A decision that was only made a few days ago prior to Game 6 in Atlanta saw the resignation letter be handed in by GM Gareth Evans to the owner.
"It's been a great, though turbulent, three years here. I took over a team that just failed to make the playoffs and turned them into cup contenders in a remarkably short amount of time."
Evans took over the reins of Blues management and immediately made a controversial move trading away Zdeno Chara, Alexander Semin, Brad Boyes and a 1st round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers. Although Rostislav Klesla remained the only player the Blues received that was on their Stanley Cup run team this year, he was traded away prior to the season.
However, the Blues GM wasn't going to be screwed over that much again and saw some trades that saw them pick up some valuable assets. Acquiring Oduya for a 4th round pick, picking up two 2nd round picks for Lukowich and Gelinas and picking up their starter for all three years in Nabokov for Mason plus three mid-to-late round picks.
Although the Blues missed out on the playoffs during their first season, the potential for something special was there. Picking up Sergei Gonchar in the second season from Vancouver and Chris Drury and Daymond Langkow from Calgary saw the Blues contend for a playoff spot. One that was cemented by one of the best trades made by GM Gareth Evans. Acquiring Eric Staal, David Legwand and Andrej Meszaros (among others) for Drury, Langkow and others. The Blues made the playoffs and swept the Minnesota Wild in 4 games before bowing out in 6 against Colorado. However, the improvement between the seasons saw GM Gareth Evans nominated for GM of the Year alongside Kirk Shuck and Luke Wile. As the voting took place just after the first round, the timing couldn't have been better for the Blues GM as Evans was a runaway winner for the title.
As the third season began with Evans at the wheel, the Blues looked like a completely different team. Led by Datsyuk and Staal up front, the Blues started off slow before suddenly becoming the hottest team. After going 10-7-3 in their first 20 games, the Blues went 45-5-9 on their way to capture their first Conference and Division titles in the BRHL2 and make consecutive playoff appearances. However, after Daniel Carcillo scored the Game 7 overtime winner against the Detroit Red Wings, the Blues had an easier time to get to the finals. Beating Anaheim in 6 and San Jose in 5, however after going 2-0 up on the Atlanta Thrashers in the Cup finals, the Thrashers proved their mettle and won four straight to win their cup leaving Blues hearts broken.
While the resignation of the Blues GM is a shock, after the job he's done with the Blues organization. Evans realised that with the lack of time he'll have next year, and his desire for the Blues to continue their dominance in the Central Division, it was best that he resigns now.
It has been a turbulent time for the Blues GM in the BRHL2, and while he wishes to remain part of the league in some format, he will be resigning from the Blues effective immediately.
"It's been a great three years, while the BRHL2 has given me the highs of being named GM of the Year twice in a row by GMs I respect immensely, it has also given me the lows of meeting Kirk for the first time. I feel because of that, I feel I have become a better GM and will hope to see you guys around another league some time."
While the Blues will lose GM Gareth Evans, the Anaheim Ducks of the BRHL will retain Evans as they look to be a cup contender next year.
