Washington Capitals

Blues owner Tom Stillman discounts criticism of team's resistance to change

Published Aug. 5, 2015 2:23 p.m. ET

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St. Louis Blues fans weren't happy back in the spring when the team lost for the third consecutive season in the conference quarterfinals. The loss was especially painful considering the Blues were, yet again, one of the best teams in the NHL during the regular season. So rumors started floating around about massive changes to the team, and that seemed like a logical step toward fixing whatever problem kept causing the early playoff exits.

But wholesale change never came, and fans aren't pleased. Their dissatisfaction doesn't seem to matter to team chairman Tom Stillman, however, as he argued that a roster shift does not make sense for the Blues.

"It’s hard to see where massively changing the roster makes sense when that roster has, by all accounts, been one of the strongest teams in the National Hockey League the past three or four years," Stillman said in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I understand it’s regular season vs. the playoffs, but how much are you going to discount making the playoffs? 

"How much are you going to decide — we’re obviously a very strong team — without massive changes we’re not going to succeed in the playoffs? Is it that or other things that have to be adjusted?"

That's not to say there were no changes to the team whatsoever. The Blues did make one modest move this summer when they traded fan favorite T.J. Oshie to the Washington Capitals for forward Troy Brouwer, a goalie and a 2016 third-round draft pick. They also locked up Vladimir Tarasenko to an eight-year deal. 

But those changes clearly are not be enough to satisfy fans who are tired of watching history repeat itself. With most of the free agents off the market, it looks like the only change St. Louis fans can hope for will have to come via in-season trades. 

(h/t St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

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