GDT #46: 1/19/15 | 7:00PM CST | v Avalanche | NBCSN/KMOX

[ComradeT]

The Blues scored only 3 goals. Last time I checked, that's not 7.

F-

Viper, you're welcome.

[dmiles2186]

This team is rolling. Every game they've played so far in January has resulted in at least a point. All but one of those games resulted in 2 points. Wonder how thing would have been if we would have traded everyone and their mother at the end of December?

By the way, Elliott on a 3 year, 7.5 mil deal is a STEAL. A friggin' STEAL.

[cardsfan04]

I'm not sure what Pierre McGuire was talking about with his whole "science experiement" comments with the Backes, Oshie, Steen line.
I guess he's not aware that they have been together for the most part on a consistent line for the better part of at least two seasons now.
He acted like Hitchcock just recently put them together and that's when they got hot.

Uh...that line isn't a new thing Pierre...nor is it a "science experiment". That's their regular line.

I like how Backes corrected him and said that very thing during the on ice interview before the game...but it still didn't stop McGuire from mentioning it again during the game.

He also kept calling Pietrangelo Pietra-angelo. For somebody that seems to take price in his linguistic expertise, that especially surprised me.

[cardsfan04]

This team is rolling. Every game they've played so far in January has resulted in at least a point. All but one of those games resulted in 2 points. Wonder how thing would have been if we would have traded everyone and their mother at the end of December?

By the way, Elliott on a 3 year, 7.5 mil deal is a STEAL. A friggin' STEAL.

Yep. I hate to say that I'm surprised. He's played well for us in pretty much his entire time here. But, I thought Allen would take over at some point. That's not happening this year for sure (barring injury). But, if Elliott keeps playing like he has been, I don't know when it will happen. And, I really don't get how Elliott is consistently ranked near the bottom of the starters in the league.

[ComradeT]

This team is rolling. Every game they've played so far in January has resulted in at least a point. All but one of those games resulted in 2 points. Wonder how thing would have been if we would have traded everyone and their mother at the end of December?

By the way, Elliott on a 3 year, 7.5 mil deal is a STEAL. A friggin' STEAL.

Yep. I hate to say that I'm surprised. He's played well for us in pretty much his entire time here. But, I thought Allen would take over at some point. That's not happening this year for sure (barring injury). But, if Elliott keeps playing like he has been, I don't know when it will happen. And, I really don't get how Elliott is consistently ranked near the bottom of the starters in the league.

Elliott is only 29. If he continues his run of form, I don't see any reason for Allen to take over. In fact, Allen, already being 24, will be in a bit of a limbo if Elliott continues to perform as he has for the Blues for the next 4-5 years. In that scenario, the best thing Jake can do is excel in his back-up role enough to entice trade interest from some team and generate a nice reward for the Blues a year or two from now. In the meantime, Binnington can come up as a back-up. At 21, his age gap vs. Elliott is more reasonable for a back-up goalie.

[not_a_wings_fan]

Ells has been very good once he got back to game speed. I'm not shocked - he's been very, very good for his time in STL.

Allen is coming up on the "shit or get off the pot" part of his career, I agree. He's going to have to force STL to make a choice with his play or I agree that the Bins should be moving towards a back up role.

[APOD]

My favorite moment had to be Backes jabbering his hands and calling the Avs babies lol.

thought he was saying "bye bye"

Yeah, I did too. I thought he was saying "bye bye" and waving.

http://youtu.be/EHaCHDOjflQ

Yea I don't know what I was seeing lol its clearly "bye bye" too much crown last night.

[cprice12]

Ells has been very good once he got back to game speed. I'm not shocked - he's been very, very good for his time in STL.

Allen is coming up on the "shit or get off the pot" part of his career, I agree. He's going to have to force STL to make a choice with his play or I agree that the Bins should be moving towards a back up role.

I don't think Allen is at that point at all. Not even close actually.
The Blues aren't going to force him into anything...why should they? As long as Elliott is playing as well as he is (and there is no reason to think the Elliott will drop off anytime soon), they have the luxury of waiting for Allen to develop into a #1 type goalie.
Right now, he is the clear backup. He was the clear backup to start the season. This is his first full season in the NHL...and he's only halfway through it. No way they give up on him anytime soon. That wouldn't make any sense to me.
He may not be ready to assume the #1 job this year, next year, or the following year. But what I do expect, is improvement over time.

[not_a_wings_fan]

Ells has been very good once he got back to game speed. I'm not shocked - he's been very, very good for his time in STL.

