St. Louis Blues & Alex Pietrangelo: The Right Move?
Yes.
I say that grudgingly.
I didn’t want to say it. The fan in me wanted to watch the rookie Alex Pietrangelo, 18, develop at the NHL level.
As recently as Nov. 8 I backed the idea of keeping Pietrangelo in St. Louis for the rest of the season. I had a selfish attitude about it. I have said from the beginning that the Blues won’t be a playoff team this season, so my viewing entertainment will come in the form of watching their youngsters learn, get their legs, build confidence and make progress. And I’m OK with that. The Blues’ total rebuilding will be a long, often excruciating process. That’s just the way it is. It took the Pittsburgh Penguins several seasons of prime drafting to climb to the elite level.
Already we can see that the Blues are collecting an impressive supply of gifted young forwards. The line of Patrik Berglund, David Perron and Lee Stempniak was first rate at Buffalo. Seeing them play as they did only reinforced my optimism for the future.
So I’m patient.
(But not with some of the veterans on this team. More on that later).
In Petro’s case, the Blues did the smart thing. It wasn’t getting any easier for the kid. I thought he struggled at Buffalo Wednesday night. He looked tentative, and overwhelmed at times. He clearly needs to get physically stronger to absorb some of the hits he’s taking during NHL games. You don’t want to see him get hurt. (That cheap-run in Toronto that took him out early in the season was scary).
We don’t want to see Pietrangelo’s potential offensive brilliance smothered by indecisiveness and gnawing self-doubt. The kid needs some breathing room. He needs to grow his game and gradually get his talent to flow. And the only way to do that is to log lots of ice time for Niagra in the OHL. Pietrangelo wasn’t going to see much ice here in late-game situations.
So I don’t like to see Pietrangelo shipped back to Juniors, but it’s probably best.
(Sidebar: Please don’t whine about other rookie defenseman plucked in the 2008 Entry Draft and what they’re doing in the NHL. I realize that Toronto selected Luke Schenn after the Blues chose Pietrangelo, but Schenn is a rugged, stay-at-home type. That style makes for an easier NHL transition. Pietrangelo’s game is more diverse and will evolve around his skating, passing and quarterbacking skills. And Pietrangelo isn’t as far along as LA rookie Drew Doughty, the marvelous No. 2 overall pick, who is much closer to being a finished product.)
All of that said …
It’s not as if Petro was the only erratic defenseman back there, making mistakes.
What’s Eric Brewer’s excuse?
This is Brewer’s 10th NHL season. He’s making $4.2 million this year. He’s paid as a No. 1 defenseman. He’s on the ice as much as a No. 1 defenseman. He’s cast as a No. 1 defenseman.
One problem: Brewer doesn’t play like a No. 1 defenseman.
When I asked Andy Murray about this on our Team 1380 radio show the other day, Coach AM told me he utilizes Brewer as a No. 1 because he doesn’t really have another option for the role. With sophomore Erik Johnson out for the season with a knee inury, it leaves Brewer at the top of the defensive pyramid.
I understand what Murray is saying, but …
Understand that only 12 NHL defensemen have been given more ice time per game so far than Brewer.
Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf, Duncan Keith, Zdeno Chara, Mike Green, Scott Niedermayer, Francois Beauchemin, Kimmo Timonen, Brian Campbell, Paul Martin, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mark Streit.
That’s right: Anaheim doesn’t play Chris Pronger as much as the Blues utilize Brewer. (It’s a minor difference in ice time, but still).
And of the 50 NHL defensemen who have played the most this season, only Atlanta’s Mathieu Schneider (minus 11) has a worse plus-minus rating than Brewer (minus 9).
I don’t know what the answer is, and I know Murray and the Blues were knocked back by E. Johnson’s shocking season-ending injury. But it just doesn’t seem wise to overexpose Brewer’s weaknesses. Brewer is an easy target. The fans and media clowns (like me) really pick on the guy. And he is a workhorse, which I respect. But Brewer’s average ice time per game (25:29) is the highest of his NHL career.
(Sidebar: let’s see what Jonas Junland can do for the Blues. And the strapping Tyson Strachan, for that matter. Pietrangelo isn’t the only young defenseman with a bright future.)
Is it possible for Brewer to be more effective by playing less?
