2022-2023 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread

[Xerloris]

That was earlier in his career. Bouwmeester over his last few years as a Blue was absolutely not good with the puck. He would just rim it up the boards every time.


Nobody is a poor man’s Scandella, he’s not that good. Mikkola is on the same level as him.

He played the role the team needed. A shut down Dman. Kind of like how Scott Stevens was an offensive Dman in the 80's and early 90's but changed his game to fit what his team needed.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Here's an example of why I don't really like analysis of most national writers/analysts/etc. Instead of taking a moment to critically think about the position, or watch the tape, it's about dunking and reinforcing your previously held beliefs.

Critical thinking doesn't drive clicks/views like hot takes though.

 

[Reality Czech]

That was earlier in his career. Bouwmeester over his last few years as a Blue was absolutely not good with the puck. He would just rim it up the boards every time.


Nobody is a poor man’s Scandella, he’s not that good. Mikkola is on the same level as him.

Definitely not but maybe he'll get there one day. There is a reason he averages less than 16 mins a night.

Also, you are way underestimating Bouwmeester with the puck. He wasn't a playmaker but he knew what to do with it and didn't usually make careless mistakes. Solid all around hockey player that many fans wanted to throw on the scrap heap before winning the Cup.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

That was earlier in his career. Bouwmeester over his last few years as a Blue was absolutely not good with the puck. He would just rim it up the boards every time.


Nobody is a poor man’s Scandella, he’s not that good. Mikkola is on the same level as him.

JBo was far better with the puck that Mikkola. He wasn’t perfect but he made good decisions in the defensive zone more often than not.

 

[STL fan in MN]

I can see the comparison to Bouw and Mikkola as they are/were both defensive d-men with little offense (Bouw provided offense earlier in his career but not a ton later on) and they’re even about the same size but there’s one big difference. Bouw was a 1st pairing caliber defensive d-man. He allowed Petro to be able to roam, move up in the play, etc. Mikkola is a 3rd pairing caliber defensive d-man. His job is to simply try to hold serve while the top-4 guys take a break.

Mikkola is a decent d-man but basically close to replacement level IMO. I’d take a healthy Scandella over him but only slightly.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Mikkola is comparable in a sort of stylistic way, but he's a 3rd pairing version, where Bouwmeester even at the end was still a 1st pairing caliber guy.

 

[joe galiba]

I can see the comparison to Bouw and Mikkola as they are/were both defensive d-men with little offense (Bouw provided offense earlier in his career but not a ton later on) and they’re even about the same size but there’s one big difference. Bouw was a 1st pairing caliber defensive d-man. He allowed Petro to be able to roam, move up in the play, etc. Mikkola is a 3rd pairing caliber defensive d-man. His job is to simply try to hold serve while the top-4 guys take a break.

Mikkola is a decent d-man but basically close to replacement level IMO. I’d take a healthy Scandella over him but only slightly.

jbo was able to negate the best players in the world on the defensive side, both in the NHL and internationally, while still being able to effectively exit his own zone
I think a lot of the perception of him here is colored by the years he was playing hurt

I would be very comfortable with jbo on the ice against a McDavid, MacKinnon or a Crosby
and not so with Mikkola

 

[ValHaller]

Parayko is "getting work done" and may not play tonight. Would be the most Parayko thing ever to finally show a little physicality in a crucial moment and manage to injure himself on the play.

 

[shpongle falls]

If Parayko can’t make it I wonder if Tucker gets a chance to play tonight.

 

[STL fan in MN]

If Parayko can’t make it I wonder if Tucker gets a chance to play tonight.

Borts is still on IR and I’d be absolutely shocked if they went 13F, 5D…so yes, Tucker almost certainly would make his NHL debut if Parayko can’t play.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Looking at the schedule, I wonder at what point Army has to make a more drastic decision. We have games against the Sharks, Hawks, and 2 against the Ducks, if those games go poorly, then something has to happen. The last game in that stretch is 11/21 against the Ducks. Also in that stretch we face either really good teams or teams with decent records like Boston, Colorado, Vegas, Philly, and Washington, so we should assume we are not coming away with many points from that group.

If we can't collect the vast majority of the available points in the Sharks/Hawks/Ducks games, then we'll be dangerously close to being in too deep of a hole to recover from. And we'd then be in a position that I posted about before where everything about the season went horribly wrong, pieces should be moved and we start thinking about next season.

