What If The Blues Made The Playoffs & Why Pat Maroon Is Missed| What If Wednesday’s
was the blues’ offense problematic and the reason why they didn’t make it to the playoffs I’ll let you know my thoughts goinging up here on locked on Blues you’re locked on Blues your daily podcast on the St Louis Blues part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello I am Haley Taylor Simon your host of lock on Blues talking to you all things about the St Louis Blues here on the lock on podcast Network your team every day on today’s episode of lock on Blues I will be talking about the offense and asking the question hey was the offense problematic I will be doing a new segment every Wednesday called what if Wednesday and I think for this Wednesday I’m going to start off with something that’s going to make you a little bit upset because it made me upset and I miss this one player a lot right now who is it and why so a lot to discuss on today’s episode also we hit 1,000 subscribers here on YouTube which is actually Insanity it’s also my oneye anniversary next week with doing this podcast but thank you all for your tremendous support uh I love talking about the blues obviously I do a daily podcast talking about this team and you know I’m a fan as well so it just means a lot so thank you and like always let’s go Blues but before we get into today’s episode I just just want to let you know that today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks with any winning $5 bet visit fanduel.com SL lockon to get started so I asked this question Hey listen was the offense problematic was the offense the reason why the blues didn’t go to the playoffs the answer is no you don’t go to the playoffs because it’s a whole team sport it’s not just the defense it’s not just the offense it’s not just who’s in net it’s not just special teams it is literally the whole team that is why it is called a hockey team because there is no ey in hockey I mean there is an ie in St Louis but not in hockey but anywh who the reason why I bring this up is because honestly I was really thinking about the offense and if they really had any problems that concerned me and of course you can look back at some of the G I know I mentioned this y year with the defense but with the sharks you know with the Columbus Blue Jackets some of these teams where the blues just didn’t step up right and I think at the end of the day sure the offense could have been better it could have been worse there’s a lot that basically to factor in but when I’m looking at the team especially teams when it comes to you know not just record but teams that just played well in the NHL of course the blues were kind of in the middle right I think at the end of the day when you just think about the fact that they were 16th overall this year when it comes to um being the best worst team team 16 doesn’t make the playoffs team 16 gets the worst best draft pick um basically what I am saying is that they were just a very average in the-middle team and for some fine that’s an improvement from last season 100% But at the end of the day I think that you really need to take in consideration that if this team wants to be a contending team again a team that is going to be um a Powerhouse again because again I told you that statistic about how they barely missed the playoffs uh throughout their whole time of being in the HL since’ 67 so it is just an interesting thing when you really think about it when it comes to um now I’m not trying to say when it comes to NE necessarily playoffs and success in the playoffs when it just comes to the whole team overall I just think that the blues could do better and you know the blues as I said there were some strong suits about them right I mean you finished 16th overall which sucks because the Washington capitals I know they’re in the East and not the west but they made it to the playoffs and they were 17th overall when it comes to points of season so obviously it’s a little bit disappointing but here’s the concern that I have power play um percentage wasn’t it wasn’t awful they didn’t it wasn’t like that it was awful right they did fine in that sense but just at the same time like I just wanted to see a little bit better for from St Louis and they just didn’t in shark me as a team that fell into just really good in any of their categories to be honest with you at the end of the day the offense I mean I think about guys that I love on the offense right like Robert Thomas who was absolutely amazing teams MVP of course the season Jordan cyu I mean he’s a player that people love to hate right I think excepted about that about ruie is that people just love to hate him then you have guys that are breakout players like a jake neighbors who played phenomenal and then of course Captain Braden sh I mean he did get a hatti this season and you know that in itself is a plus for the captain he could have had a better season B navic again he was clutch at times right and I think that he got kind of slept on just because he wasn’t as standout as he usually is but I mean he did have a couple games where he won shootouts um he had a hatrick as well I mean he is definitely a playmaker right Nathan Walker I mean when they brought him um lights out his first couple games but when it comes overall just to the season you can say that the blu’s offense the blues’ offense was definitely it was all right and even like I’m looking the rest of the NHL right because I’m always curious when it comes to like you know goals right like for instance the Colorado Avalanche had 302 goals so then I’m looking at us here in St Louis and we had 234 which is on the lower end of um the league so that is not good but again you can’t say that into consideration I mean sure we didn’t do well in some