Al MacInnis: Forever a Blue, Flame

It is amazing to think that Al MacInnis produced more for a team than he did for the St. Louis Blues. But that may be the case for his time spent as a Calgary Flame.

MacInnis was inducted to the "Forever a Flame" program in Calgary Monday night. A banner with his picture and number 2 will forever hang above the rink where he started his career. He is the first to receive this great distinction.

MacInnis' Hall of Fame career spanned 23 seasons, 13 with Calgary and 10 with St. Louis. As a Flame he played 803 games, scored 213 goals, and amassed 609 assists which adds up to 1,274 points. He was an all-star eight times in Calgary. But his most lasting accomplishment came in the Flames 1989 run to the Stanley Cup, when the man they call "Chopper" lead the playoffs in scoring with 31 points, and captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. It marked the first time that a defenseman lead the NHL postseason in scoring. MacInnis considers winning the Cup in Calgary his "greatest hockey accomplishment in the NHL."

MacInnis was traded to St. Louis in the summer of 1994. In 613 games with the Blues he had 127 goals and 325 assists for 452 points. In 1999 he won his first and only Norris Trophy as the leagues best defenseman. He also won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2002. He announced his retirement in 2005 and took a job in the Blues front office as the vice president of hockey operations. His number 2 is retired and will forever hang in the rafters in St. Louis.

In his career he played in 1,406 games, scored 340 goals, and added 934 assists. He was elected into the hockey hall of fame in 2007.

John Kelly said, "in the history of the NHL he's got to be on the short list of all-time greatest defenseman." Joel Quenneville used to brag that MacInnis was one of the top five players to ever lace up the skates.

Growing up in St. Louis as a young defenseman in the 90's, I idolized Al MacInnis. I practiced my slap shot everyday to mimic Chopper. I took more pride in the way I handled the puck on the blue line after watching him. In school, I wrote a biography in English class detailing his wife. I clipped newspaper articles and have them to this day. I always looked back at his time spent in Calgary with jealousy, seeing pictures of him raising the cup. Although he was unable to lift the cup as a player, it would appear he can do it as a member of the Blues' front office.

It was a fantastic ceremony, and Calgary deserves to be proud. Do yourself a favor and watch it:

The Blues beat the Flames 3-1 in the game that followed. Jason Arnott scored 2 goals. It was their third straight road win:

This Date in Blues History: Blues Acquire Greatness

On February 27, 1996 the Blues shook the hockey world as they announced the greatest player of all time would sport the note. Wayne Gretzky signed with buddy Brett Hull, and Shane Corson gladly handed over the "C" to welcome The Great One to town.


The excitement around St. Louis was amazing. I specifically remember feeling as if it was a dream. It was like a superhero had come down from the big screen to play for the Blues.


Gretzky scored in his first game wearing the Note. He played 18 games with the Blues that season, netting 8 goals and 13 assists for 21 points. No one knew at the time that that would be his career stats in St. Louis.


The Blues defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. Next, they faced off against the President's Trophy winner Detroit Red Wings in a memorable seven game series. Chris Pronger, in an off-air sound bite, recalled an encounter early on in the series where Coach Mike Keenan came into the locker room and ripped everyone a new one including Gretzky, who decided then and there that he was not resigning in St. Louis:


Pronger recalls: "Thank f***ing God I wasn't on the ice, because I would have been blamed for it...We got spanked in that series, we lost the first game tight, 3-2, whatever, second game we got blown out 8-1, and it was like an NBC game, or whatever it was, and, oh my God, [coach Mike Keenan] came in and ripped everybody, tore Gretzky a new ass, and I'm sure he'd never had that happen before, and that was it, he was like, 'I'm not re-signing here, I'm done.' That was it. Mike showed up at his hotel that night- it was an afternoon game- that night showed up shitfaced at his room, he was staying at the Ritz in St. Louis..."-The break ends. It would be nice to know what Keenan said to him. He apparently apologized, but the damage was done.


That series ended with a puck being stolen from Gretzky at center ice, and the rest is one of the most famous goals in NHL history, but one of the worst moments in Blues' history.


What might have been? The Blues had 8 Hall of Famers on that 1996 team. If Hull and Gretzky would have played together for a few seasons many feel as if the Blues would have their Stanley Cup.


Amazing News Flashback (Remember when ESPN cared about hockey?)


Gretzky's First Goal as a Blue:

Health is on the Way

Jason Arnott and Kent Huskins will return to the lineup tonight against the Islanders.

Both veterans are ready to go according to Head Coach Ken Hitchcock. Huskins will take Carlo Colaiacovo's spot, as he suffered from a wrist injury in practice Wednesday.

Arnott has been out since February 3 with a shoulder injury after crashing into the boards awkwardly in a game against Los Angeles. He has missed six games. Through 49 games, Arnott has 12 goals and 12 assists (24 points). He has been a pleasant offensive surprise this season, especially on the power play.

