Jeremy Rutherford:
Time to chat . . . let's go!

Tim: JR,

The Blues finished last season with 81 points and after 70 games this season they sit at 69 points. The way this team is playing it's possible that they could finish with less points (3 points in their last 10 games)and a worse record than last season. If this happened, how would Blues management view and evaluate this season, because obviously they can't say they improved. Also, do you think it's possible that Murray has lost this team and his message has now gotten tiresome?

Jeremy Rutherford: This season has already been dubbed a disappointment. Even if the Blues finish with one more victory or one more point, this is not what the team expected . . . especially after its fast start.

John Davidson said a couple of days ago that he's going to look at the positives (Manny Legace's play, Erik Johnson's development, etc.). But overall, the management has no choice to look at this season as a failure.

Many are asking if Murray has lost the team, or if his message is getting stale. I'll ask you: Is the message stale in San Jose or Anaheim? No, because the team's winning. If the Blues were winning, the message wouldn't be stale. The message wasn't stale when the Blues were 16-9-1.

Murray may have issues that he needs to control, but I would leave it more on the players' shoulders to produce.

Scott: JR,

Why are both Jackman and Brewer so terrible at handling the puck? Their puck control abilities are a complete nightmare and I'll never understand what Jackman is doing on the PP. I would rather see them both just get rid of the puck everytime they touch it instead of trying to handle it because when they try to make a move or stick handle the puck there's a 95% chance you can count on a turnover and the opposition scoring a goal. These 2 are supposed to be the team's leaders and yet they're doing a marvelous job at filling Backman's shoes as being the Blues worst defensemen.

Jeremy Rutherford:
Neither are terrific at getting the puck out of the zone, but they're OK. The Blues just have too many defensemen who fit the same description. It's nice to have a core of defensive defensemen, but too many can be a problem . . . especially when it's glaring that you need an offensive-defensemen other than Erik Johnson to play the point on the blue-line.

Andy: Hey JR,

What are the Blues' options with McKee? Can we trade him, eat some of his salary, and move on? He was a great leader with Buffalo but it has been obvious his signing has not been money well spent. We have too many younger guys that need NHL experience. What do you think?

Thanks,

Jeremy Rutherford: Here are the Blues' options with McKee, who has two more years left on his contract at $4 million per:

1) Keep him
2) Trade him (doubtful than any teams will take on his salary)
3) Waive him (doubtful any team would pick him up because of his salary)
4) Waive him and when he clears waivers, bring him back up through re-entry waivers. When a player has cleared waivers and then is brought back up from the AHL on re-entry waivers, a team can have him for half his salary. So if the Blues did this prior to next year, a team could have Jay McKee for two years at $4 million. The Blues would pay the other $4 million.

I believe that if the Blues want to get rid of McKee, the re-entry waivers is the only way that will happen.

Adam: If Jackman would have signed the contract extension earlier do you think he would have been named captain?

Jeremy Rutherford: That's a good question, but I don't think so. Even though he waited until after the All-Star break, I think Andy Murray had his mind set on Eric Brewer.

There was some speculation that Murray polled several players in the locker room about who the captain should be, and he received a variety of names. Jackman didn't receive any more votes than any of the other choices.