aspects right but at the same time our penalty kill was average I mean it was in the middle not great shots allowed we had one of the best um one of the best save percentages so that just goes to the amazing goal ending that we have with Bennington and hoer but getting back to the offense why I’m saying this is because they were just average it wasn’t like they were anything Stellar it wasn’t like there were anything bad and I look back to the season right and I think of just you know even sun was I mean he played well Kevin Hayes he did fine I think I’m a little too hard on Kevin Hayes at times he was fine um it sucks like bul duuk I think there’s so much potential with him too obviously he got his first NHL goal on his 21st birthday the blues did lose that game though but I just think about a lot of things that you know comes up with this team’s offense does this offense have an identity well I said it before whenever Robert Thomas takes an initiative they play a lot better and you know that is something I want to see more from the third line of the fourth line is you shouldn’t need your first liner to really motivate your team like that you need to find motivation within your own lines and I think that the fourth line did have that chemistry um 100% with Alexi um you know Walker I I think they got along very well in that line to be honest but I think too you also need to kind of question that third line right with Kevin Hayes I told you this once and I’ll say it again he is such a good asset I just think that they’re using him wrong and I know that he’s played center for a long time and I get that but when they did have him in that left wing position he absolutely flourished on the ice and I actually liked a lot when shenny was um centering him but it’s a crazy thing to think about right how you really have talent but yet it’s not showing on the ice and I think think back to our team that won the cup and all of the you know chemistry that they had it showed on the ice so it makes me think is this team because they seem to be getting along like when I interview them in the locker room they all seem to be fine and I think they genuinely do like each other I do but is it me or The Vibes a little bit off and I worry about that because if you ask me what the biggest problem with the blues are I would still tell you to this day this whole offseason till something has changed it is the defense definitely not the goalies okay I trust B and I trust hoer but it’s the not the offense but it’s the Special Teams and that contributes to some of the offense right you know the power play the penalty kill all of that I think that I mean the penalty kill not as much because that’s mostly on the defense but I want some short handies okay I think every team does but just going back to the offense sure they could have scored more more you know goals would be nice you know but am I going to say that that was the main problem of why they didn’t get into the playoffs no as I said team sport but did they contribute to some of the problems and the answer is yes and it’s a simple yes you know in the game of hockey hockey is so simple when you think about it don’t be off sides don’t hit people with your stick don’t trip people score goals and defend it’s a simple sport kind of right uh no it’s not and that’s what makes it so complex right I mean at the end of the day these guys they’re good they’re it’s a good team it’s not a great team it’s not an awful team it’s a good team you can build off of it they’re see the thing with the blues is like they don’t need to rebuild they don’t need to do all these things that maybe teams like the Kraken need to do for instance um were they I mean I know they have Schwarz bring him back do they have I know wait they have I know they have vinced done do they I thought they had Schwarz let me go check but vinced done to bring him back but I I just you know I wonder you know about the blues and if they will get back to the playoffs um and it makes me think of like what do they need to do makes me think yeah I was right it is the Kraken see the Kraken here’s the thing the Kraken have all of the players that we basically loved a lot because Jaden Schwarz made a huge impact for us in the Sten Cup playoffs he was scoring goals like crazy and it was absolutely Madness and I miss it so the fact that you know him and vinst are both on the Crocket I’m like very unfair I mean it is what it is but like come on Seattle I want our guys back I I am just so fixated on if we have our guys back because I miss that team and it does not help watching all the rewinds of the cup again all right so I’m going to talk to you with my friends over at FanDuel before I begin my new Wednesday segment it’s m take all time in the NBA and NHL and fanduel’s giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks to bet on spreads money lines player props and more visit fel.com lockon and make every playoff shot count FanDuel America’s number one sports book you already know what I’m doing you got to do panthers to win the cup because of Vladimir tereno I miss you vlat I’m G to root for you vlat oh also this is something kind of random and not really I guess because we’ve all played against him at one point uh Corey Perry is back in the Stanley Cup finals again and the thing about Corey Perry remember the whole Corey Perry curse he won the cup in ‘ 07 with the Anaheim Ducks and then he went to four staning Cup finals and has yet to win another cup so this is number four for him I I have to tell you Corey Perry being on the Oilers could be the best or worst thing because if the Oilers win the cup then it’s going like oh yeah this is awesome like he finally did it and if they don’t win it’s it’s like oh the curse of Corey Perry is real