Sure, winning is important, but the attendance woes experienced by the Blues this year aren't solely a result of the team's poor record. It's a reflection of the poor effort put forth in recent years (and not just last season, the Blues team has lacked the hardworking identity that characterized it in the early 90s St. Louis hockey boom since at least the 03-04 season).
But new coach Andy Murray is, consciously or not, seeking to restore that identity by offering meatier roles to Jamal Mayers, Dan Hinote, Jay McClement, and the rest of the team's grinders.
During a December 30 win over Colorado, the closing minutes saw Murray reward his energy players with power play time; that goes a long way towards building team morale. Earlier in the week, veterans Keith Tkachuk and Barret Jackman rushed to defend rookie David Backes after Colorado's Ossi Vaananen leveled him with a hit.
And we can't forget the efforts of sophomores McClement and Lee Stempniak dropping the mitts (neither is known as an enforcer) against Nashville. Would these players have done this last year? We cannot say for sure, but I wouldn't put my money on it. This team looks to be coming together and is developing an identity that fans might finally latch onto.
Murray Managing the Minutes: A month ago, I wrote a column stressing the need to reduce Doug Weight's ice time, with the rationale being that spreading his minutes will help players who are already outproducing him, and a little rest might serve to rejuvenate his game.
Through his first 30 games, Weight had six powerplay points and 17 overall. He played 17 minutes or more in 25 of those 30 games (and over 20 in 10 of those). And in the last eight games (seven of which the Blues have earned points in), Weight has skated over 17 minutes only four times, with his productivity going up – he's notched 8 points in those games, with of those on the power play. So at least as far as the numbers would indicate, cutting his ice time has helped boost Weight's production and has helped the team in the win column.
Beyond Weight, a wider array of players are generally seeing more responsibility and line combinations seem to be more consistent.
Backes Breaks In: Rookie forward David Backes started out with a point in each of his first two contests and hasn't tallied since, but he's still fitting in well on the top line. He's willing to play a physical game, and understands the need to go to the net to score. For a team in a rebuilding phase, it's nice to have an on ice example of the future.
Jackman Regains Form: Injuries, rule changes, and a variety of D partners have prohibited Barret Jackman from replicating his Calder Trophy winning season. While 06-07 hasn't been completely injury-free, it has been Jackman's steadiest season since his rookie campaign.
His plus-3 might not turn heads around the league, but it's a solid number on this club. He's finding a good balance between playing an intimidating physical game while not endangering himself. Plus, he's staying out of the penalty box (Jackman's averaging less than one PIM per game, impressive given that his previous career low was 2.3 per game). The next step? For Coach Murray to increase his ice time – Jackman is currently skating less than Bryce Salvador.
Rivalries Renewed: For the last year and a half, Blues games have largely been apathetic affairs. With longstanding rival Chicago also dwelling in the Central Division basement and Detroit too far out of the Blues' league to make games exciting, intensity has definitely been lacking.
But with Chicago playing more competitive hockey under new coach (and old Note nemesis Denis Savard) and games with Nashville becoming more physical affairs (thanks, Jordan Tootoo), fans can rest assured they're getting more "bang" for the buck when they head to the Scottrade Center.
The playoffs are still a long shot for the Blues, and that's probably a good thing in terms of long range asset building. But the overall on-ice product has shown improvement under Andy Murray, and the five reasons listed above are just cause to head down and give the team another look. There's certainly plenty of seats available.
