It is hard not to pull for Brian Elliott this season.

Whether it was Jaroslav Halak or Ryan Miller in his way over the past few years, Elliott wasn't ever the guy the St. Louis Blues seemed prepared to ride for real.

He's finally getting a shot to start the season as more of a "1A" option as opposed to "1B," although there will certainly be instant pressure from young Jake Allen, whom some view as the long-term guy anyway.

Still, all Elliott has ever wanted is an honest-to-goodness shot after forever being the good-enough backup or spot starter, but rarely the depended-on, No. 1 guy. Now he's got it, but he's got to play well to keep it.

"He's come in as the No. 1 goaltender into camp, because of his experience and that guys are very comfortable with him," Blues GM Doug Armstrong told ESPN.com last week. "Jake is going to have to take starts away from him, not the other way around. Brian has always been the guy that had to take starts away from the other guy, now he just has to protect his turf."

A chance, finally. But don't go looking for relief in Elliott's voice. He's not going to relax now.

"I've learned not to take anything for granted," Elliott told ESPN.com. "I know from experience that whatever title you're given, it's all performance-based. It's a 'What-have-you-done-for-me-lately' league. You have to perform.

"I just have tried to keep the same mentality and routine going into this season. It can all be just swept away, there's always someone coming for your spot. You always have to stay on your toes."

You can imagine what Elliott thought about his future with the Blues on Feb. 28, when the season-long rumors finally came true, the Blues making a blockbuster deal with the Sabres that netted them Miller.

Elliott was not perceived as the in-house solution, not after losing to the Los Angeles Kings in back-to-back years in the playoffs (Elliott was in goal for the injured Halak in those series). So Miller it was. The Blues were all-in.

"I knew that making that big of a deal, they would have to sink or swim with their decision and I knew I probably wouldn't get an opportunity in the playoffs," Elliott said. "It was a little bit tough to take just to know how hard you worked with your teammates the past three years. I've had the opportunity in the past to be the guy in the playoffs, it's tough to sit on the bench and watch that.

"But for [Miller], it was a tough situation for him, too. Basically we had to win the Stanley Cup or it was going to be unsuccessful. I knew it was going to be a tough situation for him."

The Blues lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round and Miller wasn’t the answer.

Mindset rather than physical talent has been the biggest question about Brian Elliott. Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

Partly because the Blues spent money on Paul Stastny and Jori Lehtera up front, but also because it was finally time to give the guy a chance, Armstrong decided not to try to re-sign Miller and instead approached UFA-to-be Elliott about staying on in a bigger role.

"We met and basically it was to see if I wanted to come back," Elliott said. "I said to him, 'To be honest with you, when you made the trade for [Miller] … it's basically I don't think I'm in the plans anymore.' So I'm like, 'If you're serious about it, I'd like to talk to Hitch about it and talk about the plans for the future.'"

Yes, Elliott wanted to stay on, but he wanted to hear from Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock that he would get a fair shot at being the man in goal.

"I wanted an opportunity to be the guy, or just be rewarded for playing well," Elliott said. "I felt at times over the past few years, I'd play well, you get a shutout in Pittsburgh, and then you don't play for three, four or five games. It's tough when you do feel good and you don't have a chance to get out there."

Not that he doesn't get it. Halak was the bigger investment at the time. He understands that part of the business.

"Which is understandable, it's about contracts too," said Elliott. "You want to get all you want from each contract, I understand that. But it was a tough situation to be in at times."

Armstrong didn't know how his meeting with Elliott would go, either.

"I wasn't sure whether he would want to come back or not," the Blues GM said. "He wanted to make sure we wouldn't go out and sign somebody else. He wanted the chance to be the No. 1 goalie. And now it's just straight competition, just two guys now fighting for ice time. And I think that's all he wanted, an actual fair chance."

Elliott put up a .922 save percentage in 31 games with the Blues last season. Even in his playoff series loss to the Kings in the spring of 2013, he gave up only 12 goals in six games. His team didn't score for him. His critics will say it's when he gives up goals, though, not how many.

He's put up good numbers most years, but hasn't won over everyone in terms of seeing him as a true No. 1.

"I think technically he's strong, I don't think anybody ever believed that was a problem," said a goalie coach for an Eastern Conference team. "The concern at times with him has been mentally, when he's been given the ball, he hasn't always been able to sustain it, if you look at this time in Ottawa, for example.

"Physically, he's about as good as anybody. But can he handle the pressure of being No. 1? Who knows, perhaps this is his time."

Elliott is 29 now. He has put in his time. Perhaps it is indeed his time.

"He's an interesting story,” Armstrong said. "When he came in with us right at the beginning, he really had to swallow hard and take a two-way deal and come in and compete with Ben Bishop [for the backup job behind Halak]. That was a really good camp, and quite honestly it was really close. Ben didn't need waivers to go down. Brian and Jaro won the Jennings that year. We eventually traded Ben and kept Brian. He has earned everything he's got."

Allen, 24, will push, no question about it. Elliott welcomes the partnership in goal.

"I see a little bit of myself in Jake right now, I was kind of in his position coming in young," Elliott said. "He was an All-Star in the AHL before and I was as well before I got called up. But it's still a jump to the big leagues, you have to get used to that. I knew there would be a good opportunity this season to take the reins, but I also knew these young guys coming up have a lot of skill, a lot of talent.

"It's a good fit, we get along, we bounce things off each other every day. 'Why do you tie your pads that way?' Stuff like that. We learn from each other. I try to be the best teammate I can be and help a guy like that out. I know I was in that position before and it helps to ease yourself into it when you have an older guy that’s been around for a bit and knows what it takes to get to the next step."

In his seventh NHL season, Elliott finally gets his real chance. What makes it more rewarding is that it's on a Cup contender. That's what matters most to Elliott.

"When you're on a good team like this, it makes it so much more fun when you go out there and expect to win every night. Some teams don't have that," Elliott said.

"It’s just a real fun opportunity at my age. The core group of guys here are kind of all in the same age group, 28 to 31, we feel like we've been around, we've battled against the guys that have done the same, and now it's our turn. It's exciting."