2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

[Majorityof1]

Clearly everyone associated with Team Canada hasn't read this forum to find out what a terrible goalie Binnington is. Lol f-ing amatuers

They don't have to read the forums, just look at his stats, or watch a game. But you are right, appeal to authority. Last refuge of an untenable position. I forgot you'll always have that cherry to fall back on.

I also love how you're not like. Oh no, Binnington's great. He'll totally put up good numbers. Love the confidence, making excuses already.

It's a good thing when the Blues can finally move on, we don't have to select a Canadian goalie without beef with Cassidy. Gives us more options for good goalies than Team Canada had.

 

[Xerloris]

They don't have to read the forums, just look at his stats, or watch a game. But you are right, appeal to authority. Last refuge of an untenable position. I forgot you'll always have that cherry to fall back on.

I also love how you're not like. Oh no, Binnington's great. He'll totally put up good numbers. Love the confidence, making excuses already.

It's a good thing when the Blues can finally move on, we don't have to select a Canadian goalie without beef with Cassidy. Gives us more options for good goalies than Team Canada had.

Professionals have the same view as many of us do here. They know better than to look at a stat sheet to determine if a goalie is bad or not.

 

[Mike Liut]

I wonder what the excuses will be when he puts up a .800 save percentage behind a Team Canada defense that doesn't even have Pietrangelo for Blues fans to blame.

I was thinking when he puts up .930 save percentage, people will attribute it to a superior D.

 

[Reality Czech]

Professionals have the same view as many of us do here. They know better than to look at a stat sheet to determine if a goalie is bad or not.

There's so much variance from year to year with goalie numbers that there has to be so many other factors influencing them. It's not like these guys' abilities change that much from year to year. Bobrovsky was considered a joke for years before he helped lead the Panthers to the Cup. Did he just forget how to play during those years, or was he stuck playing for crappy Columbus/Philly teams most of that time?

The fact that two average goalies in Halak and Elliott put up the best numbers in Blues history tells me all I need to know about how accurate statistics are at judging goalies. That's why I said it's hard to judge a goalies abilities unless the team is playing well as a whole. If your goalie is playing badly on a good team, then you've got a problem. Ask Colorado and Edmonton about that.

 

[TheOrganist]

Only hoosier Blues fans would not be rooting for the goalie who gave us the greatest night of our lives not to succeed on a national stage. He seems dialed in and you know it means a lot to him. Hope he tears it up.

Canada places faith in Jordan Binnington as goalie debate swirls

If Canada falls short at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the popular thinking goes, it will be because its goaltending wasn't up to snuff. Jordan Binnington wants to put that narrative to rest.

www.sportsnet.ca

 

[Majorityof1]

Only hoosier Blues fans would not be rooting for the goalie who gave us the greatest night of our lives not to succeed on a national stage. He seems dialed in and you know it means a lot to him. Hope he tears it up.

Canada places faith in Jordan Binnington as goalie debate swirls

If Canada falls short at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the popular thinking goes, it will be because its goaltending wasn't up to snuff. Jordan Binnington wants to put that narrative to rest.

www.sportsnet.ca

I was raised in Indiana, home of the Hoosiers, so maybe you are on to something. Here's some reading for you about how few choices the Canadian team had in goal cause Canadian goalies suck...

Canada’s ‘mind-boggling’ goalie crisis has been a decades-long descent

A return to the dominance Canada once enjoyed seems unlikely, but the search is on for the right path to train Canada's future goalies.

www.nytimes.com

Also, aren't I supposed to cheer for every player on my team and hate the opposing players. As an American, shouldn't I be rooting against Binnington since he now wears the Canadian crest. Petro helped give us that night and it's cool to root against him now

Seriously, what do the rules of fandom say? I mean they seem like ad-hoc BS used to justify people's inability to think for themselves and enforce herd mentality. But damn if they aren't confusing

Edit2: lol. Some quotes from the article Organist linked:

"'Because I just remember [Binnington], like, kind of going psycho a little bit'.

"As high as their highs have been, none of Canada’s three choices has mustered so much as a league-average save percentage in 2024-25."

"You’ve heard this one before: The United States' third option might be better than Canada's first."

Great article talking about how awesome Binnington is. Let me go root for the guy who goes pycho a little bit.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I know I am hard on him, but JR with great article today. Really got to see players’ personalities.

Blues player poll: Who’s the worst texter? Most punctual? Best shoe game? Indecisive at dinner? And more

The Athletic asked 20 Blues players 10 questions about their teammates and got some hysterical responses.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Brian39]

Only hoosier Blues fans would not be rooting for the goalie who gave us the greatest night of our lives not to succeed on a national stage. He seems dialed in and you know it means a lot to him. Hope he tears it up.