Sorry to bring baseball into this, but the smartest managers recognize their players’ limitations and play them accordingly. In other words, if a hitter has big holes in his swing, he’s probably going to have a better chance to succeed if he has 350 plate appearances instead of 600 plate appearances. Why? The pitchers don’t have as many opportunities to attack the hitter’s weaknesses.
In football, cornerbacks who have less-than elite talent are deployed as nickel backs and get assigned to cover slot receivers instead of the top receivers. That way, the cornerback isn’t as vulnerable.
I’m just saying …
-B
Not a bad article and lots of good arguments. Also, I was unable to hear your interview, because the streaming wasn’t working. I think people need to really start laying into Murray and Brewer. Their love affair for each other has to stop.
Of course, you are assuming that Andy Murray actually understands the concept of “less is more”. I’d love to see less of Brewer.
Bernie -
Great take, I agree with you 100%. On both -
1) Pietroangelo being a tough call to send back, but ultimately I think that is the right choice. It may hurt his ego temporarily to go back to Junior, but long-term I think it is better he grow up a little more and play more minutes there.
2) Brewer’s ice time needing to be scaled back, dramatically. I think he is bringing a losing mentality to this team. He’s never been on a winner, and witness his complacency in the P-D article yesterday when he says the transition game is good. Clearly he is in denial.
In my opinion, all the defensemen should have mostly equal roles/ice-time. Clearly playing Brewer as a #1 has failed, so it’s time to try something else.
I was all set to rip the Blues for this decision but you do make some good points. I personally think he was getting more ice time than most of us expected and the only people that first 5 minutes, 18 seconds in Buffalo was harder on than ALL of the Blues on the ice was the fans watching at home. What with A.P. getting things started with his neutral zone giveaway, it only logical that he’d be rattled the rest of the game.
However (and there’s ALWAYS a “however” with the Blues), Zundo is right. Murray and Brewer either need to move to CT or MA so they can get a license or just knock it off. We’ve seen this “experiment” for WAY too long. How can an NHL coach go on the radio and admit that he’s playing a guy as his #1 Dman because he doesn’t have any other options? There’s enough talent and/or experience in the room to find someone who’d do a better job than Brewer or here’s a radical thought…COACH SOMEBODY!!! That’s your title after all!
So yeah, maybe another year in Junior will benefit A.P. Maybe it won’t. Meanwhile we’ve got Mike Weaver so everything will be OK. As that wise philosopher, Charlie Brown always says…”Good Grief!”
Good article and good points. The Blues made the right choice by sending Petro back to the OHL-you know when guys are ready and he clearly isn’t just yet. You wouldn’t want his development to suffer because of the Blues personnel issues-he needs to progress to the top of the heap in the OHL and make the next step when it’s time.
I’m glad to see you’re in favor of the organization getting a look at some other guys (defensemen) in the system who may be on the fence in terms of being ready to compete at the next level. It would be a win-win to see what you’ve got either way-with the team or in assets used to obtain more puzzle pieces.
As for Brewer, your piece explains the complexity the dynamic. Fans and writers alike have grilled him for some time (which is clearly warranted) and this helps to shed light on the facts. Brew has been a solid player in the past and this helps to illustrate what has changed since then and what it could be doing to deplete his effectiveness and his all around game.
Nice work Bernie, perhaps you can show up in the Blues section more often and help distill some of the commotion!
So don’t compare Alex Pietrangelo to Schenn because they are differnt types of players, but feel free to compare Eric Brewer to all other #1 defensemen in the league because he gets similar money?
If you are going to rip on some defensemen start with Mckee (Complete bust) and Jackman. Those 2 are by far and away are worst defenders.
Remember a few years ago how we were being told that defense was a logjam for this team? Now I know why Emile Francis used to say you can never have enough defensemen.
The Blues whole defensive core are playing way too tentatively, not pinching in and trying to keep the puck in the offensive zone, and backing out and giving up their own blue line too easily. Watch how the Blues give up the neutral ice zone to the other teams attack if that team completes their first breakout pass.
NOT pinching in enough??? Watch the game tomorrow and tell me how many times you see #4 & #5 BEHIND THE MONTREAL GOALIE instead of at the blue line where they belong. I wondered what all the commotion was about when the Blues announced they’d be using 5 forwards on the powerplay because it looks like they’ve got at least 5 out there at any given time during 5 on 5 play. There are times when pinching in is called for but it should not be part of your overall “defensive” strategy…”strategery” if W is reading.
Donuts