Andy Murray: Thanks for your interest today. I am looking forward to the opportunity to give you a better understanding of how we think as coaches. Let's get started . . .

tom: first off nice job getting the blues in the playoffs. I really thought your club played their hearts out in those games but did not catch any bounces or breaks. What happened at the end of game two in vancouver and honestly have you ever heard a building louder than in our last three games at scottrade. Goodluck and lets win the STANLEY CUP.

Jeremy Rutherford:
I think we have a distinct advantage playing at the Scottrade because of our fans. In regard to the question about the second Vancouver game, I'm very protective of our players. I thought Vancouver took some liberties that were unnecessary at that time. I didn't appreciate it.

hagen126: Coach Murray,

Thanks for making yourself available for this chat. I think it's great that you have given loyal fans an opportunity to ask you questions directly. That being said, I have a question about David Perron.

He is obviously a talented young player, but he came to the NHL with virtually zero professional experience. You have been criticized(unfairly in my opinion)for juggling him from scoring lines to fourth line duties. He had a lot to learn from the day he got here, but he seemed to step up his game in the Vancouver series. Have you seen significant maturation on his part? Is he ready to be a consistant scoring threat in the NHL?

Thanks for taking my question.

P.S. You got robbed on the Jack Adams Award last year. It should be sitting on your mantle right now.

Jeremy Rutherford:
I certainly have taken some heat for my handling of David Perron. I appreciate your recognition of the fact that we were doing this for the long-term benefit of David Perron and the St. Louis Blues. David needed to not only develop his game on the ice, but also realize the expectations of a professional hockey player . . . on and off the ice. It's been great to see David's development and I'm so excited about this season for him. He's earned the right to start training camp on a line with David Backes and Andy McDonald. I think it holds true in life that when you have to earn something, you value it more.

If I had won the Jack Adams, it would be here in our dressing room. I consider it to be a team award. I'm just glad I got the trip the Vegas representing our team. Thanks for the support.

John: Coach, thanks for taking time to answer questions. My question surrounds Walt at center. It seemed last year that he was more productive when he was able to play on the wing. I realize having size at center is important, but it does seem like we have options at center. Why not switch Walt back to wing?

Good luck this year!

Jeremy Rutherford: Everyone in our organization feels that at this stage of his career, Walt is better at center, including Walt . . . because there's not as much as starting and stopping. He's able to get his feet moving easier playing center. He's a big-body to get moving, so we're trying to keep him in motion. I think he's tough to play against in the middle. But if we think it will help us, we're prepared to put him at wing, but we view him as a center. We always listen to opinions. Thanks.

John McDonough: Hello Mr.Murray,

I'm 14 and a huge hockey fan i've had the pleasure of meeting you once before. You guys have done a tremendous job drafting and coaching. This is the most i've been pumped for a hockey season for a while. My question to you is how do you feel about this years team?

Jeremy Rutherford:
Just like you, I'm pumped for the season. But I've been pumped for 30 years of coaching. I'm so privileged to be doing what I'm doing, and I'm so energized when I come to the rink everyday, realizing how fortunate I am. It'll be a battle every game, but we'll play as hard as we can.

Prngr44: Our special teams went from pretty poor, to pretty damn good. What changed last season to cause such a huge jump?

Jeremy Rutherford:
I think we had success early in the season with our power play and our penalty killing and I think that inspired our special teams. I believe success breeds success. We knew how important it was and we worked on it a great deal. Our players took a lot of pride in it. We tried to simplify our power play and in both power play and penalty kill, our focus was to outwork our opponents and realize that every special teams situation was a game-deciding situation, and we needed to be accountable.

ctg44: Andy - From what you have seen / been told of the informal practices and the Prospects Tournament at Traverse City, what odds would you give to Alex Pietrangelo being on the opening day roster and more importantly, playing a full season with St. Louis? Thanks!

