The loss of Erik Johnson makes Blues GM John Davidson's job go from tough to abysmal.
John Davidson, who walked away from a lucrative position in television that made him the most authoritative voice in hockey in the United States to try to rebuild the struggling St. Louis Blues back into a respectable NHL franchise, was dealt a crippling blow when defenceman Erik Johnson suffered a serious injury just prior to the opening of training camp.
Johnson, the first pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft, tore his ACL and MCL in an incident on a golf course. It has been reported he and some teammates were horsing around, using golf carts to play polo when the incident occurred. The 20-year-old is expected to miss the entire season.
This is horrible news for a franchise already selected by The Hockey News to finish last in the Western Conference and challenge the New York Islanders and Atlanta Thrashers for last overall and the right to choose leading candidates John Tavares or Victor Hedman or any other player that emerges as the top prospect for the first overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Not only does Johnson's injury hurt the Blues for this season, it casts doubts about his potential to rise to what many people believe he possesses - star potential. It will also, no doubt, drive Davidson nuts.
You see, Davidson made the bold decision to return Johnson to college hockey for a year after drafting him in an effort not to rush the kid. He could easily have done what most GMs of floundering teams do and show off his blue-chip prospect to the locals in an attempt to make himself look good, but he wisely decided that would not be in the best interests of the organization or the player. Davidson has been around long enough to have seen too many players not reach their potential because they were vaulted into the NHL too young.
Now, because of the Johnson's injury, he'll have to make a similar decision on Alex Pietrangelo, a defenceman chosen fourth overall this past June. An offence-minded defenceman with speed and great puck-moving ability, he might be forced to move up from junior to replace Johnson.
After making the playoffs for 25 consecutive years, the Blues have now missed the post-season the past three. Their prospects of making it this season now are dismal.
That said, the club has used its regular season misfortunes to stockpile a number of bright prospects. The Hockey News ranked the Blues' prospects fourth best in the NHL.
They include centre Patrik Berglund, who should make the team as the Blues' No. 2 centre this season behind Andy McDonald; right winger T.J. Oshie, a physical player who has third-line potential this season; centre Lars Eller, a 19-year-old slick playmaking pivot and goalie Ben Bishop, who will probably continue his apprenticeship in the American Hockey League this year.
What makes it especially tough for the Blues is the fact some of their more experienced players are on the downside of their careers. Left winger Keith Tkachuk can still light it up on occasion, but he is a long way off from being the 50-goal threat he was early in his career. He scored 27 last season. The Blues were certainly expecting a lot more from fellow left winger Paul Kariya than the 16 goals he scored last season after being lured away from Nashville with a three-year, $18 million contract.
A lot of pressure will be placed on defencemen Eric Brewer, Jay McKee and Barret Jackman, the NHL's rookie of the year in 2003, to carry the load on the blue line. Of course, Davidson might be inclined to go out and get some defensive help to replace Johnson.
The question is, how deep does he go into his pockets to find a replacement and how good does he really want his team to be this season? Would it make sense to try to get Mathieu Schneider, who is available, from Anaheim when it would cost the Blues $5 million for the season and wouldn't likely increase their chances of making the playoffs? Not a chance.
The fact is struggling teams need to go through a down period to accumulate top picks to turn things around, and that is exactly what is happening to the Blues. It is painful at the time, but just look at how the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers made out by smart drafting. The Ducks won the Cup two years ago with high draft picks Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry making huge contributions. The Blackhawks made huge strides last season with kids Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. The Oilers are moving forward nicely thanks to youngsters Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano.
It is awful what happened to Johnson and you really have to feel for Davidson, one of the most universally liked people in all of hockey. But at the end of the day, this is a team that still needs high draft picks. That is where the focus should be.