2022-2023 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread

[STL fan in MN]

I love Sunny, but seems like he is 4th line winger at this point.

Yep. He can’t really fill either center hole because…he’s not a center anymore.

Sunny took all of 63 faceoffs this season, winning just over 40% of them.

Love the guy but he’s a RW. Maybe if Blais is penciled in more as the 3RW then perhaps we could use Sunny as the 4RW but otherwise, he doesn’t really fill a need.

 

[bleedblue1223]

If Sunny truly loves it here and is willing to take a discount, then sign me up. We have 4th liners to replace, and I don't really want to go into the season with someone like Toropchenko intended to be a full-time 4th liner, I think he's still in a spot where he needs to earn his time.

And having guys like Blais and Sunny that are capable of playing up in the lineup in emergencies or Blais if he actually does breakout, is a key to being a good team. A 4th line like we had last season of guys like Leivo, Brown, Pitlick, Walker, etc. is the mark of a bad team.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

If Sunny truly loves it here and is willing to take a discount, then sign me up. We have 4th liners to replace, and I don't really want to go into the season with someone like Toropchenko intended to be a full-time 4th liner, I think he's still in a spot where he needs to earn his time.

And having guys like Blais and Sunny that are capable of playing up in the lineup in emergencies or Blais if he actually does breakout, is a key to being a good team. A 4th line like we had last season of guys like Leivo, Brown, Pitlick, Walker, etc. is the mark of a bad team.

Torpo is much better player than sunny at this point. We remember fondly sunny of 2019 and 2020, but he’s not that player anymore. He would be like borts, a washed-up part-timer who is mostly scratched but is great in the room so we want to keep him.

 

[Brian39]

What of Toews performance the last couple season suggests he's worth signing and taking a roster spot from another player that will most certainly have more value? What value does his leadership have in a room where he's not likely to be around for more than a season?

He scored at a 23 goal and 48 point pace playing 17:43 a night on a truly dreadful Hawks team last year. 12 goals and 37 points playing 17:29 a night in 71 games the year before. I didn't watch nearly enough Hawks games to say whether the brutal looking defensive/possession metrics were based on him being poor defensively or the team being putrid. Probably a combination of the two, but if some pros scouts are saying that he can still defend like a an NHL 3C, then he is probably still a replacement level 3C. Those are generally not cheap to acquire, especially if you're not looking to give up term.

His health is the big mystery, but who knows what is known privately about that.

On a 35+ contract with a cheap base AAV and some GP + performance bonuses, I think it could be a good low-risk gamble as as stopgap while we try to develop Alexandrov and Dean into a 3C. He only causes a cap headache if his play is actually what you hoped to get. I think he'll have his pick of destinations on that type of contract, but I think it is worth the inquiry. I don't care about pissing off Hawks fans, but I do think Toews potentially wanting to stick it to the Hawks increases our chances of winning such a competition.

 

[Xanadude]

On one hand, signing Toews would be so gross...but on the other hand, if given 3rd line duty, it might not be a bad call to have him run defensive minutes while we give Bolduc, Dean and Alexandrov time to develop. Saad and Leddy being former teammates might also be an incentive for him to sign here if he is indeed looking to continue playing.

It'd still feel wrong to see him wearing the note, but the only FA shopping I think we should do at all is adding a defense-first bottom six center and he might fit that bill.

 

[joe galiba]

He scored at a 23 goal and 48 point pace playing 17:43 a night on a truly dreadful Hawks team last year. 12 goals and 37 points playing 17:29 a night in 71 games the year before. I didn't watch nearly enough Hawks games to say whether the brutal looking defensive/possession metrics were based on him being poor defensively or the team being putrid. Probably a combination of the two, but if some pros scouts are saying that he can still defend like a an NHL 3C, then he is probably still a replacement level 3C. Those are generally not cheap to acquire, especially if you're not looking to give up term.

His health is the big mystery, but who knows what is known privately about that.

On a 35+ contract with a cheap base AAV and some GP + performance bonuses, I think it could be a good low-risk gamble as as stopgap while we try to develop Alexandrov and Dean into a 3C. He only causes a cap headache if his play is actually what you hoped to get. I think he'll have his pick of destinations on that type of contract, but I think it is worth the inquiry. I don't care about pissing off Hawks fans, but I do think Toews potentially wanting to stick it to the Hawks increases our chances of winning such a competition.

I have a buddy from Chicago, he told me Toews was very solid early in the year and then faded as the year went on, he didn't know if it was mental or physical, but the players around him were putrid so you couldn't judge how he was playing just by the stats

 

[BlueDream]

Torpo is much better player than sunny at this point. We remember fondly sunny of 2019 and 2020, but he’s not that player anymore. He would be like borts, a washed-up part-timer who is mostly scratched but is great in the room so we want to keep him.