Jeremy Rutherford:
First Alex is to be commended on the work he put in this summer, getting a lot stronger and investing the time knowing that he had to get a lot stronger. He has had phases in Traverse City where he has played very well and other phases where we would like him to be more intense. He's going to come into camp and challenge for a job. At this time, he'll be in the lineup for the first exhibition game and we will let his play make that decision for us. He will be given a fair opportunity and we will ultimately do what's best for him and the Blues.

Wes: Hey Andy, thanks so much for chatting with us.

What are your thoughts on D.J. King and Cam Janssen? We have a lot of depth at forward. Is there room for both of them on the team this year?

I hope so, or at least I hope King stays. Not only is he an intimidating heavyweight but he can actually play the game pretty well for an enforcer.

Jeremy Rutherford:
You're talking about two players who have the toughest job in hockey. I respect both guys a great deal. With the way the game is now, we need players like D.J. and Cam to be intimidating . . . not just because of fighting, because of their ability to be tough on the other team's leading players. If there's an altercation that happens, it should happen because the other team is upset because D.J. and Cam have been tough on the other team.

You know, we're going to let their play dictate what happens. They will play a lot in the exhibition games and all I can tell you is that I like tough, physical teams . . . but you've got to be able to play.

Scott Dunn: Coach Murray: Some coaches allow first impressions of players to taint their opinions permanently, no matter how much the player improves. Some believe this happened to Carlo in Toronto. How, as a coach, do you avoid this trap, so you can see when a player like David Perron does improve?

Jeremy Rutherford: I think it's the one thing experience teaches you. I'm a pretty old guy. I've had a lot of experience. I've just seen so many players that you write off, and I believe in life that there is the possibility of change. That's my responsibility as a coach to maximize the potential of each player. I believe you start every practice, every game with an open mind, and you reward the players who are getting the job done. I believe Carlo is a great case in point. He may not have earned it and deserved it in Toronto, but I believe he's been deserving here in St. Louis. In reality, as coaches, we're facilitators of performance. The players are the performers, and it's their responsibility to get the job done.

bluebloodkc: First, coach, thanks for everything you've done for this team so far and thanks in advance for bringing Lord Stanley to St. Louis in the near future!

I'm sure you'll get tons of player-related questions so I'll go in another direction. How do you spend your off-season?

Jeremy Rutherford: I try to spend as much quality family time as I can. This summer was spent between St. Louis, my home in Minnesota and my cottage in Canada. I love boating and I'm still an avid water-skier. Usually, when I do get to the cottage, I get to ski early in the morning, then I'm the boat driver and gas fetcher the rest of the day. I enjoy getting out on the water and being active. But I'm not really patient enough to fish and there's not enough energy in golf for me . . . I'd rather do something active. The main theme is to capture the family time I don't get in the winter because I don't get to see my kids much.

hotbeefinjection: Andy,

I was hoping you could turn Jackman loose a couple of times this year and let him rough it up. I would really like to see him and Bieska go. What do you think?

Jeremy Rutherford: I think Barret plays so many minutes for us. He's more than willing to fight anybody in the league, but because he plays the minutes he does, it's more valuable for us to have him on the ice. The other concern is Barret's previous injury situation. We don't want him exposed in a fight. We have other guys that can deal with that. Barret is more than willing, but it's prudent for us to limit that element of his game.

Andrew Sampson: Hi Coach

Do you have an idea which goalies will play on Tuesday, September 15th? What will Army(Armstrong) bring to the Blues?

Jeremy Rutherford: At this time, Chris Mason is definitely going to start. Whether he plays two periods, or half a game, I have yet to decide. We haven't decided the other guy.

First, before talking about Doug, I want to talk about Larry Pleau. He's in my opinion done a tremendous job of retooling this organization after he was told that he had to move some assets. It's been great for Doug to have the opportunity to work with Larry, and I believe he will bring the same consistent approach, allowing people to do their jobs, just as Larry Pleau has done.

Mark: Hey Coach,

If I remember correctly, teams in the past that start their seasons overseas were allowed to have more than the normal 23 man roster until they returned to N.A. I assume that still holds true and if so, how many players are you planning on taking on the trip to Sweden?