do you believe in the curse of Cory Perry I mean imagine winning the cup for the first time your second season into playing in the NHL and 07 and then you go to the S Cup finals so many other times and you lose and then you go back again and it’s like okay it’s the fourth time a charm we’ll see good luck Cory Perry kind of because I I do want blam your Tero to win want a blue always a blue and this brings me into what if Wednesday and what if Wednesday I going to talk to you about a potential scenario that could have happened so for instance what if blank right and you fill in the blank so here is my scenario today I’m going to do a fun one one that make you a little bit annoyed but one that I do think about that’s why it’s called what if because the if is hypothetical what if the blues got into the playoffs this year instead of the Vegas Golden Nights do you think they would have been able to beat the Dallas Stars in the first round so I know what you’re thinking hail Dallas is a significantly better team yes but the blues do play wellish against them I mean listen like anything is possible but I didn’t think the Vegas golden kns also had the best series either so I think about that I’m like what if we did play the Dallas Stars do you think that we would have been able to win that series now I’m going to say no I think it would have gone into six games but again this is the beauty of this segment I think that when you have two goalies like a Jordan Bennington and a jake ainger two very talented goalies you make for some great hockey and the reason I say the second wild card spot is because that’s what it hypothetically would have been I wish the golden knights just lost out I was really rooting for that too everyone’s like oh no you have to go against the Kings I’m like no no no like I have a feeling it’s going be the vgk that’s going be ahead of us and was the vgk so unfortunately that is uh what happened we did not make it but if that case was that we did make it I still think it’ been really interesting and you know this season I take a look back to you know all the games that we played obviously the two preseason games we split with them Stars won 43 and then we won four nothing so we had a shut out win so take that Dallas the Stars beat us in October 2 to1 we beat the in an OT 43 in December we beat the Stars 21 in late December we didn’t meet again until April in Dallas and the Stars beat us in a shootout in the final game of the season two to one so I think it would have been a really good series I mean listen I know that last game didn’t really count for us because we wouldn’t have gotten into the playoffs but I remember banister said after that final game that this game didn’t matter it mattered had the blues went out that meant something and with all the games that we played against them I mean realistically I mean they were all within one goal when it was the regular season so who’s to say that it wouldn’t be a good series and that is why Vegas golden knights I am so mad at you because you took our playoff spot even though it was yours and ended up choking I here’s the thing I feel bad because Joe pavelski is retiring now he did announce that to the media and it was always so fun playing against him I mean Pavel is one of those guys that obviously I think is so well respected around the NHL but at the end of the day um I just like entertaining hockey if my team isn’t in it and I just wanted to be a little bit more entertained plus with all the LTI stuff really like you know Mark Stone might be injured all next season and then when it comes to the playoffs he’ll be fine like and I know they did that too at Petro and people were a little annoyed about him and I’m like you know what screw you that was my captain um that’s why with Alex and Ivan I know that they were on the golden kns I know no one’s a fan of the golden kns but I I’m a fan of them so last year I got super emotional seeing uh especially prer Angelo uh voice the cup again and talking about his family it’s insane just that man is a good dude off the ice um but yeah it’s uh it makes you think hypothetically what if the blues made a playoff for again but this team just didn’t have the same specialness making up a word that 2018 2019 team did have and I think that’s why while you know it is fun to kind of think oh what if what if it’s not the same it’s not you know you can’t recreate a Cinderella story again that only happens usually once in a lifetime and I think for the blues with you know their long history of you know coming to the league getting to the finals like three years losing every single time which was brutal I wasn’t alive luckily in 67 but brutal and then you go on to get all these first you know round eliminations second round eliminations all the time at least he make the playoffs but still like what’s worse making the playoffs are beinging at from the playoffs like that so then having an interm coach come in in buuy turning the season around after being the worst team in the Western Conference in January and winning the cup as the road team for every single game you had no home ICE Advantage which is insanity to me this team was so special and I think that’s why especially when I think about the wha ifs what what if we didn’t get rid of all of our guys what if that team was able to stay a little bit together for a little bit longer you know that could be another what if Wednesday now I’m going to go off and do like a million what if sudden in this one scenario but yeah what if the blues got into that second wild card um spot position not the golden knights and play the Dallas Stars I think stars in six but I do think it would have been a good series so let me know what you think down below before I talk about a player that