Allen is coming up on the "shit or get off the pot" part of his career, I agree. He's going to have to force STL to make a choice with his play or I agree that the Bins should be moving towards a back up role.

I don't think Allen is at that point at all. Not even close actually.
The Blues aren't going to force him into anything...why should they? As long as Elliott is playing as well as he is (and there is no reason to think the Elliott will drop off anytime soon), they have the luxury of waiting for Allen to develop into a #1 type goalie.
Right now, he is the clear backup. He was the clear backup to start the season. This is his first full season in the NHL...and he's only halfway through it. No way they give up on him anytime soon. That wouldn't make any sense to me.
He may not be ready to assume the #1 job this year, next year, or the following year. But what I do expect, is improvement over time.

Allen has two years with this team to prove what he will be. Two years.

Elliot is signed through the 2016/17 season and then is a UFA.

Someone will trade for Elliot if Allen can start in the next two years.

If Allen can't start, then Elliot is getting paid and his contract extended.

Bins is getting older every year and developing behind both of them. I would expect they would want him to be with the big club in the next two years as well, so that back-up slot is going to be taken by someone who has the potential to be the #1 guy.

I call that the "shit or get off the pot" part of someone's career, maybe you see it differently.

[dmiles2186]

I'm not sure what Pierre McGuire was talking about with his whole "science experiement" comments with the Backes, Oshie, Steen line.
I guess he's not aware that they have been together for the most part on a consistent line for the better part of at least two seasons now.
He acted like Hitchcock just recently put them together and that's when they got hot.

Uh...that line isn't a new thing Pierre...nor is it a "science experiment". That's their regular line.

I like how Backes corrected him and said that very thing during the on ice interview before the game...but it still didn't stop McGuire from mentioning it again during the game.

He also kept calling Pietrangelo Pietra-angelo. For somebody that seems to take price in his linguistic expertise, that especially surprised me.

Pierre has called Petro 'Petra-angelo' forever. He has a very annoying way in which he pronounces things, and that's not the only thing he butchers repeatedly. He's turrible.

[dmiles2186]

The best part of Elliott's deal is that, should Allen step up and seize the #1, Ells' contract is easily tradeable. I'm still not one in the camp of 'Allen needs to step up right now and take the #1!' If this time next year he's not shown any progress, then I get concerned. Right now, he's still getting his feet wet in a full season of the NHL.

[cardsfan04]

Ells has been very good once he got back to game speed. I'm not shocked - he's been very, very good for his time in STL.

Allen is coming up on the "shit or get off the pot" part of his career, I agree. He's going to have to force STL to make a choice with his play or I agree that the Bins should be moving towards a back up role.

I don't think Allen is at that point at all. Not even close actually.
The Blues aren't going to force him into anything...why should they? As long as Elliott is playing as well as he is (and there is no reason to think the Elliott will drop off anytime soon), they have the luxury of waiting for Allen to develop into a #1 type goalie.
Right now, he is the clear backup. He was the clear backup to start the season. This is his first full season in the NHL...and he's only halfway through it. No way they give up on him anytime soon. That wouldn't make any sense to me.
He may not be ready to assume the #1 job this year, next year, or the following year. But what I do expect, is improvement over time.

Allen has two years with this team to prove what he will be. Two years.

Elliot is signed through the 2016/17 season and then is a UFA.

Someone will trade for Elliot if Allen can start in the next two years.

If Allen can't start, then Elliot is getting paid and his contract extended.

Bins is getting older every year and developing behind both of them. I would expect they would want him to be with the big club in the next two years as well, so that back-up slot is going to be taken by someone who has the potential to be the #1 guy.

I call that the "shit or get off the pot" part of someone's career, maybe you see it differently.

But, with Elliott being signed for 2 years beyond this season, Allen has awhile before he has to show what he is. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your shit or get off the pot comment, but I take it as he needs to show what he is now, like this season. I don't think that's true at all. If he doesn't take over being a #1 this year (he won't), they're not going to give up on him in the offseason. Probably same for next year. At some point he has to develop into a #1, but I think the timetable is fairly wide open. He needs to show continual progress toward that, but I don't see an imminent deadline for it.

[cardsfan04]

I'm not sure what Pierre McGuire was talking about with his whole "science experiement" comments with the Backes, Oshie, Steen line.
I guess he's not aware that they have been together for the most part on a consistent line for the better part of at least two seasons now.
He acted like Hitchcock just recently put them together and that's when they got hot.

Uh...that line isn't a new thing Pierre...nor is it a "science experiment". That's their regular line.