Jeremy Rutherford: We're allowed to take 23 plus a third goaltender. We'll have 21 skaters and three goalies on the trip.

JS5981: Hello Coach Murray,
I was just wondering do you have any gameday superstitions or pre-game rituals? Thanks for taking my question and good luck with the upcoming season.

Jeremy Rutherford:
Well, to me, I don't call them superstitions. I call them good preparation, in other words, I have my routine certainly . . . I get to the rink the same time everyday. We have our meetings at the same times. I go to the same place for lunch every game day. I get to the rink the same time on game day. I talk to the team before the game at the same time. I walk into the dressing room a certain number of minutes before each period is to start. I wouldn't call them superstitions, I would call them good preparation. To me, I feel comfortable when I'm in a certain routine.

phantom8949: Coach M and or JR....I'm so happy for the start of training camp, I'm also a first time blues season ticket holder..So my question is, Does Lars Eller have a chance to make the team this year???...and my last question is for Coach,,,what is your thoughts about starting the season over seas..

Jeremy Rutherford:

It's been unfortunate for Lars over the last couple of years with injuries, it's been difficult to assess his ability level. But he's had a great summer training in St. Louis, however, with his shoulder injury, he will be unable to participate in scrimmages or exhibition games in training camp. We're being cautious with him. In all likelikhood, he will start the season in Peoria. In a lot of ways, we believe it could be the best route for him, to learn the game at that level. At some point, we will get him to St. Louis. It's something we would have to have liked to do with T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and David Perron, but we needed them in the lineup and they played well for us. That's Detroit's recipe for success, not rushing their players.

Bluesier1: Coach Murray,
Anyway you can give us a name of a Blues player that might become a household name like T.J. Oshie became last year?
Thanks! and keep up the great work!

Jeremy Rutherford:
I hope they all play so well that's it's a lot more than one name. It would be difficult for me to pick out one name because I'm really preaching the idea of team.

gottheblues: It seems the blues need to get the D-men to pass out of their zone with more efficiency.If this is the case will it allow the skill players more creativity and latitude with the puck or will the team philosophy remain dump and grind

Jeremy Rutherford:
Certainly the better your defense can move the puck, the better opportunity your forwards are going to get the puck with speed, and have better entry opportunities. I would expect as the skill level of our teams goes up that we're going to become more of a puck-possession team. In reality, we encourage players that have the ability to challenge the other team's defense . . . while players who do not have that ability level have to make sure they get the puck in behind the other team's defense. The one important factor to consider is the score of the game and your shift length. If we're leading in the game, we need to be smart with the puck. If it's late in the game, and you're late in the shift, it's not the time to be challenging. Dump and chase is not a first priority for a lot of our players, but it's something that can be used effectively. You've got to be willing to get the puck back.

Ryan: Coach Murray, thanks for taking time to take our questions!

Did you get a chance to check out any of the games in Traverse City? If so, which young guys have stood out? That's a bummer our boys let a 3-0 lead slip against the Wild and will now play in the 3rd place game instead of the championship. Anyone on the TC roster besides Pietrangelo that has a shot at making the roster?

Jeremy Rutherford: I was there for two games in Traverse City, then came back to put the final touches on preparation for training camp. Again, I don't like talking about individual players. Certainly we had a number of players that made a good impression. Sorry I can't be more specific. I just feel it's unfair to players to single them out.

Stephen: Was Darryl Sydor brought in just to help with training camp or does he have a real shot at making the team? A couple friends of mine who are Dallas Stars fans tell me he's really slowed down and isn't close to the player he used to be. I just hope he either had some sort of miraculous rebound over the summer or that one of the younger guys will beat him out.

Was he brought in to be a mentor to someone like Pietrangelo or possibly take a spot away from Pietrangelo thus sending Petro back to juniors?

