Blues News Forum

Only one game but he looked very good. Made a few nice plays on D, was physical.....always looking to hit, has a great shot and was able to get it through a couple of times. I honestly want to see him stay and play.
Army is gonna have some decisions to make especially if Bouwmeester decides he wants to play again. I can’t see them paying Petro, Bouwmeester and Dunn in the off-season. As much as I like Vince Dunn, we have an abundance of guys that can play 3rd pairing LHD minutes and Perunovich will be signing in a few months too.

I saw Mikkola in the pre-season and he looked very good. I'm pretty sure the guy will be an NHLer.

Everything really depends on what Petro is going to do. I saw a tweet a few days ago where he basically said this is his chance to be selfish. So... that definitely leads me to think that he will be exploring free agency.

Either way. The Blues are looking pretty good on the back end.

This is for sure a good problem to have.

Let CP55 have a few more games off. Faulk can play his natural side. Get Niko some more games. I'd also like to see him play more minutes with Petro or Faulk.

I really like Dunn and the game he plays. Speed skill and remember that hit on Kadri and Mangiopane (sp?). The guy really is a special player. But I think he is trade material to an East Coast team unfortunately.

NHLTIM wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 7:54 am Only one game but he looked very good. Made a few nice plays on D, was physical.....always looking to hit, has a great shot and was able to get it through a couple of times. I honestly want to see him stay and play.
Army is gonna have some decisions to make especially if Bouwmeester decides he wants to play again. I can’t see them paying Petro, Bouwmeester and Dunn in the off-season. As much as I like Vince Dunn, we have an abundance of guys that can play 3rd pairing LHD minutes and Perunovich will be signing in a few months too.

Man, I just feel like Dunn has a very rare skill set. I would be sick if they moved him.

2020 - 2021 LHD depth chart

???
Dunn
Mikkola

We can't sign Bouw AGAIN can we???
Gunnar is gonna be hurt.
Dunn only needs a modest raise.
Perunovich gets one year in the AHL.

We gotta keep Dunn.

39hurricane wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 8:47 am 2020 - 2021 LHD depth chart

???
Dunn
Mikkola

We can't sign Bouw AGAIN can we???
Gunnar is gonna be hurt.
Dunn only needs a modest raise.
Perunovich gets one year in the AHL.

We gotta keep Dunn.

I think it comes down to what they do with Petro.

Was very impressed with Mikkola.

39hurricane wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 8:47 am 2020 - 2021 LHD depth chart

???
Dunn
Mikkola

We can't sign Bouw AGAIN can we???
Gunnar is gonna be hurt.
Dunn only needs a modest raise.
Perunovich gets one year in the AHL.

We gotta keep Dunn.

Yeah, Dunn is too valuable. I like Mikkola but no way I even think of moving Dunn until NikMik and Perunovich are proven...and we all know it takes Dmen a couple years to find their full game in the NHL.

I think JayBo re-signs. He's healthy again and back to his old self.

I think this offseason is where we start to see a bigger shakeup from the Cup team. More and more young guys appear ready to contribute, and contract are starting to expire. I think Petro comes back, but a lot of other faces end up elsewhere.

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 9:11 am I think this offseason is where we start to see a bigger shakeup from the Cup team. More and more young guys appear ready to contribute, and contract are starting to expire. I think Petro comes back, but a lot of other faces end up elsewhere.

We'll see. I think the Blues could win 1 or 2 more Cups if they play their cards right. They got the defense, the goalie and the coach. It's a good foundation.

BillP. wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 9:28 am

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 9:11 am I think this offseason is where we start to see a bigger shakeup from the Cup team. More and more young guys appear ready to contribute, and contract are starting to expire. I think Petro comes back, but a lot of other faces end up elsewhere.

We'll see. I think the Blues could win 1 or 2 more Cups if they play their cards right. They got the defense, the goalie and the coach. It's a good foundation.

Sure, I don't think the window closes by any means, but we saw remarkably little turnover this past offseason. Essentially just Edmundson and Maroon out, Faulk in. I'm expecting something like 4-5 regulars don't come back next year.

39hurricane wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 8:47 am 2020 - 2021 LHD depth chart

???
Dunn
Mikkola

We can't sign Bouw AGAIN can we???
Gunnar is gonna be hurt.
Dunn only needs a modest raise.
Perunovich gets one year in the AHL.

We gotta keep Dunn.

If Petro resigns then one of him or Parayko will be in that LHD spot. If they sign Bouw it’s really crowded with Dunn, Gunner and Mikkola as options too. Dunn has legit value and Army could use that value to make an actual hockey trade to strengthen the team. Now if they know they won’t be able to sign Petro then Dunn will go nowhere. I’m not sure they are ready to move on from Bouw yet either especially if he will take a discount to keep playing. Something is going to give eventually. I’m not sure it Army will really mess with anything at the trade deadline but if Petro resigns before the playoffs , I think draft weekend could be very interesting.

I think we are taking for granted that Petro is just automatically going to still be here.

