Jeff: Hey Jeremy,

Who will be the Blues future goalie?
We all know Manny isn't getting any younger but who is going to be that young guy that will hopfully hold the fort for awhile?
Is it Ben Bish? I know he takes up half the net but does he have the talent to be #1? What are your thoughts?

Jeff.

Jeremy Rutherford: When I read that question, I think of a goalie who will be the No. 1 guy in two years and will hold that position for the 5-6 years after that. If that's the context, you have to say Bishop at this point.

I don't think Manny Legace will be back next year. Chris Mason may or may not be the starter next year, but I don't think you look at him as the goalie of the "future."

After that, Bishop is the closest to being ready. Keep an eye on Jake Allen, although it would have been nice to see him make Canada's World Junior roster.

jgsfiles: JR, I know things may be different now after the probable salary cap dropping off in the next year or two. But since the beginning of the season when people have asked about the possibility of trading McKee or Brewer, your answer was that no one would want to pick up their "expensive" contracts. But I thought teams were paying as much if not more for average players in the last FA signings. Am I not remembering that correctly? I am back and forth on Brewer, but I feel like since McKee has been healthy he has been exactly what we expected him to be. A reliable defenceman that blocks a lot of shots. That isn't a commodity other teams would want?

Also, the West coast trip. Take away the LA game because that was just bad. And maybe I am hitting the kool-aid a little hard. But even though we did not come away with points against San Jose and Anaheim we were in the game the whole way. Don't you think that should count for something? I don't think anyone would consider us in their league at this point. Thanks for your work.

Jerry

Jeremy Rutherford: Both good questions.

First, you're right . . . contracts for defensemen last year (such as Ron Hainsey's big deal from Atlanta) did catch up or surpass the contracts of McKee and Brewer. With Brewer playing 25 minutes a game, whether you like him on the ice or not, he's probably worth what he's making ($4.25 million per).

Jay McKee has been a shot-blocking, stay-at-home defenseman - like he was in Buffalo - but $4 million for a defenseman who is now your 5-6 guy and playing 14 minutes per game probably isn't a good bargain. But everyone has to keep in mind the situation when McKee signed with the Blues. He was a big name, reliable defenseman, character guy who you had to overpay to come to a last-place team.

I look at it like this: the Blues don't want to trade Brewer and they probably can't trade McKee at $4 million. But McKee does have only one more year left on his 4-year deal. So the Blues can finish out the contract, buy him out or find a trade partner who believes he's worth the $4 million at this stage of his career.

About the West Coast trip, the Blues did play strong in Anaheim and San Jose. Both games were decided late in the third period. When you compare the rosters of Anaheim and SJ to the Blues, those are monumental efforts. Unfortunately "almost" doesn't cut it in the NHL.

Franklin: Oh Jeremy,

From your observations, or from conversations with Blues brass, are there keys to Chris Mason's game when he's having success, which aren't in play when he struggles? In effect, on recent goals against, are there holes in his game that are being exploited of late, or it is simply a matter of total team defense exposing him?

It's me,
Franklin!

Jeremy Rutherford: I haven't gotten into specifics about Mason's technique with the coaching staff. He's made some incredible saves and he's let some in that he should have stopped. When you look at Mason's record, keep in mind that he replaced Legace in a couple of games and got the loss, despite playing strong and only allowing one or two goals, got the loss. I don't mean to be a Mason apologist for his record or the goals he's let in, but you've also got to look at the defensive play in front of him. With the injuries to the forwards and the inexperience in the lineup, the Blues have been scrambling a lot in their own end. If Mason can play like he did in Nashville, in Minnesota, etc., he can be a strong goalie.

Thomas: Hi JR, I've been watching the Blues for a long time through the bad and good times but watching them play against Calgary, I can't believe that we are that bad. I don't know what is going on in the locker room but it seems to me that we have some players that play with a lot of heart (young players) and others that just don't show up. Right now I can see the Blues making a coaching change because something isn't right with these players. I know we've had a lot of injuries but still we've added players that can play and we are still losing. What do you think we need to do?

Thanks

Thomas

Jeremy Rutherford: The Calgary game was bad, but I don't know how you can evaluate a team without Paul Kariya, Andy McDonald, T.J. Oshie, Eric Brewer, Manny Legace, Erik Johnson, etc. . . . this isn't the Blues team that they expected to be on the ice. You're only going to get so much out of the Brad Winchester's and Mike Weaver's of the world. I'm not saying give this team a free pass, but the talent different each night is pretty significant. That's also why I don't think you can grade Andy Murray with the roster he has.

Think about this: the last question I answered was about the effort in Anaheim and San Jose . . . the Blues were so close. San Jose runs out Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dan Boyes, Evgeni Nabokov. That's a Stanley Cup contender. Yeah you would have liked to held onto the 3-1 lead, but they let it go. This roster, even with the injuries, needs to learn how to close out games and they will steal a few more points.

sltest: It seems like our D is neither physical nor particularly good with making outlet passes. I see big teams like San Jose and the Ducks grind in our end for extended periods of time as our D can’t handle the big forwards. Also, I see those teams and others able to disrupt our transition with fore checking due to our passing. As a result I rarely see the organized and controlled puck possession through the neutral zone that seems to be imperative in the new NHL. If my observations are correct, what’s the fix?
The only Blues D that seems to have a chance of competing against the big forwards are Polack and sometimes Jackman and Brewer. The only D who seems to have some puck moving skill appears to be EJ? Do they have someone in the system that can address this issue, Cole in terms of competing against a big forward, Petro in terms of passing? How does Jungland match up? It seems like a lot of money being spent on a veteran D with short comings.

Jeremy Rutherford: You're dead on. This defense is neither physical nor can it make good transition passes out of the zone. Jackman is physical, but I'd like to see more out of Polak. Those are the guys who will be hear next year who can provide toughness. Erik Johnson can make the outlet pass, but he hasn't shown to be very physical. Looking ahead to next year, the Blues have to get toughness out of Jackman, Polak and even Eric Brewer, and they should get good transition from Johnson, Carlo Colaiacovo, Jonas Junland and Alex Pietrangelo. Junland and Pietrangelo can both move the puck, but they'll need some time to adjust. Junland needs to learn to keep his head up. I'm told he took some monster hits in Peoria.