Is Bannister too focused on keeping Binnington fresh? He's playing Hofer a lot.

Kapanen up to second line and Saad movin[*]g down.

PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards

Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Jordan Kyrou
Jake Neighbours – Brayden Schenn – Kasperi Kapanen
Brandon Saad – Kevin Hayes – Alexey Toropchenko
Nathan Walker – Oskar Sundqvist – Sammy Blais

Defense

Nick Leddy – Colton Parayko
Torey Krug – Justin Faulk
Scott Perunovich – Matthew Kessel

Goalie

Joel Hofer

Pretty quiet period.

They're getting dominated

Looks like maybe, just maybe, they are figuring out this power play.

BluesSK wrote: Mon Jan 15, 2024 8:34 pm Looks like maybe, just maybe, they are figuring out this power play.

Nope... they played down to their competition and then outperformed them in being terrible.

Just not their night tonight. It wasn't our night either

BluesSK wrote: Mon Jan 15, 2024 7:16 pm Is Bannister too focused on keeping Binnington fresh? He's playing Hofer a lot. ...

Simple: He doesn't want Binner outta gas when the Blues hit the third round of the playoffs.

JMC-STL wrote: Mon Jan 15, 2024 9:53 pm

BluesSK wrote: Mon Jan 15, 2024 7:16 pm Is Bannister too focused on keeping Binnington fresh? He's playing Hofer a lot. ...

Simple: He doesn't want Binner outta gas when the Blues hit the third round of the playoffs.

Yeah I know. That's totally gonna happen.

One thing I do know. Krug and Faulk should never see the ice together again. Ever.

BluesSK wrote: Mon Jan 15, 2024 10:13 pm One thing I do know. Krug and Faulk should never see the ice together again. Ever.

They are a terrible pair... I remember in the Summer when Krug said he wanted to play here... it sure doesn't look like it when he is on the ice.

Minus a last minute ENG, philly scored with around 5 min left (listened to most 3rd, not allowed phones on floor...new job) did we look like we were a 2-2 game? How did philly look (knowing they're around our talent, maybe better)

@Ozzies09tc ... Congrats on the new job. You bounce back MUCH quicker than the Blues. Must be your Kangaroo Spirit Animal.

Ozzies09tc wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 10:09 am Minus a last minute ENG, philly scored with around 5 min left (listened to most 3rd, not allowed phones on floor...new job) did we look like we were a 2-2 game? How did philly look (knowing they're around our talent, maybe better)

I didn't see more than a minute of the game, but I'm guessing Hofer facing over 40 shots isn't a great sign.

JMC-STL wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 10:15 am @Ozzies09tc ... Congrats on the new job. You bounce back MUCH quicker than the Blues. Must be your Kangaroo Spirit Animal.

They call me.... Dennis Hopper

Dave's a mess wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 10:23 am

Ozzies09tc wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 10:09 am Minus a last minute ENG, philly scored with around 5 min left (listened to most 3rd, not allowed phones on floor...new job) did we look like we were a 2-2 game? How did philly look (knowing they're around our talent, maybe better)

I didn't see more than a minute of the game, but I'm guessing Hofer facing over 40 shots isn't a great sign.

That's been our MO this entire season though. I just hope we looked competitive.

First game I've attended this year. Two observations: (1) Weaker defensemen are overexposed. (2) Thomas is the best passer the Blues have had in a very long time.

I watched the game and I gotta tell the truth and that is we should start tanking now to get the best draft pick we can. The guys were dominated in every aspect of the game. Thomas' patented fly down the left half-board and reverse to his left is so readable that the flyers were where he wanted to be before he was.our Capt might have and I stress might have won a puck battle on the boards, but I can't remember the time
,Krug and Faulk suck together, Parayko almost always goes to his backhand behind the net and fucking lofts a puck to the opposition. I'm a glass half full guy but this team in my estimation has no path to the playoffs and shouldn't be in, scrub the season and wait for next October with a top 3 draft pick.

