2022-2023 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread

[Majorityof1]

I haven’t seen one person mention Buchnevich as a potential Captain. Any particular reason we shouldn’t consider him?

He's quiet and uncomfortable speaking in English for large stretches. At least based on interviews where he is funny in a dry way, but gives short and quiet answers. The main job of a Captain is to speak to the ref to advocate on calls, and to get explanations for the calls. If the captain is on the ice, nobody else is allowed to speak with the refs. That is the point of a captain. I don't want someone not entirely comfortable speaking English to be Captain. He can be a leader without a letter.

 

[bleedblue1223]

You said he was a seasoned vet, that would have been enough. Especially since awards have nothing to do with someone being a good captain or not.

Thomas is technically a seasoned vet too, he'll be finishing his 5th full NHL season this year, Petro had 6 full seasons when he was named captain. On-ice performance is absolutely a factor, even if it's just about game to game consistency, which is something you have to have to have 2 top 5 Norris finishes or to be widely considered top 10 in your position. It's something Thomas doesn't quite yet have and Schenn doesn't have.

My entire point was the combo of Petro already being a vet and elite in his position made him an obvious choice for captain. Right now, we don't have an obvious captain and I'd prefer not to be in a scenario to strip someone of the C if they end up being the wrong choice or a better option comes along.

 

[shpongle falls]

Thomas was captain of his junior team, I feel like either him or Schenn would be a good choice. Maybe Faulker too. Any one of those 3 I’d be ok with.

 

[stl76]

I think it will eventually be Thomas. If he is not ready yet then he's not ready...but I'd bet it'll be him in a year or two (unless we happen to win the draft lottery or something).

 

[PocketNines]

Jordan Kyrou is like Bump Bailey on the NY Knights, just out there killing Pop Fisher

 

[Brockon]

He always looks like he's in a shitty mood.

I mean... That's something I associate with Russian culture - stoic with select moments of enthusiasm or happiness.

Think Ovi or Tarasenko, exstatic when they score, win etc and fairly dour during their interviews given.

Buchnevich reminds me of your typical non star Russians, in that his English isn't particularly well polished because he's not called upon to be eloquently spoken.

I agree with Maj, that Buch doesn't currently have the language skills to be advocating calls or appear in media interviews frequently.

If Buch is still with us in another 2 seasons and gets extended, his English likely will have improved. I can see him rightfully getting letter consideration for his on ice leadership. But as is, Buch's English isn't at a level to be the go to guy for interviews post game and advocating penalty discussions.

 

[Celtic Note]

I think Schenn may yet end up becoming Captain. That means both being named captain, but also stepping forward to be the leader.

I haven’t seen one person mention Buchnevich as a potential Captain. Any particular reason we shouldn’t consider him?

Honestly he is most deserving of an Blue. But he does not seem to be a vocal guy. He seems to quietly go about his job.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Buchy is getting more comfortable speaking to press. His proficiency with English is strong and shouldn’t be an issue if we want him to be captain.

 

[Renard]

Do we have to have a captain? The selection always seems to wind up alienating some people.

Can you rotate the captaincy from game to game?

For me, Brian Sutter was the ideal captain, a guy with a great work ethic, who fought for his teammates, and was respected by the officals.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I'd expect Buch to have an A next season. If he was American or Canadian or hell, even Swedish, he'd be the captain. The off-ice media stuff is a factor, and then we don't know what guys are like in the locker room and that's a factor. If on-ice performance and leading by example in that regard was the only factor, he'd be the only choice.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Do we have to have a captain? The selection always seems to wind up alienating some people.

Can you rotate the captaincy from game to game?

For me, Brian Sutter was the ideal captain, a guy with a great work ethic, who fought for his teammates, and was respected by the officals.

I would think it’d be allowable to rotate the C, but I don’t think that’d be a good idea. And no, teams don’t have to have a C.

And that’s exactly what I expect them to do - not have a C. Just have 3 guys wear an A. Or have a “leadership core” of 4-5 guy and they rotate the As.

 

[bleedblue1223]

That quote from the morning is pretty funny.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

That quote from the morning is pretty funny.

That reads like a guy who is comfortable with English and comfortable with reporters. I expect we will see more of this side of buchy now that our past stars ror and Tarasenko are gone and he is arguably our best player.

 

[bleedblue1223]

That reads like a guy who is comfortable with English and comfortable with reporters. I expect we will see more of this side of buchy now that our past stars ror and Tarasenko are gone and he is arguably our best player.

