Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

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Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by dmiles2186 »

Man, I gotta say, Elliott's outlook on his situation is the most down to earth I've seen from a professional athlete. I've been really impressed how he's handled things during his time here.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/p ... bcfde.html

If you don’t think a goaltender’s life can be curious, consider the case of Brian Elliott.

Elliott is 29, at the height of his athletic prowess. He just completed a third season with the Blues, a season that paid him $1.8 million. That’s outrageously good coin for a roofer, but modest for NHL goalkeepers. Thirty-six goaltenders in the NHL made more than Elliott last season.

Over the past three seasons, Elliott had a 55-24-7 record, 1.86 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and 16 shutouts. For perspective, compare Nashville’s Pekka Rinne.

Over the same three seasons, Rinne is 140-68-44 with a 2.47 GAA, .916 save percentage and 12 shutouts. And here’s the most peculiar part — Rinne made $7 million last season. He will make it again in 2014-15 and again for four more seasons after.

Elliott is unemployed and, his modest salary history notwithstanding, he can’t be sure the Blues are even a suitor for his services.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Elliott said. “From the very beginning of the season, my agent said, ‘Let’s approach the end of the year like you’re going to be a free agent, and if other things happen, that’s fine.’ So I wasn’t hung up on the issue.”

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In a sense, nothing has happened. That is, to this point the Blues have not invested in Elliott. In another sense, a lot happened. That is, the Blues traded netminder Jaroslav Halak to acquire goaltender Ryan Miller. The celebrated Miller consequently was inserted as the breadwinner down the stretch and through the brief postseason.

Elliott possibly played the final 15 minutes, 22 seconds of his Blues career in relief of a 4-2 loss at Minnesota on April 10. He never left the bench during the Chicago playoff series. That was no surprise.

“I’m not naïve,” Elliott said, “and I understand why I was sitting. It was a move that they made and they kind of had to go with it.”

The move fizzled. The team was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. Miller’s presence notwithstanding, it was a carbon copy of the first-round ousting a year earlier when Elliott was in the saddle. Different goalie, same result.

“It’s hard to watch at any time, sure, it’s not fun,” Elliott said, referring to his playoff role. “You want to be out there with the guys who you worked hard with all season, blood, sweat and tears.

“But that wasn’t the case. ... We could sit here and worry about things and analyze it until the cows come home. But it’s not going to do any good.”

General manager Doug Armstrong has made it clear goaltender Jake Allen will have residency next season. Allen made a fourth tour of duty in the American Hockey League this season.

The roster, the budget, has one opening and two candidates. The road has two distinct directions to travel.

Miller, like Elliott, is an unrestricted free agent. He was paid $6.25 million in 2013-14. He turns 34 in July and figures to pursue a compensation package in line with his stellar reputation.

That said, Miller has indicated he enjoyed St. Louis and would entertain an opportunity to stay. To commit to Miller and the salary he would command, the Blues would be rendering Allen to internship status.

If the Blues sign Miller before the NHL draft, their trade compensation to Buffalo includes this summer’s first-round pick, the 20th choice overall. In turn, they would get Buffalo’s No. 2 pick, which is 31st overall, or 11 picks later. If they sign Miller after the draft, the Blues surrender a second-round pick to Buffalo in 2016.

Elliott represents a distinctly different path. He shared starting responsibilities the past three seasons in St. Louis and, for the most part, thrived in the arrangement. Elliott combined with Halak to win the William Jennings Trophy in 2011-12, contributing a .940 save percentage and 1.56 GAA.

Last season, Elliott had a .922 save percentage and 1.96 GAA, the latter number being second best in the league. He also improved his “Goals Saved Above Average” from minus-2.67 in 2012-13 to 5.68 in 2013-14. GSAA measures the number of saves a goalie makes compared to the league average against the same number of shots.

If the Blues commit to Elliott, it would be at considerably less than Miller’s rate. It also would define a more prominent role for Allen, who turns 24 in August.

