I’d also hate to see Walt go – his leadership is really priceless, but I could see a team wanting him as a rental. It is believed he’d love to go back to his hometown (Boston), but that’s really just speculation.

Going back to payroll, in addition to Kariya’s $6 million is another $5 million from Boyes and $4.5 million from Brewer. Lots of themes/issues this season, but obviously players are not making a good return investment on their large salaries. Lots of money coming off the books for next year so really anything can happen.

I’d hate to see Tkachuk go. I feel that he is part of the identity of the Blues and great experience to keep on the team to be a role model for a lot of our younger players (as long as he doesn’t teach them how to constantly take bad penalties).

Another goalie we could probably grab after this season is Toskala. I don’t think the Ducks want to pay his salary as a backup goalie and we could grab him in free agency.

Bottom line is we have $9M tied up in Kariya and Mason, both of which haven’t made a positive impact this season, so that’s a decent chunk of money to grab a goalie and maybe a coach.

I think several pieces are missing, with a few more not aligned correctly. Of course, if you asked the Blues’ marketing department the fans were the last piece. With 23 some odd sellouts, I’m thinking it’s something else.

I don’t think our problem is a lack of effort or skill by any one individual (except for Mason of course) I really think it’s a lack of chemistry. There is a piece of the puzzle that is missing that is hard to put a finger on. I would quicker point the finger at coaching than I would the players. Our system here in St. Louis is broken, and unfortunately it doesn’t look like Payne is the man to fix it.

Is it too late to get Quinville back? LOL

I like the idea to try a new line, but I also think the problem stems from the players themselves. Boyes has had his opportunities. At least once a game he will blast a one-timer wide and right (usually) on shots he used to bury in previous years. Outside of tonight against Detroit, Kariya has been a non-factor and just loses the puck. He will be moved as well before next season.

No one quick fix – lots of work to do across the board.

I watch “NHL on the Fly” every night on NHLN to keep up on highlights from around the league, and every night I am reminded of how the Blues hardly ever have anything to contribute to the highlight reels, except for fighting.

In my opinion, there are two obvious problems the Blues have; Chris Mason and a lack of offensive chemistry.

It’s not just enough to say that Conklin is a better goalie, I have to say that Mason is just downright terrible. He is not a contender. He is not exciting to watch, and he has cost the Blues more games than I would like to remember. The Blues will NOT make the playoffs if we continue to start Mason. It’s that simple.

Second, the Blues need to stop skating around the offensive zone like it’s their first time playing hockey. They have done an excellent job lately at controlling the puck, but then they never create any good scoring chances. The only way they seem to know how to score is to throw the puck at the net from the point and try to force it in. This works sometimes, but when we are consistently out shooting teams and still not scoring goals, that has got to tell you something.

I think that part of the reason the Blues have struggled to score goals is the lack of chemistry. There’s no question that we have guys that are capable of putting up big numbers. McDonald, Kariya, Boyes, Oshie, even Steen are all excellent goal scorers, but where are the goals? I’m not a coach, but it seems to me that players would work better together if they played on the same line together for more than just one game. Also, why aren’t we trying to stack our first line like other teams have had success with? Look at San Jose; They have their three best forwards on the same line and it has worked out well for them. I don’t see why we shouldn’t throw McDonald, Oshie, and Kariya on a line and see what they can do.

I’m not sure if we’ll be able to solve this scoring problem this season, but the goaltending is an easy solution. BENCH MASON!