2023-2024 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread

[Damian Frerker]

so who do you think is going about there rebuild or retool the best way for long term success? Blues or Hawks. Hawks are purposely sucking for legit top picks that could turn into a couple franchise players for years where as we are in that merky middle with maybe good to great picks while still trying to remain competitive. should be fun to watch how this turns out. thanks for your input.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Blues will have a much better chance of being a competitive playoff team, where Chicago is a complete boom/bust type rebuild. If Bedard becomes generational and a bunch of others hit, then they can be Cup contenders for awhile. Even if Bedard hits, but they flop on a few others, they could end up as just another Buffalo or pre-Edmonton that sort of flounders around.

 

[Celtic Note]

so who do you think is going about there rebuild or retool the best way for long term success? Blues or Hawks. Hawks are purposely sucking for legit top picks that could turn into a couple franchise players for years where as we are in that merky middle with maybe good to great picks while still trying to remain competitive. should be fun to watch how this turns out. thanks for your input.

If the Hawks end up with some good D to compliment their elite forward and likely another this year, I think they will have similar success to what they had with Kane, Toews and Keith, while the Blues will have amazing depth like they did in the Backes years.

 

[Mike Liut]

If the Hawks end up with some good D to compliment their elite forward and likely another this year, I think they will have similar success to what they had with Kane, Toews and Keith, while the Blues will have amazing depth like they did in the Backes years.

that’s depressing

 

[tfriede2]

If the Hawks end up with some good D to compliment their elite forward and likely another this year, I think they will have similar success to what they had with Kane, Toews and Keith, while the Blues will have amazing depth like they did in the Backes years.

I think their fans are in for a rude awakening of several more years in the gutter, and when they get out of it, I’m not in the least convinced that they’ll be cup contenders. It takes a shrewd and wise GM to make the right moves with all those assets. They could end up like the 2013-2018 hawks, or they could be the 2010-2020 Oilers/Sabres. Time will tell, of course.

 

[bleedblue1223]

And they won't be able to benefit from cap shenanigans this time.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

so who do you think is going about there rebuild or retool the best way for long term success? Blues or Hawks. Hawks are purposely sucking for legit top picks that could turn into a couple franchise players for years where as we are in that merky middle with maybe good to great picks while still trying to remain competitive. should be fun to watch how this turns out. thanks for your input.

Chicago’s front office still looks dysfunctional to me. Until they demonstrate the competence to build out the team after this phase of their rebuild, I’ll expect them to be more like the incomplete projects we’ve seen inn recent years.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Right, look at Reichel's development. Maybe he's just not good enough, but completely gutting the NHL roster, so the prospects don't have quality vets to play with and learn from is not a good strategy. When your 1 good top 6 forward is Bedard, how do you expect to develop any of you other offensive talent around him? Vlasic looks like someone that can be a high-end defensive defenseman, but they are not handling guys like Reichel and Korchinski properly.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

And they won't be able to benefit from cap shenanigans this time.

They'll find something, they always do

 

[bleedblue1223]

Very curious to see what we do with Bannister. I'm unsure if I want him to be the head coach moving forward, but I certainly don't want him gone from the organization. Our turnaround isn't like 2019, where Berube turned them back into a force and while that team was together after the Cup, maintained that level of performance. The drop-off occurred after players left or started declining.

With Bannister, they still aren't playing great hockey, but he's obviously doing something right with them. And with the lack of talent, it makes the wins even more impressive.

 

[Celtic Note]

that’s depressing

Oh don’t get me wrong. I hate the idea of it.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

Wanted to take a minute to talk more about Neighbors. I thought his second goal against Buffalo showed some serious hockey IQ that I wasn't sure he really had. He read that the D was tired and made a great bank pass off the boards to Schenn, then followed it up with a solid net-front drive to clean up the rebound. The initial read/pass was honestly quite high IQ - very impressive for a guy who's IQ wasn't really touted.

He had a pretty rough start to the season's first 5-8 games, but since then, he's found his game. I had hoped he could turn into our Saad replacement eventually, a solid middle-six 20 goal guy with maybe a little more physicality and perhaps a little less defensive acumen. But now I'm wondering if he could turn himself into a solid top 6 contributor worker bee type player. It would be a major boon to our reload/build if he continues to grow into that.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Wanted to take a minute to talk more about Neighbors. I thought his second goal against Buffalo showed some serious hockey IQ that I wasn't sure he really had. He read that the D was tired and made a great bank pass off the boards to Schenn, then followed it up with a solid net-front drive to clean up the rebound. The initial read/pass was honestly quite high IQ - very impressive for a guy who's IQ wasn't really touted.