Elliott does not view things in rose-colored glasses. Like anyone, he wants the best contract possible. But he is realistic.

“I think based on everything, you know what your worth is,” Elliott said.

In his world, he wants a genuine opportunity, not a shallow promise.

“What you want is a fair fight,” Elliott said. “If you earn an opportunity, you get an opportunity. That’s the big thing.”

This isn’t 1995-96; Grant Fuhr doesn’t play 79 games anymore. There are still a few goalies who do heavy lifting, but there are more situations where the chores get split more evenly.

“The league is kind of changing that way,” Elliott said. “I think they saw me and Jaro, the way we both played a lot of games my first year here, and what we did. And I think that was kind of a turning point in the league.”

Elliott would like to return. He has established valued relationships and levels of trust in the Blues’ room. He knows where his next role and next contract might fit most seamlessly.

“St. Louis has been good to me,” Elliott added. “We’ve had the best years of my career here, a lot of success, a lot of wins. It’s fun when you’re winning, and the grass is not always greener on the other side. I know that from personal experience.

“It’s a quality-of-life thing when you know you’re going to have success and that’s what is expected. I feel like I’ve gained the trust of the guys (here). They know that I want to play for them, and they want to play for me, and that’s something that takes time to establish.”

In his curious world, Elliott already has demonstrated good numbers and a hard-working reputation in one of the cities where he could potentially play next.

But it remains to be seen whether that team — the Blues — has interest.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by cprice12 »

I'd be very happy if they chose to sign Elliott and have Allen back him up.
That would, on paper, allow for a few more bucks to be spent on some help in the goal scoring department.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by APOD »

I don't blame Miller for our loss in the post,I still think it was a good trade and a good shot to take, sometimes those things just don't pan out. That said I think we should keep Ells and bring Allen in. Elliott seems to work really hard when he is being pushed and with all the hype about Allen I think he will push to prove he is the starter just like when he was competing with Halak during the jennings year. Elliott has been decent in the playoffs for us too don't think Miller was any better this year than Ells has.

Sign Ells for 4 years 3.25m finish with 4.5m? That frees up 3m this year on Miller if he wouldnt want more than what he was paid this year and we keep our first rounder.


Trust in Ells and find us some offense. :okman:

Edit: and do we really want to lose this-
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/image/I00009k2.OaDfJ5g
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/gallery-i ... FmL9t7Q0po
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by Misc. Blues »

APOD wrote:I don't blame Miller for our loss in the post,I still think it was a good trade and a good shot to take, sometimes those things just don't pan out. That said I think we should keep Ells and bring Allen in. Elliott seems to work really hard when he is being pushed and with all the hype about Allen I think he will push to prove he is the starter just like when he was competing with Halak during the jennings year. Elliott has been decent in the playoffs for us too don't think Miller was any better this year than Ells has.

Sign Ells for 4 years 3.25m finish with 4.5m? That frees up 3m this year on Miller if he wouldnt want more than what he was paid this year and we keep our first rounder.


Trust in Ells and find us some offense. :okman:

Edit: and do we really want to lose this-
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/image/I00009k2.OaDfJ5g
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/gallery-i ... FmL9t7Q0po
No way he gets a 4 year deal (Cap hit 3.56)...2 years at the most for 3M each year. Ells is 29 and Allen is 24.

Edit: and yeah she can stay Ells or not... :wink:
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by gaijin »

APOD wrote:I don't blame Miller for our loss in the post,I still think it was a good trade and a good shot to take, sometimes those things just don't pan out. That said I think we should keep Ells and bring Allen in. Elliott seems to work really hard when he is being pushed and with all the hype about Allen I think he will push to prove he is the starter just like when he was competing with Halak during the jennings year. Elliott has been decent in the playoffs for us too don't think Miller was any better this year than Ells has.

Sign Ells for 4 years 3.25m finish with 4.5m? That frees up 3m this year on Miller if he wouldnt want more than what he was paid this year and we keep our first rounder.


