2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

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Question for those that wanted more of a tear-down approach, and I want to stress that this isn't about calling anyone out or saying that either side was wrong, I'm genuinely curious on opinions after some of our acquisitions have exceeded expectations. How do you currently feel about the state of the team moving forward with the approach that Army took?

Holloway, Broberg, and Fowler have all very much exceeded my expectations. Holloway is a legitimate 1st line play driver, Broberg is at worst a really good #3, but I'd say top pair quality, and Fowler looks like he used to now that he's out of Anaheim. As a team we are top 10 in both goals and goals against since Monty took over.

One of my biggest concerns was scoring. Long-term I wasn't too worried with all the prospects we have, but with how Holloway has broken out and what Bolduc has been doing, I really don't have any concerns there anymore, even in the short-term. With defense, it's now about adding young pieces, so that we can transition away from the older guys, but the older guys are still playing quality hockey, so that's less of an immediate need, and Broberg helps lead that transition now. I went from cautiously optimistic with some concern that we'd lack a true #1 D, to now very optimistic about our future.
 
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Question for those that wanted more of a tear-down approach, and I want to stress that this isn't about calling anyone out or saying that either side was wrong, I'm genuinely curious on opinions after some of our acquisitions have exceeded expectations. How do you currently feel about the state of the team moving forward with the approach that Army took?

Holloway, Broberg, and Fowler have all very much exceeded my expectations. Holloway is a legitimate 1st line play driver, Broberg is at worst a really good #3, but I'd say top pair quality, and Fowler looks like he used to now that he's out of Anaheim. As a team we are top 10 in both goals and goals against since Monty took over.

One of my biggest concerns was scoring. Long-term I wasn't too worried with all the prospects we have, but with how Holloway has broken out and what Bolduc has been doing, I really don't have any concerns there anymore, even in the short-term. With defense, it's now about adding young pieces, so that we can transition away from the older guys, but the older guys are still playing quality hockey, so that's less of an immediate need, and Broberg helps lead that transition now. I went from cautiously optimistic with some concern that we'd lack a true #1 D, to know very optimistic about our future.
As someone who didn’t think we’d see the playoffs for most of the year and was rooting for the high draft pick, I’m very happy with how Armstrong has managed through this season. I’m excited about the future, however I would say my biggest fear is Steen. And by that I don’t mean I think he’ll be a bad GM, it’s just an end of an era type of changeover.
 
As someone who didn’t think we’d see the playoffs for most of the year and was rooting for the high draft pick, I’m very happy with how Armstrong has managed through this season. I’m excited about the future, however I would say my biggest fear is Steen. And by that I don’t mean I think he’ll be a bad GM, it’s just an end of an era type of changeover.
Yeah, it will be interesting if Steen sort of keeps the ship moving in the exact same way, or if he's going to have a pretty distinct style compared to Army's.
 
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Question for those that wanted more of a tear-down approach, and I want to stress that this isn't about calling anyone out or saying that either side was wrong, I'm genuinely curious on opinions after some of our acquisitions have exceeded expectations. How do you currently feel about the state of the team moving forward with the approach that Army took?

Holloway, Broberg, and Fowler have all very much exceeded my expectations. Holloway is a legitimate 1st line play driver, Broberg is at worst a really good #3, but I'd say top pair quality, and Fowler looks like he used to now that he's out of Anaheim. As a team we are top 10 in both goals and goals against since Monty took over.

One of my biggest concerns was scoring. Long-term I wasn't too worried with all the prospects we have, but with how Holloway has broken out and what Bolduc has been doing, I really don't have any concerns there anymore, even in the short-term. With defense, it's now about adding young pieces, so that we can transition away from the older guys, but the older guys are still playing quality hockey, so that's less of an immediate need, and Broberg helps lead that transition now. I went from cautiously optimistic with some concern that we'd lack a true #1 D, to now very optimistic about our future.
At the beginning of the year or sometime last summer, Army said something about this being a year where you find out who your core is going to be moving forward. I would say that has been a successful quest: our top 3 scorers are all under 27, and Neighbours/Bolduc are taking big strides. On D, Broberg looks legit, and we extended Tucker who looks like a legit player for his skillset. I still like Kessel, but he's been up and down. Hofer is looking like an heir apparent to Binner some day. If this is the core we have for the next 7-10 years, I think it's a good start. Us being a bottom-10 team for a very long stretch of the season didn't change any of those things, and us finding our stride now doesn't either.

We still have players on the roster today who are not part of that core. We've done a good job of moving on from some of them: no more Saad, Kapanen, POJ, Perunovich. We got 0 assets for any of them, but maybe addition by subtraction was good enough (see: current results). We have forward help on the way over the next few years from Stenberg, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, etc. On defense, I think we have a lot to look forward to with Lindstein, Jiricek, Fischer, and maybe Ralph.

When we were a bottom-10 team, I advocated for jettisoning the non-core pieces of our roster for more swings at the plate. Get rid of the dead weight, and give yourself a better chance at getting guys who will be a part of that core moving forward. It was less about intentionally making us a bad team now, and more about taking your medicine now in service of making the next window as strong as possible. Especially because -- for most of the season -- this current recipe wasn't working. Why hang on to pieces that aren't doing you any good now, and aren't going to be a part of your core moving forward? Go get something out of it.