He had a pretty rough start to the season's first 5-8 games, but since then, he's found his game. I had hoped he could turn into our Saad replacement eventually, a solid middle-six 20 goal guy with maybe a little more physicality and perhaps a little less defensive acumen. But now I'm wondering if he could turn himself into a solid top 6 contributor worker bee type player. It would be a major boon to our reload/build if he continues to grow into that.

Yeah. I've been really impressed with his development this season. As we get more talent coming up, I think he's someone that's going to play a key role on the PP in front of the net, and someone that can plug into any line, fill a role, and produce some numbers.

 

[542365]

Jake's a smart player who can play on any line. His shooting percentage is obviously too high this year, 18.5%. That will come down and I don't think you can bank on him scoring at the rate he has this season for the rest of his career, but I have little doubt he's going to be a contributor for a long time. He's very smart and has enough skill to be productive and is willing to go to hard areas to score. That's a valuable player even if he's not putting up 25 goals like he's going to this year.

 

[STL fan in MN]

It’ll be a little funny if Neighbours hits 30 goals but not 40 pts (currently pacing for 29 goals, 37 pts).

After a rough start to the season, he’s been one of the brighter spots on the team. Still, I’d like to see more assists. More playmaking ability. I doubt he can keep up this high of a shooting percentage longterm but it’d be nice if we found ourselves a nice secondary scorer. My concern is it’s simply an unsustainable hot streak like Blais had last season.

 

[Majorityof1]

It’ll be a little funny if Neighbours hits 30 goals but not 40 pts (currently pacing for 29 goals, 37 pts).

After a rough start to the season, he’s been one of the brighter spots on the team. Still, I’d like to see more assists. More playmaking ability. I doubt he can keep up this high of a shooting percentage longterm but it’d be nice if we found ourselves a nice secondary scorer. My concern is it’s simply an unsustainable hot streak like Blais had last season.

I don't think his shooting percentage is that usustainable if he keeps playing like he is. He is very, very one-dimnesional right now but its a dimension we need badly and one he is excelling at. A lot of his shots are off rebounds 3 feet from the net with the goalie out of position. If you get that shot off, its going in. Not knocking him. He is doing a ridiculously good job getting into that position.

Look at his shot and goal heat maps. Its almost all concentrated between and below the dots. He has one goal from distance. He has 2 more goals barely beyond the dots and at the inner edge of the circle. The rest are all below the dots and between the circles.

I'd like him to add more dimensions to his game. But with how he is playing this year, I;m not worried about an unsustainable shooting percentage. I am worried coaches may highlight him to box him out so he doesn't get those shots anymore. He may be one dimensional right now, but its a dimension we need. It's a dimension he could carve out a decent career with even with nothing else if he can keep getting in tight, keep getting to those rebounds and keep getting in the goalies face.

 

[Brian39]

I don't think his shooting percentage is that usustainable if he keeps playing like he is. He is very, very one-dimnesional right now but its a dimension we need badly and one he is excelling at. A lot of his shots are off rebounds 3 feet from the net with the goalie out of position. If you get that shot off, its going in. Not knocking him. He is doing a ridiculously good job getting into that position.

Look at his shot and goal heat maps. Its almost all concentrated between and below the dots. He has one goal from distance. He has 2 more goals barely beyond the dots and at the inner edge of the circle. The rest are all below the dots and between the circles.

I'd like him to add more dimensions to his game. But with how he is playing this year, I;m not worried about an unsustainable shooting percentage. I am worried coaches may highlight him to box him out so he doesn't get those shots anymore. He may be one dimensional right now, but its a dimension we need. It's a dimension he could carve out a decent career with even with nothing else if he can keep getting in tight, keep getting to those rebounds and keep getting in the goalies face.

I was thinking the exact same thing about his shooting percentage and I'd add that his current style is also a big reason for the lack of assists. A non-insignificant amount of assists around the league happen when an "unsuccessful" shot eventually becomes a goal (either a rebound, deflection, or a puck retrieval that leads to a quick goal). You don't get those types of assists much when your style/role is banging home rebounds.

Long term, he needs to add elements to his game. And those elements very well might drag down his shooting percentage (while increasing his points and the total number of goals the team scores as a result of his play). But like you, I don't see his current shooting percentage being the result of unsustainable luck because he is taking almost exclusively shots that have more than an 'average' chance of going in.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Right, and this isn't meant to compare the players, but compare how they are scoring goals in a similar type fashion. Tomas Homstrom had a career shooting % of 16.3% and a good chunk of years at 18%+. If Neighbours is going to make a living around the net, he will have a high schooting %.

I remember Morrow being another comp that people threw around when he was drafted and developing, and it's similar with him too. Morrow had a career 15.9% shooting %.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

I don't think his shooting percentage is that unsustainable if he keeps playing like he is. He is very, very one-dimensional right now but its a dimension we need badly and one he is excelling at. A lot of his shots are off rebounds 3 feet from the net with the goalie out of position. If you get that shot off, its going in. Not knocking him. He is doing a ridiculously good job getting into that position.