Well, the boys are doing their job, and we can even be over .500 by the end of this stretch.

 

[Reality Czech]

jbo was able to negate the best players in the world on the defensive side, both in the NHL and internationally, while still being able to effectively exit his own zone
I think a lot of the perception of him here is colored by the years he was playing hurt

I would be very comfortable with jbo on the ice against a McDavid, MacKinnon or a Crosby
and not so with Mikkola

Let's not forget Bouwmeester was an elite skater and few d-men, including Mikkola, are at his level in that department. He was just a smart, solid all-around d-man and there was a reason he was picked 3rd overall.

That being said, Mikkola did very well last night and deserves a ton of credit. Maybe he would look better if he consistently got to play with a better partner. Leddy seems like a good compliment for him, someone who can get out of a jam with his skating and passing while Miko does the heavy lifting in the D zone. Leddy has also been pretty solid lately after a rough start to the season.

 

[eibyyz]

Last night was the first Blues game I've seen this year. Man, it was weird seeing someone else wearing Reavo's #75.

 

[WeWentBlues]

Call me crazy but Josh Leivo has been critical to the team's turnaround. He is developing great chemistry with ROR and Saad, elevating the play of that entire line. More importantly, it has brought balance to the entire forward group. Starting to see chemistry and cohesion amongst all four lines building game after game.

 

[PJJJP]

The Rosen-Mikkola pair has stabilized the bottom pairing the last few games. Hopefully they can continue the success

 

[execwrite1]

As for Binnington, he stopped stopped 25 of 27 shots. He has a 2.25 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage over the four games.

 

[Brian39]

Call me crazy but Josh Leivo has been critical to the team's turnaround. He is developing great chemistry with ROR and Saad, elevating the play of that entire line. More importantly, it has brought balance to the entire forward group. Starting to see chemistry and cohesion amongst all four lines building game after game.

He's playing the Sanford role on ROR's wing very well. Nothing too flashy, but consistently making the smart/safe play to disrupt the other team or keep cycles alive.

 

[stl76]

I would not say Leivo has been critical to the turn around, getting Saad back has been a much bigger add IMO. Leivo has been fine, but he’s a guy we will likely have to upgrade at the TDL if we are serious about the playoffs.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I would not say Leivo has been critical to the turn around, getting Saad back has been a much bigger add IMO. Leivo has been fine, but he’s a guy we will likely have to upgrade at the TDL if we are serious about the playoffs.

i think he's fine as 3rd line winger. if our top 2 lines are producing i think we are good with him on ROR line.

 

[stl76]

i think he's fine as 3rd line winger. if our top 2 lines are producing i think we are good with him on ROR line.

Leivo has been OK, don’t mean to be overly critical of him...but he is definitely a weak spot in the top 9 IMO. Don’t think it’s an immediate glaring concern to have him on ROR’s wing in the regular season, but ideally for the playoffs I think we would want to upgrade that position at the TDL if we are buyers.

 

[PJJJP]

Any news on Parayko?

 

[BlueDream]

Any news on Parayko?

Day to day, needs rest and they’ll see how it goes.

 

[execwrite1]

Odds for Blues to win the Cup - 8,000 to 1.

Time to place my $10 bet.

 

[Brian39]

Odds for Blues to win the Cup - 8,000 to 1.

Time to place my $10 bet.

They aren't 8,000 to 1. They were +8000 a couple places about a week ago. Best I can find at the moment is +5,000. But those numbers are the return on a $100 bet, not a $1 bet. Odds of +8000 means that the odds are 80 to 1.

Your $10 bet at +8000 would win $800, not $80,000. I don't bet on the Blues anymore out of superstition, but if you can still get them at +8000 that's probably the best their odds will ever get this year.

I'd be betting several hundred bucks on the Blues to win the Cup if the odds were 8,000 to 1. A $125 bet would be a $1M payout at those odds.

 

[PocketNines]

Looking at the muddled Central the Blues on paper should absolutely be in the top 3. Dallas and Colorado seem like the two teams that will find themselves comfortably in position, and Arizona and Chicago are not worth thinking about, so it's the Blues versus Winnipeg, Minnesota, Nashville. Winnipeg is off to a hot start but come on. They're Winnipeg. They can be caught.