It's been asked where the Sobotka hate comes from and i think this is a good question. I dont think it is hate as much as disapointment.

As a player I think he is a fine 3rd/4th liner that can move up as san injury replacement. Maybe a 2nd line player on a low tier team.

My problem with him is he quit on the Blues. Not so much over money but over his role with the team. He could have signed a one year deal and moved on. Instead he decided that since he couldn't play the role he wanted he would leave.

I have no ill will towards him but to allow a player to tell the team what line he going to play on were a bad precedent. I wish him the best no matter where he plays but I don't want him here.

I only think about him when I surf the internet.

I don't love him, but the exact opposite...

I'm just indifferent.

I agree with you. I don't hate him, but a lot of people seem to take it personal like it was their girlfriend breaking up with them. More than anything, I don't understand how he thought it would be better to play in the KHL rather than burn up his last year as a restricted free agent, then hit the open market this offseason. He would have cashed in big-time I bet. And as competitive a player as he is, I can't understand why he would rather play in the next-best league to the NHL. Oh well, what's done is done, I hope we can trade his rights for decent return value.

i totally understand wanting to be near your family if you are not going to get where you want to be thousands of miles away from them. i can't claim to know his reasoning. but that stuff happens, i don't hold it against him - that doesn't affect my opinion of him on the ice. wish he were still here.

I'm kind of stumped about his apparent need for a bigger role with the Club. From what I see, Hitch loved the guy and would play him in all situations. I'm not sure that would have changed at all. He may not be considered as a top 6 guy but he was absolutely utilized as a top 6 most of the time as a fill in to jump start a line or due to injuries.

He's also one of those players that is really overestimated by Blues fans.

He's a great 4th Liner, and a half decent 3rd Liner.

I've seen comment after comment that X Blues could be replaced when Sobi comes back....

Sobotka must have had some very bad advice from his agent. To even be a mainstay anywhere on the playing roster of a strong contending team is pretty much a guarantee of a better contract down the road with another team. And to top it all off he's only 27 years old. To not have the sense to sacrifice a couple of hundred thousand for millions down the road is absolutely bone-headed.

I hope the Blues can get some kind of return for him otherwise it's adios NHL for him.

BluesSK wrote:Sobotka must have had some very bad advice from his agent. To even be a mainstay anywhere on the playing roster of a strong contending team is pretty much a guarantee of a better contract down the road with another team. And to top it all off he's only 27 years old. To not have the sense to sacrifice a couple of hundred thousand for millions down the road is absolutely bone-headed.

I hope the Blues can get some kind of return for him otherwise it's adios
NHL for him.

Whether it was his agent's advice or not, it comes down to him. He hires the agent, it's his career. He calls the shots. I suspect his decision was self inflicted. Too bad. He's a good player.

I think he went through 3 different agents in the 6 months leading up to that decision. That right there tells you his head wasn't in the right place or that he wasn't really wanting to hear what they had to say.

blueslifer wrote:I think he went through 3 different agents in the 6 months leading up to that decision. That right there tells you his head wasn't in the right place or that he wasn't really wanting to hear what they had to say.

Yeah. I remember that now. Sobotka must have had a huge bug up his ass about something to forsake everything like that. Too much pride in his own mind I guess.

He would have helped the Blues this season but really he's the one who's worse off for it.

he wanted someone to tell him it was ok to go home.

i'm not over-valuing the guy, just saying he was the best 9-12 guy (and best PK guy) we've had in years.

It's weird how Sobotka has been a source of such disagreement. If I may play diplomat on this one..

I think the caricatures of each side would be this:
1. Pro-Sobotka: loves their grinder, blue collar type players; would love to fill the team with these types
2. Anti-Sobotka: thinks they are smarter than those who like the grinders and get frustrated that some love them instead of skill players

I think the truth about Sobotka is in between here. I think the pro-Sobotka types overvalue him, and their love of grinders is the atittude that has led the Blues to hard working teams that don't have enough talent to win. On the other hand, I think those who dismiss him as easily replaceable underestimate him. He played with a lot of heart, and his skill was underestimated. He was a very valuable third liner in my opinion with the ability to fill in acceptably on the second line. That plus doing the little things makes a player very valuable. Do I think he wanted to get paid more than he was worth? Yes. But he was a definite good player. He looked pretty good with Tarasenko at the end of last year. He could actually hold on to the puck, make good passes, and make good plays in transition and small spaces at times. He didn't have the skill that Lehtera has of course though. I don't know. I think that's a fair assessment. I'm not crying about losing him. I like our look better now with 3 skill lines. Bergie will be gone next year, replaced by Fabbri making the transition to three good scoring lines very complete.