Trust in Ells and find us some offense. :okman:

Edit: and do we really want to lose this-
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/image/I00009k2.OaDfJ5g
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/gallery-i ... FmL9t7Q0po
Elliott's wife is a former US Air Force Intelligence Officer, so that's pretty damn cool (if I do say so myself 8) ). I don't know what her maiden name is, though- I wonder if she was one of my students.

I always liked Elliott (and not just because of his wife's job)- he seems very level-headed and not as quirky as other NHL goalies. And there's no denying- his numbers have been pretty damn good for us. The only knock people seem to have against him is the apparent need to be pushed to perform (which I really only remember happening for one particular stretch), and if Allen pans out to be as good as hyped, he should provide that push to keep Ells performing at a high level. An Elliott/Allen combo could potentially put up better numbers than the Halak/Elliott combo. I think if we went with Miller, the pressure would be on to put Miller in as many games as possible, which could slow down Allen's development, as well as burn out Miller.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by JesusNEVERexisted »

What kind of insane world is it where Pekka Renee gets almost $30 million guaranteed??

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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

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APOD wrote:I don't blame Miller for our loss in the post,I still think it was a good trade and a good shot to take, sometimes those things just don't pan out. That said I think we should keep Ells and bring Allen in. Elliott seems to work really hard when he is being pushed and with all the hype about Allen I think he will push to prove he is the starter just like when he was competing with Halak during the jennings year. Elliott has been decent in the playoffs for us too don't think Miller was any better this year than Ells has.

Sign Ells for 4 years 3.25m finish with 4.5m? That frees up 3m this year on Miller if he wouldnt want more than what he was paid this year and we keep our first rounder.


Trust in Ells and find us some offense. :okman:

Edit: and do we really want to lose this-
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/image/I00009k2.OaDfJ5g
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/gallery-i ... FmL9t7Q0po
What the hell has Elliott done that is better than Miller? The guy was our goalie in the previous 2 playoffs and we didn't do shit. His GAA and Save % was better but there is a reason for that.
The guys are willing to take more chances with an established goalie like Miller compared to Elliott.
That's why our Goals for were higher in this past series.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by JesusNEVERexisted »

Bring back Millen and Wamsley! :lol: :okman:

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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by ViPeRx007 »

This is a pretty interesting situation. I honestly don't know what they should do. I guess my gut says that the goalies have never been the problem for this team the past two seasons. I think I'd be ok with an Elliott/Allen combo but only if we take the money saved and put it towards some offense, because that is where the problem is. Elliott/Allen FEELS a bit more precarious than Miller/Allen does. Probably because it's a backup/prospect instead of a starter/backup. We need to shake some things up somewhere though. Goalie is the logical place right now due to the contract situations of all of them. I have to think you take the pick from Buffalo, let Miller go, and go with Elliott/Allen. Unless, of course, they have their eye on another FA goalie and it ends up (someone else)/Allen. It just comes down to the money and making sure they have the funds to secure a legit forward, IMHO.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

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I guess my preference is Miller, but really, I almost just don't care. Miller, Elliot, Hiller. Whichever direction the FO decides to go, I'll probably be on board. At least for those 3 options anyway. If they somehow miss out on all 3, I'll reserve judgment. If we have one of those 3, the only way I'll be upset is if it comes at the expense of improving elsewhere.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

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cardsfan04 wrote:I guess my preference is Miller, but really, I almost just don't care. Miller, Elliot, Hiller. Whichever direction the FO decides to go, I'll probably be on board. At least for those 3 options anyway. If they somehow miss out on all 3, I'll reserve judgment. If we have one of those 3, the only way I'll be upset is if it comes at the expense of improving elsewhere.
Yeah hopefully we don't pull a Vancouver Canucks situation.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by dmiles2186 »

I just don't know why so many are advocating Hiller. Dude isn't even playing for his team in the playoffs right now.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by Oaklandblue »

Brian Elliott is a PROVEN and CONSISTENT commodity during the playoffs for us. What the hell else do they want? SIGN HIM.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

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STLADOGG wrote:
APOD wrote:I don't blame Miller for our loss in the post,I still think it was a good trade and a good shot to take, sometimes those things just don't pan out. That said I think we should keep Ells and bring Allen in. Elliott seems to work really hard when he is being pushed and with all the hype about Allen I think he will push to prove he is the starter just like when he was competing with Halak during the jennings year. Elliott has been decent in the playoffs for us too don't think Miller was any better this year than Ells has.

