QUESTION: The Blues are really struggling to win games and coach Andy Murray got the dreaded “vote of confidence” from owner Dave Checketts last week. Murray obviously did a great job getting this team to play well down the stretch last year to make a run to the playoffs, but do you believe he can take this current team to the next level?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD

Andy Murray proved last season that he could be a successful coach with this roster, taking the Blues from 15th place in the West to sixth place in two months time. However, what management wants to see is a “complete” season from a Murray-coached team.

It’s unfair to look back at the 2006-07 season because Murray didn’t arrive until Dec. 12, 2006. But let’s look at the last three seasons:

2007-08: 22-14-5 (49 points) in first half of season . . . 11-22-8 (30 points) in second half

2008-09: 16-22-3 (35 points) in first half of season . . . 25-9-7 (57 points) in second half.

2009-10: 6-8-4 (16 points) through 18 games . . .

There is no rhyme or reason as to why Murray’s teams are good for a half and bad for a half. Before he can coach the Blues to the “next level,” there has to be more consistency throughout the regular season.

JEFF GORDON

Right now Murray’s program has stalled out. So, at the moment, he doesn’t look like the right coach to move the program forward. He has to change that perception ASAP. This is one of those critical points that pop up from time to time in a coaching regime. If this team doesn’t produce a nice five- or six-game winning streak pretty soon, John Davidson will have to change things up. The veteran players are failing Murray at the offensive end — and such players are almost impossible to move in the salary cap era of the NHL. With rosters so difficult to overhaul these days, that really puts the pressure on coaches. That’s not fair, but that’s the way it is.

DAN O’NEILL

I don’t think Andy Murray will have any trouble taking this team to the next level, as long as David Backes (31 goals last season) scores more than once this season, as long as T. J. Oshie scores more than twice, as long as Paul Kariya gets another point – he hasn’t in 10 games, as long as Brad Boyes gets back the pace he’s shown the past couple of seasons, as long as Erik Johnson contributes more than one goal this season.

According to the most recent NHL stats, Murray hasn’t had a shot on goal all season. Only four teams in the league have a smaller goals-against average per game than the Blues’ average of 2.5. Coaching isn’t the problem.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)

At times Andy Murray can be his own worst enemy. If Murray is going to have a chance to take this team to the next level he’s going to have to make some adjustments, most importantly how he runs his bench. A wise hockey man once told me every coach has a shelf life and it doesn’t take long before fatigue and illness sets in with a coach. Fatigue and illness kicks in when management gets sick and tired of the coach. Are we there yet? Coaches get fired, it’s a way of life. Maybe the biggest issue with Murray is that he focuses way too much on the opposition during a hockey game. Sometimes it’s just best to pay more attention to your own team and force the opponent to react to what you do. At the end of the day you have to win to keep your job and if Dave Checketts is serious with the words he said last week, then Murray better kick it in high gear before it’s too late. Same goes with the players who most definitely have yet to live up to their end of the bargain. The fact the Blues picked up Murray’s option certainly works in his favor. The Blues do not want to be in a position where they’re paying two coaches. If the teams doesn’t start winning they may not have a choice. The Blues will let this thing breathe for a few more weeks before they rush into any major shakeup.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Blues kick off their season at 2 p.m. today against the Red Wings. Hockey in St. Louis finally has arrived again. Who or what most intrigues you about the 2009-10 St. Louis Blues?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
What intrigues me is whether the Blues will be able to stay healthy. Because if they stay healthy, they have a shot to be pretty good. Not only have the Blues suffered a number of injuries the past few seasons, but the injuries seem to happen to their best players. I realize that 20 guys aren’t going to play 82 games each. But the Blues can’t have a situation like last year when Paul Kariya played 11 games, Andy McDonald (46), T.J. Oshie (57), Eric Brewer (28) and D.J. King (1).

