Goodbye, Doug Weight

I was surprised and saddened by this trade. I had heard rumblings of talks between the Ducks and Blues but thought little of it. The focus had been on the Ducks moving Mathieu Schneider and the Blues certainly don't need another defensemen. The face of the Blues had been Keith Tkachuk, Doug Weight, and Jamal Mayers. How many other Blues players do you recognize on site? How many other Blues players do you recognize their voice? The management traded away some of the heart of this team to get marginally younger and marginally better offensively. Not only that, but they pestered and annoyed Doug so much that he agreed to waive his no trade clause. (The deal had been in place for a week, waiting for that.)

I have never been sold 100% on this new owner and management team. Checketts is a businessman pure and simple. Expect no emotional moves from him, expect emotional exploitation, and profit is the driver. (Not necessarily a bad thing, but media at the time hailed him as some kind of sports savior. No, he is a businessman who is buying low and will, in time, sell high. Make a note. The Blues will be for sale within 5 years.) John Davidson takes over as president. My problem with this is the treatment of Larry Pleau. Is he the GM? What exactly does he do now? My perception is that JD calls the shots and Larry just signs whatever he is told. If he is not doing the job, fire him. He just seems shuffled aside and forgotten.

When they came in, making money and proper sports strategy were aligned. The Blues needed to rebuild which means jettisoning high salaries for picks and young, cheap players. (I'm told that Chris Pronger offered to take a below market deal to stay in St. Louis and was denied to be traded to Edmonton.) The Blues are done stockpiling, however. They need to wait for what they have to develop. The trade of Weight, as I see it, was motivated completely by money and the fact that they pressured Doug to take it makes it despicable.

I understand that this is a ramble. I didn't bother to think about proper structure, I just wanted to get it down. This trade sucks.