Sign Ells for 4 years 3.25m finish with 4.5m? That frees up 3m this year on Miller if he wouldnt want more than what he was paid this year and we keep our first rounder.


Trust in Ells and find us some offense. :okman:

Edit: and do we really want to lose this-
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/image/I00009k2.OaDfJ5g
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/gallery-i ... FmL9t7Q0po
What the hell has Elliott done that is better than Miller? The guy was our goalie in the previous 2 playoffs and we didn't do shit. His GAA and Save % was better but there is a reason for that.
The guys are willing to take more chances with an established goalie like Miller compared to Elliott.
That's why our Goals for were higher in this past series.
If the team scored more goals for Ells, we'd have beaten the Kings. You couldn't get better netminding than we did from Ells at that point.
If Miller had stopped more goals, we'd have won. You're simply NOT going to have an easy time scoring 4 goals constantly to win a hockey game. This ain't Baseball or Football.

To me, that's where the difference is. Quality chances? Dirty goals? Come the F-- on. A goal is a goal and the bottom line is that Miller was NOT the netminder advertised to us as while Elliott gets crap thrown at him and the guy was a damn wall for us in the last few playoffs. The team just didn't score almost at all for Ells. And the team couldn't SCORE ENOUGH for Miller. There's your difference.

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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by drwoland »

Wait, does nobody remember a season or two ago when Elliott literally could not stop a shopping cart coming into his crease? Every time they'd start him, he'd give up like 4-6 goals? They had to just shut him down for like a month to help him find his head again? Nobody remembers this? This is who you want as your starter? You're sure this won't happen again?

I think the brass might just have a better memory than some of you..
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by drwoland »

Yes it was early last season. He was an absolute sieve when Halak hurt his groin. Are we ready to hand this guy the #1 job? Was this stretch ever really explained?

I like the guy, but I think some folks here have a short memory and somehow have decided that since "goaltending isn't the problem," we can just give the job to anyone.
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by Oaklandblue »

drwoland wrote:Wait, does nobody remember a season or two ago when Elliott literally could not stop a shopping cart coming into his crease? Every time they'd start him, he'd give up like 4-6 goals? They had to just shut him down for like a month to help him find his head again? Nobody remembers this? This is who you want as your starter? You're sure this won't happen again?

I think the brass might just have a better memory than some of you..
Now we're talking about the Elliott who, in his three years as a Blue:

* Stayed healthy and stand on his head in the playoffs in front of an offense who couldn't score for shit
* Is the team's lone All-Star
* Shared the Jennings Trophy winner.
* 2011 GAA was .940
2012 GAA was .907 (With a brief stint in the AHL where he shot for .946)
2013 GAA was .922
* Outright OWNS the Franchise record for Lowest GAA and Best save %

If the brass has that kind of "memory", they should be fired.

What else does Brian Elliott have to do to get the opportunity to be the team starter? I don't care if he's utter shit in the regular season, the guy is proven in the Note and deserves the shot more than ANYONE in the league. He's proven himself. If the Org won't take a chance on a guy who, in a short period of time distinguished and continues to distinguish himself in the Note, then that right there is why we fail.

And I'd like to think the Org has more sense than that. Sign and Start the Ell with Allen in back and let Allen take the reins. We can always sign another netminder and Ells has proven that he more than not thrives in Blue.