BlueinNy wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 3:16 pm I watched the game and I gotta tell the truth and that is we should start tanking now to get the best draft pick we can. The guys were dominated in every aspect of the game. Thomas' patented fly down the left half-board and reverse to his left is so readable that the flyers were where he wanted to be before he was.our Capt might have and I stress might have won a puck battle on the boards, but I can't remember the time
,Krug and Faulk suck together, Parayko almost always goes to his backhand behind the net and fucking lofts a puck to the opposition. I'm a glass half full guy but this team in my estimation has no path to the playoffs and shouldn't be in, scrub the season and wait for next October with a top 3 draft pick.

I gotta agree... I'm not sure how deep this upcoming draft is, but right now, there's only a handful of keepers on this team. It's time for a yard sale. One thing that has to be said, Philly having a Deslauriers in their lineup sure allowed the rest of their team to play bigger... and made the Blues play smaller. That needs to get fixed this off-season.

Turk Sanderson wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 4:31 pm

BlueinNy wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 3:16 pm I watched the game and I gotta tell the truth and that is we should start tanking now to get the best draft pick we can. The guys were dominated in every aspect of the game. Thomas' patented fly down the left half-board and reverse to his left is so readable that the flyers were where he wanted to be before he was.our Capt might have and I stress might have won a puck battle on the boards, but I can't remember the time
,Krug and Faulk suck together, Parayko almost always goes to his backhand behind the net and fucking lofts a puck to the opposition. I'm a glass half full guy but this team in my estimation has no path to the playoffs and shouldn't be in, scrub the season and wait for next October with a top 3 draft pick.

I gotta agree... I'm not sure how deep this upcoming draft is, but right now, there's only a handful of keepers on this team. It's time for a yard sale. One thing that has to be said, Philly having a Deslauriers in their lineup sure allowed the rest of their team to play bigger... and made the Blues play smaller. That needs to get fixed this off-season.

Well, atleast we know our D is set next year, same as is, minus scandella, plus perunovich and possibly kessel

BlueinNy wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 3:16 pm I'm a glass half full guy but this team in my estimation has no path to the playoffs and shouldn't be in, scrub the season and wait for next October with a top 3 draft pick.

I really don't see us drafting in the top-5 (barring a long-shot lottery win).

San Jose and Chicago genuinely suck. (Stop snickering; I mean their play on the ice!)

Anaheim has some great-looking young talent developing (Zegras, Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Mintyukov, etc), but they'll still be bottom-5 for another year or two.

There's already talk about where (not IF) Ottawa is going to trade off Tarasenko (THERE'S a name I haven't heard in a while!), and they'll probably try to deal Kubalik, too. They SHOULD be better than they are (Tkachuk, Stützle, Batherson, Chabot, Chychrun, Giroux, Norris), but just haven't put it together this season. I doubt they'll draft outside of the top 5 or 6.

Columbus... just a complete dumpster fire. From the Drama (Capital 'D') with Mike Babcock before the season even began, to the issues with Elvis Merzlikins and various injuries now. So much talent on paper. What happened to Gaudreau and Laine? And Boqvist. And, well, any of them?

I think the best we're going to draft is 6th, but more likely 10th - 12th and we don't have much in the way of pending UFA's to trade off, maybe enough for an extra 3rd and/or 4th round pick, or DEEP prospect.

RAFritchey wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 7:05 pm

BlueinNy wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 3:16 pm I'm a glass half full guy but this team in my estimation has no path to the playoffs and shouldn't be in, scrub the season and wait for next October with a top 3 draft pick.

I really don't see us drafting in the top-5 (barring a long-shot lottery win).

San Jose and Chicago genuinely suck. (Stop snickering; I mean their play on the ice!)

Anaheim has some great-looking young talent developing (Zegras, Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Mintyukov, etc), but they'll still be bottom-5 for another year or two.

There's already talk about where (not IF) Ottawa is going to trade off Tarasenko (THERE'S a name I haven't heard in a while!), and they'll probably try to deal Kubalik, too. They SHOULD be better than they are (Tkachuk, Stützle, Batherson, Chabot, Chychrun, Giroux, Norris), but just haven't put it together this season. I doubt they'll draft outside of the top 5 or 6.

