Recapping the St. Louis Blues’ Top 5 First Half Storylines

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

2. Another Legend Dons a Blues Uniform; What is the Plan in Goal?

After starting goalie Brian Elliott went down with a knee injury on November 25, the Blues had a serious dilemma on their hands. With rookie backup Jake Allen untested in a starting role, they would be taking a gamble to begin with in net. Beyond that, they had no really acceptable options in the organization to serve as Allen’s backup. 21-year-old Jordan Binnington was serving his first tour of duty in the AHL and had appeared in just 10 games at minor-league hockey’s highest level, and the other goalie for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, was Matt Climie, who isn’t even property of the Blues organization.

To remedy the problem, the Blues brought in 42-year-old Martin Brodeur, who is arguably the greatest goaltender in the history of the NHL and had never played for a team besides the New Jersey Devils over the course of his 21-season career. After a brief tryout period, Brodeur was signed to a one-year contract to team with Allen in net.

Unfortunately, Brodeur’s presence seemed to change the luck of Allen, who had won four straight games to start his stint as the starter. Allen, who had been near the top of the league leaderboard in goals-against average and save percentage prior to Brodeur’s arrival, has since fallen to 31st in the league in GAA and 36th in save percentage. Brodeur, meanwhile, had some very successful games, namely a December 6 win in relief of Allen against the New York Islanders and a December 29 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche.

All of this led to a goalie controversy which remains unsolved to this point and will likely have to be confronted at some point over the second half. Some had initially suspected that Elliott could be traded, leaving Allen in the starting role and freeing up cap space for the Blues. However, with Allen’s struggles, the focus has shifted, and Elliott has been thrust back into the clear number one role.

Allen is still believed to be the team’s goalie of the future, so it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be shipped out, meaning that Brodeur will likely have to be the odd man out. With him having performed well and carved out an important role as a leader in the Blues’ dressing room, however, it will be awkward and difficult if and when the team is ultimately forced to part ways with him. The goaltending situation may be the biggest Blues story to keep an eye on as we move into the second half.

Next: Vladimir Tarasenko Becomes a Star