Some thoughts on the season:
- Walman was a delightful revelation. He's a better defender than I expected, and his speed and skating are assets that should buy him time for more looks on the roster next season. He's gone from 'bust' to plausible regular player next year.
- Husso was a disappointment, but at least he was on a positive trajectory. He had a couple games where he came up big in the latter part of the season. I don't see a simple way to replace his role next season, although perhaps he'll have to win the position over an AHL journeyman kind of guy. I fully expect him to be the back-up at the start of next season, but if he doesn't continue to grow I could see him losing his job before the end of the season. Any notions that he could eventually take over as the starter seem pretty far-fetched right now.
- Mikkola was a disappointment, that he couldn't break into the line-up when injuries created opportunities during the year. Walman benefited from that, but I expected Mikkola to establish himself this year. That said, I thought his performance in the playoffs was his best work of the season. It will be interesting to see who wins the roster spots in training camp next year. I doubt Perunovich has a real chance to break through after losing most of this season's development time. And if Dunn is gone (and Gunnarsson) there are roster spots available. But I also wouldn't be surprised if they bring in a veteran guy UFA. They need to or there isn't enough depth.
- I know Binnington's playoff numbers don't look that great, but I thought his play was actually a positive. He was facing high danger chances left and right, and he single-handedly kept the Blues in a multiple games when they should have been blowouts. Its popular to dump on him on the main boards, but I'm pretty satisfied with him as a decent starter. It would be nice to have a more capable back-up to have more ability to manage his workload next season.
- Thomas had a bad season and a worse playoffs. He makes way too many turn-overs, hasn't really developed a shooting threat, and frankly looks like he took a step backwards. I still have a lot of hope for him, but his ceiling doesn't look as high as it once did.
- Kyrou was another really bright spot this season. He needs to get stronger, but he can create offense that no other player on this team can create. I didn't realize he was as good of a shooter as he is. If guys like Tarasenko, ROR and Perron are still there to attract attention, Kyrou should have room to have another nice season next year. But when the offense was drying up, teams started keying on him more and no one else was there to be the threat needed.
- I'm feeling a lot more positively about Tarasenko than I did a couple months ago. He looks like a guy that is still getting up to speed in his mental game. His aggression and confidence have been gradually trending in the right direction. His physicality has been there in flashes. But what makes me positive about him for next year is that his shot has velocity and has been more and more of a weapon. The game today was his best shooting game since his return. I'm not going to quibble about 7.5M value, but I think he can be 25-30 goal threat guy.
- I really don't know what to expect from Parayko. He was holding up as far as big minutes, but I really hope he was still not 100% physically because he wasn't the factor the Blues need him to be. However, if he isn't 100%, what does it take for him to get there? Does he just need an offseason? Or will be be periodically hampered by this issue in the future? Is he a guy that's going to end up needing surgery in a season or two when he aggravates his back one time too many?
- On balance, I'm satisfied with what Hoffman contributed. He's going to move on, and that's fine. Thanks and good luck.
- I'm open-minded about letting Schwartz walk. I think he'll be re-signed. If he is not re-signed, it really depends what type of player you can get with that money. Usually the UFA market is a disappointment. Can we find another couple Perron's out there?