Elliott added to the All Star Roster, 2nd appearance

[dmiles2186]

[tweet][/tweet]

[drwoland]

Good, he deserves to have a little fun. Just don't get hurt

[ViPeRx007]

Good for Ells. He probably deserved to be there originally anyway. Just come back in one piece, please. The same with those other yahoo's too...

[F Keenan]

This is great. He deserves it. If it wasn't for his injury he would have been in anyway.

[ComradeT]

Good for Ells. He probably deserved to be there originally anyway. Just come back in one piece, please. The same with those other yahoo's too...

I'd be ok with the fan-voted starting 5 and starting goalie blowing up in tiny little pieces. But our yahoos, yes, please, be safe and no golf carting please.

[STLADOGG]

Crosby is out as well, wonder if Lehtera, Steen, Backes, or Schwartz jumps into the game now.

[cprice12]

This is well deserved for Elliott. And I agree...had he not missed some time this year due to injury, he'd have been on the team anyway.
Elliott is replacing the injured Bobrovsky, who hasn't been good this year...so this is a huge upgrade.

Of course...Elliott would NOT have been voted in anyway had he not been hurt, because Hawks fans zealously stuffed the ballot box and voted in their guy Corey Crawford with his 2.26 GAA (which is pretty good...but it's not all-star caliber). His .921 save % is, again...good, but it's just 11th in the NHL...and he has just 1 shutout in 30 games played. Hell, Jake Allen has 2 shutouts.
Plus Rinne should have been the guy voted in anyway.

Based on performance, Crawford is a fringe all-star this year at best...but in reality, he probably shouldn't even be on the team at all.
Based on performance, Elliott should have been placed on the team right after Rinne. No question. So this kind of rights a wrong.

It would be extra sweet if Elliott outplays Crawford. Not that it means anything...but it would just be an "I told you so" for a lot of Blues fans.

[not_a_wings_fan]

I agree that Rinne has been The Man this year in net. He's already being talked about in Vezina discussions, but he's really putting on an MVP show in net this year.

[dmiles2186]

Rewind a couple years to when we signed Elliott to a 2 way contract with the promise to let him duel it out with Bishop for the #2 role. Fast forward to today, he's a 2 time All Star for us. But no, Army is a terrible GM. I digress. I will admit, I was skeptical that Ells could keep his play up as he got more minutes, but he's proved me wrong. The numbers he has put up with us have been spectacular, I'm really surprised he doesn't get more recognition league-wide.

[not_a_wings_fan]

Rewind a couple years to when we signed Elliott to a 2 way contract with the promise to let him duel it out with Bishop for the #2 role. Fast forward to today, he's a 2 time All Star for us. But no, Army is a terrible GM. I digress. I will admit, I was skeptical that Ells could keep his play up as he got more minutes, but he's proved me wrong. The numbers he has put up with us have been spectacular, I'm really surprised he doesn't get more recognition league-wide.

He would be talked about as one of the best in the league if he had already won a couple of series in the playoffs. Not going to hear much until we make that happen.

Hopefully this is the year for a deep run.

[ViPeRx007]

Rewind a couple years to when we signed Elliott to a 2 way contract with the promise to let him duel it out with Bishop for the #2 role. Fast forward to today, he's a 2 time All Star for us. But no, Army is a terrible GM. I digress. I will admit, I was skeptical that Ells could keep his play up as he got more minutes, but he's proved me wrong. The numbers he has put up with us have been spectacular, I'm really surprised he doesn't get more recognition league-wide.

He would be talked about as one of the best in the league if he had already won a couple of series in the playoffs. Not going to hear much until we make that happen.

Hopefully this is the year for a deep run.

That has to be why ESPN ranked him as one of the worst goalies in the league earlier in the season...

That or ESPN is just retarded.

Link to stupid words

[ecbm]

Good for Elliott and as some stated above, yes he's having a better year than Bobrovsky anyway. I also concur with everyone's wish that he doesn't get hurt. Wouldn't that be the Blues' luck?