Jeremy Rutherford:
We're looking for the best defensemen we can get. Our pro scouting staff felt that Darrly Sydor still has something to offer. It would be unfair to Darryl to bring in a player just for training camp. He's here to try and earn a job. He will earn one if he's better than our other defensemen. We're going to treat him fairly, just like any other player in camp. I hope we're smart enough to pick the best players.

Robert Leisse: Coach Murray,Had you ever consider T.J Oshie as a centermen, since he played that postion in college.He plays both ends of the ice,he is great playmaking skills and he is good on faceoffs.I think he better then Dougie Gilmore was all the years he play.

Jeremy Rutherford: His best years in college were spent on the wing with Jonathan Toews and Ryan Duncan. We think that because of the nature of his game, on the offensive side, that he's freer to play offense on the wing, as opposed to the down low defensive responsibilities of center. He's played both in his career, but primarily as a winger. If we feel it's necessary, we would be comfortable playing him in the middle. As a young player, it's easier to play wing than to play center.

blueslifer: In terms of the neutral-zone trap, left-wing lock, and others, how would you classify the system that you prefer to coach?

Thanks for taking the time to do this. The fans really appreciate it.

Jeremy Rutherford:
There's only three teams in the NHL that use a left-wing lock system. We have two systems of play in the neutral zone. We will normally use what we call a 1 1/2 aggressive, or we will use a weakside lock, not just the left side, but the weakside. We feel that this gives us flexibility depending on the situation in the game and our opponent. We always try to play to our strengths and an opponent's weakness. Our strengths would always be emphasized first.

heartbreakkid123: Andy,

Again, thank you for taking time out of your day to answer Questions.

On Defense, with the somewhat logjam of talent we could possibly have, with Johnson, Jackman, Pietrangelo, Polak, Colaiacavo, Weaver, Strachan, Junland, Wagner, Bell, Lampmann, and the Tryout with Sydor, Can you comment on what you see with the defensmen, and who you forsee making the team, and who starts in Peoria, or elsewhere.

Jeremy Rutherford: It's going to be a battle on the blue-line. They'll make the decisions for us.

Kris: Hi Coach,

It was nice meeting you at the KMOX party last night! I've seen some possible line combinations floating around, and I'm excited to see Boyes and Kariya being possible linemates again. Their chemistry was one of the brightest spots of the 2007-2008 season, in my opinion. Do you think Boyes could score 40+ goals again on this line?

Jeremy Rutherford:
Brad Boyes has scored 75 goals the last two years. He's a player that has set a standard for himself. You as the fans and we as the organization should not accept less.

sltest: Please comment on Boyes regarding his plus/minus, overall game. Is his skilled offensively but a defensive liability?

Jeremy Rutherford: A major theme for our whole team this year is that we need more plus players. When they come into training camp on Saturday and go to put their testing T-shirts on . . . on the front of the shirt, it will have a small Blues' emblem, and on the back, it will have in big block letters, PLUS PLAYER. We want our players to realize that for us to improve, we can not depend on our special teams. We need to be better 5 on 5. Having as many minus players as we had last year is unacceptable, and certainly our top players, and Brad would be in that group, can't be minus players. They've got to play the full 200 feet of the rink with and without the puck.

Mark: Hey Coach, is it your assessment that David Backes will likely stick at center while McDonald will likely stay on the wing most of the season? I really liked those two together, with Backes centering, with Perron on the right side. Do you see that line staying together?

Jeremy Rutherford: Agreed.

DJ Axeom: (Once again JR, thanks for all you do for us rabid Blues fans... hope the baby is sleeping through the night by now. :) )

Coach Murray,

First off, thank you for always making yourself available to maniacs like myself. Two quick questions, if I may.

1) With all the young talent still coming into our organization (i.e. Eller, Petro, Palushaj), what do you normally look for in the younger players to determine that they're ready to make the jump to the NHL?

2) What's the one thing that you look forward to most every year about training camp?

Again, thanks for your time & efforts (we love ya for it, coach!), and best of luck this season!