Again, what does Ells have to do to get a legitimate shot as a Starter and not a 1A? Hasn't he done enough?
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by cprice12 »

STLADOGG wrote:
APOD wrote:I don't blame Miller for our loss in the post,I still think it was a good trade and a good shot to take, sometimes those things just don't pan out. That said I think we should keep Ells and bring Allen in. Elliott seems to work really hard when he is being pushed and with all the hype about Allen I think he will push to prove he is the starter just like when he was competing with Halak during the jennings year. Elliott has been decent in the playoffs for us too don't think Miller was any better this year than Ells has.

Sign Ells for 4 years 3.25m finish with 4.5m? That frees up 3m this year on Miller if he wouldnt want more than what he was paid this year and we keep our first rounder.


Trust in Ells and find us some offense. :okman:

Edit: and do we really want to lose this-
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/image/I00009k2.OaDfJ5g
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/gallery-i ... FmL9t7Q0po
What the hell has Elliott done that is better than Miller? The guy was our goalie in the previous 2 playoffs and we didn't do shit. His GAA and Save % was better but there is a reason for that.
The guys are willing to take more chances with an established goalie like Miller compared to Elliott.
That's why our Goals for were higher in this past series.
We didn't do shit, but I disagree on downplaying Elliott's play.
Just by watching Elliott and the saves he makes and how he plays, he's been outstanding for us. And I'm not just looking at his numbers, I'm talking about actually watching him play.

After a shaky start in the shortened season, he came back and played out of his mind and was a huge part of our run to not only get into the playoffs, but to get a decent seed as well. He was the #1 for us for a large chunk down the stretch, and he was great. I'm not sure why people feel he can't handle the job as a #1. He's done it here when called upon.

And he was damn good against LA two playoffs ago. It was just that bad goal he allowed at the buzzer at the end of the 2nd that was horrible, but he was still very good in that game...and I think he only allowed 1 or 2 in that game anyway. You can't say his numbers were only because of the team in front of him. Sure, that's a substantial part of it, as it is with any good team in front of a goalie...but Ells was great.

If you remember, we missed about a half dozen wide open nets in the LA series. Scoring was our obvious problem...as it was against Chicago this year, which is why it is imperative that we address that in the offseason. They went on the cheap and signed Roy to help, and brought in Morrow but that didn't pan out as the offense was still lacking. They can't make that kind of move again...they have to make a substantial move on offense...they have to, and I believe they will. Even if it isn't a perfect fit or if we have to give up a bit more than we'd like, I think it has to be done. You can only go to the well so many times and come away empty before you've missed your window of opportunity.

Signing Elliott gives us solid goaltending (or so we hope...assuming Allen can play well as the backup) and should allow for us to take on some salary up front. It makes perfect sense if they can pull it off. Sign Elliott, trade Berglund and a pick and prospect for Spezza and then try to sign one of the following: Gaborik, O'Reilly, Cammalleri, or Stastny if any of them are available and not resigned by their current teams. If they can get any of those FA's, plus Spezza I'll fall out of my chair. But it can be done...and they should push for it. I'd like them to go "all in" this year and see what happens. If they don't win it all, then at least you can say they tried.

Trading for Malkin or Ovechkin just isn't realistic...so I didn't even mention that. :wink:
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Frusciante
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by Frusciante »

cprice12 wrote:
STLADOGG wrote:
APOD wrote:I don't blame Miller for our loss in the post,I still think it was a good trade and a good shot to take, sometimes those things just don't pan out. That said I think we should keep Ells and bring Allen in. Elliott seems to work really hard when he is being pushed and with all the hype about Allen I think he will push to prove he is the starter just like when he was competing with Halak during the jennings year. Elliott has been decent in the playoffs for us too don't think Miller was any better this year than Ells has.

Sign Ells for 4 years 3.25m finish with 4.5m? That frees up 3m this year on Miller if he wouldnt want more than what he was paid this year and we keep our first rounder.


