Iced Tea
11-29-05, 10:37 PM
Singin' the Blues
St. Louis was in the same boat as Detroit, but mismanagement turned it into a disaster area
By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, EDMONTON SUN
What a mess in St. Louis.
They were in pretty much the same boat as Detroit, having to cut their payroll in half to come in under the salary cap, but while the Wings have flourished (winless Northwest road swing notwithstanding), St. Louis is a disaster area.
Gross mismanagement in the past has left them saddled with contracts they can't get rid of, like the $11.4 million they have tied up in Doug Weight and Keith Tkachuk (between the two of them, they've only made it to the second round of the playoffs six times in 25 seasons).
But soon-to-be ex-owners Bill and Nancy Laurie still had to strip down the payroll to meet the cap and find a buyer, so Chris Pronger and Pavol Demitra were cut loose to flourish elsewhere. With defeats mounting and fans getting turned off, it's harder and harder for the Lauries to find a local buyer willing to pay the $150 million asking price (although Kansas City has a rink and is said to be very interested).
And when the last place losers finally snapped an 11-game losing streak, Eric Brewer went to IR for four weeks with a separated shoulder.
"I've been hit like that I don't know how many times,'' said the ex-Oiler. "I just got hit the right way. I can't move my arm.''
It's all weighing heavily on Blues architect Larry Pleau: "You don't sleep well, that's for sure.''Link (http://edmsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey/2005/11/19/1313998-sun.html)
I know they had to trim to meet the cap but also the Lauries wanted to reduce salary to make the team more attractive for potential buyers. Maybe bringing in a decent GM and building a winning team would make it easier to sell the Blues. :rolleyes:
St. Louis was in the same boat as Detroit, but mismanagement turned it into a disaster area
By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, EDMONTON SUN
What a mess in St. Louis.
They were in pretty much the same boat as Detroit, having to cut their payroll in half to come in under the salary cap, but while the Wings have flourished (winless Northwest road swing notwithstanding), St. Louis is a disaster area.
Gross mismanagement in the past has left them saddled with contracts they can't get rid of, like the $11.4 million they have tied up in Doug Weight and Keith Tkachuk (between the two of them, they've only made it to the second round of the playoffs six times in 25 seasons).
But soon-to-be ex-owners Bill and Nancy Laurie still had to strip down the payroll to meet the cap and find a buyer, so Chris Pronger and Pavol Demitra were cut loose to flourish elsewhere. With defeats mounting and fans getting turned off, it's harder and harder for the Lauries to find a local buyer willing to pay the $150 million asking price (although Kansas City has a rink and is said to be very interested).
And when the last place losers finally snapped an 11-game losing streak, Eric Brewer went to IR for four weeks with a separated shoulder.
"I've been hit like that I don't know how many times,'' said the ex-Oiler. "I just got hit the right way. I can't move my arm.''
It's all weighing heavily on Blues architect Larry Pleau: "You don't sleep well, that's for sure.''Link (http://edmsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey/2005/11/19/1313998-sun.html)
I know they had to trim to meet the cap but also the Lauries wanted to reduce salary to make the team more attractive for potential buyers. Maybe bringing in a decent GM and building a winning team would make it easier to sell the Blues. :rolleyes: