Amidst Trade Caos, Blues win 3-1

Doug Weight scored a pair of goals as the Blues beat Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Tuesday at the Scottrade.

The win came after the Blues dealt Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuck and Dennis Wideman in trades. Guerin and Tkachuck were the Blues leading scorers.

Weight helped fill that void, scoring two 3rd period goals including the game-winner on a breakaway, beating maybe the best goalie in the league. David Backes, who continues to get better, scored the Blues first goal on a nice feed from Radek Dvorak.

Curtis Sanford started the game once again in place of the injured Manny Legace. Sanford's only blemish came on a controversial goal that slipped under the goalie's chest and across the line. The goal probably never would have counted if Sanford would have rolled out, away from the goal instead of standing straight up, revealing the puck over the line. Legace had minor surgery on his lower body and should be out for a few weeks.

HIGHLIGHTS:




Player of the Game: Doug Weight, 2G, scored twice-including the game winner, on the ice for all 3 Blues' goals,offensive leader with absence of Guerin and Tkachuck.

Photos courtesy of St. Louis Blues Online, Video courtesy of My NHL.

Extended Jammer

Jamal Mayers has signed a three-year extended contract with the Blues.

Mayers has the longest running tenure with the team. He has spent the last 10 seasons in St. Louis, who drafted him in 1993, fourth round, 89th overall. He has skated in 495 career games, collecting 125 points (58 goals, 67 assists), along with 644 penalty minutes. This season, Mayers has played in 60 games for the Blues registering 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) and 68 penalty minutes, a team high.

Mayers is a big part of the Blues' penalty kill and does well to stick up for his teammates. He is also known to contribute to the community.

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Blues Online.

Blues Aquire Brad Boyes for Dennis Wideman

The Blues traded defensman Dennis Wideman to Boston for Forward Brad Boyes.

Boyes, 24, has played in 62 games for Boston this season, recording 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) along with 25 penalty minutes. The 6-1, 195-pound forward has played in a total of 145 NHL games, amassing 103 points (39 goals, 64 assists) while playing for the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks. According to St. Louis Blues Online.

Photo Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.

Guerin is Gone

The Blues traded forward Bill Guerin today to the San Jose Sharks for a conditional first round draft choice (previously acquired from New Jersey) in 2007 or 2008, forward Ville Nieminen and the University of Minnesota’s leading scorer Jay Barriball.


Nieminen, 29, has played in 30 games with San Jose this season, registering two points (one goal, one assist) and 14 penalty minutes. The 6-1, 220-pound forward captured the Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. Nieminen has played in 371 career NHL games, amassing 117 points (48 goals, 69 assists) and 304 penalty minutes. The Tampere, Finland native was originally drafted by Colorado in the third round, 78th overall in 1997.

Barriball, 19, is playing in his first season at the University of Minnesota. He leads the team with 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) and has posted 12 penalty minutes. The 5-10, 165-pound forward is currently tied for second in freshman scoring in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 36 points. The Prior Lake, Minnesota native was originally selected by San Jose in the seventh round, 203rd overall in 2006.
According to St. Louis Blues Online.

Barriball photo Courtesy: University of Minnesota, Guerin photo courtesy: St. Louis Blues online, Nieminen photo courtesy sjsharks.com.

Blues Fall to Blackhawks 5-1

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Blues 5-1 Sunday, just hours after the announcement that Keith Tkachuck had been traded from the team.

Curtis Sanford started the game for the Blues in replacement of the injured Manny Legace. Sanford, who has been stellar as a young goalie, was having us missing Legace with a less than stellar performance. He stopped just 4 of 11 shots before being replaced by Jason Bacashihua.

Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 22 shots, as the Blackhawks ended their 4 game losing streak, as well as ending the Blues 4 game winning streak. The Blues have yet to win 5 games in a row this season.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Blues Trade Keith Tkachuck, Acquire Glen Metropolit and Three Draft Picks from Atlanta

The St. Louis Blues have traded forward Keith Tkachuck to the Atlanta Thrashers for Forward Glen Metropolit, 1st and 3rd round picks in '07, and a 2nd round pick in '08.

Further more, if Tkuchuck resigns with Atlanta, then the Blues will obtain a 1st round pick in '08.



Metropolit, 32, has played in 57 games for Atlanta this season, recording 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) along with 20 penalty minutes. The 6-0, 195-pound forward has played in a total of 160 NHL games, amassing 75 points (22 goals, 53 assists) while playing for the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta. The Toronto, Ontario native was originally signed by Washington as an undrafted free agent on July 19, 1999. According to the Blues official website.

Blues Retain Brewer & Legace

Defensman Eric Brewer and Goaltender Manny Legace signed contract extensions with the St. Louis Blues.

Brewer signed a four year deal while Legace signed for two years.

Brewer leads all Blues defensmen in ice time, is second in blocked shots (14th in the NHL), and has 18 points while playing in all 61 games for the Note. He has 9 points in his last 20 games, along with a +7 rating.

Legace, arguably the Blues' team MVP this season, has a record of 23-15-5. Not bad considering he started out the season with a record of 5-10-1, and has gone 18-5-4 since returning from an injury.

Read the News Release from St. Louis Blues online.