Look at his shot and goal heat maps. Its almost all concentrated between and below the dots. He has one goal from distance. He has 2 more goals barely beyond the dots and at the inner edge of the circle. The rest are all below the dots and between the circles.

I'd like him to add more dimensions to his game. But with how he is playing this year, I'm not worried about an unsustainable shooting percentage. I am worried coaches may highlight him to box him out so he doesn't get those shots anymore. He may be one dimensional right now, but its a dimension we need. It's a dimension he could carve out a decent career with even with nothing else if he can keep getting in tight, keep getting to those rebounds and keep getting in the goalies face.

His one goal from distance was that 1-timer clap bomb that I also didn't believe he had in his arsenal. I think he's been focused on getting to the net a lot this year, but that 1-timer was a thing of beauty and something he should work on over the offseason as well. Skating, puck skills, and one-timers are my three areas of off-season training focus for Jake Neighbors if I'm playing NHL 2024.

I really hope he does continue to grow and add to his game. I think for this team to be successful long term, it's probably in our best interest to break up Thomas and Kyrou and have each of them anchoring their own lines from an offensive standpoint, much like the Hawks did with Toews and Kane for all those years. If we keep Buch I think starting in 2025-2026 I'd like to see something along the lines of:

Buch-Thomas-Snuggy
Neighbors-???(Dvo?)-Kyrou
Schenn-Hayes-???(Bolduc?)
who cares it's the 4th line.

Saad is traded in this scenario, but if not, perhaps him and Schenn play on the third line together with Hayes. If Dvo isn't ready by 2025 that's a huge wrench in the plans, b/c Schenn clearly isn't up to the task of 2C now, much less in two years time. If Buch is traded, we probably keep Saad and move all the LW up one spot, unless Bolduc makes Saad expendable too.

 

[Mike Liut]

The schedule starts getting tougher. Let’s see how they do the next couple weeks to decide if we are buyers or sellers. Army likes to sell if he doesn’t feel good about the team. Thankfully

 

[PocketNines]

Wanted to take a minute to talk more about Neighbors. I thought his second goal against Buffalo showed some serious hockey IQ that I wasn't sure he really had. He read that the D was tired and made a great bank pass off the boards to Schenn, then followed it up with a solid net-front drive to clean up the rebound. The initial read/pass was honestly quite high IQ - very impressive for a guy who's IQ wasn't really touted.

He had a pretty rough start to the season's first 5-8 games, but since then, he's found his game. I had hoped he could turn into our Saad replacement eventually, a solid middle-six 20 goal guy with maybe a little more physicality and perhaps a little less defensive acumen. But now I'm wondering if he could turn himself into a solid top 6 contributor worker bee type player. It would be a major boon to our reload/build if he continues to grow into that.

Neighbours is Blues future captain material, you can see it already

 

[PocketNines]

The schedule starts getting tougher. Let’s see how they do the next couple weeks to decide if we are buyers or sellers. Army likes to sell if he doesn’t feel good about the team. Thankfully

It's a tough stretch, he is not looking at this team as one player away. So he probably is looking to sell. But he doesn't HAVE to trade anyone if the price isn't right. They will likely sell Scandella, hopefully the market can spit out a 2d for that. If he can turn Faulk or Buchnevich into 1st round picks or the right prospect he knows Kessel and Snuggles will be NHLers.

Team is likely headed for 7th in the west and a date with central winner and the 19th overall pick.

 

[Mike Liut]

It's a tough stretch, he is not looking at this team as one player away. So he probably is looking to sell. But he doesn't HAVE to trade anyone if the price isn't right. They will likely sell Scandella, hopefully the market can spit out a 2d for that. If he can turn Faulk or Buchnevich into 1st round picks or the right prospect he knows Kessel and Snuggles will be NHLers.

Team is likely headed for 7th in the west and a date with central winner and the 19th overall pick.

I think we‘ll end up closer to .500 and draft around 10

 

[PocketNines]

I think we‘ll end up closer to .500 and draft around 10

the problem is ... they're honestly a better team than the teams they are directly competing with that are around them even if they sell. their 1G, 1C and 1D are having too strong of a season at the same time. it seemed at the time the coaching change was made they were pitching themselves that if they got the PP from near-last to the middle of the pack (which would take it being one of the top PPs for awhile). it seems to have happened and they are simply overall competing in a way where they feel like the actual best team among LAK, NSH, CGY, SEA, MIN, ARI. you'd think that tough schedule = more losses but counterintuitively I expect it to level them up

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Everyone should start planning for the idea that the Blues are going to make the playoffs. What they do once there is anyone's guess, beyond "they're probably not repeating 2019."