2020-2021 St. Louis Blues: Well, ****.

[BlueSeal]

Do you think Petro will be worth 9mill a year...in the final 4years of that contract??

We got a Cup out of the deal before the signing, so it’s a win no matter what. With that term and core roster you’re telling me we can’t go for one or two more Cups? Keeps the window wide open and guarantees us a two way elite DMAN especially with Tarasenko being a question mark.

If you ended up with a Cup or two during that extension would you REALLY complain about a declining Captain at the end of it? Teams like the Sharks would LOVE to have that problem!

Contracts, no matter the amount or terms, do eventually end but a name on the Cup is forever.

 

[ThunderCat]

We got a Cup out of the deal before the signing, so it’s a win no matter what. With that term and core roster that we can’t go for one or two more Cups? Keeps the window wide open and guarantees us a two way elite DMAN especially with Tarasenko being a question mark.

If you ended up with a Cup or two during that extension would you REALLY complain about a declining Captain at the end of it? Teams like the Sharks would LOVE to have that problem!

Contracts, no matter the amount or terms, do eventually end but a name on the the Cup is forever.

I can respect that answer..


Cups are what it's all about!!!

 

[BlueMed]

Besides Parayko, who's obvious, name one defenseman on the Blues '21 roster that is strong in his own end, or would be considered an above-average defender. I'm not even looking for elite or even very good...just merely "above average". Maybe, maybe Scandella would qualify. Faulk? Dunn? Gunnarsson? Krug? They're ALL firmly in the average or below category when it comes to defending. Maybe Mikkola or Perunovich get there some day; but it's pretty obvious why some people are "acting like our defense is now weak for some reason". The scoring from the back-end should be solid; but keeping the puck out of high-danger areas looks to be a massive concern.

I’m not saying our defense is perfect by any means, but if everyone outside of parako plays average defense with above average contributions offensively from Faulk, Krug, and Dunn, then that is an above-average D core overall. Blues fans have high standards when it comes to defensemen, but they never actually take a close look around the league. Wanna swap our D with Vegas’s or Colorado’s? You’ll be crying a lot harder about their depth.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I've read that the Blues and Bruins were linked to Mike Hoffman.. and he's waiting for final roster moves/LTIR.

It wouldn't surprise me if we signed him to a 1yr deal.

That’s the one I’m thinking of. I thought the Bruins already had cap space, so not sure what he’d be waiting for there.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I can't wait for the season to start so that we can quit hearing about "what people have written down on paper." Petro is gone, has been for a while; get over it. How about we wait until we see what we have before we all shit our pants and have a nervous breakdown.

Lol! That sounds like a pretty awful picture you’re describing. I’m out!

 

[The Note]

Wanna swap our D with Vegas’s or Colorado’s?

Yes. I can see an argument with Vegas to a degree. Would swap our defense with Colorado's without thinking twice.

 

[BlueMed]

I’m not saying our defense is perfect by any means, but if everyone outside of parako plays average defense with above average contributions offensively from Faulk, Krug, and Dunn, then that is an above-average D core overall. Blues fans have high standards when it comes to defensemen, but they never actually take a close look around the league. Wanna swap our D with Vegas’s or Colorado’s? You’ll be crying a lot harder about their depth.

Our defense is better than Colorado’s. Makar is still unproven defensively against top end forwards, EJ and Cole are underwhelming as we know, and the rest of their D is pretty bland. This forum is hard to read sometimes because people are so pessimistic and hyperbolic about the Blues. It’s pretty ridiculous.

 

[Spektre]

Our defense is better than Colorado’s. Makar is still unproven defensively against top end forwards, EJ and Cole are underwhelming as we know, and the rest of their D is pretty bland. This forum is hard to read sometimes because people are so pessimistic and hyperbolic about the Blues. It’s pretty ridiculous.

There are surprises in hockey every single season. Teams can look great on paper and miss the playoffs and other teams critics have no hope for make the playoffs. Nobody and I mean nobody thought Vegas would be a good team their first year and everyone kept waiting for the wheels to fall off only to watch them reach the finals. We'll see how this group of Blues play together. I'm not expecting them to fall of a cliff.

 

[sfvega]

I’m not saying our defense is perfect by any means, but if everyone outside of parako plays average defense with above average contributions offensively from Faulk, Krug, and Dunn, then that is an above-average D core overall. Blues fans have high standards when it comes to defensemen, but they never actually take a close look around the league. Wanna swap our D with Vegas’s or Colorado’s? You’ll be crying a lot harder about their depth.

That's the problem, though. Our defense isn't bad now. I don't think anyone is making it out to be bad. But to downgrade from a great defensive team when we won the Cup to a simply above average defensive team while not projecting to be noticably better offensively makes us a lot closer to a middle of the road team than a top 8 team in the NHL.

Is our defense better than Vegas or Colorado? Probably. Are they good enough to slow Vegas or Colorado? Probably not.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

That's the problem, though. Our defense isn't bad now. I don't think anyone is making it out to be bad. But to downgrade from a great defensive team when we won the Cup to a simply above average defensive team while not projecting to be noticably better offensively makes us a lot closer to a middle of the road team than a top 8 team in the NHL.

Is our defense better than Vegas or Colorado? Probably. Are they good enough to slow Vegas or Colorado? Probably not.

Is Vegas better at forward than the Blues? I’d say no. So if they’re inferior on both sides of the ice, do they make up for it with amazing goaltending? I’ll give them the edge there, but it’s not a big enough difference to give them the overall nod. I think this might be the year Vegas comes back to earth a bit, although with the proposed divisional realignment they may get a real break. And if we see only intradivision play, they may never face the Blues this year. Curious situation.

 

[The Note]

Our defense is better than Colorado’s. Makar is still unproven defensively against top end forwards, EJ and Cole are underwhelming as we know, and the rest of their D is pretty bland. This forum is hard to read sometimes because people are so pessimistic and hyperbolic about the Blues. It’s pretty ridiculous.

He is not a finished product defensively but he's also 22 and was at almost a PPG in his rookie season. If he isn't the best defenseman on either team right now he will be shortly. Using PuckIQ's QcTOI tool (while not perfect, it is one of the only good remaining QcTOI left these days) Makar played 34% of his minutes against what PuckIQ considers "elite" competition. For comparison's sake, Parayko was at about 37%. He performed well in those minutes and the Avs generally out-chanced their opponents with him out there. I also think you underrate what Girad and Graves bring, with Toews to provide another nice defensive presence.There's nothing hyperbolic or pessimistic about preferring Vegas or Colorado's defense to the Blues. The Avs are heads and shoulders above the rest of the division IMO, and their defense is a generally underrated group. I never said the Blues are dog food back there. I think the Blues are probably still a top 10 group on defense, but closer to 10 than to 1 at this point.