2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

[joe galiba]

Wow! So Broberg is the next Bobby Orr??!!!

someone give him number 4

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

He played a #4 role for all 82 games on a very good team last year. I see no reason he can’t play 18-19 minutes a night for the Blues this year as we hopefully ease Broberg in to 2nd pairing minutes as the season goes on.

That sounds awful. Suter looks done, and we don't have a Heiskanen to shelter him.

 

[Frenzy31]

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.

I am pretty sure you can put anyone on LTIR until the season has started. But you can exceed the cap by 10% in the off season. You just have to be complaint when the season starts.

Further, I don’t think you can bank cap by putting someone on LTIR. I though it would allow you to exceed the cap, but I am pretty sure you can bank it.

He played a #4 role for all 82 games on a very good team last year. I see no reason he can’t play 18-19 minutes a night for the Blues this year as we hopefully ease Broberg in to 2nd pairing minutes as the season goes on.

Exactly. The Oilers started in a bit of a hole through the first half of the year. He was playing top pairing minutes a night in the AHL vs 8-12 in the NHL….

Armstrong made a very interesting statement about teams trying to win not being able to give young guys a chance to develop in the NHL. I think that might have been the case last year….. it we really don’t know.

 

[Mike Liut]

I’ve rooted for losses and a top 5 finish these past 2 years. I’m finally back on board with winning. Our re-tool is officially over. We are a playoff team this year, I 100% guarantee it.

 

[Beauterham]

Sure, I don't think it's the sign of a healthy defense, but I have a hard time seeing Broberg coming in and winning a top 4 spot after struggling to stick in the NHL last season with similar competition for defensive spots. I think @stl76 has it spot on.

Army himself said in his interview that the Blues viewed Broberg als a top-4 defenseman (and Hollowayvas a top-9 forward). Now a lot can still change till the start of the season but ATM it seems Broberg is pencilled in as a top-4 defenseman.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Krug will be moveable next summer.

 

[Majorityof1]

Army himself said in his interview that the Blues viewed Broberg als a top-4 defenseman (and Hollowayvas a top-9 forward). Now a lot can still change till the start of the season but ATM it seems Broberg is pencilled in as a top-4 defenseman.

He also said we are in a position to play young guys and let them grow into the role. We weren't in the position during our more competitive window.

So Broberg isn't a top 4 yet but we can play him there and give him some room to grow. I think Army was pretty clear (for him) that the plan is to play Broberg top 4 and let him make mistakes and grow.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

Krug will be moveable next summer.

If Krug can move next summer.

 

[LetsGoBooze]

I hope the group of fans hitching to the playoffs or bust menality this early into the re-tool arent disappointed if we dont make it this year or next. Even with a ton of propects hitting our roster over the next two years, we have to give them time to adjust and grow to the NHL level of play. My absolute earliest hopes for any sort of playoff run is not this year or next, but possibly the 2026 season. Dont get me wrong, Im as excited as others for a year of growth for all of our young players. But my expectations are inline with a finish somewhere between our two most recent seasons, 10th-16th worst. DA has even mentioned he has held our 2025 1st with purpose, i think he believes it will be a pick in the top half of the draft as well.

 

[Brian39]

I would put money down on Suter being in the top 4 on opening night

I think he's the safest bet to be in that starting lineup of the 3 guys I mentioned, but I do see scenarios where he gets pushed out because the organization wants to give multiple young guys chances to learn/grow/develop. His job would be in real jeopardy if we can't put together a competent PP1 group without Perunovich acting as the QB.

Suter has $2.25M in potential bonuses tied to games played and we gave him his contract well before we could have been confident about bringing in Broberg. He's never played a game with the Blues and there is financial incentive to keep him out of the lineup if he's not clearly one of the 6 best D men in the organization. Again, I think he's the safest bet, but I think he's pretty far from a lock.

Based on Army's comments about Broberg and the financial/asset cost to bring him in, I think Broberg is going to get every chance to be the #4 D man to start the year. He has more of a future than Suter and I think that the team would prefer to pair him with a vet than pairing him with Kessel. I think Suter is the safest bet to be in the opening night lineup out of Suter, Perunovich, and Joseph. But I'd put money on Broberg over Suter as the last guy to round out the top 4.

 

[Reality Czech]

I think he's the safest bet, but I do see scenarios where he gets pushed out because the organization wants to give multiple young guys chances to learn/grow/develop. His job would be in real jeopardy if we can't put together a competent PP1 group without Perunovich acting as the QB.

Suter has $2.25M in potential bonuses tied to games played and we gave him his contract well before we could have been confident about bringing in Broberg. He's never played a game with the Blues and there is financial incentive to keep him out of the lineup if he's not clearly one of the 6 best D men in the organization. Again, I think he's the safest bet, but I think he's pretty far from a lock.