I like how Backes corrected him and said that very thing during the on ice interview before the game...but it still didn't stop McGuire from mentioning it again during the game.

He also kept calling Pietrangelo Pietra-angelo. For somebody that seems to take price in his linguistic expertise, that especially surprised me.

Pierre has called Petro 'Petra-angelo' forever. He has a very annoying way in which he pronounces things, and that's not the only thing he butchers repeatedly. He's turrible.

I don't know if I just didn't notice it before or if I forgot. I knew about his awful pronunciations, but I always thought it was him trying to sound smarter than everybody else. The Pietro pronunciation definitely doesn't fall into that category. Regardless, he's extremely annoying to listen to.

[cprice12]

Ells has been very good once he got back to game speed. I'm not shocked - he's been very, very good for his time in STL.

Allen is coming up on the "shit or get off the pot" part of his career, I agree. He's going to have to force STL to make a choice with his play or I agree that the Bins should be moving towards a back up role.

I don't think Allen is at that point at all. Not even close actually.
The Blues aren't going to force him into anything...why should they? As long as Elliott is playing as well as he is (and there is no reason to think the Elliott will drop off anytime soon), they have the luxury of waiting for Allen to develop into a #1 type goalie.
Right now, he is the clear backup. He was the clear backup to start the season. This is his first full season in the NHL...and he's only halfway through it. No way they give up on him anytime soon. That wouldn't make any sense to me.
He may not be ready to assume the #1 job this year, next year, or the following year. But what I do expect, is improvement over time.

Allen has two years with this team to prove what he will be. Two years.

Elliot is signed through the 2016/17 season and then is a UFA.

Someone will trade for Elliot if Allen can start in the next two years.

If Allen can't start, then Elliot is getting paid and his contract extended.

Bins is getting older every year and developing behind both of them. I would expect they would want him to be with the big club in the next two years as well, so that back-up slot is going to be taken by someone who has the potential to be the #1 guy.

I call that the "shit or get off the pot" part of someone's career, maybe you see it differently.

You said Allen is coming up on the "shit or get off the pot" part of his career...which I took to mean this year.
That is what I disagreed with.
The 2017-2018 season is long way off yet and sooooo many things can happen between now and then.

And it really depends on what Elliott accomplishes between now and if/when Allen becomes that true #1 goalie we hope he will be.
If Elliott wins us a cup between now and then (knock on wood please hockey Gods let that happen), then Elliott may re-sign and Allen may get traded if Binnington is ready to come up and serve under Elliott. OR...they could very well go with two goalies as 1a and 1b, like we had with Halak and Elliott. That worked just fine here for a few years...and then Halak was traded.
Depth in goal is never a bad thing. Always a good thing and the Blues are more than happy to live with that problem for as long as they can. There isn't any rush to push anyone out, unless they want out.

[not_a_wings_fan]

Ells has been very good once he got back to game speed. I'm not shocked - he's been very, very good for his time in STL.

Allen is coming up on the "shit or get off the pot" part of his career, I agree. He's going to have to force STL to make a choice with his play or I agree that the Bins should be moving towards a back up role.

I don't think Allen is at that point at all. Not even close actually.
The Blues aren't going to force him into anything...why should they? As long as Elliott is playing as well as he is (and there is no reason to think the Elliott will drop off anytime soon), they have the luxury of waiting for Allen to develop into a #1 type goalie.
Right now, he is the clear backup. He was the clear backup to start the season. This is his first full season in the NHL...and he's only halfway through it. No way they give up on him anytime soon. That wouldn't make any sense to me.
He may not be ready to assume the #1 job this year, next year, or the following year. But what I do expect, is improvement over time.

Allen has two years with this team to prove what he will be. Two years.

Elliot is signed through the 2016/17 season and then is a UFA.

Someone will trade for Elliot if Allen can start in the next two years.

If Allen can't start, then Elliot is getting paid and his contract extended.

Bins is getting older every year and developing behind both of them. I would expect they would want him to be with the big club in the next two years as well, so that back-up slot is going to be taken by someone who has the potential to be the #1 guy.

I call that the "shit or get off the pot" part of someone's career, maybe you see it differently.

But, with Elliott being signed for 2 years beyond this season, Allen has awhile before he has to show what he is. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your shit or get off the pot comment, but I take it as he needs to show what he is now, like this season. I don't think that's true at all. If he doesn't take over being a #1 this year (he won't), they're not going to give up on him in the offseason. Probably same for next year. At some point he has to develop into a #1, but I think the timetable is fairly wide open. He needs to show continual progress toward that, but I don't see an imminent deadline for it.