As usual with Elliott, though, there are some comments tinged with homerism. He's a 29 year old with seven NHL seasons but only 235 games. (Halak had 260 at the same point; his numbers are better than Elliott's and he isn't considered elite either.) In there are a couple of poor seasons on a decent Senators team. He hasn't appeared in more than 40 games since 2010-11 when he posted 3.19/.894 in 43 games. There are reasons why he isn't considered elite or a darling of national media if you have eyes to see it. Now if he finishes this season as excellently as he's played so far then yes, I agree that he'll be on the brink of the elite class of goalies.

[cardsfan04]

Good for Elliott and as some stated above, yes he's having a better year than Bobrovsky anyway. I also concur with everyone's wish that he doesn't get hurt. Wouldn't that be the Blues' luck?

As usual with Elliott, though, there are some comments tinged with homerism. He's a 29 year old with seven NHL seasons but only 235 games. (Halak had 260 at the same point; his numbers are better than Elliott's and he isn't considered elite either.) In there are a couple of poor seasons on a decent Senators team. He hasn't appeared in more than 40 games since 2010-11 when he posted 3.19/.894 in 43 games. There are reasons why he isn't considered elite or a darling of national media if you have eyes to see it. Now if he finishes this season as excellently as he's played so far then yes, I agree that he'll be on the brink of the elite class of goalies.

Perhaps, but the counter to that is that he was the 1B of a tandem with Halak for those years and he's put up very good numbers since he came to the Blues. I'm not ready to call him elite yet, but ESPN's ranking is a joke. Not sure exactly where I'd slot him. I don't think I would entertain the idea of him not being in the top half though.

[ecbm]

Good for Elliott and as some stated above, yes he's having a better year than Bobrovsky anyway. I also concur with everyone's wish that he doesn't get hurt. Wouldn't that be the Blues' luck?

As usual with Elliott, though, there are some comments tinged with homerism. He's a 29 year old with seven NHL seasons but only 235 games. (Halak had 260 at the same point; his numbers are better than Elliott's and he isn't considered elite either.) In there are a couple of poor seasons on a decent Senators team. He hasn't appeared in more than 40 games since 2010-11 when he posted 3.19/.894 in 43 games. There are reasons why he isn't considered elite or a darling of national media if you have eyes to see it. Now if he finishes this season as excellently as he's played so far then yes, I agree that he'll be on the brink of the elite class of goalies.

Perhaps, but the counter to that is that he was the 1B of a tandem with Halak for those years and he's put up very good numbers since he came to the Blues. I'm not ready to call him elite yet, but ESPN's ranking is a joke. Not sure exactly where I'd slot him. I don't think I would entertain the idea of him not being in the top half though.

The 1B thing doesn't count too much against him to me as he's mainly been quite good with the Blues. It's his earlier years with the Senators and Avalanche that leave people skeptical. But again, he's risen to the call of being a straight-up #1 very well this season. Long may it continue. As for ESPN-all of their hockey coverage is a joke. They should be embarrassed but they just don't care much about anything that doesn't involve the NFL, Lebron James or scandal.

[cardsfan04]

Good for Elliott and as some stated above, yes he's having a better year than Bobrovsky anyway. I also concur with everyone's wish that he doesn't get hurt. Wouldn't that be the Blues' luck?

As usual with Elliott, though, there are some comments tinged with homerism. He's a 29 year old with seven NHL seasons but only 235 games. (Halak had 260 at the same point; his numbers are better than Elliott's and he isn't considered elite either.) In there are a couple of poor seasons on a decent Senators team. He hasn't appeared in more than 40 games since 2010-11 when he posted 3.19/.894 in 43 games. There are reasons why he isn't considered elite or a darling of national media if you have eyes to see it. Now if he finishes this season as excellently as he's played so far then yes, I agree that he'll be on the brink of the elite class of goalies.

Perhaps, but the counter to that is that he was the 1B of a tandem with Halak for those years and he's put up very good numbers since he came to the Blues. I'm not ready to call him elite yet, but ESPN's ranking is a joke. Not sure exactly where I'd slot him. I don't think I would entertain the idea of him not being in the top half though.

The 1B thing doesn't count too much against him to me as he's mainly been quite good with the Blues. It's his earlier years with the Senators and Avalanche that leave people skeptical. But again, he's risen to the call of being a straight-up #1 very well this season. Long may it continue. As for ESPN-all of their hockey coverage is a joke. They should be embarrassed but they just don't care much about anything that doesn't involve the NFL, Lebron James or scandal.

For sure. I only brought up 1B as it pertains to him not playing 40 games in a season, because I think his numbers would have been similar as either 1A or 1B. This year he has established himself as just 1, which is nice.

[cprice12]

Good for Elliott and as some stated above, yes he's having a better year than Bobrovsky anyway. I also concur with everyone's wish that he doesn't get hurt. Wouldn't that be the Blues' luck?

As usual with Elliott, though, there are some comments tinged with homerism. He's a 29 year old with seven NHL seasons but only 235 games. (Halak had 260 at the same point; his numbers are better than Elliott's and he isn't considered elite either.) In there are a couple of poor seasons on a decent Senators team. He hasn't appeared in more than 40 games since 2010-11 when he posted 3.19/.894 in 43 games. There are reasons why he isn't considered elite or a darling of national media if you have eyes to see it. Now if he finishes this season as excellently as he's played so far then yes, I agree that he'll be on the brink of the elite class of goalies.

Perhaps, but the counter to that is that he was the 1B of a tandem with Halak for those years and he's put up very good numbers since he came to the Blues. I'm not ready to call him elite yet, but ESPN's ranking is a joke. Not sure exactly where I'd slot him. I don't think I would entertain the idea of him not being in the top half though.

The 1B thing doesn't count too much against him to me as he's mainly been quite good with the Blues. It's his earlier years with the Senators and Avalanche that leave people skeptical. But again, he's risen to the call of being a straight-up #1 very well this season. Long may it continue. As for ESPN-all of their hockey coverage is a joke. They should be embarrassed but they just don't care much about anything that doesn't involve the NFL, Lebron James or scandal.

You mean his first few years in the league?
Why people want to hold that to him when that is when he was younger and not as experienced, I'll never know.
Many, many, many players go on to have great careers that didn't have great numbers there first couple years in the league. Goalies and defensemen in particular.
Why people want to discredit the past 4 seasons and only focus on his first few is beyond me. It's been 4 years now since he struggled. I think it's safe to say that the goalie he has been FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS is the goalie he is probably going to be for a while yet.

Honestly...I don't give a rat's ass about his first few years in the league. Why should I? That was a long time ago. I've seen what he has done here the past 4 seasons, and anyone who tells me that he isn't elite, just isn't paying attention to anything. And that isn't a "homer" comment...that's just how it is, and the stats back that up.

[cprice12]

Good for Elliott and as some stated above, yes he's having a better year than Bobrovsky anyway. I also concur with everyone's wish that he doesn't get hurt. Wouldn't that be the Blues' luck?

As usual with Elliott, though, there are some comments tinged with homerism. He's a 29 year old with seven NHL seasons but only 235 games. (Halak had 260 at the same point; his numbers are better than Elliott's and he isn't considered elite either.) In there are a couple of poor seasons on a decent Senators team. He hasn't appeared in more than 40 games since 2010-11 when he posted 3.19/.894 in 43 games. There are reasons why he isn't considered elite or a darling of national media if you have eyes to see it. Now if he finishes this season as excellently as he's played so far then yes, I agree that he'll be on the brink of the elite class of goalies.

Perhaps, but the counter to that is that he was the 1B of a tandem with Halak for those years and he's put up very good numbers since he came to the Blues. I'm not ready to call him elite yet, but ESPN's ranking is a joke. Not sure exactly where I'd slot him. I don't think I would entertain the idea of him not being in the top half though.

The 1B thing doesn't count too much against him to me as he's mainly been quite good with the Blues. It's his earlier years with the Senators and Avalanche that leave people skeptical. But again, he's risen to the call of being a straight-up #1 very well this season. Long may it continue. As for ESPN-all of their hockey coverage is a joke. They should be embarrassed but they just don't care much about anything that doesn't involve the NFL, Lebron James or scandal.

For sure. I only brought up 1B as it pertains to him not playing 40 games in a season, because I think his numbers would have been similar as either 1A or 1B. This year he has established himself as just 1, which is nice.

This year should shut a lot of people up. Because if Elliott stays healthy, he'll have played more minutes this year than any other year. He has already played quite a few compared to other seasons where he and Halak split time.

[dmiles2186]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/brian-elli ... 7-nhl.html

COLUMBUS — Brian Elliott was in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Thursday, soaking up the sun, snorkeling in the ocean, enjoying the All-Star break. Then he looked at his phone and saw a message from St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.

He knew immediately what it was about. He knew Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had suffered an injury Wednesday night, and he had wondered whether the NHL would need an injury replacement for the All-Star Game.

View gallery
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''You might like the beach at the time, but 20 years later you don’t want to say no to something like this.'' (USA Today)

''You might like the beach at the time, but 20 years later you don’t want to say no to something like this.'' (USA …
Some would have ignored the call or come up with an excuse stay away. Not Elliott. Not his wife, Amanda.

“Well,” she said, “we’re going if that’s what it’s about.”

He called Armstrong and got the news. Yes, if he wanted, he could cut short his vacation, leave his posh resort and scramble to Columbus. He and his wife accepted the invitation, grabbed some champagne and went to the beach. They celebrated as the sun set.

They packed, had dinner and went to bed. They got up Friday morning, had breakfast and caught a cab. They flew from the Turks and Caicos to Miami, from Miami to St. Louis. They had all of two hours to go home, grab cold-weather clothes and get back to the airport.

“I didn’t have a suit,” Elliott said.

Just a bathing suit.

“If you want to come in board shorts,” Elliott said, “that’s fine.”

Finally, they flew from St. Louis to Columbus. They didn’t make it in time for the fantasy draft. But they made it. And they’ll never forget it.

“You might like the beach at the time,” Elliott said. “But 20 years later, looking back on everything, you don’t want to say no to something like this.”

* * * * *

Elliott has taken quite the journey. The Ottawa Senators drafted him in the ninth round, 291st overall, in 2003. He spent four years at the University of Wisconsin, winning an NCAA title. He spent a season in the minors, split a season between the minors and the NHL and finally spent two seasons with the Senators – until they traded him to the Colorado Avalanche. He struggled in a short stint with the Avs and signed a two-way contract with the Blues in 2011.

He wasn’t sure whether he would play in the minors or the NHL in 2011-12. But he started with the Blues, and he put up good numbers, and the next thing he knew, he made the All-Star Game, which happened to be hosted by the Senators – the team that had traded him a few months before. He came out in a Blues jersey for the skills competition, and he got a big ovation from the Ottawa fans.

“It went from a point where I didn’t even know if I was going to be in the NHL to in the All-Star Game,” he said. “Pavel Datsyuk comes over and asks if you can sign something for him. I was like, ‘This is quite the whirlwind within not even a full year’s time.’ ”

Elliott ended up setting the modern NHL records for goals-against average (1.56) and save percentage (.940) that season. But then came the 2012-13 lockout. He skated only informally, and he wasn’t sharp when he came back. Not only did he lose the starting job to Jaroslav Halak, he was a healthy scratch 11 times behind Halak and Jake Allen. He was even sent to the minors for two games on a conditioning stint. He finished the season with a 2.28 GAA and .907 save percentage.

He came back with a 1.96 and a .922 last season. But the Blues traded Halak in a package for Ryan Miller, and he ended up sitting behind Miller as the Blues fell in the first round of the playoffs.

“It’s a tough situation,” he said. “When they traded for Millsy, I didn’t know if it was going to happen or not, but there was a lot of talk in the media about it. So when it happens, you just kind of process it, and you hope for the best. You still want to win that Stanley Cup. If he was going to help us do that, I’m all for it. He’s a great guy. I still talk to him.”

Elliott came back with an excellent start this season. But then he suffered a knee injury.

“When you finally get that label that you’ve been fighting for – No. 1 goalie – it was tough to take,” he said. “I was frustrated right away.”

