Breaking Up Is Hard To Do…

ST. Louis Blues Send Former First Overall Pick Erik Johnson and Defensive Specialist Jay McClement to Colorado for Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart.

Chris Pronger Part II? And Flyers fans seems to think their organization doesn’t have patience.

Development hindered by a freak golf cart accident, Erik Johnson has been a bit of an enigma to the St. Louis Blues and to the NHL as a whole. Immensely talented, though often times suffering from confidence issues, some observers are quick to point out that EJ has yet to ‘put it all together’. What’s magnified EJ’s situation is that rookie Alex Pietrangelo has come in this season and played lights out for the club, reliable in both the offensive and defensive end.

Yet again, to an untrained observer – and fantasy hockey queens worldwide – it would be easy (and embarrassingly misinformed) to say ‘Pie’ (as he’s known to STL fans) is somehow a ‘better’ DMan than EJ (whatever such qualifiers mean). What’s lost in the stats is that Pie looks exactly like EJ did last year - cocky, brash, and bringing it. This year, Johnson has been asked to do different things, to mature, alter his role, and is largely counted on to be a top pairing DMan against other teams top offensive weapons, while Pietrangelo can just play. Not think, just play. Everyone in the world got a taste of EJ’s talents in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. On a worldwide stage, EJ was put in a position to play ‘his’ game, which often times can be freewheeling. But when he’s given the freedom to just play, he’s a monster. A beast.

My opinion is that EJ has been thinking too much on the ice and he’s not quite sure what aspect of his game he wants to excel at, whether it be the offensive or defensive zone.

Add in the fact he’s already played for a couple of coaches, of which expect different things out of him, it all adds up to a situation that can screw up a young players mind. Especially when that player carries the weight of being a #1 overall draft pick (2006), and is carrying a world of expectations on his shoulders from both the organization and rabid fanbase. All that said, EJ is a tremendous fan favorite, so it’s not without much surprise that fans this morning are shocked.

In the last 24 hours, the Blues have managed to trade two of their best defensemen, without mixing in any of their defensive dead weight. It’s a strange approach.

Jay McClement, or ‘Silent Jay’ as he’s known (and beloved) to the STL fanbase is one of the most underrated and underappreciated (and largely unknown) players in the entire NHL. Often times overlooked in Selke voting, McClement can match up against anyone. For you stat nerds, his numbers are down this season, but of course, who’s aren’t on that train wreck of a Blues team?

So, in comes Chris Stewart…a power forward with a nasty mean streak, but also a bit of an enigma himself. Stewart (a former first round pick (18th/2006) can be dominating and mean, but can be equally as lazy, taking entire games off. The Blues are starved for offense, and Stewart could potentially flourish along side David Backes as they play similar games, but I find it hard to believe GM Doug Armstrong couldn’t have landed more of a ‘sure thing’ for EJ.

Additionally, the Blues get Kevin Shattenkirk (yet another first rounder 14th/07), who in his rookie season has put up impressive numbers (7g, 19a), on a terrible Avs team that is going nowhere fast. Make no mistake, Kevin Shattenkirk is no sure thing or can’t miss rookie. If he develops and is something special for the Blues, great, but if not, he becomes a simple footnote in the deal that saw the Blues trade another franchise DMan.

Neither fanbase is particularly happy about the deal, and truthfully, the trade is risky for both sides. It won’t be known who ‘won’ for a few years. If Stewart and Shattenkirk reach their potential, than it should be a fair deal, and both sides will be happy.

Trades are always so subjective, and everyone has an opinion, especially when they involve such high profile players. I am in the majority, the side that believes EJ is going make the Blues regret trading him. He is going to be a great player in this league (much like Chris Pronger who the Blues also gave up on) and this will go down as a terrible deal.

But in the end, we are just fans, fans that enjoy watching, and get attached to, certain players…and as such one thing is forever certain…breaking up is hard to do.