As I said in my original post he's entering the phase where it needs to happen. This year is important, but next year will be make or break for him.

If he plays like he has this year he will be gone after next season. If he plays like a bonafide #1 or an upgrade in net, Elliot will be gone after next season.

[cprice12]

Ells has been very good once he got back to game speed. I'm not shocked - he's been very, very good for his time in STL.

Allen is coming up on the "shit or get off the pot" part of his career, I agree. He's going to have to force STL to make a choice with his play or I agree that the Bins should be moving towards a back up role.

I don't think Allen is at that point at all. Not even close actually.
The Blues aren't going to force him into anything...why should they? As long as Elliott is playing as well as he is (and there is no reason to think the Elliott will drop off anytime soon), they have the luxury of waiting for Allen to develop into a #1 type goalie.
Right now, he is the clear backup. He was the clear backup to start the season. This is his first full season in the NHL...and he's only halfway through it. No way they give up on him anytime soon. That wouldn't make any sense to me.
He may not be ready to assume the #1 job this year, next year, or the following year. But what I do expect, is improvement over time.

Allen has two years with this team to prove what he will be. Two years.

Elliot is signed through the 2016/17 season and then is a UFA.

Someone will trade for Elliot if Allen can start in the next two years.

If Allen can't start, then Elliot is getting paid and his contract extended.

Bins is getting older every year and developing behind both of them. I would expect they would want him to be with the big club in the next two years as well, so that back-up slot is going to be taken by someone who has the potential to be the #1 guy.

I call that the "shit or get off the pot" part of someone's career, maybe you see it differently.

But, with Elliott being signed for 2 years beyond this season, Allen has awhile before he has to show what he is. Maybe I'm misinterpreting your shit or get off the pot comment, but I take it as he needs to show what he is now, like this season. I don't think that's true at all. If he doesn't take over being a #1 this year (he won't), they're not going to give up on him in the offseason. Probably same for next year. At some point he has to develop into a #1, but I think the timetable is fairly wide open. He needs to show continual progress toward that, but I don't see an imminent deadline for it.

As I said in my original post he's entering the phase where it needs to happen. This year is important, but next year will be make or break for him.

If he plays like he has this year he will be gone after next season. If he plays like a bonafide #1 or an upgrade in net, Elliot will be gone after next season.

That really depends on how well Elliott plays and how much playoff success we have. Like I said in my previous post...if Elliott wins us a cup, they may roll with Elliott AND Allen for a while.

[not_a_wings_fan]

That really depends on how well Elliott plays and how much playoff success we have. Like I said in my previous post...if Elliott wins us a cup, they may roll with Elliott AND Allen for a while.

If Elliot does that I suspect they would deal Allen and bring up the next player, who is slated to be better and would cost less cash now.

I can't see both those guys on the roster coming into a UFA year for Elliot.

[goon attack]

Calling something a "science experiment" to me connotes the adjective, "monster"... as in Frankenstein.

Could that pussy-assed son of bitch have meant it that way?

[glen a richter]

Considering Elliott was only brought in to push Bishop and then ended up winning the backup competition, then Bishop goes on to star in Tampa Bay and Elliott ends up being our #1, I'd say it worked out for all parties involved. Though I wish they'd given Bishop more of a chance I guess they gave him the chance and he blew it. Hopefully Allen doesn't blow his chance, but if he does, there's still Binnington and Husso right behind. This team isn't lacking in quality goaltending prospects, which is an unusual change. And as long as they need to wait, Elliott isn't leaving for a while while quietly putting up fantastic numbers. If he hadn't been injured, we'd be talking about all-star Elliott/Vezina candidate Elliott instead of just Blues #1 Elliott.

[cardsfan04]

Considering Elliott was only brought in to push Bishop and then ended up winning the backup competition, then Bishop goes on to star in Tampa Bay and Elliott ends up being our #1, I'd say it worked out for all parties involved. Though I wish they'd given Bishop more of a chance I guess they gave him the chance and he blew it. Hopefully Allen doesn't blow his chance, but if he does, there's still Binnington and Husso right behind. This team isn't lacking in quality goaltending prospects, which is an unusual change. And as long as they need to wait, Elliott isn't leaving for a while while quietly putting up fantastic numbers. If he hadn't been injured, we'd be talking about all-star Elliott/Vezina candidate Elliott instead of just Blues #1 Elliott.

It would be kinda cool if Bishop, Stastny and Butler were all on the Blues together after playing on the same HS team here in St. Louis.