Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

379
BluesSK wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 10:26 pm
Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 2:07 pm Anyone else thinking the Blues will leave Tarasenko unprotected in the expansion draft?
I'm leaving him off the list.

My protected list is O'Reilly, Perron, Schenn, Barbashev, Sundqvist, Thomas and Kyrou. And Parayko, Krug and Faulk on D. Binnington goal.
I'm not so sure about 55 at this point....if whatever's ailing him doesn't get fixed, he's just a high-priced Mikkola.

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

381
Turk Sanderson wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 11:05 am
BluesSK wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 10:26 pm
Dread_Pirate_Westley wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 2:07 pm Anyone else thinking the Blues will leave Tarasenko unprotected in the expansion draft?
I'm leaving him off the list.

My protected list is O'Reilly, Perron, Schenn, Barbashev, Sundqvist, Thomas and Kyrou. And Parayko, Krug and Faulk on D. Binnington goal.
I'm not so sure about 55 at this point....if whatever's ailing him doesn't get fixed, he's just a high-priced Mikkola.
Yeah. I've been back and forth between him and Dunn all season.

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

382
I wonder if we bring back any of our UFAs at this point?

Schwartz? Loved his all around play here but it might be time to say goodbye.

Bozak? Good player. Getting slower and old though. He's gone.

Hoffman? Eh.. he was better at the end of the season but I don't want to be spending 15 million on him and Tarasenko up front. If Seattle takes #91 then I look at bringing the Hoff back.

Players I'm interested in as UFA: Oleksiak, Saad, Palmieri, maybe Bogosian.

Trade targets: Tanev, Tkachuk, Dumolin, Gourde

I have no idea what the team might look like? I'm convinced Dunn is gone.

Perron O'Reilly Tarasenko
Schenn Thomas Kyrou
Barbashev Sundqvist Kostin
?????

Krug Faulk
??? Parayko
Mikkola Scandella

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

384
Turk Sanderson wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 6:11 pm Doing the George Parros math, I want some mean bastard that will dole out 9 concussions next regular season, and be reinstated by the playoffs.
You may want to start following another team. If we get someone like that, he will get permanently suspended. The Blues are the red-headed stepchild of the NHL. :mrgreen:

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

385
Aesa wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 6:24 pm
Turk Sanderson wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 6:11 pm Doing the George Parros math, I want some mean bastard that will dole out 9 concussions next regular season, and be reinstated by the playoffs.
You may want to start following another team. If we get someone like that, he will get permanently suspended. The Blues are the red-headed stepchild of the NHL. :mrgreen:
Then get two.

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

386
Given both sweeps, maybe both are feeling it’s time for a change. If the Oilers’ GM loses his mind and wants to do a straight-up hockey trade - McDavid for Tarasenko - do you do it? Seems like a no-brainer to me. We have a picture on Tarasenko that is less than rosy. He’s a less-than-half-a-point-per-playoff-game guy that has an injury history. When he got here, he was on fire, sure. Helped bring The Cup here. So you reward him with a big contract. Hard to argue with that. But since he’s gotten a wife and kids, since he’s gotten his injury, he just hasn’t been remotely the same player. If current #91 is auditioning for a contract and doesn’t have the history here, not a chance in hell he makes what he’s making. He’d be extremely lucky to make half that. All of that to say, I loved him, but if he goes, he goes. Only problem is, you can’t not replace that snipe capability with like skill. So how do you do that over the summer?

The rest of these guys, from what I saw:
ROR
Schenn
Sunny D
Barbashev
Perron

You keep for some leadership and continuity. Anyone else on the team can go. I realize there’s no D on my list, but has anyone that we have on our current roster shown they want to be here? Maybe Walman and Faulk? I wouldn’t mind Krug staying either. But given that D was our primary weakness most of what I saw and read this season, jettison the coasters. Binnington, everyone must have his number. His GAA is baffling since the Cup win. I said back then that he strikes me as a weird guy, even by goalie standards, and i wouldn’t be surprised if he completely flakes out. Well, here we are. But, not like there are a host of great goalie options out there, so I guess you probably have to keep him, too. But if I’m Army, nearly everyone is on the table, and I’m looking to go the Turk route. If this team is going to lose, they are going to be terrible to play against. You are going to hurt. That’s Blues hockey. That’s the team I fell in love with. This namby-pamby stick-checking bullshit is for pussies. Go play something else if that’s what you want to do, or at least go play somewhere else. You don’t understand how the Blues are meant to be, especially given our current coach.