DJ NoQuestion'Aboot'It

Jeremy Rutherford:
1) The bottom line is that he gets the job done. When that player is on the ice, he makes good things happen and he's mature enough to realize what it means to be a good team player.

2) Seeing the energy of the fans and the players. It's the one time in the year where you feel as a coach that you have an opportunity to get some things done. I firmly believe that the role of the coach is overrated once the season starts. Fortunately, they still pay us. But in reality, it's all about the players.

stlouisbluesfan1: As we have found out during previous chats that the younger players play a lot of video games these days on the plane rides and bus trips. Have you ever tried to join them and play?

Jeremy Rutherford:
I am all thumbs when it comes to those games. They never invite me.

Riz: Coach,
How do YOU gauge improvement in our younger players like Perron, Oshie, Berglund, Johnson? I want to know what to look for in games that you are looking at.

Jeremy Rutherford:
Their compete level in every shift . . . their ability to recover from mistakes . . . and their overall contribution to the team.

Eric Barnhart: Afternoon Coach. Thanks for taking the time to answer a couple fan questions.
I was curious if there are any players that will receive additional special teams ice time and over all responsibilities this year compared to years past?
Thanks and LETS GO BLUES!

Jeremy Rutherford:

We've discussed giving some different players an opportunity to play on our penalty kill. There's no secret on our power play we will go with our top offensive players. But on the PK, we will try different players during training camp and get a feeling for their ability for that role.

Bill: Andy,

I have been a Blues season ticket holder since the 91-92 season, I have seen the 3rd round only ONCE!!! When can we expect to see the Blues go deep into the playoffs?

Jeremy Rutherford:
Well, we'll be there when we're deserving. Our goal before every season has to be to try and win every game we play and to make sure the last game of the year is a win in the playoffs. I'm not much for talk of rebuilding and retooling. If you don't plan to win every game you play, you shouldn't play. That's the one thing that kept us going last year when we faced some adversity. We didn't talk about playoffs; we talked about winning the next game. I think that keeps things in perspective. The fans here, like yourself, are definitely deserving and we'd like to give it to you.

Todd Towers: How important will it be having Ty Conklin on the team this year?

Jeremy Rutherford:
We need some wins from our second goaltender. Ty has shown in his other stops that he's capable of doing that. That is our expectation. He, like Chris Mason, is a strong character guy and a guy the players like playing in front of. We expect him to get the job done.

themikeman: Greetings Andy,

When a player is a healthy scratch, how much of the usual gameday activities do they participate in? I heard onetime that they were basically not around the rest of the players on a day when they are a healthy scratch. Secondly, do you take into account non-gameplay related info when deciding who to make a healthy scratch? For example, would you allow someone to play if you knew a large contingent of their family were in the stands?

Thanks,
Mike

Jeremy Rutherford:
On most teams, the assistant coaches have the responsibility to tell the players they're a healthy scratch. But as a head coach, I've always felt it was my responsibility to tell a player he's not playing. It's the toughest thing I have to do as a coach. When it becomes easy, I'll stop coaching because that means I don't care for the players enough. Scratched players are encouraged to be around our team. The only players I don't want around all the time on game day are injured players who at times, not through any intent of their own, can bring the other players down and make them feel bad for them because of their injuries. We want our players to focus on the game at hand.

Again, just as it is difficult to scratch a player, it's even more difficult to scratch a player knowing he's got family, friends and associates at a game. But I think you as fans would want a coach that's prepared to make tough decisions for the betterment of the team. It is that player's responsibility to make sure he's in the lineup for those types of situations. Again, the player's make the choices for us.

jzeid: This may seem a little random, but do you like the foghorn that sounds after the Blues score a goal.

P.S. I can't wait to see the great team we are going to have this year.

Jeremy Rutherford: I don't even notice it because of the noise of our fans. That's the sound I like the best.

Smitty: Thanks for taking the time to answers questions Mr. Murray.
I just wanted to know what opening the season in Sweden means to the organization. What the Pro's and Con's may be from your point of view.
Thanks and keep up the good work!!!