BERNIE MIKLASZ
I want to see how much Paul Kariya has left, and whether he’s still an elite offensive player. I want to see how quickly Erik Johnson emerges as the new Scott Stevens. I want to see if Chris Mason was for real. I want to see if David Perron can convert his enormous talent into 30 goals. I want to see if Alex Pietrangelo has the toughness to play in the NHL. I want to see how an ascending team handles the pressure of expectations. The Blues aren’t the scrappy little underdog anymore. They’ll be counted on to get to the playoffs and win a series and that’s a big change from the past few years.

JEFF GORDON
There are a lot of good stories on the Note, but T.J. Oshie is a real catalyst. He scores, he passes, he hits, he stirs it up. Had the Blues had him all last season, they wouldn’t have been half-dead at the holidays. A lot of national experts overlooking the Blues don’t know how good this kid can be.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
I’m most curious about the big picture. Can this team advance in the playoffs facing the likes of San Jose, Detroit, Vancouver, Chicago, etc. in the 1st round? That’s what I’m focusing on. I’d be shocked if this team isn’t in the playoffs but once there, what will they do? A lot of that, of course, will depend on what they do throughout the course of the season. If they’re reasonably healthy all season long they will be a dangerous team regardless of the opponent and if the young guys continue their rapid improvement they could make a run in the playoffs. None of that will be known, however, until the end of the regular season.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
Can they continue where they left off last spring? Having expectations to win hockey games is new territory for the St. Louis Blues. This will be really interesting to follow this season. No longer can the Blues rest on the idea that they’re in rebuilding mode. People around the NHL are expecting the Blues to not only reach the playoffs but believe they have potential to make a little noise once they arrive. John Davidson recently told me the goal this season is to have home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. In order for this to happen the Blues need consistency in their game from day one. Are the Blues, as an organization, prepared to handle the pressure to win? It’s fair to say they’re slightly ahead of schedule from where they expected to be when Dave Checketts and company took over in 2006. There will be more attention on this hockey club to begin the season than we’ve seen in years. Thanks to the dismal performances football fans are growing accustomed to watching on Sundays, more and more eyes are focused on Andy Murray and his team this fall.

Managing adversity is critical for any team in any year and there will be times when things don’t go in the Blues favor. How they respond when things get tough will tell us whether or not this club is prepared to take a step forward. The Blues have a real chance to even more solidify themselves once again in the sports community and there is little reason to believe they won’t take advantage.

I’m also very intrigued to see if this will, in fact, be Keith Tkachuk’s last season in the NHL. The guy can still score goals and if he snipes 20-25 I can easily see the Blues extending “Big Walt” for another year. Will he accept? It’s never easy to walk away.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Talent aside, how long does it take for a new coach to instill his personality on an NFL team? And with that in mind, what do you expect to see personality-wise from the 2009 St. Louis Rams?

JIM THOMAS
It takes a a full cycle for a coach to put his imprint on a team - from the offseason conditioning programs through the minicamps, training camp and all the way through the season. It takes time to change a culture, so this isn’t going to happen overnight for Steve Spagnuolo.

BERNIE MIKLASZ
A new coach can immediately influence the personality of a team. That’s one of the most important aspects of his job. Football is a game of passion and emotion, and players take their cue from their head coach. His personality can become their personality — or at least substantial parts of it. All I can do is go by Spagnuolo’s history, and by all accounts he has had tremendous relationships with players, and his character traits seem to rub off on them. So I would expect the 2009 Rams to be feisty, competitive and passionate about what they do.

BILL COATS
It depends on how strong that coach’s personality is — look at the difference between Scott Linehan and Jim Haslett, and how well Haslett connected with the players. By all accounts, Spagnuolo is a charismatic guy, so it shouldn’t take long for him to establish himself. I expect the Rams to be tougher and more strong-willed under Spags.