SteveW7744 wrote:1. Pro-Sobotka: loves their grinder, blue collar type players; would love to fill the team with these types

i take issue with this. those players win my heart (see: courtnall, drake, mellanby, etc.), but i wouldn't want to or remotely suggest "filling the team" with these guys. that's just silly. because i like guys that play with their heart on their sleeve and give 110% every shift means i don't want stamkos on the team? you're nuts. but i'd rather have five heart guys than one douche with hands (see: kariya). teams do not win without guys that will put the team on their shoulders and plow through tough times.

I'm one of those who liked Sobotka's game, and certainly would have liked for him to be 4C material with potential to slide up to 3C and eat PK time this season, rather than keeping Steve Ott. It's fairly clear that he thought of himself as being more than that, and more valuable than that. I do think that the Blues would be a stronger team if he'd stayed, but I don't think it's the end of the world that he isn't here now.

GeoffU wrote:I'm one of those who liked Sobotka's game, and certainly would have liked for him to be 4C material with potential to slide up to 3C and eat PK time this season, rather than keeping Steve Ott. It's fairly clear that he thought of himself as being more than that, and more valuable than that. I do think that the Blues would be a stronger team if he'd stayed, but I don't think it's the end of the world that he isn't here now.

yeah, this.

GeoffU wrote:I'm one of those who liked Sobotka's game, and certainly would have liked for him to be 4C material with potential to slide up to 3C and eat PK time this season, rather than keeping Steve Ott. It's fairly clear that he thought of himself as being more than that, and more valuable than that. I do think that the Blues would be a stronger team if he'd stayed, but I don't think it's the end of the world that he isn't here now.

This.

He was a good dude...why would you be mad at someone for taking money? I am glad he got paid.

CaptSMRT wrote:He was a good dude...why would you be mad at someone for taking money? I am glad he got paid.

They get paid in Rubles where he plays...prolly making less than if he stayed here.

CaptSMRT wrote:He was a good dude...why would you be mad at someone for taking money? I am glad he got paid.

Sports is a business and I'll never begrudge a player for making more money.

Especially when they're at the level of Sobotka...he's not getting four and five million per year to play hockey.

He's gotta live frugally in order to be comfortable after his career ends.

I think many fans forget that this is their job. Sure they're fans of the game, love the game, but in the end, their personal self interests will, and in many cases, should come first.

T.C. wrote:

GeoffU wrote:I'm one of those who liked Sobotka's game, and certainly would have liked for him to be 4C material with potential to slide up to 3C and eat PK time this season, rather than keeping Steve Ott. It's fairly clear that he thought of himself as being more than that, and more valuable than that. I do think that the Blues would be a stronger team if he'd stayed, but I don't think it's the end of the world that he isn't here now.

yeah, this.

triple this (adding in Hockey Pete's "This").

Good defensive and excellent PK/FO player, but not enough offensive skill to be top 6 or really top 9 on a SC contending team though.

Sobi was always one of my favorites as how can one not root for a guy that's 5'10" but plays like he's 6'3"? I've always loved the small scrappy guys.

That said, I stand by Army sticking to his guns. I think Sobi made a big mistake going to the KHL (and that was before the crash of the Ruble) and now that decision looks even worse now that the Ruble's value has been cut in half since the day he signed with Omsk.

I'd welcome him back next season if all parties can bury the hatchet and feel he wouldn't be a disgruntled/negative influence on the locker room. That said, I think what's best for both parties at this point is for him to be traded this summer.

I would also note that I would likely choose Sobi over either Bergy or Ott...but it's not like the Blues are doomed without Sobi. He was an excellent bottom-6 guy who was very versatile and brought a lot of intangibles but he's not irreplaceable. I can understand him wanting to be thought of as more since he was routinely moved up in the lineup...but I also think he got too full of himself and didn't know his place.

Rubles sound like some kind of awkward foreign snack food, probably made out of somethings butt.

Thought I saw rumor that sobotka's KHL team missed the playoffs but I can't find it. Do any of you know?

Something tells me we're going to see Sobotka here next season. Just a gut feeling. I think we could use the depth especially with Berglund almost certainly leaving and Goc & Jokinen unlikely to return. I think we get the year he owes us and then he leaves for a big contract from a team that is willing to give him bigger minutes and bigger money. Somehow I doubt Sobotka would be a locker room disturbance.

rcbcmr wrote:Thought I saw rumor that sobotka's KHL team missed the playoffs but I can't find it. Do any of you know?

They have been eliminated ....below is the address for his rap sheet....
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdis ... ?pid=76041" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;