If I had to guess, I'll say Broberg gets the first chance at a top 4 LHD role in camp but they won't force the issue if he seems not ready for that yet. To me, the bigger question is does he end up playing with Faulk or Colt? I could also see them ease him in more slowly and let him grow into the top 4 role rather than rushing him into it from Game 1.

If Suter ends up the odd man out, it wouldn't surprise me to see Army shop him to other teams where he might get more playing time and have a better chance of hitting those bonuses. Seems like that would go along with Army's player-friendly approach but of course we'll see how everything shakes out. I don't mind having Suter around as a 6/7 at all as he'll be motivated to show everyone that he can still play.

 

[Brian39]

If I had to guess, I'll say Broberg gets the first chance at a top 4 LHD role in camp but they won't force the issue if he seems not ready for that yet. To me, the bigger question is does he end up playing with Faulk or Colt? I could also see them ease him in more slowly and let him grow into the top 4 role rather than rushing him into it from Game 1.

If Suter ends up the odd man out, it wouldn't surprise me to see Army shop him to other teams where he might get more playing time and have a better chance of hitting those bonuses. Seems like that would go along with Army's player-friendly approach but of course we'll see how everything shakes out. I don't mind having Suter around as a 6/7 at all as he'll be motivated to show everyone that he can still play.

I was editing my post as you responded, because I agree with you about Broberg. I think Suter is the safest bet to be in the opening night lineup out of Suter/Perunovich/Joseph, but I think Broberg is a safer bet to be in the top 4.

I think that they will start off by pairing Broberg with Faulk. Unuless they want to really change how Parayko is deployed, that is the route that avoids throwing Broberg way into the deep end of the pool. 22+ minutes with a 33% O zone start rate against the other team's top line is setting him up for failure. Broberg-Faulk would also ensure that you have size on every pair while Broberg-Parayko gives you a large 1st pair but a small 2nd pair of Leddy-Faulk.

I want to see Broberg play a lot of minutes and I think that's what the team wants too. But I don't want to see him suddenly thrust into one of the hardest roles in hockey. I think that pairing him with Faulk and making him the 4th or 5th penalty killer gives him the best chance to get him 18+ minutes a night that he can handle and grow in.

 

[Reality Czech]

I was editing my post as you responded, because I agree with you about Broberg. I think Suter is the safest bet to be in the opening night lineup out of Suter/Perunovich/Joseph, but I think Broberg is a safer bet to be in the top 4.

I think that they will start off by pairing Broberg with Faulk. Unuless they want to really change how Parayko is deployed, that is the route that avoids throwing Broberg way into the deep end of the pool. 22+ minutes with a 33% O zone start rate against the other team's top line is setting him up for failure. Broberg-Faulk would also ensure that you have size on every pair while Broberg-Parayko gives you a large 1st pair but a small 2nd pair of Leddy-Faulk.

I want to see Broberg play a lot of minutes and I think that's what the team wants too. But I don't want to see him suddenly thrust into one of the hardest roles in hockey. I think that pairing him with Faulk and making him the 4th or 5th penalty killer gives him the best chance to get him 18+ minutes a night that he can handle and grow in.

Couldn't agree more. Leddy/Parayko did pretty well in their shutdown role, so let's give them the same role and then let Faulk/Broberg take the 2nd most difficult matchups. I suspect that Faulk is gonna have a bounce back year as the guy we saw last year didn't look like the Faulk we had seen the previous year or two. Suter/Kessel also makes a lot of sense as Kessel may benefit from playing with the grizzled vet, although that will likely be a revolving door of Suter, Peru and Joseph.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Bannister dress 7 D from time to time if everyone is healthy because all of those 3 will need their playing time unless one of them really separates themselves from the pack. Plus, as mentioned in an earlier post Perunovich is the best bet to run the 1st PP unit. I'm not a huge fan of dressing 7 D but considering the circumstances, I can see it happening. I guess we'll see if there are any injuries in camp and go from there.

 

[joe galiba]

I have Kessel down in pencil, as solid as he was, it was only 39 games

I have seen multiple young players, across multiple sports, come in for part of a season and look like they are the answer and then never manage to play to that level moving forwards

pencil for now, hopefully ink later

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Damn....I always joke that DA would sell out his own mother to improve his trade position. He agrees....

Doug Armstrong: 'Quite honestly, I'd do it to my mother if she was managing the Oilers'

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/doug-armstrong-quite-honestly-id-do-it-to-my-mother-if-she-was-managing-the-oilers

 

[BlueDream]

Damn....I always joke that DA would sell out his own mother to improve his trade position. He agrees....