Trust in Ells and find us some offense. :okman:

Edit: and do we really want to lose this-
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/image/I00009k2.OaDfJ5g
http://scpix.photoshelter.com/gallery-i ... FmL9t7Q0po
What the hell has Elliott done that is better than Miller? The guy was our goalie in the previous 2 playoffs and we didn't do shit. His GAA and Save % was better but there is a reason for that.
The guys are willing to take more chances with an established goalie like Miller compared to Elliott.
That's why our Goals for were higher in this past series.
We didn't do shit, but I disagree on downplaying Elliott's play.
Just by watching Elliott and the saves he makes and how he plays, he's been outstanding for us. And I'm not just looking at his numbers, I'm talking about actually watching him play.

After a shaky start in the shortened season, he came back and played out of his mind and was a huge part of our run to not only get into the playoffs, but to get a decent seed as well. He was the #1 for us for a large chunk down the stretch, and he was great. I'm not sure why people feel he can't handle the job as a #1. He's done it here when called upon.

And he was damn good against LA two playoffs ago. It was just that bad goal he allowed at the buzzer at the end of the 2nd that was horrible, but he was still very good in that game...and I think he only allowed 1 or 2 in that game anyway. You can't say his numbers were only because of the team in front of him. Sure, that's a substantial part of it, as it is with any good team in front of a goalie...but Ells was great.

If you remember, we missed about a half dozen wide open nets in the LA series. Scoring was our obvious problem...as it was against Chicago this year, which is why it is imperative that we address that in the offseason. They went on the cheap and signed Roy to help, and brought in Morrow but that didn't pan out as the offense was still lacking. They can't make that kind of move again...they have to make a substantial move on offense...they have to, and I believe they will. Even if it isn't a perfect fit or if we have to give up a bit more than we'd like, I think it has to be done. You can only go to the well so many times and come away empty before you've missed your window of opportunity.

Signing Elliott gives us solid goaltending (or so we hope...assuming Allen can play well as the backup) and should allow for us to take on some salary up front. It makes perfect sense if they can pull it off. Sign Elliott, trade Berglund and a pick and prospect for Spezza and then try to sign one of the following: Gaborik, O'Reilly, Cammalleri, or Stastny if any of them are available and not resigned by their current teams. If they can get any of those FA's, plus Spezza I'll fall out of my chair. But it can be done...and they should push for it. I'd like them to go "all in" this year and see what happens. If they don't win it all, then at least you can say they tried.

Trading for Malkin or Ovechkin just isn't realistic...so I didn't even mention that. :wink:
I'm all for Elliott too. He's been great in his time here. I've taken the opportunity to make a classic list of pros and cons to establish my point of view in this matter:

Signing Elliott:

Pros:
* We save a butt-load of money, which we can use to address the real problem here - scoring.
* We wouldn't have to lose our 1st round pick, which is going to mean a lot to us, since we hardly ever draft high anymore.
* Allen would get a fair amount of games as well, and since we haven't blown all our money on a big name (Miller), he would be able to take over in a few years.
* We'd get someone who's proven he can play well enough for us to win hockey games, both in reg. season and playoffs.

Cons:

* Elliott has never been the actual STARTER, we don't know how he would respond to that kind of pressure.

Signing Miller:

Pros:

* We'd get a very good goalie, who has the possibility to steal games for us.
* He's a safer bet and more experienced than Brian Elliott.

Cons:

* 1st round pick gone.
* Very costly, which will mean less money to spend on offense.
* Will probably want a long term-deal, which would mean less opportunity for Allen to step up in a few seasons.


All in all, Elliott is in my opinion the better option.

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Frusciante
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Re: Elliott unsure of future with Blues (STL P-D)

Post by Frusciante »

drwoland wrote:Yes it was early last season. He was an absolute sieve when Halak hurt his groin. Are we ready to hand this guy the #1 job? Was this stretch ever really explained?
All goalies can have bad stretches. Look at King Henrik this fall. Now he's taken the Rangers to the Conference Finals.

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