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

387
T.C. wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 6:04 am Given both sweeps, maybe both are feeling it’s time for a change. If the Oilers’ GM loses his mind and wants to do a straight-up hockey trade - McDavid for Tarasenko - do you do it? Seems like a no-brainer to me. We have a picture on Tarasenko that is less than rosy. He’s a less-than-half-a-point-per-playoff-game guy that has an injury history. When he got here, he was on fire, sure. Helped bring The Cup here. So you reward him with a big contract. Hard to argue with that. But since he’s gotten a wife and kids, since he’s gotten his injury, he just hasn’t been remotely the same player. If current #91 is auditioning for a contract and doesn’t have the history here, not a chance in hell he makes what he’s making. He’d be extremely lucky to make half that. All of that to say, I loved him, but if he goes, he goes. Only problem is, you can’t not replace that snipe capability with like skill. So how do you do that over the summer?

The rest of these guys, from what I saw:
ROR
Schenn
Sunny D
Barbashev
Perron

You keep for some leadership and continuity. Anyone else on the team can go. I realize there’s no D on my list, but has anyone that we have on our current roster shown they want to be here? Maybe Walman and Faulk? I wouldn’t mind Krug staying either. But given that D was our primary weakness most of what I saw and read this season, jettison the coasters. Binnington, everyone must have his number. His GAA is baffling since the Cup win. I said back then that he strikes me as a weird guy, even by goalie standards, and i wouldn’t be surprised if he completely flakes out. Well, here we are. But, not like there are a host of great goalie options out there, so I guess you probably have to keep him, too. But if I’m Army, nearly everyone is on the table, and I’m looking to go the Turk route. If this team is going to lose, they are going to be terrible to play against. You are going to hurt. That’s Blues hockey. That’s the team I fell in love with. This namby-pamby stick-checking bullshit is for pussies. Go play something else if that’s what you want to do, or at least go play somewhere else. You don’t understand how the Blues are meant to be, especially given our current coach.
Yes. They need to be a ton more physical. Honestly, if I'm Berube and Armstrong I'm embarrassed by this team.

Assuming all the FA's walk and we re-sign the RFAs with the exception of Dunn we are looking at a lineup like this;
Tarasenko
O'Reilly
Schenn
Perron
Sanford
Sundqvist
Blais
Barbashev
Clifford
Thomas
Kyrou
MacEachern
Kostin
De La Rose

Then on D we've got;
Faulk
Krug
Parayko
Scandella
Bortuzzo
Mikkola
Walman

So that's a roster plus some other young guys.

Not too overwhelming. So I'm assuming changes will be made and then I guess there is the expansion draft too.

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

388
T.C. wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 6:04 am Given both sweeps, maybe both are feeling it’s time for a change. If the Oilers’ GM loses his mind and wants to do a straight-up hockey trade - McDavid for Tarasenko - do you do it? Seems like a no-brainer to me. We have a picture on Tarasenko that is less than rosy. He’s a less-than-half-a-point-per-playoff-game guy that has an injury history. When he got here, he was on fire, sure. Helped bring The Cup here. So you reward him with a big contract. Hard to argue with that. But since he’s gotten a wife and kids, since he’s gotten his injury, he just hasn’t been remotely the same player. If current #91 is auditioning for a contract and doesn’t have the history here, not a chance in hell he makes what he’s making. He’d be extremely lucky to make half that. All of that to say, I loved him, but if he goes, he goes. Only problem is, you can’t not replace that snipe capability with like skill. So how do you do that over the summer? ...
I haven't heard a peep out of Hullie all season. Maybe the Blues have him sequestered away in an intensive drying-out program & he's getting back into game shape. If you want a "snipe capability" to replace Tank, who better?

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

390
I think there might be some surprising names on the block across the league, problem is I'm not sure how a team like the Blues that is up against the cap goes about acquiring any of them. You can get a third team involved or dump some bad contracts elsewhere, but its going to involve a fair amount of moving parts. The expansion draft protection list is going to be fascinating. All I know is if they leave Perron exposed again we riot!
...but whatever, the Blues won the Cup!!!!!