Huskins has been out since October 28, when he fractured his ankle. He had surgery November 16 and has missed 46 games. In nine games with the Blues, Huskins, not usually known for his offense, has 2 goals and 2 assists with a plus-6 rating.

Meanwhile, both Matt D'Agostini and Alexander Steen remain on the shelf with concussion syndromes.

Hitchcock is happy to have Arnott & Huskins back:

Central Issue

The Blues must improve their play against their division rivals if they are going to maintain a top spot in the West.

Their recent relapse against the worst team in the league, the Columbus Blue Jackets, is showing a concerning trend with the Blues: they have a horrible record against their Central Division rivals.


That record is 5-7-2, and it is trending downward quickly. In the last seven games against the division their record is 1-5-2. Although the Blues play against the rest of the league overshadows this flaw, it is quite troublesome.


To start, half of the teams in the Western Conference playoff bracket will more than likely be from the Central Division: Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, and St. Louis. If the Blues do not win the division, they will more than likely face one of these rivals in the first round.


Of course, that is assuming the Blues make the playoffs. They have ten games remaining against the Central, four on the road and six at home. The fact that a majority of these games are at home gives some hope to a better record. Those twenty points are crucial to the Blues position in the playoffs. Obviously it has become apparent that home ice advantage would be a huge advantage for the note, and a goal they will strive for as they charge towards the playoffs.

The Blues were 12-8-4 against the Central last season, including 5-5-2 on the road. They are 1-4-1 on the road this season. That lone win was a 2-1 tilt against the Blue Jackets. The Note is 0-3 in Detroit and 0-1-1 in Nashville. They have three games left in Chicago. The club needs to perform better in their division and on the road.


"We've got to play 60 minutes on the road," Jamie Langenbrunner said. "For whatever reason, we haven't been doing that. We've had breaks in our game where we've allowed the team to take control. We can't do that."

Here We Go Again With Berglund...

It's that time when fans get excited about the big Swede down the stretch.


Like clockwork, Patrik Berglund is playing like he should. At 6'4" and 210 pounds, Berglund rarely uses his size to his advantage until the latter stages of the NHL season. Last year he came on about this time and infused belief back into many Blues fans with most of his 22 goals and 30 assists coming down the stretch. His powerhouse performance continued in the 2011 World Championships, where he received MVP consideration.

But also like clockwork, he began the current NHL season flat again. He was nonexistent for the first 50 games. His defensive play was average at best, and he showed little enthusiasm on the ice.

Last year, assistant coach Scott Mellanby allegedly lit a fire under Berglund with his own unique-style of heart-to-heart with the young Blues forward (think of the language that was used). It worked well, but if you are an NHL player, do you constantly need a coach questioning your manhood to get you going? Do the Blues want that kind of player on the roster?

Cup contenders have self-motivated players, and THAT is what it's all about. This fan is not interested in a good season, MVP awards, breakout players, attendance, entertainment value of games, etc. He's interested in a big shinny silver trophy making its way down Market. And I only want players that are interested in that path as well (i.e. David Backes and Perron).

So for the Blues, the big question this season is: Will Berglund's fire keep burning in the playoffs? If it does, I will take the slow start. Cup contenders always have a hot goal scorer in the playoffs. But notoriously, skill players such as Berglund do not fair well in the post season. Time and space, something that Berglund should create with his size but often does not, will be limited to "nowhere to be found" in the postseason. His play in last year's World Championships was encouraging, but that was when he was playing for Sweden, not St. Louis.

Rust Proof

Halak shines in shutout as the Blues show little let down after the longest all-star break in the NHL.

The Blues looked like the same great defensive team that went into the break as they beat Los Angeles 1-0 Friday night. Jamie Langenbrunner scored the lone goal on a great feed from Matt D'Agostini.

That was all the Blues would need as Jaroslav Halak stopped all 22 shots he faced. It was his fifth shutout of the season. Both he and Elliot have five on the season, giving the team ten, tops in the NHL.

That marks the first time that the Blues have had two goalies with at least ten shutouts since Jaques Plante and Glenn Hall did it in 1968-69. They made it to the Stanley Cup Finals that season.

The Blues were weary that the long layoff would cause them to come out a bit rusty, but after firing 12 shots and racking up 15 hits in the first, all worry was gone.

"We started out pretty good actually, but I don't know how that was because I felt terrible," said Matt D'Agostini. "I couldn't skate."

Dags looked good in the second. On a great individual effort, he chipped a puck by a King defender and set up Langenbrunner for the lone score .

The Blues were able to let that goal stand as the winner because of the outstanding play of Halak. He made three world-class left pad saves in the second half of the game. Halak should get the start tonight when the Note face off in Nashville against the Predators.

Highlights: