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St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Sport
Ben Frederickson

Ben Frederickson: Captain controversy? No chance. O'Reilly aces first test as Blues' top leader

If Vladimir Tarasenko is still wondering why Ryan O’Reilly was named captain of the Blues, he should have observed Monday’s first day of training camp.

There was Blues coach Craig Berube, barking out orders.

There was Blues general manager Doug Armstrong and team owner Tom Stillman, sipping coffee while carefully watching for signs of on-ice chemistry from the roster they made aggressive moves to improve.

There was O’Reilly, leading the way, like he has since Armstrong made the brilliant trade that brought him here from Buffalo to help the Blues become champions.

Out there on the ice, O’Reilly poked pucks back into their proper piles in between drills. He offered young Blues a piece of advice when he saw something that needed to be fixed. He was then the first player to log into the post-practice Zoom call with reporters, where he did his part to shut down the kind of thing that can cut into any team — a dreaded potential distraction.

“We haven’t really discussed it,” O’Reilly said when asked about teammate Vladimir Tarasenko’s recent comments regarding Tarasenko’s disappointment about not being named Blues captain.

“It’s something, obviously, he wanted,” O’Reilly said. “I think it can be frustrating. But I understand that. Whether he got caught at a bad time or something, who knows. It is what it is. I know Vladi. He wants to win. For us, our focus is on getting back to playing hockey. For him, it’s probably getting healthy. It isn’t something we have talked about, because we have other things to worry about.”

Tarasenko was, apparently, the only person who was surprised by the news that O’Reilly would fill the team’s top leadership role that was vacated by Alex Pietrangelo’s offseason departure to Las Vegas.

During a recent interview with Russian website SPORT24, Tarasenko shared his disappointment, mentioning his eight-season tenure with the team and previous role as alternate captain as reasons he expected the assignment, even though he is still recovering from a shoulder surgery that will keep him off the ice to start the season.

“It shows his passion,” Armstrong said about Tarasenko on Monday, in the general manager’s first comments on the subject. “His commitment to the organization. It’s a difficult decision. It’s something we didn’t take lightly. We talked to him about it. I have no problems with his disappointment.”

Nice spin, Army.

There is some truth to what the general manager said, sure.

But that’s a pretty optimistic take.

There is a small yet obvious difference between being disappointed you did not get named captain, and voicing that disappointment in a manner you know will go public — especially after the new captain is named.

That’s why O’Reilly’s response was so perfect.

He didn’t provoke Tarasenko. He didn’t placate him either. O’Reilly addressed the topic exactly like any Blues fan should hope a captain would. He shut down a potential distraction by hitting it head-on, then he turned the focus back to winning, where it should have been all along.

No spin. Just straight truth.

Add that to the list of reasons O’Reilly was the right pick for captain.

Add it to the list of examples that shows how the Blues have, over the years, shifted gears toward becoming a championship-caliber team.

There was once a time when a miffed Tarasenko would have been big news. Back then, the story would have been suspended over Monday’s training camp like a fog.

Don’t believe me? Memories have grown short.

It happened in 2016, when No. 91 slow-played addressing speculative reports about a rift growing between the star player and the team. There was nothing to the chatter. It was fake news before fake news. But Tarasenko did not throw it out, at least not at first. He ducked questions, which only turned up the volume. A potential distraction became a real one. To his credit, he later ironed things out in a press conference that should have never been necessary in the first place.

Note the difference now.

Tarasenko’s bad days no longer get press conferences. The only fog Monday was on the roads traveled to get to Centene Community Ice Center. Inside, there was only excitement. About the players who were on the ice.

Tarasenko was not out of sight, out of mind. He’s an important player for this team, and a leader in his own way. He’s still an alternate captain, after all. By all accounts, he is incredibly motivated to prove his latest shoulder setback won’t limit his career after he returns. He is working with team trainers and doctors, checking off the boxes required by his rehab. Armstrong hopes Tarasenko can be back on the ice soon, though it will be a while before contact and drills determine his readiness for returning to practice.

If a fully healthy Tarasenko returns during the season with a laundry list of things to prove, look out.

If he is steamed that he won’t return to a “C” on his sweater, well, tough.

Tarasenko could have hopped on Monday’s Zoom call to throw his support behind O’Reilly as the captain. Maybe he will at some point soon. Maybe not. The Blues, and their captain, are not dwelling on it either way.

The Blues made the right call at captain. Monday proved it.

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