There won't be any postseason awards for these teams. They're the worst of the worst. In this week's magazine cover story, Sporting News examines how four franchises ended up in their current mess.
When Jim Morrison sang, "We want the world, and we want it now," he could have been voicing the ' motto. The team personified the Me Generation in 25 consecutive playoff appearances through the 2003-04 season. But like Morrison, the Blues burned out.
They were dead last in the NHL in points last season, and despite recent improvement under new coach Andy Murray, they are bottom feeders again this season. How is it that the Blues are so messed up? Let us count the ways: 1.
Financial instability. Dave Checketts' ownership group is the team's seventh since its inaugural season in 1967-68. During most of those years, the Blues were broke, abandoned or run on a shoestring budget.
Checketts is faced with rehabbing a stripped-down franchise. 2. Dressed for pseudosuccess.
"Good teams have to bottom out sometime," NHL analyst and former coach Gary Green says. "The Blues always made the playoffs, but that meant they got low draft picks year after year." Until having the first overall selection last summer, the team had had only three top 10 picks since selecting No.
2 in 1979 -- and none after 1989. And the Blues haven't reached the Stanley Cup finals since their first three seasons in the league. 3.
Draft mistakes. Seldom aggressive, the team has preferred "safe" picks -- few of whom have panned out. By passing on players with more risk but also more potential, the Blues have missed out on many stars.
4. Poor player development. Without a solid farm system, the Blues have lacked a pipeline for inexpensive young talent.
"They didn't draft well until recent years, and they've had one of the NHL's weakest farm systems," an NHL scout says. "They lost the depth they showed a decade ago. And their pro scouting isn't finding good young players to acquire in trade.
" Blues G.M.s had a nasty habit of flipping away picks in a panic.
The team didn't have a first-round selection in eight of the past 17 drafts. 5. Bad trades and personnel moves.
With the team bleeding cash after the 2004-05 lockout, owner Bill Laurie ordered managers to strip assets and sell the franchise. The Blues dumped Chris Pronger for Eric Brewer and two other defensemen who have made a negligible impact. "They were in a tough situation, but they got basically nothing in the Pronger deal," an NHL scout says.
"Brewer at best is a second-pair defenseman and not a guy to build around. Pronger is a cornerstone." Other players have been allowed to walk away as unrestricted free agents, chief among them Brett Hull.
6. No backstop. The team never has developed a franchise goalie.
The closest were Mike Liut, who was stellar, and Curtis Joseph, who was traded before his peak. So, is there hope? "We had six kids from the last draft playing in the world junior championships," team president John Davidson says.
"That's a good number, so we feel strong about that. But it's not like the NFL, where you draft a guy and you think he's going to step in and play. It doesn't work like that.
These kids are kids, not 22-year-olds. So they have to be developed, and we want to do it the right way." The Blues have three outstanding college prospects -- Erik Johnson, the 2006 No.
1 overall pick, and 2005 picks T.J. Oshie and Ben Bishop.
Rookie power forward David Backes is a comer, and minor league defenseman Roman Polak is ready. Under scouting director Jarmo Kekalainen, the past five drafts could be the best in franchise history. And if the Blues decide to trade their big-name players, they could snatch more picks and prospects.
"They should trade guys like Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight and Bill Guerin to help build a young talent base," the NHL scout says. At least the Blues likely won't have a pesky playoff push to cloud their thinking. Ray Slover is an associate editor for Sporting News.
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. and despite recent improvement under new coach Andy Murray, they are bottom feeders again this season..
." Have you done your homework? The Blues have been playing superb hockey, under Andy Murray, and have one of the best records in the NHL during the past month.
They are fast becoming a playoff contender. Too bad you chose to use your misleading storyline over the facts of the past month. Murray and his Blues deserve a lot more credit than you have chosen to given them!
Being the Larry Pleau apologist that you are, you have once again conveniently failed to mention the Blues greatest problem. I suppose you failed to notice that Pleau wasted a fifth round draft pick on Yan Stastny this week. But as I have said before, I am certain you do hold Pleau responsible for any of the bad trades as we all know the general manager is not responsible making trades, signing free agents, or drafting players.
I simply do not understand your blind devotion to Larry Pleau and your desire to find any excuse to shift the blame elsewhere. Perhaps you can explain your assertion that Pleau bears no responsibility for the personnel moves he has made while he has been general manager. Have you heard of the Penguins?
Puhleeeze! What do you do; give points for going in the tank to win high draft choices?
If so, that would explain how you managed to avoid picking the Penguins as hockey's most woeful franchise. At least the Pirates managed to cozy up to the politicians enough to get a new stadium paid for by the taxpayers. Despite his years of endless whining, moaning, crying, carping and threatening, Mario Lemieux hasn't even managed that.
He has, however, managed to engineer what must be a record stockpile of high draft picks, and still managed to lose year after year. The Penguins aren't built to win. Theyare built to allow some buyer to believe that if he takes over, all the pieces are in place to turn it all around with a tweak here or there in a fancy new arena.
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