2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

[Reality Czech]

Ceci is better than every d-man they have on the right side not named Evan Bouchard and they're trying to win this season. He's also been very durable for them. Instead they've complicated their cap situation for a replacement making over 2x what they feel he deserves with limited NHL playing time and questions about how he'll hold up over the course of a full season.

Moving Ceci makes sense if you can find a better replacement while you're trying to win now. There are big questions about whether they've accomplished that and they've minimized their opportunity to do so later this season.

Could it work out if Broberg stays healthy and outplays Ceci despite playing on his off wing again where he's reportedly not comfortable? It's possible, but that's far from a guarantee.

This doesn't even consider the cap crunch next offseason brings when they're paying nearly $14M for their second defensive pairing and needing pay Bouchard upwards of $9.5M in addition to whatever huge cost Draisaitl will command.

I know some OIler fans are down on Ceci, but if they traded him and still don't match on Broberg then that fan base is gonna lose it. I've been reading a lot of their comments as I'm sure many of you have been and a lot of them argued that they'd prefer Ceci and the 2nd instead of Broberg. I'd say the only way they don't match on Broberg at this point is if they have some other trick up their sleeve to acquire a different d-man to replace him.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

I know some OIler fans are down on Ceci, but if they traded him and still don't match on Broberg then that fan base is gonna lose it. I've been reading a lot of their comments as I'm sure many of you have been and a lot of them argued that they'd prefer Ceci and the 2nd instead of Broberg. I'd say the only way they don't match on Broberg at this point is if they have some other trick up their sleeve to acquire a different d-man to replace him.

Broberg matched and Holloway to STL is still the most likely result of all of this in my mind.

 

[Brian39]

I know some OIler fans are down on Ceci, but if they traded him and still don't match on Broberg then that fan base is gonna lose it. I've been reading a lot of their comments as I'm sure many of you have been and a lot of them argued that they'd prefer Ceci and the 2nd instead of Broberg. I'd say the only way they don't match on Broberg at this point is if they have some other trick up their sleeve to acquire a different d-man to replace him.

I don't know that they need a specific guy in mind right now. They very well could believe that their special teams will be good enough to keep them into the playoff hunt until they find a mid-season D rental. You can get a quality rental defender with double retention if you give up a 2nd, 3rd, and 6th.

If they let both walk, they would be sitting at $87.055M in cap hits with 22 guys on the roster (including Kane). Kane to IR (not LTIR) and they could actually run a 21 (or even a 22) man roster while banking some cap space for a mid-season acquisition. Shuffle a guy to/from the AHL on paper during off days and they could bank a decent chunk of usable space by the midpoint of the season.

It's not unreasonable to believe that Edmonton could let both walk, enter the season as-is, then eventually use the acquired picks and saved cap space to acquire a $4-5M RHD at the deadline.

 

[Reality Czech]

I don't know that they need a specific guy in mind right now. They very well could believe that their special teams will be good enough to keep them into the playoff hunt until they find a mid-season D rental. You can get a quality rental defender with double retention if you give up a 2nd, 3rd, and 6th.

If they let both walk, they would be sitting at $87.055M in cap hits with 22 guys on the roster (including Kane). Kane to IR (not LTIR) and they could actually run a 21 (or even a 22) man roster while banking some cap space for a mid-season acquisition. Shuffle a guy to/from the AHL on paper during off days and they could bank a decent chunk of usable space by the midpoint of the season.

It's not unreasonable to believe that Edmonton could let both walk, enter the season as-is, then eventually use the acquired picks and saved cap space to acquire a $4-5M RHD at the deadline.

Good points. The only reason I expect them to match Bro is the timing of the deal. If they weren't planning to match then they may have looked into all options before dealing Ceci, who is a popular teammate and respected vet from what I read. That being said, I doubt they were going to find a better deal for Ceci so maybe that's why they pulled the trigger.

You do make a good point that it's much better for EDM to wait until after the season starts to put Kane on LTIR, as it will allow them to bank more cap space than if they do it ahead of time. So much intrigue! I went from thinking they'd let both go, to thinking they'd match Holloway, then Broberg and now I'm just gonna stop guessing and wait to see what happens. This is definitely one of the more fascinating hockey storylines in quite some time.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I don't know that they need a specific guy in mind right now. They very well could believe that their special teams will be good enough to keep them into the playoff hunt until they find a mid-season D rental. You can get a quality rental defender with double retention if you give up a 2nd, 3rd, and 6th.

