Under New Coach, Young Blues Must Mature

David Perron could not challenge or deny the recent buzz that his team is having trouble keeping their late-night shifts short.

"I hope it's not a problem," the St. Louis Blues' 21-year-old left wing told FanHouse during a phone interview. "I don't think I've partied once this year. I hardly ever drink and pretty much keep to myself away from the rink. You know stories like this come up when you're not winning as much as you should. I don't think this is a major issue."

Give credit to Perron for his candor and refusal to sugarcoat the issue. Rumors of the Blues' hard-charging ways surfaced when coach Andy Murray, fired on Jan. 2, rather innocently raised the subject of his development of prospects. "I think there's a way to conduct yourself on the ice and off the ice," Murray told reporters in an exit interview. "Quite often young players don't know what it means to be a professional. It's your conduct off the ice."

Although Murray did not seem to be pointing any fingers at the current crop of Blues players, his comments raised a red flag and led to rampant message board chatter about hockey players not in their pajamas before Law and Order.

Numerous requests for an interview with Blues president John Davidson or general manager Larry Pleau were made to the St. Louis PR department without response. But Perron is right. You never hear stories about a team's off-ice antics when they're tearing up the league. The off-ice stuff provides an excuse and something tantalizing to talk about. The Blues' far bigger problem is more boring: on the ice, they are a mediocre bunch.

Despite making the playoffs last year with a soul-stirring finish and a roster that impresses on paper, St. Louis enters their game Wednesday night in San Jose 17-18-6 and 13 points behind the final spots for a playoff berth in the Western Conference. Youngsters Erik Johnson and David Backes were named to the U.S. Olympic Team the day before Murray was fired, yet it's a challenge to name a player in the lineup who has over-achieved at the half-pole of the season. Underachievers? Too many to mention, but the list starts with gifted center Patrik Berglund and his 12 points in 35 games.

As a result, Murray lost his job for a fresh face and voice. The promotion of AHL coach Davis Payne was met with a league-wide response of "Who"? However, similar reaction came less than a year ago to the coaching call-ups of Dan Bylsma in Pittsburgh and Cory Clouston in Ottawa. According to Perron, Payne has brought "a lot of energy, a lot of passion. He has us smiling and having fun. Davis is giving us some confidence back and I think he's going to be a real good coach for us."

There hasn't been much time for a complete overhaul of Murray's system, and no doubt Payne, Davidson and Pleau recognize that wasn't the problem anyway. So the new coach instead has made minor adjustments to the power play and focused on his team's defensive approach.

"In the end, it's about hard work," said Perron. "You have to be better than your matchup. Whether I'm going up against the fourth line or Pavel Datsyuk, I have to be better."

If the Blues are to get back in the playoff hunt, so does everyone -- to a man.