that I am missing a lot I just want to let you know again make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel which you’re watching on nail here on lockon Blues hit a th000 subscribers today which was absolutely amazing I was kind of mindblown um honestly thank you I said this in the beginning of the episode but you know I love the blues and I think just you know talking about my favorite team every day has brought me such joy and I really enjoy the conversations that you and I have so thank you okay I miss this one player a lot he was with us for one season one season who is it can you guess it it was Pat maroon oh my goodness do I miss him so I will tell you why he made such an impact on me Pat maroon is one of those players that I feel like people just naturally like he’s a good player he puts us all in the ice but at the end of the day he’s a good person and you know I’m looking back at our playoff run obviously and you know it’s it’s difficult to see but the emotion that he carries on the ice is so so so special and you know obviously being a St Louis native there’s a special place in my heart for him right and there was a game where he was actually an amonton Oiler and he came played in St Louis obviously as an Oiler and you know he scored a goal and he did really well right after the game the reporter saying to him she’s like or no it was a guy my bad he was like hey Pat you know what did this game mean for you and he got emotional and he began to cry and he said I really miss my son seeing my son in attendance you know did it for me and after the Edmonton Oilers he to go on to play for the New Jersey Devils well luckily for us with Pat maroon he made a deal to return home in July 2018 to be closer to his son and it was a one-year deal it was a$1 1.75 million contract and I think at the end of the day his return home to not not only just being the one season that he had with the blues but to being the season where the Blues won their first cup in franchise history is actually Insanity you know I think a lot about this and I think about the impact that Pat Maron left on me that he left on the city and I feel like you know know with the kachuck too I know obviously we love Keith Forever Blue with Matthew and Brady um during the allar game uh I believe which one of the boys was it Matthew had a Cardinals hat on so go cards um but there is such a pride of being from St Louis that these players truly do carry with them and I think that for Pat Maron to come home um and that being the first year that well not even just the first year for him winning the cup but the first year for us winning the cup is just so special he won it twice in Tampa uh so he’s had multiple cups but just it’s something that I think about a lot and I think watching the cup run and watching you know the playoff games again and all of that cuz I mean I’m bored what else am I going to do um it just makes me realize how much I truly do miss him being a part of this organization a part of the team and what he brought to the team and I want to know is there a player that maybe didn’t spend a lot of time on the blues spent a short period of time but made an impact to you where you’re like wow I’m really missing this player because for me it’s Pat maroon and I think that too it also is helpful that he is such a beloved player throughout the National Hockey League as itself but he always has had this passion for St Louis and that is a something about him that I think that um was seen and I get what we going to say is at the end of the day Pat maroon you know he’s 36 I highly doubt you know he’s gonna uh play for much longer just because that’s older in hockey not in life but in hockey and I think that for him to just finish out his career and just say Hey listen I played for my hometown team help them win their first ever franchise cup that’s something special I feel like that whole season was so magical because it just all fell into place and I think having Pat Maron and having that out there I mean I I believe that he went to St Louis uh University he played he played he definitely played soccer in college I remember that about Patty maroon but I miss him and again that just proposes a question for me to ask you who do you miss because I do want to know St Louis I will talk to you tomorrow a lot to talk about tomorrow will be more draft focused but just some things this happened last time we were like so close and then I I clicked the wrong button all right again thank you for 1,000 subscribers and I will talk to you tomorrow and like always let’s go Blues
Haley talks about the Blues’ offense and how they weren’t as bad as people made them out to be. Just a tough season, but there is always positives even in the “bad.” What If Wednesday – What If The Blues made the playoffs instead of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Finally, is there a player who wasn’t with the Blues for long, but made an impact to you? For Haley it was the St. Louis native himself, Pat Maroon. Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms… 🎧https://link.chtbl.com/LOBlues?sid=YouTube Locked On NHL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Prospects & More 🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNHL Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/437250147404542 Twitter: https://twitter.com/lockedonblues?s=21 Instagram: https://instagram.com/lockedonblues?igshid=lploiru8v6ge eBay Motors For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Policygenius Check life insurance off your to do list in no time with Policygenius. Head to policygenius.com/lockedonnhl to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. FanDuel FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) #StLouisBlues #BluesHockey #NHL