If they let both walk, they would be sitting at $87.055M in cap hits with 22 guys on the roster (including Kane). Kane to IR (not LTIR) and they could actually run a 21 (or even a 22) man roster while banking some cap space for a mid-season acquisition. Shuffle a guy to/from the AHL on paper during off days and they could bank a decent chunk of usable space by the midpoint of the season.

It's not unreasonable to believe that Edmonton could let both walk, enter the season as-is, then eventually use the acquired picks and saved cap space to acquire a $4-5M RHD at the deadline.

That would signal a much different direction, different value appraisal of their drafted assets, etc, under the Bowman era. However, I think that allowing the RFAs to get successfully signed to offer sheets could be viewed as allowing blood in the water. They may feel duty bound to match them only to brush it off as no big deal....and ridicule Armstrong subtly for trying it. All in the interest of saving face and discouraging the next offer sheet.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

That would signal a much different direction, different value appraisal of their drafted assets, etc, under the Bowman era. However, I think that allowing the RFAs to get successfully signed to offer sheets could be viewed as allowing blood in the water. They may feel duty bound to match them only to brush it off as no big deal....and ridicule Armstrong subtly for trying it. All in the interest of saving face and discouraging the next offer sheet.

Bouchard is literally their only other good young player. They don't need to worry about offer sheets unless they are so tight to cap they can't keep their top RD. Letting Bro and Holloway walk and then blasting Blues for paying them 2-3x what they were worth to Oil is smart move (even if they subsequently blossom in St. Louis and are actually worth the $).

 

[Frenzy31]

Is Dri even going to resign with them? Not sure why he would. This seems like their best shot to win a cup.

 

[Reality Czech]

Is Dri even going to resign with them? Not sure why he would. This seems like their best shot to win a cup.

Depends on how close he is to Connor and how badly he wants to finish what they started in Edmonton. Doubt he'll be taking any big discounts, but like most star players in his situation it will come down to where he wants to be. Does he wanna help bring a Cup to EDM next to the best player of his generation or become THE guy on another team and write a new chapter.

If I had to guess I bet he will sign, but if he's playing hardball then the Oilers have a lot bigger decisions to make then Broberg/Holloway.

 

[Itsnotatrap]

Is Dri even going to resign with them? Not sure why he would. This seems like their best shot to win a cup.

I certainly will be rooting for them to get deals with those stars (for as much money as those stars can get), because that is what will neutralize almost any risk of this boomeranging back to us via retaliation.

 

[BlueDream]

Official - we got both Broberg and Holloway.

f***ing awesome. Way to go, Doug. Very impressed with his aggressiveness this offseason.

 

[tfriede2]

Official - we got both Broberg and Holloway.

f***ing awesome. Way to go, Doug. Very impressed with his aggressiveness this offseason.

Official, where? Still 10 minutes left

 

[BlueDream]

Official, where? Still 10 minutes left

The Oilers don’t have to take the entire time. They’ve told the players they’re heading to St. Louis per numerous sources. Friedman, Rishaug, Kypreoa and Strickland.

 

[tfriede2]

The Oilers don’t have to take the entire time. They’ve already told the players they’re heading to St. Louis per numerous sources. Friedman, Rishaug and Strickland.

I’m paranoid. So I’ll wait until 8:30, thank you very much, haha.

 

[Majorityof1]

Official, where? Still 10 minutes left

We paid them. It's official. Nobody is taking players for future considerations then renegging on those considerations.

 

[tfriede2]

We paid them. It's official. Nobody is taking players for future considerations then renegging on those considerations.

My post was at 8:20 before all of that came out.

 

[LGB]

Dark days for Scottie P

If we end up with Broberg I hope they trade Perunovich for a late pick rather than continue to hold 8 D on the roster, give him a shot somewhere else. POJ as the extra is enough, Tucker as 1st call up from Springfield.

If Krug is out for the year I'd hold onto Perunovich for this season. I've given up hope on him being a top 4 D, but I still think he is by far our best option on the PP and could do well enough on the bottom pairing.