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

392
Dave's a mess wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 9:41 am I think there might be some surprising names on the block across the league, problem is I'm not sure how a team like the Blues that is up against the cap goes about acquiring any of them. You can get a third team involved or dump some bad contracts elsewhere, but its going to involve a fair amount of moving parts. The expansion draft protection list is going to be fascinating. All I know is if they leave Perron exposed again we riot!
The blues do have some wiggle room with Hoffman, Bozak, Schwartz all coming off the books. I'm not sure any of those three will be back.

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

393
ratonmono wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:11 pm
Dave's a mess wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 9:41 am I think there might be some surprising names on the block across the league, problem is I'm not sure how a team like the Blues that is up against the cap goes about acquiring any of them. You can get a third team involved or dump some bad contracts elsewhere, but its going to involve a fair amount of moving parts. The expansion draft protection list is going to be fascinating. All I know is if they leave Perron exposed again we riot!
The blues do have some wiggle room with Hoffman, Bozak, Schwartz all coming off the books. I'm not sure any of those three will be back.
That's true, there's actually more room than I realized. They have some RFAs to deal with (Barbashev, Sanford, Thomas, Kyrou and Dunn being headliners), but I'm not sure any of them are getting a huge raise.They don't need to spend in net. I think they either bring bag Husso or give Hofer a crack at the backup. If they do bring in a veteran backup I'm sure it'd be on the cheap. On D, I imagine there'll be some changes, but it'll have to come via trade unless the Kraken take one.

The trick is going to be filling the roster spots of the three forwards you mentioned (Hoffman, Bozak, Schwartz). I know some have advocated for keeping Hoffman, but I absolutely don't see that happening. He has a very rare skill with his shot, but I'm pretty sure Berube and him despise each other. I can't imagine he'd want to come back after nearly being traded and being healthy scratched multiple times during a playoff push. I have no idea about the other two. I see the value of both, but man, a potential Schwartz deal is risky with his age/injury history/likely cost. Bozak brings a lot of things you want in winning teams and would likely sign short term for a decent paycut, but he's already 35 and doesn't help you on the speed or physicality front. A tricky summer lies ahead.
...but whatever, the Blues won the Cup!!!!!

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

394
Dave's a mess wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 2:53 pm
ratonmono wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:11 pm
Dave's a mess wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 9:41 am I think there might be some surprising names on the block across the league, problem is I'm not sure how a team like the Blues that is up against the cap goes about acquiring any of them. You can get a third team involved or dump some bad contracts elsewhere, but its going to involve a fair amount of moving parts. The expansion draft protection list is going to be fascinating. All I know is if they leave Perron exposed again we riot!
The blues do have some wiggle room with Hoffman, Bozak, Schwartz all coming off the books. I'm not sure any of those three will be back.
That's true, there's actually more room than I realized. They have some RFAs to deal with (Barbashev, Sanford, Thomas, Kyrou and Dunn being headliners), but I'm not sure any of them are getting a huge raise.They don't need to spend in net. I think they either bring bag Husso or give Hofer a crack at the backup. If they do bring in a veteran backup I'm sure it'd be on the cheap. On D, I imagine there'll be some changes, but it'll have to come via trade unless the Kraken take one.

The trick is going to be filling the roster spots of the three forwards you mentioned (Hoffman, Bozak, Schwartz). I know some have advocated for keeping Hoffman, but I absolutely don't see that happening. He has a very rare skill with his shot, but I'm pretty sure Berube and him despise each other. I can't imagine he'd want to come back after nearly being traded and being healthy scratched multiple times during a playoff push. I have no idea about the other two. I see the value of both, but man, a potential Schwartz deal is risky with his age/injury history/likely cost. Bozak brings a lot of things you want in winning teams and would likely sign short term for a decent paycut, but he's already 35 and doesn't help you on the speed or physicality front. A tricky summer lies ahead.
Yeah I'm saying goodbye to all three. I don't think Hoffman wants to return and Schwartz is going to want 5-6 for at least 4 years. No thanks. Find some younger hungrier cheaper players to fill out the bottom six and promote Kyrou and Thomas into top six duty full time. They're ready for it. You can't keep carrot and sticking players in their early 20s eventually they have to sink or swim.

Our top six should be O'Reilly Perron, Tarasenko, Schenn, Thomas, Kyrou. Filling out the bottom six is much easier than chasing after high dollar UFAs who almost always underperform.

The D is a bit more problematic. I loathe that Krug contract but we're stuck with it likely. I think Seattle absolutely takes Dunn unless we trade him beforehand.

