23-year-old claimed off waivers Feb. 7, will debut on Thursday against Seattle Kraken
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- It’s been nearly three weeks since Jack Finley has come home, when the St. Louis Blues claimed the son of former D-man Jeff Finley’s son off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Blues claimed the center on Feb. 7 and he’s not been working with his new teammates for a week. But looking back on the whole scenario, it’s had to be something that’s likely weighed on the mind of the 23-year-old who will make his Blues debut on Thursday against the Seattle Kraken.
To go from a Eastern Conference powerhouse and talk of possibly winning a Stanley Cup one day to all of the sudden have to switch allegiances and head to an organization that is near the bottom of the league standings had to be quite the culture shock.
“I would say it’s different,” Finley said. “Obviously Tampa’s a heck of a team. They’ve been winning, they’ve built a strong core and a lot of good vets, but it’s still hockey. We’re still trying to win here. It doesn’t matter what position we’re in, we’re still trying to win. I think Monty’s been really dialing in the habits, winning habits, practicing hard and winning battles in practice. I think for myself, I was playing on a winning team, sometimes it’s things that you kind of forget. To be here and have to work and have to push myself every day, I think it’s just helped my game.
“I’m very excited. It’s been a long couple of weeks since everything went down. I’ve been antsy waiting to play a game. We’ve got 25 left before the regular season’s done. Give it all we’ve got and try and help this team win.”
Finley (6-foot-6, 227 pounds), who has two goals and an assist in 23 NHL games (22 of them this season) will be centering the fourth line with Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker. It’s a role he’s acclimated with and one he had no problem dropping into here in St. Louis.
Oskar Sundqvist, who is working his way back from a procedure done over the Olympic break on an upper-body injury and now dealing with new dad duties with wife Blake delivering the couple’s first child, will get ample time to work his way back into form, so Finley is more than capable of slotting into that center role.
“You want to play games. You’ve just had a week of practices,” Finley said. “That’s one thing. It’s given me a good chance to learn the systems, learn the D-zone, play a little bit with ‘Torpo’ and ‘Walks’ for the practices and to build a little bit of chemistry with them. I’ve played in Tampa this year, I was playing on the fourth line, taking face-offs. I’m comfortable with that role. I just want to play hard, be good on draws, maybe PK. If they put me on the PK and that’s my role, I’ll embrace it here.
“It’s been a great week. The group of guys here has been unbelievable. Like seriously. They brought me in from the first day I was here and they made me feel part of the team. They showed me how everything’s run here, make sure I’m on time for everything. Coaching staff’s been great, they’ve been transparent with me since the first time I talked with Monty. They’ve told me what they want to see out of me. So far it’s been awesome. It’s exceeded my expectations. I’m very, very happy so far.”
And that’s precisely the role Finley will get.
“Fourth line center, fourth line player,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “You can tell his defensive stick and mind are really good, and his habits offensively are good. He’s never been, per se, a scorer, so that’s why he’s going to be a fourth-line player. His resume suggests he’s really good on face-offs, so he’ll take really key D-zone face-offs for us and he will be a penalty killer. He’ll get the opportunity.”
Finley has been honing in on those small details he now has to incorporate into his game with a new team, and he’s indicated that that’s why Montgomery’s incessant details and harping on them have been crucial in the small amount of time he’s had on the ice with this group.
“I think it’s very important and that’s why Monty’s such a good coach,” Finley said. “It takes a lot of attention onto those little details that eventually turn you into a good organization and conversely turn you into a good player. I love coaches that harp on the little things, I love coaches that push you hard, don’t let anybody off easy no matter who you are. I think Monty’s done a great job of that so far.”
What’s going to be more special when that puck drops on Thursday for Finley is knowing his dad Jeff, who was a Blues defenseman from 1998-2004 and sister, who is coming in from Las Vegas, will be in attendance to see the second Finley wearing No. 37.
“I grew up a big Blues fan,” Jack said. “It was a part of my family, my childhood. To be in this organization, to wear my dad’s number to come and watch me play, it’s as cool a full-circle moment.”
Officially, the Finleys will become the sixth father-son combinations to suit up for the Blues, joining goalies Bob Johnson (1972-73) and Brent Johnson (1998-2004); Peter Stastny (1993-95), Yan Stastny (2007-10) and Paul Stastny (2014-18), Mike Crombeen (1978-83) and B.J. Crombeen (2008-12) Jeff Brown (1989-94) and Logan Brown (2021-23) and Basil McRae (1992-96) and Philip McRae (2010-11).
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