 

[Reality Czech]

If Krug is out for the year I'd hold onto Perunovich for this season. I've given up hope on him being a top 4 D, but I still think he is by far our best option on the PP and could do well enough on the bottom pairing.

I'm not committed to Peru at all, but no reason to rush a trade at this point. Let's see who comes out of training camp healthy. I don't see him in our top 6 at this point, but that could change with one injury. I do wonder what he would do with a full (hopefully healthy) season, and yes he's our best bet on the PP right now.

 

[Louie the Blue]

I'm not committed to Peru at all, but no reason to rush a trade at this point. Let's see who comes out of training camp healthy. I don't see him in our top 6 at this point, but that could change with one injury. I do wonder what he would do with a full (hopefully healthy) season, and yes he's our best bet on the PP right now.

He can’t play passable defense at even strength to save his life.

For as much criticism as Krug gets, he at least can hold his own when he isn’t being deployed in situations he shouldn’t be in.

 

[Reality Czech]

He can’t play passable defense at even strength to save his life.

For as much criticism as Krug gets, he at least can hold his own when he isn’t being deployed in situations he shouldn’t be in.

I don't disagree but in fairness to him he's never had a prolonged run to really get comfortable, mostly due to his numerous injuries. If we traded him tomorrow, I wouldn't mind at all but like LGB said there isn't a reason to try and force a trade right now (unless they are gonna put him on waivers and risk losing him for nothing).

 

[joe galiba]

I'm not committed to Peru at all, but no reason to rush a trade at this point. Let's see who comes out of training camp healthy. I don't see him in our top 6 at this point, but that could change with one injury. I do wonder what he would do with a full (hopefully healthy) season, and yes he's our best bet on the PP right now.

Close to only bet right now on the PP

Faulk, Parayko, Leddy simply aren't very good at moving the puck and setting up guys on the PP
Suter was good a decade ago, now?
can Kessel or Broberg do it? I hope so looking at the 4 guys above
put Thomas or Kyrou high?

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

Close to only bet right now on the PP

Faulk, Parayko, Leddy simply aren't very good at moving the puck and setting up guys on the PP
Suter was good a decade ago, now?
can Kessel or Broberg do it? I hope so looking at the 4 guys above
put Thomas or Kyrou high?

The PP unit greatly improved when they moved Thomas up high last season. London Knights did the same thing with him. He's effectively the PPQB moving forward, I'd imagine. I imagine we'll start the season with:

Neighbours-Buch-Kyrou
Thomas-Faulk

 

[ds774622]

Close to only bet right now on the PP

Faulk, Parayko, Leddy simply aren't very good at moving the puck and setting up guys on the PP
Suter was good a decade ago, now?
can Kessel or Broberg do it? I hope so looking at the 4 guys above
put Thomas or Kyrou high?

I don't think Broberg was used on the PP, but was on the PK--so I don't know if he could QB a PP. What I'd like to see is Parayko given the ultimatum to clap bombs from the point on the PP or get no time at all. Get those rockets about waist high for Neighbours and Buchy to knock down for tip ins.

Edit: Broberg got 3:44 PP time in 12 regular season games and 0:51 in 10 playoff games.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I hope the Blues pro scouts hit a home run in their projections for Broberg. It sure looks like the Blues are a much better fit for him, and he fills an organizational need.

The Fire Armstrong crowd has been quiet this week.

 

[ds774622]

I hope the Blues pro scouts hit a home run in their projections for Broberg. It sure looks like the Blues are a much better fit for him, and he fills an organizational need.

The Fire Armstrong crowd has been quiet this week.

Oiler fans are all over the board on him and are reeeeeally trying to say he sucks...after being paired with Nurse lol.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1825616405242478939

I wonder if Strickland texted Tkachuk, Tarasenko or Mikkola and asked off the record what they thought of Broberg.

 

[Thallis]

I hope the Blues pro scouts hit a home run in their projections for Broberg. It sure looks like the Blues are a much better fit for him, and he fills an organizational need.

The Fire Armstrong crowd has been quiet this week.

This isn't really a needle mover on this front. This is the type of move that will either work out or not and we'll likely only know it in a few years. Could he develop into a Forsling? Sure, I hope he does. Right now though, he's a 3rd pair defender who needs minutes and leash to make mistakes.