Stastny Questioned Move to St. Louis

Photo Credit – St. Louis Blues Website

On July 1st, 2014 Paul Stastny decided to leave Colorado to join the Blues organization. At the time Stastny told St. Louis Post-Dispatch Blues writer Jeremy Rutherford on a press conference that it wasn’t easy to leave but felt it was right. “It’s a tough decision. I was in a good position. I had good teams interested in me, and obviously the Avs were always one of those teams. I think in the end, you almost have to take a step back, take all of the emotions out of it and try to realize what’s best for me hockey-wise, not just next year, but two or three or four years down the road. My family — my fiancée and I — thought that probably going to St. Louis would probably be the best hockey decision for me.” Although the forward had a 46 point season, it was a disappointing year for the $6.5 million dollar man. Stastny scored 16 goals and averaged a career-low in minutes with 17:38 per game. Stastny started the season on the second-line but during his injury absence, Jori Lehtera took over the second-line duties. Once Stastny's returned from injury, he was given the third-line role and kept it for the remainder of the season.

The forward wasn’t the star player in St. Louis and had a lot of ups and downs. He suffered a shoulder injury and states that he came back to early because of the pressure he felt to live up to his big contract. The shoulder injury occurred in the Blues fourth game of the season last year against the Coyotes.

Through all the mistakes, ups and downs and poor on-ice performances, Stastny admits that he had questioned the move to St. Louis. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch caught up with Stastny at the Blues training camp and talked about his struggles from last season.

"Early on there were times where, sometimes you second-guess yourself," Stastny said to Jeremy Rutherford. "That's what happens when you go through ups and downs. You have that injury, so you're just upset a little bit. Sometimes you're too negative over certain things.”

"It was a whirlwind of emotions. I don't regret anything, but it was a lot of change in a short period of time. I think you can prepare yourself as much as you can for something, but once you get in that position, you never know what's going to happen."

"I feel good about myself now," he said. ”I think physically, mentally I'm more refreshed and ready to expect the unexpected."

The 29-year old centre is now fully healthy and more relaxed coming into season two with St. Louis. Stastny is ready to prove he is a top-six forward and can contribute offensively all season long.

#PaulStastny #Stlouisblues #Blues #Trade #FreeAgency