Beware The Blues...An OBG Production NHL 10

[onlybygrace]

Projected Lines For 2009-2010 St. Louis Blues

Line 1
Boyes-McDonald-Backes
Line 2-"The Kid Line"
Perron-Berglund-Oshie
Line 3
Kariya-Tkachuk-Steen
Line 4
Janssen-McClement-Winchester

Defense
Johnson-Jackman
Colaiacovo-Brewer
Pietrangelo-Weaver

Goaltenders
Mason
Conklin

All lines subject to change during pre-season, obviously. 7 preseason games should be enough to mix and match lines till something is found.

[Bolts_26]

Like the Lines you got going.

This should be good. Can't wait to see how it pans out!

[kessthemess]

This looks great!! Keep it up!

BTW, on NHL 09 I'm doing a Blues dynasty and Jay Mccelement is beastly on the penalty kill!

[onlybygrace]

Blues Sign Belfour As Goaltending Coach



In a press conference today at the Scottrade Center, John Davidson announced that the St. Louis Blues have signed the great Ed Belfour as the clubs new goaltending consultant. In a career in which Belfour played for 5 teams, the goaltender racked up a record of 484-320-125 to go along with a GAA of 2.50 and 76 shutouts.

"Ed is one of the winningest goaltenders in NHL history and we are thrilled to have him on our staff", said Davidson of the addition.

[onlybygrace]

Blues Sign Defensemen Lampman and Bell



The Blues announced this evening the signings of defensmen Bryce Lampman (left) and Brendan Bell (right).

Lampman, 26, has played in just 10 NHL games with the New York Rangers and was drafted in the 4th round (113th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He played the entire 08-09 season in Russia.

Bell, 26, played in 53 games with the Senators last season recording 6 goals and 21 points. The 6-2, 211 lb. Bell, has played in 101 NHL games recording 7 goals and 21 assists with 24 PIM's. Bell was drafted in the 3rd round, 65th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

[onlybygrace]

Pre-Season GM Notes

I've been thinking of the lines Andy and I were trying to hammer out for the season opener overseas with the Redwings.

I'm really liking the thought of Tkachuk centering a line with Backes. Keith is David's mentor and has taught David a lot about being a dominant powerforward. Who better to play center for David but Keith???... However, I am having issues with the amount of depth on the squad...THERE IS TOO MUCH!!! Its a great problem.

But I dont want the Kids Line to play third line minutes, they have earned 2nd line status with their play last season. At, the same time...well...its just not gonna work and I think I'll be staying with what Andy suggested.

Till later...

[Bolts_26]

this is definety one of the ones I have been anticipating. I expect really good things from you, OBG, especially after all the posting you have been doing in the "EA NHL" threads

Like I said, CAN'T WAIT!

[onlybygrace]

5 Questions with John Davidson


Blues President discussed the team's offseason with stlouisblues.com


Saturday, 08.08.2009 / 4:21 PM / Features
By Chris Pinkert - St. Louis Blues Online

Blues President John Davidson recently sat down with stlouisblues.com to answer a few questions about the team's offseason. The complete interview, which features discussion about free agency and the NHL Draft, is below.

Blues President John Davidson at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal (Getty Images).

Q: What can you tell fans about your overall feelings and perceptions of how the draft went?

A: “Knowing how hard our amateur scouting staff works, led by Jarmo Kekalainen, we’re always excited when the draft comes around. We’ve had great success. Our first pick, (David Rundblad), a Swedish defenseman, has tremendous upside. He’s an all-around defenseman, good with the puck. Our second pick (Brett Ponich) was kind of an underdog, but we just had him here for (Pro-Orientation Camp) and he was above and beyond our expectations. When you start like that, we’re very happy with the way the draft went. We won’t see anything immediate, but that’s okay. We can let these guys develop properly.”


Q: Judging by the talent on the roster and the prospects still on the way, how excited are you for this upcoming season? It could be a real good year.

A: "We’re excited because we get Erik Johnson back, that adds an element. We get Eric Brewer back, that adds an element. We get Paul Kariya back, and that adds an element. D.J. King adds an element. So we’re back at full strength going in."


Q: Rumors and internet message boards were buzzing in July that the Blues might be active in free agency. Can you explain to fans why it didn’t make sense to give a big contract to a big free agent right now?

A: "We have a plan that we want to stick to. If we feel that there’s an intelligent offseason signing, for the right dollars and right amount of years, then we’ll take a hard look at it. But for us in our position, we might have those players in our organization already. So why waste time and money to do something that might not be beneficial for us? If we were in a different position where we needed people badly, then it’d be a different world. But we’re not. We’ve got a good hockey club here and we’re going to continue to build from within. When the time comes, when it’s the right player for the right dollars for the right amount of years, we’ll look at it."


Q: In a way, adding Kariya, Johnson and Brewer to your lineup is almost like gaining a few free agents, right?

A: "Yeah. Plus, the extension of Andy McDonald during the winter time, he would have been a free agent. We went and got that taken care of before he had a chance to go into the marketplace. There’s 4 or 5 different people that are like free agents coming to our team."


Q: You recently learned that you will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year as a broadcaster. How exciting is that to hear?

A: "It’s exciting. For me, it’s exciting because of the people I worked with. All the broadcasters and the producers and directors and cameramen. Plus, my family, they’re all pretty excited about it. I feel better for them than I do myself. It’s something that’s a real nice reward for a lot of years of travel, nights away from home and a lot of hotels. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was a great experience and I’m flattered by it."

All credit goes to Chris Pinkert of St. Louis Blues online.