St. Louis Blues: Scott Gomez Seems to Have Great Shot to Crack Roster

The St. Louis Blues announced the addition of veteran center Scott Gomez on a professional tryout contract last week, therefore giving them another player as they attempt to replace center Patrik Berglund, who will miss at least four months following shoulder surgery. While Gomez is a well-known NHL player who has had plenty of success, the 35-year-old did not in any way seem to have a spot locked up, considering that he’s not getting any guaranteed money to come to camp.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock painted a different picture of the situation during a Monday interview with 101 ESPN’s Bernie Miklasz, however. While the thought by many has been that guys from within the system, such as Ty Rattie, Magnus Paajarvi, and Robby Fabbri, would get the first crack at taking Berglund’s spot in the lineup, Hitchcock seemed to indicate that Gomez, as well as a few other outside veterans such as Jordan Caron, would have the best opportunity, saying, “We brought in three or four NHL players–who are good NHL players–who can see if they can grab that spot, and then we’ll give a real go to guys we think have earned the right: guys like (Ty) Rattie, and (Patrick) Cannone, and Robby Fabbri and that.”

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Not to read too much into Hitchcock’s phrasing, but the fact that he took so long to even mention Fabbri may say something about the 19-year-old’s chances. Fabbri, the team’s 2014 first-rounder, has been wildly impressive at every Blues camp and function that he’s attended, and he really looks like he could be an NHL player this year. The Blues may be anxious about starting his clock if they don’t think he’s totally ready, though, so it’s possible that he could end up spending another season in juniors.

Hitchcock was extremely complimentary of Gomez, saying, “The way he played last year, he played so well. He looked like he was five years ago, he was fast, he was great on the power play…transported the puck up the ice, he was a really good player for them last year.” Rather than really having to play his way on the team, it seems that Gomez will be on the 23-man roster as long as he checks out well during training camp practices and preseason games. Of Gomez’s path to the opening night roster, Hitchcock said, “If he comes in and plays like he did last year, there’s no doubt he makes the team. He’s a good player…We’re gonna give him a real go here, we’re gonna play him with good players and see where he gets to.”

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Then again, Hitchcock has openly stated in the past exactly how little influence he has over the construction of the team, even going so far as to say he doesn’t want to know which players are being offered in trades (and likely, by extension, which players have no chance to make the team) because he’ll coach them differently. Hitchcock had this to say in a 2014 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article:

"“I don’t like to even know what’s being considered or talked about,” Hitchcock said. “I feel like if I have any information, I might look at the player differently, might coach him differently, might react differently. … I don’t want to know. It’s been a really good working relationship with Doug because he does not let us know, me in particular, until the very last minute.“Even in free agency during the summer, it’s the same thing. I don’t like to get into those hope-for things and I don’t like to coach players who I’m not sure are going to be here. I’d rather just coach the guys who are here and (Armstrong) can come knock on our door and say, ‘You’ve got 30 minutes to look at this guy’ or ‘How do you think this fits.’"

Thus, it’s possible that Hitchcock’s opinion of Gomez’s chances may not completely align with what GM Doug Armstrong is thinking. Armstrong has recently become more aggressive in taking declining veterans out of Hitchcock’s hands, letting players like Brenden Morrow, Derek Roy, Barret Jackman, and Zbynek Michalek walk and replacing them in the lineup with younger players like Dmitrij Jaskin, Petteri Lindbohm, and Robert Bortuzzo. Gomez would never have been added to the camp roster in the first place if Armstrong didn’t think he was going to have a chance, but it should be interesting to see if Armstrong has more faith in a talented but untested player like Fabbri than Hitchcock does.

Next: Which Cardinals Players Will Join the Roster in September?