Columbus... just a complete dumpster fire. From the Drama (Capital 'D') with Mike Babcock before the season even began, to the issues with Elvis Merzlikins and various injuries now. So much talent on paper. What happened to Gaudreau and Laine? And Boqvist. And, well, any of them?

I think the best we're going to draft is 6th, but more likely 10th - 12th and we don't have much in the way of pending UFA's to trade off, maybe enough for an extra 3rd and/or 4th round pick, or DEEP prospect.

I could see the Blues finishing anywhere from 6th to 12th from the bottom. They're extremely unlikely to crack that bottom 5 as you've outlined, but if they play well down the stretch they could climb from their current 9th position as there's not a lot of separation ahead of them. The thing that could really send the Blues tumbling down the standings is if they trade Binnington. I don't think it's likely, but there are a couple contender-ish teams that could use a steadier hand in net. I think Hofer is a reasonable option long term, but imagine we'd lose a few extra points with him elevated to starter and a new face as backup.

Dave's a mess wrote:

RAFritchey wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 7:05 pm

BlueinNy wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 3:16 pm I'm a glass half full guy but this team in my estimation has no path to the playoffs and shouldn't be in, scrub the season and wait for next October with a top 3 draft pick.

I really don't see us drafting in the top-5 (barring a long-shot lottery win).

San Jose and Chicago genuinely suck. (Stop snickering; I mean their play on the ice!)

Anaheim has some great-looking young talent developing (Zegras, Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Mintyukov, etc), but they'll still be bottom-5 for another year or two.

There's already talk about where (not IF) Ottawa is going to trade off Tarasenko (THERE'S a name I haven't heard in a while!), and they'll probably try to deal Kubalik, too. They SHOULD be better than they are (Tkachuk, Stützle, Batherson, Chabot, Chychrun, Giroux, Norris), but just haven't put it together this season. I doubt they'll draft outside of the top 5 or 6.

Columbus... just a complete dumpster fire. From the Drama (Capital 'D') with Mike Babcock before the season even began, to the issues with Elvis Merzlikins and various injuries now. So much talent on paper. What happened to Gaudreau and Laine? And Boqvist. And, well, any of them?

I think the best we're going to draft is 6th, but more likely 10th - 12th and we don't have much in the way of pending UFA's to trade off, maybe enough for an extra 3rd and/or 4th round pick, or DEEP prospect.

I could see the Blues finishing anywhere from 6th to 12th from the bottom. They're extremely unlikely to crack that bottom 5 as you've outlined, but if they play well down the stretch they could climb from their current 9th position as there's not a lot of separation ahead of them. The thing that could really send the Blues tumbling down the standings is if they trade Binnington. I don't think it's likely, but there are a couple contender-ish teams that could use a steadier hand in net. I think Hofer is a reasonable option long term, but imagine we'd lose a few extra points with him elevated to starter and a new face as backup.

If Army trades Binnington, we would get a boatload in return. I don't see Army making that deal any other way.
I don't want to see Binner go, but seeing what we'd get in return would be a sight to see IMO.

BillP. wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2024 12:11 pm

Dave's a mess wrote:

RAFritchey wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 7:05 pm

I really don't see us drafting in the top-5 (barring a long-shot lottery win).

San Jose and Chicago genuinely suck. (Stop snickering; I mean their play on the ice!)

Anaheim has some great-looking young talent developing (Zegras, Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Mintyukov, etc), but they'll still be bottom-5 for another year or two.

There's already talk about where (not IF) Ottawa is going to trade off Tarasenko (THERE'S a name I haven't heard in a while!), and they'll probably try to deal Kubalik, too. They SHOULD be better than they are (Tkachuk, Stützle, Batherson, Chabot, Chychrun, Giroux, Norris), but just haven't put it together this season. I doubt they'll draft outside of the top 5 or 6.