Yep. I imagine next season he gets an A, and we play without a C, with the hope that someone steps up.

Makes sense too since Michkov will fall to us, and he'll want to play for a Russian captain.

 

[tfriede2]

Yep. I imagine next season he gets an A, and we play without a C, with the hope that someone steps up.

Makes sense too since Michkov will fall to us, and he'll want to play for a Russian captain.

Make Buchnevich the C, Toropchenko an A and Alexandrov an A. Zherenko as backup after Binnington is traded and Hofer is the starter. Draft Michkov, have him buy his way out of his KHL deal, then profit (no need to dissect this - I’m not serious).

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Make Buchnevich the C, Toropchenko an A and Alexandrov an A. Zherenko as backup after Binnington is traded and Hofer is the starter. Draft Michkov, have him buy his way out of his KHL deal, then profit (no need to dissect this - I’m not serious).

Yeah, but……

 

[Brian39]

I think Schenn may yet end up becoming Captain. That means both being named captain, but also stepping forward to be the leader.

I haven’t seen one person mention Buchnevich as a potential Captain. Any particular reason we shouldn’t consider him?

99% of Blues fans speak English as a first language and can identify with Schenn's roots from a working class family. Our broadcast crew and the entire Canadian hockey media has built up his brand as a 'work boots' guy and Schenn is very good with the media. It is very, very easy to picture him as the face of a midwestern franchise. Beyond the brand, he was here for the Cup win and is locked in to a very long term deal.

Buch is my current favorite player on the team, but I know significantly less about him than I do Schenn. I can't relate to his childhood in Russia in remotely the same way I can relate to Schenn's and the language barrier is a real thing (even though I very much enjoy when Buch does talk to the media). He's been with the franchise for far less time than Schenn and he's a UFA in a couple years.

I think Buch is the best player on the team, but the C (especially the public's perception of wearing the C) is about much more than who the best player is. Schenn is the prototype of what most St. Louis people want an athlete to be and that does matter. I don't think anyone here has any idea who the better leader is behind closed doors. We're projecting/speculating based on public optics and those favor Schenn.

 

[Xerloris]

99% of Blues fans speak English as a first language and can identify with Schenn's roots from a working class family. Our broadcast crew and the entire Canadian hockey media has built up his brand as a 'work boots' guy and Schenn is very good with the media. It is very, very easy to picture him as the face of a midwestern franchise. Beyond the brand, he was here for the Cup win and is locked in to a very long term deal.

Buch is my current favorite player on the team, but I know significantly less about him than I do Schenn. I can't relate to his childhood in Russia in remotely the same way I can relate to Schenn's and the language barrier is a real thing (even though I very much enjoy when Buch does talk to the media). He's been with the franchise for far less time than Schenn and he's a UFA in a couple years.

I think Buch is the best player on the team, but the C (especially the public's perception of wearing the C) is about much more than who the best player is. Schenn is the prototype of what most St. Louis people want an athlete to be and that does matter. I don't think anyone here has any idea who the better leader is behind closed doors. We're projecting/speculating based on public optics and those favor Schenn.

I think Schenn would be a good captain. I know you didn't say he wouldn't be but I'm just throwing my hat into the ring to support him as captain.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

99% of Blues fans speak English as a first language and can identify with Schenn's roots from a working class family. Our broadcast crew and the entire Canadian hockey media has built up his brand as a 'work boots' guy and Schenn is very good with the media. It is very, very easy to picture him as the face of a midwestern franchise. Beyond the brand, he was here for the Cup win and is locked in to a very long term deal.

Buch is my current favorite player on the team, but I know significantly less about him than I do Schenn. I can't relate to his childhood in Russia in remotely the same way I can relate to Schenn's and the language barrier is a real thing (even though I very much enjoy when Buch does talk to the media). He's been with the franchise for far less time than Schenn and he's a UFA in a couple years.

I think Buch is the best player on the team, but the C (especially the public's perception of wearing the C) is about much more than who the best player is. Schenn is the prototype of what most St. Louis people want an athlete to be and that does matter. I don't think anyone here has any idea who the better leader is behind closed doors. We're projecting/speculating based on public optics and those favor Schenn.

I want to preface this by saying I know that you aren't intending to be racist, but this is same type of thinking that leads to companies only hiring white men in public facing roles because they think folks are more comfortable with them.

 

[LGB]

I'd like to see Buch center Kyrou. He's the only linemate Kyrou has really had success with this season, even away from Thomas they've put up good results together. If he can fix Kyrou that would be invaluable for this team. I'd try:

Saad - Buch - Kyrou
Vrana - Thomas - Kapanen

 

[Brian39]

I think Schenn would be a good captain. I know you didn't say he wouldn't be but I'm just throwing my hat into the ring to support him as captain.