Doug Armstrong: 'Quite honestly, I'd do it to my mother if she was managing the Oilers'

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/doug-armstrong-quite-honestly-id-do-it-to-my-mother-if-she-was-managing-the-oilers

That’s an all-time quote from a GM.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I hope the group of fans hitching to the playoffs or bust menality this early into the re-tool arent disappointed if we dont make it this year or next. Even with a ton of propects hitting our roster over the next two years, we have to give them time to adjust and grow to the NHL level of play. My absolute earliest hopes for any sort of playoff run is not this year or next, but possibly the 2026 season. Dont get me wrong, Im as excited as others for a year of growth for all of our young players. But my expectations are inline with a finish somewhere between our two most recent seasons, 10th-16th worst. DA has even mentioned he has held our 2025 1st with purpose, i think he believes it will be a pick in the top half of the draft as well.

I don’t actually care if they make the playoffs. But I want a competitive atmosphere and games played with intensity. The young guys need that type of upbringing about what it takes to win in this league. We’ve seen rebuilds where the young players never learned how to pay the price and play the way they needed to to win games, and I put a lot of that onto an atmosphere of complacency.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I hope the group of fans hitching to the playoffs or bust menality this early into the re-tool arent disappointed if we dont make it this year or next. Even with a ton of propects hitting our roster over the next two years, we have to give them time to adjust and grow to the NHL level of play. My absolute earliest hopes for any sort of playoff run is not this year or next, but possibly the 2026 season. Dont get me wrong, Im as excited as others for a year of growth for all of our young players. But my expectations are inline with a finish somewhere between our two most recent seasons, 10th-16th worst. DA has even mentioned he has held our 2025 1st with purpose, i think he believes it will be a pick in the top half of the draft as well.

Totally. Bringing in a little sobriety here is good.

I see the Blues making the playoffs as the WC2 and then getting spanked out of the 1st round, which sounds about right. But there are several IFs. We got lucky with injuries last season. We have at least 5 players who are tradebait candidates for the 2025 tdl, but only 2 maybe 3 will move. Will DA keep the right combo of players post-tdl to sustain a shot at WC2? DA is gonna ride that line of shooting for the playoffs, while regaining at least two draft picks by trading 2 or 3 of Saad, Suter, Faksa, Kap and Peru.

I'll be most curious how they integrate players.

 

[Itsnotatrap]

I hope the group of fans hitching to the playoffs or bust menality this early into the re-tool arent disappointed if we dont make it this year or next. Even with a ton of propects hitting our roster over the next two years, we have to give them time to adjust and grow to the NHL level of play. My absolute earliest hopes for any sort of playoff run is not this year or next, but possibly the 2026 season. Dont get me wrong, Im as excited as others for a year of growth for all of our young players. But my expectations are inline with a finish somewhere between our two most recent seasons, 10th-16th worst. DA has even mentioned he has held our 2025 1st with purpose, i think he believes it will be a pick in the top half of the draft as well.

I’m not ruling much of anything in terms of playoff chances, but I do agree that is a bit beside the point. The Blues were kinda seemingly floating along without clarity of course of action. This clearly grabs some control of the course of action, and for me personally that helps pull me in a little deeper in engagement. Even if we stretch out young kids in roles they may not be ready for some, I can deal with that when they made this type of move to set the stage for it.

 

[Hrkac Circus]

Be great if we could get into the playoffs and beat the Oilers in the first round. I’m already tired of hearing their fans assume they are already penciled in to the Stanley Cup finals.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Be great if we could get into the playoffs and beat the Oilers in the first round. I’m already tired of hearing their fans assume they are already penciled in to the Stanley Cup finals.

They’re vulnerable. Defense is questionable.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

I hope the group of fans hitching to the playoffs or bust menality this early into the re-tool arent disappointed if we dont make it this year or next. Even with a ton of propects hitting our roster over the next two years, we have to give them time to adjust and grow to the NHL level of play. My absolute earliest hopes for any sort of playoff run is not this year or next, but possibly the 2026 season. Dont get me wrong, Im as excited as others for a year of growth for all of our young players. But my expectations are inline with a finish somewhere between our two most recent seasons, 10th-16th worst. DA has even mentioned he has held our 2025 1st with purpose, i think he believes it will be a pick in the top half of the draft as well.

2025 Cup winners, book it right now.

On a real note, the playoffs are less important than being a team that doesn’t roll over for opponents.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

They’re vulnerable. Defense is questionable.

They should see what they can do to acquire a promising young defenseman to fill the void.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

They should see what they can do to acquire a promising young defenseman to fill the void.

you don't think emberson is the answer?

 

[STL fan in MN]

They should see what they can do to acquire a promising young defenseman to fill the void.

Blues found one. Why can’t they?