Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong joined The Writers’ Block on Tuesday and discussed a number of Blues topics as the team gets set to open up the season against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 12. Read some excerpts and listen to the full interview below: How has Alex Pietrangelo been handling his captain duties so far? “Obviously it was a big summer for Alex. He got married. And then becoming a captain of the St. Louis Blues was an honor. And then he played in the World Cup of Hockey. He played on the left side and did a great job. That’s going to give us some flexibility. From a leadership standpoint, he’s been working hard on that front…he loves this city and wants to be here a long time.” On not having any other professional sports going on this hockey season: “Honestly we don’t look at it any differently. Our job is to win. The outside forces…we don’t control those. We come into every training camp trying to play for the ultimate prize. This year, we’re asking a lot from Parayko, Fabbri and Edmundson (and our other young guys). I think change is very good for this organization. We didn’t reach our ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup. I think change was necessary and we’re excited about this group. There’s a lot of great things here right now…with the Winter Classic on the way and (all the youth we have). It really looks like this franchise is set up for the next six or seven years.” On Vlad Sobota not coming back to the Blues and the difficulty getting him out of the KHL contract: “We talked to him and he wanted to come back. They were working on his release. He felt dealing with the KHL was not as easy as he initially thought it was. We hoped he would come back. But it’s not like we pidgeon-holed that money and looked for other players. I don’t know what we could’ve done differently. We are where we’re at. It’s an unfortunate situation. When he left two years ago it was for the financial rewards for the KHL. And maybe those are the demons behind the doors of making that decision.” On Jaden Schwartz’ injury: “It’s difficult because we wanted him to come in and grab some of the leadership role out of the gate. To lose him was difficult. But if he had to have a four week injury…we would like it to happen with two weeks left in training camp. I feel bad for the player because he signed a long-term contract. He wanted to come in and feel like a leader…and it’s difficult to do that when you’re not playing. It’s going to create a great opportunity for a player like David Perron to slide in there. But we’re certainly a better team when he’s on the ice.” How have Ken Hitchcock and head coach in-waiting Mike Yeo been getting along? “It’s been interesting. The time where those relationships are built are in September when I was at the World Cup. It seems like everyone was really getting along. And it brings some newness to what we do here. Ultimately Ken’s the head coach and Mike’s excited to work and learn from Ken (and I’m sure the relationship will only grow from here).”
No transcript available.
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