David Backes doesn’t know if change is coming to the St. Louis Blues, but he certainly thinks it should.
The Blues captain even went so far as to say the Blues would be “buying into complete insanity” if they didn’t make any changes.
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“I do expect change as far as we didn’t get a job done and there needs to be some change or else you’re buying into complete insanity, which is doing the same thing and expecting different results,” Backes told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I do expect change to happen. On what scale and what realms, that is [GM Doug Armstrong]’s baby and that’s what his position does.
“I do expect that the same 23-25 faces won’t be back. In a typical year, that means it’s four or five guys (leaving). If it’s that number or maybe a couple more, that wouldn’t be surprising to me. Who that would be is speculative at best in my book.”
That change won’t be happening at the head coach spot. The Blues put those rumours to rest when they re-signed Ken Hitchcock to a one-year deal on May 26.
In terms of roster moves, the Blues have plenty of depth to work with — that’s what happens when you can boast “two cores.”
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong recently spoke with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman about these two cores — a veteran group (Backes, Patrik Berglund, TJ Oshie, Alexander Steen) and a young group that’s quickly gaining speed (Jori Lehtera, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko and hopefully Dmitrij Jaskin).
“Age brackets pre-expansion were older,” Armstrong told Friedman. “The slower game allowed longer careers. Now, the maturity of young players, with strength coaches at age 15. It’s tending to a younger man’s game every year…
“Young players are driving the bus at an earlier age of their career.”
The Blues remain focused on winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup as their window stays open. Because of these two cores, if Armstrong does make some adjustments, he can take the roster in a few different directions.