Columbus... just a complete dumpster fire. From the Drama (Capital 'D') with Mike Babcock before the season even began, to the issues with Elvis Merzlikins and various injuries now. So much talent on paper. What happened to Gaudreau and Laine? And Boqvist. And, well, any of them?

I think the best we're going to draft is 6th, but more likely 10th - 12th and we don't have much in the way of pending UFA's to trade off, maybe enough for an extra 3rd and/or 4th round pick, or DEEP prospect.

I could see the Blues finishing anywhere from 6th to 12th from the bottom. They're extremely unlikely to crack that bottom 5 as you've outlined, but if they play well down the stretch they could climb from their current 9th position as there's not a lot of separation ahead of them. The thing that could really send the Blues tumbling down the standings is if they trade Binnington. I don't think it's likely, but there are a couple contender-ish teams that could use a steadier hand in net. I think Hofer is a reasonable option long term, but imagine we'd lose a few extra points with him elevated to starter and a new face as backup.

If Army trades Binnington, we would get a boatload in return. I don't see Army making that deal any other way.
I don't want to see Binner go, but seeing what we'd get in return would be a sight to see IMO.

I honestly have no concept of what a return on a Binnington trade would be. He's obviously got the ring and has been steady this year, but how willing to overlook the last few seasons are GMs going to be? Fleury was traded at the deadline a couple years ago for a conditional second round pick and a second round prospect. His numbers that year were similar to Binnington's this year, but MAF had won the Vezina and was awesome in the playoffs the year before. The contract situations are different, but I'm not sure that Binner would warrant a bigger return. Different year, different market, but I don't think it'd be a big haul.

Dave's a mess wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2024 12:48 pm

BillP. wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2024 12:11 pm

Dave's a mess wrote:

I could see the Blues finishing anywhere from 6th to 12th from the bottom. They're extremely unlikely to crack that bottom 5 as you've outlined, but if they play well down the stretch they could climb from their current 9th position as there's not a lot of separation ahead of them. The thing that could really send the Blues tumbling down the standings is if they trade Binnington. I don't think it's likely, but there are a couple contender-ish teams that could use a steadier hand in net. I think Hofer is a reasonable option long term, but imagine we'd lose a few extra points with him elevated to starter and a new face as backup.

If Army trades Binnington, we would get a boatload in return. I don't see Army making that deal any other way.
I don't want to see Binner go, but seeing what we'd get in return would be a sight to see IMO.

I honestly have no concept of what a return on a Binnington trade would be. He's obviously got the ring and has been steady this year, but how willing to overlook the last few seasons are GMs going to be? Fleury was traded at the deadline a couple years ago for a conditional second round pick and a second round prospect. His numbers that year were similar to Binnington's this year, but MAF had won the Vezina and was awesome in the playoffs the year before. The contract situations are different, but I'm not sure that Binner would warrant a bigger return. Different year, different market, but I don't think it'd be a big haul.

Goalies are so hard to figure, and they do depend a LOT on the defensive play in front of them, not just limiting shots, but where are the shots coming from, how rebounds are cleared, traffic in front of the net, etc. For example, I drafted Binnington to be my 3rd string fantasy team goalie this year, after Andrei Vasilevsky and Juuse Saros. So far this year, he's outperforming both of them as far as SV% (which is what the fantasy league goes by), so he may actually be my starter next season!

Among goalies with at least 25 games so far:

Alexander Georgiev (Colorado) leads the league in wins so far with 24 in 37 games played (he's 24-10-2). His SV% is .897 which would have him tied for 29th – 31st.

Joey Daccord (Seattle) is second in the league in SV% at .923. He's 13-6-8 in 28 games. Those 8 OTLs would just be Ls in the playoffs.

Yes, the teams they're on have a lot to do with their numbers. But looking at most of Binnington's stats, he pretty much mirrors the team as a whole i.e. a bit above average, but not excelling in an particular way.

Given Binner's contract ($6mil/year for 3 more seasons after this one) and NTC, I doubt any team would trade much for him, if anything at all.