Canada places faith in Jordan Binnington as goalie debate swirls

If Canada falls short at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the popular thinking goes, it will be because its goaltending wasn't up to snuff. Jordan Binnington wants to put that narrative to rest.

www.sportsnet.ca

I can confidently say that I'm not a hoosier Blues fan, but I absolutely will be rooting for team USA to light Binner up on Saturday. And hopefully again in the championship game.

 

[Reality Czech]

Only hoosier Blues fans would not be rooting for the goalie who gave us the greatest night of our lives not to succeed on a national stage. He seems dialed in and you know it means a lot to him. Hope he tears it up.

Canada places faith in Jordan Binnington as goalie debate swirls

If Canada falls short at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the popular thinking goes, it will be because its goaltending wasn't up to snuff. Jordan Binnington wants to put that narrative to rest.

www.sportsnet.ca

I'm torn because I love Binnington but I want nothing more than Canada to finish last and witness another national meltdown. Maybe if they lose every game 1-0...

 

[TheOrganist]

I'm torn because I love Binnington but I want nothing more than Canada to finish last and witness another national meltdown. Maybe if they lose every game 1-0...

Yes..I'm not "rooting" for Canada but I am rooting for Binny to play well, especially with the national conversation running red hot about his ability and worthiness as Canada's #1. I hope he shuts a lot of people up.

 

[Majorityof1]

I'm torn because I love Binnington but I want nothing more than Canada to finish last and witness another national meltdown. Maybe if they lose every game 1-0...

Does that make you half a Hoosier? A Hoo? Or does any lack of worship in our Saviour, Jordan "thou shalt have no other gods before me" Binnington, disqualify you? Can I get a ruling from the judges? Is he a fake fan?

 

[NMacrules]

Are you interested in moving Parayko to the Leafs?

Leafs could send you Minten, Domi, 1st next year and a second this year. Leafs need a top guy to play alongside Rielly.

Minten is a young up and comer, Domi is Domi. A first next year in a supposedly deep draft and a second this year.

Fair?

 

[joe galiba]

Does that make you half a Hoosier? A Hoo? Or does any lack of worship in our Saviour, Jordan "thou shalt have no other gods before me" Binnington, disqualify you? Can I get a ruling from the judges? Is he a fake fan?

I heard that Horton heard a hoo

 

[Majorityof1]

Are you interested in moving Parayko to the Leafs?

Leafs could send you Minten, Domi, 1st next year and a second this year. Leafs need a top guy to play alongside Rielly.

Minten is a young up and comer, Domi is Domi. A first next year in a supposedly deep draft and a second this year.

Fair?

It's not bad offer. But no way. Big no.

Minten hasn't shown the offense. He'll be a pro for sure and solid, but not a game changer.

Parayko is playing the best hockey of his career. He is a top 10 D in the league this season as his offense has sparked to go with his D.

I don't think he'll stay that, but he is a top pair RD and will be for several more years.That is something we don't have in our pool. Most people on here will listen to offers on any if our 30+ year old players except Parayko. It woukd have to be a ridiculous overpay or include a younger RD with minimal risk for top pair. Not likely to happen though. Sorry

 

[Majorityof1]

I heard that Horton heard a hoo

Ah yes, I remember now. Dr Seuss wrote...

“Don’t give up! I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small!

Unless of course you don't love, Binner our Lord. Why then I'd be within my rights to smack you with a board.

Any such person I deem Hoisier, lesser than poo. Even half cheering, I'll still brand you a Hoo”

 

[BadgersandBlues]

Parayko hasn't even been close to being a top 10 D-man this season.

Werenski, Fox, Carlson, Makar, Harley, Morrissey, Hughes, Bouchard, Ekholm, Theodore, Dahlin, and Hedman are all head and shoulders above Parayko. There's a middle tier between Parayko and those guys as well, with names like Heiskanen, Toews, Josi, Weegar, Hronek, Dobson, Slavin, Mcdonagh, Seider, Forsling, Lindholm, and Chabot.

And those are just the guys I'm 100% confident in saying are playing better then Parayko this year, but I think guys like Sanderson, McAvoy, Samberg, Sergachev, Pionk, and Mcnabb are all playing better then him as well.

He's having a career season from a counting standpoint, but he affects the game far less then all the guys above. He doesn't drive offense and he's not good enough to play on our PP that's been desperate for a QB all season. He's also the primary D for the league's worst PK.

I like Parayko a lot, but I'd trade him 1 for 1 for any of those top guys wtihout blinking, and almost alll of those secondary guys too, with a couple exceptions.

 

[LogosBlue]

Are you interested in moving Parayko to the Leafs?