Sundqvist’s last 2 seasons since being traded from the Blues:

2021-2022: 23 points in 59 games
2022-2023: 29 points in 68 games

He has produced like a 3rd liner, and has been on the 2nd or 3rd PK unit as well. Where are we getting the idea that he’s washed up and wouldn’t ever play? If we can get that player for 1.5M, I’d do it for sure.

If Sunny truly loves it here and is willing to take a discount, then sign me up. We have 4th liners to replace, and I don't really want to go into the season with someone like Toropchenko intended to be a full-time 4th liner, I think he's still in a spot where he needs to earn his time.

And having guys like Blais and Sunny that are capable of playing up in the lineup in emergencies or Blais if he actually does breakout, is a key to being a good team. A 4th line like we had last season of guys like Leivo, Brown, Pitlick, Walker, etc. is the mark of a bad team.

Completely agree. I want guys that are hard to play against and can also move up into the top 9 if need be. Neighbours, Blais, Sunny, Torpo, Alexandrov give us that.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Sundqvist’s last 2 seasons since being traded from the Blues:

2021-2022: 23 points in 59 games
2022-2023: 29 points in 68 games

He has produced like a 3rd liner, and has been on the 2nd or 3rd PK unit as well. Where are we getting the idea that he’s washed up and wouldn’t ever play? If we can get that player for 1.5M, I’d do it for sure.


Completely agree. I want guys that are hard to play against and can also move up into the top 9 if need be. Neighbours, Blais, Sunny, Torpo, Alexandrov give us that.

He may be putting up points, but he’s getting caved in. He is not the defensive stud we recall. He is awful on faceoffs. I like him but he is declining player.

 

[Mike Liut]

No on Toews, 50-50 on Sunny

 

[Mike Liut]

Just for shits, I’d like to compare the cup winning Blues to the 2023 Vegas team Player for player and see who you guys think would win.

 

[Xerloris]

Just for shits, I’d like to compare the cup winning Blues to the 2023 Vegas team Player for player and see who you guys think would win.

Blues. Look what Binny did in game 7 in Boston. That was one of the worst scenarios you could imagine to have to win the cup in and we pulled it off.

 

[BlueDream]

He may be putting up points, but he’s getting caved in. He is not the defensive stud we recall. He is awful on faceoffs. I like him but he is declining player.

Maybe, but is that because of him or just because Detroit is awful?

I wouldn’t pay him much, but he seems like the type that would take less to stay here so that’s why I’m interested. At the very least that’s a good depth player to have.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Maybe, but is that because of him or just because Detroit is awful?

I wouldn’t pay him much, but he seems like the type that would take less to stay here so that’s why I’m interested. At the very least that’s a good depth player to have.

He has worse possession numbers than team, so seems to be him. But I would take him on 1 year deal to bring joy to team.

 

[Mike Liut]

Blues. Look what Binny did in game 7 in Boston. That was one of the worst scenarios you could imagine to have to win the cup in and we pulled it off.

What about the 4 lines and D?

 

[Xerloris]

What about the 4 lines and D?

Well considering we were so deep that someone Vegas uses on their top line played on our 4th, we were clearly better.

 

[Mike Liut]

Well considering we were so deep that someone Vegas uses on their top line played on our 4th, we were clearly better.

Our 3 pairings were better too.

 

[FrontYardSpecial]

Say it ain’t so

 

[BlueDream]

I don’t personally care about Pang that much.

But the real bummer is we are now stuck with Jamie Rivers every game.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Say it ain’t so

this is best hockey news i've heard in a while! he is so painful to listen to, especially on blues games.

 

[Thallis]

this is best hockey news i've heard in a while! he is so painful to listen to, especially on blues games.

The problem is our booth has very little talent other than him. JK is boring and Rivers/Bernie are awful.

 

[542365]

Say it ain’t so

That makes me sad. I know he can be annoying, but he’s funny and loves the game and loosens JK up a bit. Nothing against Jamie Rivers, but I really hope he’s not next in line. Would MUCH rather have Joe Vitale.

 

[jura]

at least we'll have Andy Strickland

 

[Mike Liut]

I love Panger

 

[Brian39]

We don't have complete certainty that the Blues will even be airing on Bally Sports next season, so I'm not surprised that Pang is seeking other employment options.

The MLB got a big win with the judge ruling that Bally can't just miss payments (or only make partial payments) but continue to hold the exclusive broadcast rights while bankruptcy is pending. However, one potential response by Bally is to stop paying the teams of their least profitable contracts and simply forfeiting the rights.

We are still very much in limbo for next season. I think there is a good chance that Bally forfeits the rights to more than a couple NHL teams and that the NHL will have to step in with a plan to get games on TV. Depending on how many teams that is (and which teams it is), one possibility is that the NHL simply reaches deals to air the opponent broadcast in the local market and have a single 'league' crew to call games between two teams that each don't have a TV partner. That's far from ideal and I'd hope that the Blues are profitable enough that Bally wouldn't want to give up our rights.

But it isn't outside the realm of possibility that we just don't have a local broadcast crew next season.

 

[BlueDream]

Bally has been absolutely awful from the very first day they took over.