JEFF GORDON
A new coach — if he is strong enough — can set a new tone right away. He does this by rebuilding with his type of players. Look at what Lovie Smith did as defensive coordinator when he came here. He got his type of guys to play his scheme. The personality of the defense changed. Look at what happened with the Dolphins this year with Bill Parcells at the top. But it does take a forceful man to make this happen. Will Steve Spagnuolo change the environment? He’ll certainly try. Let’s see what happens.

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MIDDAY NEWS AND THOUGHTS

CHECKETTS STICKS TO THE PLAN: I sat in on a meeting last week with Blues owner Dave Checketts and team president John Davidson where we had an open dialogue and discussed many things about the team. At one point, I asked Checketts how long he thought his honeymoon period would last here in St. Louis, afterall, this is his third year at the helm and the team hasn’t gotten so much as a sniff of the playoffs yet. He and J.D. said they’ve asked themselves the same question, but Checketts was resolute about the importance of building this team from the ground up and not trying for quick fixes. He pointed out examples of both the Rangers and Knicks trying to “buy” championships during his time there and how that just doesn’t work.

I found Checketts to be very straightforward and candid in his assessment of the team. Two points he made strongly as keys to this team’s future success: 1) Continuing to build a strong, young core of players that are committed to wearing the Blue Note and committed to St. Louis, and, 2) increasing what he believes is already a strong and knowledgeable fan base here in St. Louis. Bottom line, the team needs to fill those seats to be able to do the things necessary finanicially to continue to improve.

There’s no denying that the Blues have done a good job under Checketts and J.D. in these areas … they’ve found good talent in the draft, traded for youth with skills and made Scottrade Center one of the most affordable tickets in the NHL. And they both believe this team would have been a playoff contender this year if it weren’t for the deluge of injuries they’ve suffered. I can’t say I disagree with them.

Come back tomorrow to Round Two, as I pose a question to our writers on how long they think it will be until this team is not only playoff bound, but strong enough to make some noise when they get there. (Afterall, as I reminded Checketts, he guaranteed he’d bring the Cup to St. Louis one day.)

SPEAKING OF FRONT OFFICES: Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak will host a live chat with our readers at 1 p.m. this Wednesday. There’s been a lot of sniping in Cardinals Nation about the team’s lack of movement this offseason … this is your chance to ask Mo about it. You can go to STLtoday.com now to post your questions, then remember to tune in Wednesday afternoon to see what Mo has to say.

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THINGS TO PONDER

A TRUE FAIRY TALE: The Arizona Cardinals are now all the rage and who would’ve seen it coming? This is a team that lost four of its last six regular season games and seemed to be backing into the playoffs simply based on the fact they won the weakest division in football — the NFC West. But something happened on the way to the Cardinals getting bounced early from the playoffs. First, they knocked off an Atlanta team that went 11-5 in the regular season. Next up, they traveled to Carolina and beat a Panthers team that went 12-4 in the regular season. Then it was a stunning win in the NFC Championship game over the Eagles, who went 9-6-1 in the regular season. I’ve got to fess up and say I didn’t expect the Cardinals to win any of those postseason games. I’m truly shocked. And furthermore, that Kurt Warner-Larry Fitzgerald combo is a sight to behold. I know the oddsmakers will favor the Steelers in the Super Bowl, but I simply can no longer discount the possibility that Ol’ Kurt’s got one more big game in him.

CLOSING THOUGHTS: It was good to hear Chris Carpenter’s optimistic outlook on his health, as told to Joe Strauss in Sunday’s Post-Dispatch. But I just kept hearing this nagging voice in the back of my head saying we’ve heard all this before with Carpenter, and Mark Mulder, too. Carp’s a warrior — we all saw how hard he fought to come back last year and what he brought to the mound in his few brief appearances. But it’s a scary proposition to count on him again this season. Here’s wishing for Carp’s return to health … and Mo’s backup plan in case it doesn’t work out.

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STATS OF THE DAY

21 of 28, 279, 4, 0 — That’s Warner’s completions, passing yards, passing TDs and interceptions, respectively, in Sunday’s game vs. Philly.