Leafs could send you Minten, Domi, 1st next year and a second this year. Leafs need a top guy to play alongside Rielly.

Minten is a young up and comer, Domi is Domi. A first next year in a supposedly deep draft and a second this year.

Fair?

No. We won't be trading Parayko.

How bout Minten and a 2nd 2025 for Schenn? He has term which your GM likes.

 

[SirPaste]

Are you interested in moving Parayko to the Leafs?

Leafs could send you Minten, Domi, 1st next year and a second this year. Leafs need a top guy to play alongside Rielly.

Minten is a young up and comer, Domi is Domi. A first next year in a supposedly deep draft and a second this year.

Fair?

Are you interested in moving Matthews to the Blues?

Blues could send you Dvorsky, Schenn, 1st next year and a second this year, Blues need a top guy to play alongside Kyrou.

Dvorsky is a young up and comer, Schenn is Schenn. A first next year in a supposedly deep draft and a second this year.

Fair?

 

[NMacrules]

No. We won't be trading Parayko.

How bout Minten and a 2nd 2025 for Schenn? He has term which your GM likes.

I'd do that. Thats a very fair offer but there are rumours that Toronto is after Brock Nelson as second line centre which bumps Tavares to the 3rd line where he belongs. There is also some smoke about Schenn. So hopefully the Leafs nab one of them. We also need a left wing middle 6 and a right shot D man and there are quite a few available, depending on team asks.

 

[Brian39]

Are you interested in moving Parayko to the Leafs?

Leafs could send you Minten, Domi, 1st next year and a second this year. Leafs need a top guy to play alongside Rielly.

Minten is a young up and comer, Domi is Domi. A first next year in a supposedly deep draft and a second this year.

Fair?

The response you got from @Majorityof1 is going to be the majority opinion from this board.

Parayko is having an incredible season this year, but he has also been better than his reputation for several years. Over the last 3-4 years he has had the hardest deployment of any D man in the league. In the 3 seasons from 2021/22 through 2023/24, no D man in the league played more 5 on 5 minutes than Parayko. In that same time, his O Zone Start % was 35.7% and his O Zone Faceoff % was 39.9%, which was the lowest among all D men in the top 50 of 5 on 5 minutes played. His underlying numbers haven't been good, but he has been asked to do more defensive heavy lifting than any guy in the league and his partner has been Nick Leddy. Leddy did better in that role than I expected, but he is far from a good shutdown player who you would want to pair with Parayko in that role.

Parayko is at worst a legit top pair RHD and is at best a legit #1 RHD. He turns 32 in a few months, which is approaching a concerning age, but he's also locked in at an AAV of $6.5M, which isn't remotely concerning with the cap exploding upwards. Even though his age doesn't align with our rising core, he still should offer enormous value to our team as we exit a rebuild/retool. We would need an absolute haul to move him.

Realistically, I'd only consider trading Parayko if we are getting a truly high end RHD or C under the age of 25 as the primary piece of the return. A collection of good-but-not-great futures assets doesn't interest me at all. A (likely mid-to-late) 1st, 2nd, good-but-not-great prospect, and cap dump isn't a bad offer, but it just isn't something that moves the needle for me.

 

[StlBigFly]

I’d do it.

Crater 4 Shaefer.

If stl wants to roll the draft lottery dice - trading Parayko is the move to make. I can’t ever root on the team losing but I can mock trade away a guy who keeps us competitive. I think Parayko would hurt much more than any other one skater.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Parayko hasn't even been close to being a top 10 D-man this season.

Werenski, Fox, Carlson, Makar, Harley, Morrissey, Hughes, Bouchard, Ekholm, Theodore, Dahlin, and Hedman are all head and shoulders above Parayko. There's a middle tier between Parayko and those guys as well, with names like Heiskanen, Toews, Josi, Weegar, Hronek, Dobson, Slavin, Mcdonagh, Seider, Forsling, Lindholm, and Chabot.

And those are just the guys I'm 100% confident in saying are playing better then Parayko this year, but I think guys like Sanderson, McAvoy, Samberg, Sergachev, Pionk, and Mcnabb are all playing better then him as well.

He's having a career season from a counting standpoint, but he affects the game far less then all the guys above. He doesn't drive offense and he's not good enough to play on our PP that's been desperate for a QB all season. He's also the primary D for the league's worst PK.

I like Parayko a lot, but I'd trade him 1 for 1 for any of those top guys wtihout blinking, and almost alll of those secondary guys too, with a couple exceptions.

I do agree with you that Parayko is not a top 10 dman this season, but there's a lot of guys you are listing that Parayko is better than.

 

[NMacrules]

Are you interested in moving Matthews to the Blues?