I'm not necessarily opposed to him being named captain, but I wouldn't love the pick. I think he takes more nights off than his reputation suggests and he is prone to a big slump or two every year. I love his physicality and willingness to stand up for teammates and I do think that this aspect of his game makes him a decent lead by example kind of guy.

But my biggest concern about naming him captain is what that decision would look like in 3 years. He is under contract for 5 more years after this one and I could see that being a contract that we want to get rid of (or put on LTIR) before it's over. That might mean waivers or threatening waivers like the Bolts did with McDonagh. That stuff is never comfortable, but is worse when it is your captain. From an organizational standpoint, we seem trying to turn the page from the Cup group to a younger group (both in personnel and style). It hasn't been a smooth transition so far and I do wonder if making a member of that Cup group captain (with 5 years left on his deal) would make that transition even harder.

Again, I wouldn't hate it. I like Schenn and I think he would do all of the public-facing captain duties very well. From what we know about the closed-doors stuff it seems like he would handle those responsibilities well too. I'm just not sure it is the right decision.

I'm in the group that wants to hold off on naming a captain for an extended period. I do believe that Berube's seat will get hot next year if we don't improve the system and I'm not wild about him naming Schenn captain and then potentially getting fired a few months later. That would put us in the weird 'does the new coach strip the C or live with the guy we've got' debate.

 

[DoubleK81]

Buch is too much of a hothead to be captain. He also doesn't have much left on his current contract and he's going to be due a big raise if his production continues/rises. Who knows if he'll want to stay here or if we'll even be able to keep him.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Buch is too much of a hothead to be captain. He also doesn't have much left on his current contract and he's going to be due a big raise if his production continues/rises. Who knows if he'll want to stay here or if we'll even be able to keep him.

DA said when we named ROR captain that he was hesitant about a captain with limited term on contract but that ultimately he came to the conclusion that you pick the guy who is best suited to be C and not worry about it. I'm not sure if he was right, though, as having captain's status in flux this year didn't help. I think smartest move is to not have captain next season and see how things evolve. Add Faulk and Buchy and Thomas as A's to Schenn and Parayko and let it play out.

 

[Brian39]

I want to preface this by saying I know that you aren't intending to be racist, but this is same type of thinking that leads to companies only hiring white men in public facing roles because they think folks are more comfortable with them.

Totally agree.

I probably should have been more clear that I don't think Schenn should be the frontrunner for these reasons, but that I believe these are in fact some of the reasons that he is the consensus frontrunner. I wasn't trying to say that I don't want it to be Buch because I identify with him less or know less about him. My intended point was that we as a fanbase are presented with a much bigger window into Schenn's life/personality than we are Buch's life and personality.

I think part of that is a conscious 'know your target market' decision by broadcasters/journalists, but more of it is simply ease of access. It is easier for Schenn to open that window to us than it is for someone who is still learning the language. It is easier for broadcasters/journalists to develop a relaxed relationship with Schenn than it is with Buch. Small talk, jokes, and common experiences bring down some walls between a reporter and a player. When a broadcaster or journalist knows that they need a quick quote, it is just human nature to ask the guy who you spend more time 'off the record' with. Suddenly Schenn is getting twice the airtime not from an intended bias, but simply because the lack of language barrier makes it easier to get him on the record about things. And from the other side, it is easier for Schenn to open up and articulate in English vs a guy who is still learning the language.

Whether it is intended or not, the outcome is that we as fans hear about (and from) Schenn more often. How many times have we been told that Schenn's dad was a fireman and that is where Schenn learned the importance of putting on the work boots? How many times have we been told that Buch's dad worked in a steel factory? Those things shape the narrative on guys and I'd bet money that more Blues fans would think about Schenn than Buch when asked about guys who understand the plight of the midwest working man.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Buch is too much of a hothead to be captain. He also doesn't have much left on his current contract and he's going to be due a big raise if his production continues/rises. Who knows if he'll want to stay here or if we'll even be able to keep him.

How’s he a hothead?

Assuming they go with a leadership group of rotating As next season, then perhaps they don’t end up naming a C until the summer/fall of 2024, which is also when Buchy becomes eligible to sign an extension.

I’d agree that I wouldn’t give him the C with just 1 year left on his deal but if he’s willing to extend, then he absolutely becomes an option IMO.