To say this week was a kick in the nuts for Blues fans would be a pretty large understatement. Not only did Tuesday’s loss to Detroit cap off a 4 game losing streak (including two to two of the worst teams in hockey), but it was followed by the firing of the only Blues coach to ever bring a Stanley Cup to the Lou.
That depressing kick in the nuts turned chaotic Thursday when this comment by Jordan Kyrou was put out by local insider Jeremy Rutherford:
At first, this comment pissed me off like it did most of the fanbase. Kyrou’s been rumored to have some attitude problems, as well as have a rocky relationship with Berube, so this didn’t seem like the best look.
Unfortunately for Kyrou when you partner that comment with no context added with his abysmal 5 goals so far this season, this might happen.
Even before I got more (and much needed) context on his comments he made I thought this was overkill. If he doesn’t want to talk about his relationship with Berube which had been publicly speculated on multiple occasions, then fine. Most of the locker room such as Schenner and Binnington had given us the typical hockey-response of “it’s our fault, we need to play better”.
However after seeing Rutherford, the journalist who initially put out the comments add context and apologize this morning, I think the fans at that game went way overboard.
Rutherford clarified that the specific question he asked Kyrou that led to that comment was
“There’s so much out there about the relationship between you and Berube. Is there anything you would want to say about that?“
Which since any speculation on Kyrou and Berube’s relationship has been negative, in my opinion is pretty leading question to ask. To me this turns Kyrou’s comment from one full of attitude, to simply not wanting to say anything negative about Chief when a journalist was essentially baiting him.
Rutherford is typically a pretty standup journalist and although he apologized this morning, he knew what putting that comment out might do. And unfortunately for him, Kyrou, and the fanbase, the damage was already done.
Now yes, crying in the locker room as a professional hockey player won’t get you very far. Some may even say it’s a pigeon move. But this guy is a human, he’s still just 25 years old, and I think if he actually meant his comments to seem like a middle finger to Berube and the fanbase we wouldn’t be seeing that reaction.
On top of that (and before I say this I am EXTREMELY far away from being a professional athlete), but I understand why he already felt awful. Whenever you played sports growing up if you were underperforming, most of us didn’t need to get told we were playing bad. Tack on an $8 million salary, and you’re probably REALLY aware that you need to play better.
Hate Kyrou all you want because he can’t body guys off the puck at 5’10 185 pounds, but if you’re a Blues fan the thing you should be hoping for most is this guy turns it around. And booing him on his own fucking ice isn’t going to get him there.
If he didn’t want to be here and wear the Blue note, he wouldn’t have signed an 8 year deal (which if he was scoring at the rate he did last year, will look like an absolute steal when the salary cap goes up). He simply would’ve held out, or told Army he doesn’t want to re-sign here and gotten traded along with half the team at last year’s trade deadline.
Personally I hope the context that Jeremy Rutherford added to those comments gets blown up as much as the comments themselves did, and when he takes the ice Saturday against Dallas he get’s the exact opposite reaction. Last night was an ugly night for Blues fans, and if we want to be competing against teams like Dallas in the near future we need him to start doing this consistently.
There’s only one player the Blues have had the last like 15 years that has the skill to score a goal like that, and he wore #91.
Do I think Kyrou has had attitude problems in the past? Yes
Do I think before this season he needed to drastically improve his defensive play/play away from the puck on offense? Yes
Do I think he deserved the amount of boos he got Thursday night?
So if you want to talk shit on him, do it with your buddies cracking chilly ones with the fellas. Until then, the best possible change Drew Bannister can bring is unlocking our most skilled player who when he’s on is our best goal scorer since prime Vladi Daddy.
The Morning Skate 