Blues could send you Dvorsky, Schenn, 1st next year and a second this year, Blues need a top guy to play alongside Kyrou.

Dvorsky is a young up and comer, Schenn is Schenn. A first next year in a supposedly deep draft and a second this year.

Fair?

 

[Brian39]

Parayko hasn't even been close to being a top 10 D-man this season.

Werenski, Fox, Carlson, Makar, Harley, Morrissey, Hughes, Bouchard, Ekholm, Theodore, Dahlin, and Hedman are all head and shoulders above Parayko. There's a middle tier between Parayko and those guys as well, with names like Heiskanen, Toews, Josi, Weegar, Hronek, Dobson, Slavin, Mcdonagh, Seider, Forsling, Lindholm, and Chabot.

And those are just the guys I'm 100% confident in saying are playing better then Parayko this year, but I think guys like Sanderson, McAvoy, Samberg, Sergachev, Pionk, and Mcnabb are all playing better then him as well.

He's having a career season from a counting standpoint, but he affects the game far less then all the guys above. He doesn't drive offense and he's not good enough to play on our PP that's been desperate for a QB all season. He's also the primary D for the league's worst PK.

I like Parayko a lot, but I'd trade him 1 for 1 for any of those top guys wtihout blinking, and almost alll of those secondary guys too, with a couple exceptions.

I wouldn't rank Parayko as a top 10 D overall this year, but I think there is an argument that he has been a top 10 D man at 5 on 5 this year. The fact that he is tied for 2nd in goals, 14th in points, and 18th in shots among all D men at 5 on 5 is ridiculous considering his deployment. There simply are not any other D men who are matching his offensive impact without getting drastically more offensive deployment. No D man driving offense better than Parayko is being asked to defend in their own zone nearly as often as him. The large majority of the guys you're listing are getting 55% or more offensive deployment and the guys in the 40s near Parayko aren't driving offense like Parayko is.

Parayko very much isn't a top 10 driver of offense, but unlike guys who are in that conversation, that isn't his primary skill/job.

Points share isn't a perfect stat, but it also isn't something that should be ignored and Parayko is 12th among D.

I don't think that Parayko is a top 10 D man in the league and there are absolutely more than 10 D men I'd trade him for straight up. But his overall game at 5 on 5 has been pushing the top 10 this year (so far). I don't think it is sustainable, but it has been close to that.

Out of curiosity, would you trade Parayko for Dobson with an $11M x 8 extension?

 

[BadgersandBlues]

I wouldn't rank Parayko as a top 10 D overall this year, but I think there is an argument that he has been a top 10 D man at 5 on 5 this year. The fact that he is tied for 2nd in goals, 14th in points, and 18th in shots among all D men at 5 on 5 is ridiculous considering his deployment. There simply are not any other D men who are matching his offensive impact without getting drastically more offensive deployment. No D man driving offense better than Parayko is being asked to defend in their own zone nearly as often as him. The large majority of the guys you're listing are getting 55% or more offensive deployment and the guys in the 40s near Parayko aren't driving offense like Parayko is.

Parayko very much isn't a top 10 driver of offense, but unlike guys who are in that conversation, that isn't his primary skill/job.

Points share isn't a perfect stat, but it also isn't something that should be ignored and Parayko is 12th among D.

I don't think that Parayko is a top 10 D man in the league and there are absolutely more than 10 D men I'd trade him for straight up. But his overall game at 5 on 5 has been pushing the top 10 this year (so far). I don't think it is sustainable, but it has been close to that.

Out of curiosity, would you trade Parayko for Dobson with an $11M x 8 extension?

No - I think 11M is way too high for Dobson. I'd prefer 8.5, but I'd be willing to go up to 9.5. Anything above 10 is very hard for me to swallow, even with the cap rising. 9Mx8 1 for 1 though? Yea in a f***ing New York minute.

I agree with you that he's pretty damn good 5v5. But again, he's been downright shit on the PK for the last 3+ years (I know your feelings on this and we can agree to disagree, but I think he's been bad) and he's not good enough (Dynamic enough?) offensively to crack a PP that was at times the worst PP in the league. I put a lot of stock into 5v5 metrics, but the fact that he's been a major drag on special teams drops him down for me.

I like Parayko, but I think he's far too comfortable with the off-the-glass-and-out when he's under any type of pressure. For me, he's a big reason why we haven't been more successful. Top guys can beat forechecks and transition the puck up the ice, either with passing or skating. Parayko consistently can't. Yes, he gets very difficult deployment - but so do certain other players, like Seider, McDonagh, Forsling, Tanev, Pelech, Gavrikov, and Slavin, and they significantly outperform him.