It was uncertain how long Elliott would be out, and the Blues weren’t confident going with Allen and minor-leaguer Jordan Binnington. Armstrong came to Elliott and Allen to tell them he was interested in signing none other than Martin Brodeur, who was 42 years old and a free agent, but who was also the NHL’s all-time leader in wins and shutouts. Brodeur came in for a tryout and landed a contract.

Elliott said Armstrong made it clear that he and Allen would be the tandem when he came back, and Elliott said all the right things about Brodeur. “When you get a guy like him that’s been around the league that has those stories, those stats, those records, you just try to soak it in as much as possible,” he said.

Blues goaltending coach Jim Corsi said Elliott handled it “like a professional.”

Still …

“I think the Martin Brodeur thing really pushed him,” said teammate Kevin Shattenkirk. “He worked through his recovery and his rehab very strongly. He just had such a great attitude. When things don’t go well, he just works hard and knows that he’s going to pull himself out of it through that. …

“It could have pushed him the other way. ‘Well, they’re counting me out again.’ And I think the way he reacted to that is obviously the right way and a great way.”

While Elliott recovered, Brodeur struggled. When Elliott returned, Brodeur was benched and eventually scratched. Now Brodeur is on a leave of absence, contemplating his future, and Elliott is at the All-Star Game. He leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.86). He ranks fourth in save percentage (.930).

“No one works as hard as he,” Corsi said. “His work ethic is second to none. And it’s not just work. He has a curiosity for his work. His interest in the skill, his interest in the tactical stuff, his interest in the technical things … There are a number of things that he does and works at are really the reason why his game has blossomed more and more.”

* * * * *

The NHL held an optional skate Saturday morning. Few players participated. But Elliott was out on the ice, loosening up after all the travel. He didn’t wear his goalie gear. He wore a borrowed Blue Jackets warm-up suit with the Blue Jackets logos covered with blue tape, and he wore Shattenkirk’s helmet, though it was too small for his head.

“Need to get the legs going,” he said.

He walked into the dressing room and sat next to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Marc-Andre Fleury. His wife was in town. His dad was in town. His brother was in town. This was his second All-Star Game, and he wasn’t taking it for granted.

“This is just kind of a cherry on top a little bit,” he said. “This league is so hard to stay in, especially for goaltenders, so you always want to get better. You always want to play and be a rock for your team. This is just kind of a fun thing, an honor, a jersey you can hang on the wall and look at your career and have an extra smile.”

What does that Corona ad say? Find your beach?

“For him to leave the Caribbean now, he was happy to do it because I think he wants people to know that he deserves to be here,” Shattenkirk said. “And we believe that in St. Louis. We believe he’s a No. 1 goalie. We’re so happy for him and proud of him that his hard work is finally paying off and being recognized.”

[theohall]

Elliott needs to get with the Blues media department and setup a photo page of his selfie's from the All-Star Skills competition titled "Brian's Jamaica Vacation." He was clearly having a good time and engaging with the fans. Tarasenko's first shootout shot on him was funny.

[ecbm]

You mean his first few years in the league?
Why people want to hold that to him when that is when he was younger and not as experienced, I'll never know.

Well, I'll answer that now-so you can't say that about me anymore.

That 2010-11 season I pointed out where Elliott finished with 3.19/.894 in 43 games was his third full season in the league and fourth after his first call up. He was 26 years old when it ended. The next season in Colorado, he posted 3.83/.891 in 12 games as a backup. At 26/27 he wasn't some prospect-Chris Stewart is 27 and some people are saying he's already done and this after he posted two 28-goal seasons. In Halak's third full season, 2009-2010 (at the end of which he was 25), he played in 45 games posting 2.40/.924 with 5 shutouts in the regular season and then played 18 playoff games to the tune of 2.25/.923. Note that I'm not comparing Elliott to Roy or Rask or Rinne, who are all gold standard and were great right out of the box. I'm comparing him to Halak, who nobody here seems to think deserves national attention or superstar status. You've got to earn that. I'm much less irritated by a lack of recognition for Elliott than the ridiculous overrating of guys like Fleury, Howard and Crawford who are just passable goalies who have benefitted from being on great teams.