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

397
ratonmono wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:11 pm
Dave's a mess wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 9:41 am I think there might be some surprising names on the block across the league, problem is I'm not sure how a team like the Blues that is up against the cap goes about acquiring any of them. You can get a third team involved or dump some bad contracts elsewhere, but its going to involve a fair amount of moving parts. The expansion draft protection list is going to be fascinating. All I know is if they leave Perron exposed again we riot!
The blues do have some wiggle room with Hoffman, Bozak, Schwartz all coming off the books. I'm not sure any of those three will be back.
I want Hoffman back. He still can skate decently, is a good sniper, one of the few goal-scorers The Blues can count on to always be a threat to score, and he MADE The Blues power play go, once they started feeding him the puck. They moved from about The NHL's lowest at 8% to 23% after they started doing that. And, he actually embraced Berube's defensive system, and played decent defensively for most of this season, after a few weeks of picking up the system. With the level and speed of Tarasenko's return to previous form in question, and Schwartz either gone, or likely to continue his decline, and Schenn also starting the age decline, and only Kyrou, but not Thomas, or Kostin breaking out in the goal-scoring area, The Blues can't afford to give up Hoffman's consistent goal-scoring. Even with him, they're going to have to bring in a t least a couple more consistent goal-scorers with young legs, who can also play passable defence, If Hoffman leaves, they'll need to bring in a third. That will be a pretty tough task, especially if they ALL come in the form of high-priced UFAs (not very possible under the cap). IF they trade for a prospect they HOPE will score 20+ goals right away, that's a gamble, compared to keeping Hoffman (as we've seen with Kyrou, and, especially Thomas, and Kostin, likely as well. And, currently, The Blues don't have any other forward prospects anywhere near that stage. THIS recent Blues' Stanley Cup competitive window has closed suddenly and tightly over the last 2 years. They are now relatively old and slow, and must be rejuvenated by faster-skating, more skilled, bigger and stronger young players in all areas (forwards, defencemen, and even gooaltenders), or they'll have a dismal near future. It will be tough to make that changeover by retooling in one or two offseasons,

Re: 2021 St. Louis Blues Thread

400
Robb_K wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 2:52 am
ratonmono wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:11 pm
Dave's a mess wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 9:41 am I think there might be some surprising names on the block across the league, problem is I'm not sure how a team like the Blues that is up against the cap goes about acquiring any of them. You can get a third team involved or dump some bad contracts elsewhere, but its going to involve a fair amount of moving parts. The expansion draft protection list is going to be fascinating. All I know is if they leave Perron exposed again we riot!
The blues do have some wiggle room with Hoffman, Bozak, Schwartz all coming off the books. I'm not sure any of those three will be back.
I want Hoffman back. He still can skate decently, is a good sniper, one of the few goal-scorers The Blues can count on to always be a threat to score, and he MADE The Blues power play go, once they started feeding him the puck. They moved from about The NHL's lowest at 8% to 23% after they started doing that. And, he actually embraced Berube's defensive system, and played decent defensively for most of this season, after a few weeks of picking up the system. With the level and speed of Tarasenko's return to previous form in question, and Schwartz either gone, or likely to continue his decline, and Schenn also starting the age decline, and only Kyrou, but not Thomas, or Kostin breaking out in the goal-scoring area, The Blues can't afford to give up Hoffman's consistent goal-scoring. Even with him, they're going to have to bring in a t least a couple more consistent goal-scorers with young legs, who can also play passable defence, If Hoffman leaves, they'll need to bring in a third. That will be a pretty tough task, especially if they ALL come in the form of high-priced UFAs (not very possible under the cap). IF they trade for a prospect they HOPE will score 20+ goals right away, that's a gamble, compared to keeping Hoffman (as we've seen with Kyrou, and, especially Thomas, and Kostin, likely as well. And, currently, The Blues don't have any other forward prospects anywhere near that stage. THIS recent Blues' Stanley Cup competitive window has closed suddenly and tightly over the last 2 years. They are now relatively old and slow, and must be rejuvenated by faster-skating, more skilled, bigger and stronger young players in all areas (forwards, defencemen, and even gooaltenders), or they'll have a dismal near future. It will be tough to make that changeover by retooling in one or two offseasons,
Not sure why aging curves would apply to Schenn and Schwartz but not Hoffman, who is a couple years older than both of them.
...but whatever, the Blues won the Cup!!!!!