Players like him don't become available on the open market often and we see what kind of contracts far less d-men than him get offered.

Whatever perceived depth this team has, needs to be left in place until Petro signs on the dotted line.

BluesSK wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 9:04 am I think JayBo re-signs. He's healthy again and back to his old self.

Absolutely. If he's healthy, and wants to play again, he's a huge factor in our defense.

I think even if he's healthy next year, this could/should be the swan song in STL for Bouwmeester. One of the downfalls of the Chicagos & LAs was having veterans holding down spots that younger, less-expensive players could handle. Granted, J-Bouw is different cuz he's year-to-year, but his 3.25 mil could be beneficial when put towards other players.

usmcaaron wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:31 am I think even if he's healthy next year, this could/should be the swan song in STL for Bouwmeester. One of the downfalls of the Chicagos & LAs was having veterans holding down spots that younger, less-expensive players could handle. Granted, J-Bouw is different cuz he's year-to-year, but his 3.25 mil could be beneficial when put towards other players.

What if next year he plays for $2mil or maybe say $1.8mil?

NHLTIM wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:34 am

usmcaaron wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:31 am I think even if he's healthy next year, this could/should be the swan song in STL for Bouwmeester. One of the downfalls of the Chicagos & LAs was having veterans holding down spots that younger, less-expensive players could handle. Granted, J-Bouw is different cuz he's year-to-year, but his 3.25 mil could be beneficial when put towards other players.

What if next year he plays for $2mil or maybe say $1.8mil?

I'm not of the opinion that he's washed up, but he's not the straw stirring the drink, either. He plays his role well, but even at 2 mil, I just think he will have reached the age/skill erosion level where his roster spot could be filled by a player on an ELC & the Blues wouldn't miss much of a beat.

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:10 am I think we are taking for granted that Petro is just automatically going to still be here.

Players like him don't become available on the open market often and we see what kind of contracts far less d-men than him get offered.

Whatever perceived depth this team has, needs to be left in place until Petro signs on the dotted line.

I am with you there, doing anything to move away our D depth before possibly retaining Petro would make succeeding very difficult in the future.

Cotton McKnight wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 1:56 pm

Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Wed Jan 08, 2020 10:10 am I think we are taking for granted that Petro is just automatically going to still be here.

Players like him don't become available on the open market often and we see what kind of contracts far less d-men than him get offered.

Whatever perceived depth this team has, needs to be left in place until Petro signs on the dotted line.

I am with you there, doing anything to move away our D depth before possibly retaining Petro would make succeeding very difficult in the future.

They are not going to do anything to that depth until they have an answer on Petro.

I feel like Nik Mik is the natural replacement for Bouw next season.

Bouw's salary could go towards a new contract for Petro while Mikkola is on his ELC

Jaybo's wife says he has until 40 to keep playing. The way he's been, you keep offering him one year deals until he can't go anymore. If we bring back Petro then Dunn is the odd man out as Mikkola is better suited to a 3rd pairing role and looks good already.

ratonmono wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 7:53 am Jaybo's wife says he has until 40 to keep playing. The way he's been, you keep offering him one year deals until he can't go anymore. If we bring back Petro then Dunn is the odd man out as Mikkola is better suited to a 3rd pairing role and looks good already.

Jaybo likes it here, his kids have grown up here, he has had success here, and he is continuing to play really well. Unless he gets injured, I don’t see any reason why he won’t be back again next season. Gunny is a different story. Might be time for him to consider hanging them up, even though he has another year on his deal.

Matangama wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 8:51 am

ratonmono wrote: Thu Jan 09, 2020 7:53 am Jaybo's wife says he has until 40 to keep playing. The way he's been, you keep offering him one year deals until he can't go anymore. If we bring back Petro then Dunn is the odd man out as Mikkola is better suited to a 3rd pairing role and looks good already.

Jaybo likes it here, his kids have grown up here, he has had success here, and he is continuing to play really well. Unless he gets injured, I don’t see any reason why he won’t be back again next season. Gunny is a different story. Might be time for him to consider hanging them up, even though he has another year on his deal.

Yeah, if had to choose between JayBo and Boom Boom, I'd keep JayBo. This would still be a strong lineup next season, and IF Petro doesn't re-sign, there will be some other options via a trade or UFA:

Faulk/Petro
JayBo/Parayko
Dunn/Bortz
Mikkola-Walman

or

Dunn/Faulk
Jaybo/Parayko
Mikkola-Walman/Bortz-??? (Krug/Shatty/Barrie/Vatanen/Gustafsson/Brodie/Guda/Mussin/JEd all potential UFA and top 6 dmen)

Still a damn good defense even without our fearless Captain.

I just don't like any scenario that ends with Dunn not being on this team. Every year we end up using 9 or so different d-men with injuries that happen. I like Mikkola, but he has played one NHL game. Let's let the year play out before we decide to ship Dunn out of town. Dunn is young, has a rare skill set, and is an RFA after this year. If the Blues are forced to make a tough decision with their D after this year, I have a feeling that it will be moving on from the guy who will be 37 next year in J-BO.