Jeremy Rutherford:
First of all, it's what the league scheduled for us. So, if I'm feeling negative about it, I'm not creating the right atmosphere for our team. I can only talk about the positives. I think it's great for team building, for our team to get to know each other. We're going into hostile territory because it seems like half the Red Wings are Swedes. They're going to be heavily favored in both games by the experts, and I'd like nothing better than to walk out of their with four points. We'll play them any place in the world.

EOM: Mr. Murray, thank you for answering questions from us fans. We really appreciate your time.

With the recent signing of Derek Armstrong, the Blues have a lot of depth at the forward position and a lot forwards on the roster. Do you think Armstrong will be with the Blues most of the season or in Peoria? If he's with the Blues, what will his role be? Thanks

Jeremy Rutherford: We need more experience depth in our organization in terms of showing our young players the right direction. Derek, having coached him before, is a solid character. He can play in an offensive role or a defensive role, and is prepared to be a leader in Peoria for us, if that's the way it ends up in training camp. He is a class act and you'll all feel the same when you get to know him.

Dillan: Hey Coach,

I met you in the 1980's when you were doing a hockey school in Northern Ontario for Micron Mega skates (If you remember those!)

I wanted to know about the Power Play this year. Who do you think we man the points and what forwards do you see up front for the 5-on-4 advantage?
Thanks

Jeremy Rutherford:
We feel that Carlo Colaiacovo and Erik Johnson will certainly man points on the power play. In all likelihood, they'll be on separate units and we'll use a forward with each of them on the point. At this time, it would be Paul Kariya and Erik Johnson and that power play unit would be Keith Tkachuk, Brad Boyes and Patrik Berglund up front. Our second power play unit, at this time, would be Colaiacovo and Perron at the point, with David Backes and McDonald and Oshie up front. There may be some people who question David Perron on the point, but we think the experience he gained their last year will be invaluable, and with the other forwards up front he's the best candidate to play on the point. Let's hope it works.

themikeman: Thanks again for chatting.

Do you think that Legacy will return to the NHL? By extension, now that some time has passed, could you ever foresee him returning back to the Blues?

Jeremy Rutherford: I like Manny Legace and I hope he cracks the lineup in Atlanta.

kansasbluesfan: Coach,
Mike Weaver was one of the most unsung heroes on the team last season. The guy came to the rink every night and put a solid defensive game on the ice for the Blues. I was so glad to see the Blues brought him back for another season. Can you just talk a little bit about Mike's character and his work ethic and how you plan to use him this season?

And by the way, when he finally gets that elusive first goal, how much fun will the team have with that?!?!?! :)

Thanks Coach!

PS-I had a chance to watch your son Jordy play at the WCHA Final Five last year and he was fantastic all weekend. Best of luck to him!

Jeremy Rutherford:
Thanks for recognizing what a positive contribution Mike made to our team last year. He's got a big heart, is very smart and was one of our top - if not top - penalty-killing defenseman last year. He's never picked by anybody to be on a team. He never receives any recognition. He just goes out and plays hard every night. The most recognition he receives is from his teammates, who see what he does for our team on a nightly basis. With Mike, I'm a positive thinker . . . I always think the next shift is going to be when he gets his goal. He better hurry up, I don't have that many years left.

Rick from Port Dover: Is it true you are thinking of starting your coaches meetings at 9AM this year?

Jeremy Rutherford:
This wouldn't be Rick Wamsley asking the question, would it? The only reason I would move our meetings from 7 to 9 a.m. is so that I wouldn't have to look at Rick Wamsley coming in the door in his baby-doll pajamas, trying to make a point that our meetings are too early.

But point taken, Wammer, thanks!

Andy Murray:
I really appreciate the opportunity to interact with our fans. Your interest in our team is what energizes us all. In my position as head coach of the Blues, I have to make tough decisions. But I want you to know that I always have the best interest of this organization at heart. You may not always agree with me, but we give thought to everything we do. We care for our team, we care for our players and we care for our fans. Thanks for being interested.