been plenty of talk of Legace’s hockey while also saying the right things in attitude around the team in the wake of the order to keep Blues fans sympathetic to him. Blues trading for goaltender Chris Mason in the offseason. In a wide-ranging interview “It’s their team to run, so they can do with KSDK-TV’s Katie Felts, Legace said he whatever they want. And you know, didn’t think he had a problem with any especially when you ask for an extension and other players on the team. We posted the you want to stay in a city you absolutely fall in video of the interview on the Game Time love with and your wife falls in love with it and website on Friday. you spend all your summers here and it’s just fun to be around this town and the people here,” Legace pointed out in the interview that the Legace said. They turn you down twice and they previous two seasons have been good years and bring in someone who makes more money. It that this year has been just “so-so” even though he’s TM kind of set me back. Maybe I wasn’t in the right still four games above .500. True, but his goals-against average mental state to start the season. And that’s my fault. It’s not their of 3.18 is ranked the 39th best in the NHL this season. He’s fault, or anybody else’s fault. It’s my fault. Maybe that’s a stopped 88.5 percent of the shots he’s faced this season, ranked a contributor to me not being at the same level.” lowly 42nd in the league. While you could argue those numbers mean he’s had a well below average season, Legace thought his And there you have it. Trading for Mason was a move most fans performance the last two seasons (when he was healthy) merited welcomed in the summer because it meant that on any given a little more respect from the organization. night, the team would have a chance to win regardless of who was in net. When was the last time that was the case for the St. Louis “I just had a bad second period, but before that I thought I was (Continued on page 26) Today’s Records, Injuries & News Today’s Team Records: Today’s Injuries: Today’s News & Notes: Blues: Avalanche: Blues: C Andy McDonald (fractured • Dallas Stars blast NY Rangers 10-2 last 21-24-6 (48 points) 25-26-1 (51 points) ankle), LW Paul Kariya (hip), LW Yan night. NY Knicks enjoy the one day 5th in Central 5th in Northwest Stastny (thumb), D Roman Polak (foot) reprieve from the media. 15th in Western 14th in Western and D Eric Brewer (back surgery) are out. Former Blue Brent Johnson out of • Last Ten Games: Avalanche: C Joe Sakic (back surgery WAS lineup for 6-8 weeks after surgery Blues: Avalanche: and snowblower-broken fingers), C Paul on his hip. He is 12-6-2 this year. Stastny (broken arm) and D Kyle Cumi- 5-3-2 3-7-0 • Alex Ovechkin scores his 200th goal. sky (shoulder surgery) are out. D Adam Season Series: All-Time Series: Foote (triceps) and RW David Jones • Game Time thinking about picking up (shoulder) are day-to-day. 1-1-0 42-40-13-0 (incl QUE) Manny off of waivers. CAUTION: St. Louis Game Time contains extreme sarcasm and less-than-gentle language. But it is a hockey paper, so you should fucking just get over it. Volume 4, Issue 27 From The Editor February 7, 2009 One might think that the job of a writer is one. The fact that he’s also a solid citizen St. Louis Game Time easier when the day before a deadline the and a nice guy helped plenty, too. An Established: November 6, 2005 team they write about puts their one-time All instant fan-favorite, he also helped with St Louis, Missouri Star goalie on waivers. But maybe it’s the franchise’s public relations in Phone: 402-2266 because I’ve never been much of a goalie guy re-building their fan base. How many www.StLouisGameTime.com or maybe it’s because I never really embraced No. 34 jerseys are here tonight? Manny Legace as our savior in net, but this Which is part of the problem, too. We Godfather isn’t that easy for me. love our sports heroes in this town and if Jeffio And I’m clearly in the minority here, they’re good people, too, all the better. If because Manny Legace’s name is probably they go on camera and say that they love printed on at least 20 of the 28 pages in living here and spend their Publisher & Editor-in-Chief tonight’s issue. Our website has been summers here? Might as well hand Sean Gallagher hopping with people talking about the them a key to the city right then [email protected] situation. I’ve been getting phone and there. calls non-stop since the news hit The facts, however, are that Advertising the media yesterday afternoon. Legace was signed for three [email protected] The opinions have been pretty far years for a reason and whether [email protected] afield, too. There are people who now hate he was a nice guy or not, there was very the Blues’ management. There are people little chance he’d ever get an extension Distribution who think it’s a smart move by management. on that deal. But don’t forget that the John Nicolay People feel like Manny was betrayed. People neat little three-year deal at $2.5 million feel like he was given too long of a leash. This per was a great fit for Manny, too. Prior Amy Benoist, Becky Benoist, Billy Cash, Clarence Walker is an issue that has clearly divided the fan to the Blues signing him over a month base. into the free agency period, his best offer I just don’t get it. from any NHL team was zero years at Columnists zero dollars per year. The Blues gave him Chris Gift, Duke, Brad Lee, Manny Legace was a great signing for the Answer Man & Brian Weidler a chance to keep his career going. To Blues when they picked him up before the make $7.5 million more. To play himself 2006 season got going. The Blues were a into maybe one more contract. But one Contributors terrible team with few hopes of even sniffing more contract with another team. No Jeffio, Jeff Browning, LosBri, the playoffs, but if forced to go back out on Childhood Trauma, Dan Doke, Jeff franchise with as young a squad as the the ice with Patrick Lalime and Curtis Fahrenkrog, Jeremy Pratte & Chris Reed Blues will have next year wants a 36 year Sanford as their goalies, most of the players old netminder as the starter. They know would have likely tried to mutiny. Photographer that and he should known that. Andrew D’Angelo But even as an admittedly solid signing, The contract that was signed by both picking up Legace was no signal that the Mission: parties should have been crystal clear to cornerstone in net was now in place for the everyone involved. It was a win-win for Game Time will provide prospect franchise. He was already 33 years old and information, up-to-date statistics, articles both sides, but it was a limited engage- essentially a career back-up netminder. A that spark discussion and humor that ment. It ended poorly because I think the solid back-up, but still not a starter. And the points out the best and worst about our expectations on one side changed while favorite team and sport. We are all fans of reason for that was exactly what we’ve seen they did not change on the other. Legace the Blues and our opinions will reflect from him over the last two-plus years: he’s those of subjective fans. thought that the relationship had grown not that consistent when asked to carry the The paper is published for every home beyond business.

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