Now that we're doing better (thanks, Monty), I still mostly feel the same way. I expect turnover this summer from the non-core pieces. I expect us to bring new bodies in that have a chance to contribute long-term, and for them to replace guys on this roster who won't. Some of that will be internal, but we have guys on this roster who are really just placeholders until something better comes along, and I expect us to do something about that. Having a 1st in the 17-25ish range doesn't change that, but having a top-10 pick would have given this next window a healthy boost. I'm not mad that we aren't going to get that anymore, and in fact I think this recent turnaround is inarguably a net positive. It just means we'll have to continue being creative in how we find those core pieces. It's been a good approach so far so I'm not complaining, but it's not like the "traditional" route would have hurt us long-term given where the team is at.

Idk, does that make sense?
 
At the beginning of the year or sometime last summer, Army said something about this being a year where you find out who your core is going to be moving forward. I would say that has been a successful quest: our top 3 scorers are all under 27, and Neighbours/Bolduc are taking big strides. On D, Broberg looks legit, and we extended Tucker who looks like a legit player for his skillset. I still like Kessel, but he's been up and down. Hofer is looking like an heir apparent to Binner some day. If this is the core we have for the next 7-10 years, I think it's a good start. Us being a bottom-10 team for a very long stretch of the season didn't change any of those things, and us finding our stride now doesn't either.

We still have players on the roster today who are not part of that core. We've done a good job of moving on from some of them: no more Saad, Kapanen, POJ, Perunovich. We got 0 assets for any of them, but maybe addition by subtraction was good enough (see: current results). We have forward help on the way over the next few years from Stenberg, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, etc. On defense, I think we have a lot to look forward to with Lindstein, Jiricek, Fischer, and maybe Ralph.

When we were a bottom-10 team, I advocated for jettisoning the non-core pieces of our roster for more swings at the plate. Get rid of the dead weight, and give yourself a better chance at getting guys who will be a part of that core moving forward. It was less about intentionally making us a bad team now, and more about taking your medicine now in service of making the next window as strong as possible. Especially because -- for most of the season -- this current recipe wasn't working. Why hang on to pieces that aren't doing you any good now, and aren't going to be a part of your core moving forward? Go get something out of it.

Now that we're doing better (thanks, Monty), I still mostly feel the same way. I expect turnover this summer from the non-core pieces. I expect us to bring new bodies in that have a chance to contribute long-term, and for them to replace guys on this roster who won't. Some of that will be internal, but we have guys on this roster who are really just placeholders until something better comes along, and I expect us to do something about that. Having a 1st in the 17-25ish range doesn't change that, but having a top-10 pick would have given this next window a healthy boost. I'm not mad that we aren't going to get that anymore, and in fact I think this recent turnaround is inarguably a net positive. It just means we'll have to continue being creative in how we find those core pieces. It's been a good approach so far so I'm not complaining, but it's not like the "traditional" route would have hurt us long-term given where the team is at.

Idk, does that make sense?
Yeah. I agree with a bunch of what is said here. And another concern that I did have with Army's approach was that if we did successfully turn it around relatively quickly and get back into the playoffs, would it just be because of the vets, where the younger guys aren't driving the success, so we are in a situation of losing out on a higher pick and not benefitting from young player development. While we are losing out on a higher pick this season, it's in large part because of guys like Holloway and Broberg, and I'd throw Bolduc in there as well, and I'm happy with that.
 
Yeah, it will be interesting if Steen sort of keeps the ship moving in the exact same way, or if he's going to have a pretty distinct style compared to Army's.
The plan is to continue Armstrong’s vision. Otherwise they wouldn’t have given him the apprenticeship or planned to keep Armstrong in hockey operations.

No doubt he’ll have his own style and will make mistakes at times, but they have Steen surrounded by good help.

I’m starting to expect Montgomery to become a Cup winning coach. I hope it’s with the Blues, and starting to believe.
 
The plan is to continue Armstrong’s vision. Otherwise they wouldn’t have given him the apprenticeship or planned to keep Armstrong in hockey operations.

No doubt he’ll have his own style and will make mistakes at times, but they have Steen surrounded by good help.

I’m starting to expect Montgomery to become a Cup winning coach. I hope it’s with the Blues, and starting to believe.
I agree, and I'm not worried, but there will be some differences on the edges. What's his view on NMC? How does he approach extending vets? Are we more or less aggressive with trades/free agents? I don't think there will be monumental changes to how we operate, but what will the differences be and what will the impact be.

My take with Steen, there's no point in worrying until they is something to worry about. The structure of the org is more or less staying in place, it's not like we are going with an outside hire and an overhaul of hockey ops.
 
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I went to my first game in two years.

Montreal was much more physical than I expected, especially after we had a big lead. Jack eye Anderson and Struble were all deserving of beatings. I was very impressed with Toropchenko. He was wacked and hacked but it didn't discourage him and he didn't retaliate. He didn't take a penalty.

Tucker looks better than I expected. He's going to get beat to the outside, but he's strong and physical.

Bolduc has arrived. He has 15 goals on the season, and started off very slowly.

I'm glad we were patient with Tucker and Bolduc.
 
The tear down vs. retool conversation isn't relevant anymore. It was relevant in 2024 when the team appeared poised to go nowhere and before Holloway, Broberg & Montgomery arrived on the scene. And the verdict is obviously in. Armstrong was correct.
The point isn't to rehash any old decision or to say who was right or wrong. If you asked Army if he expected Holloway and Broberg to be this good this season, he'd probably grin and laugh and jokingly say "of course". I'm just genuinely curious where some people are on their current opinions on the state of the team moving forward.
 
Question for those that wanted more of a tear-down approach, and I want to stress that this isn't about calling anyone out or saying that either side was wrong, I'm genuinely curious on opinions after some of our acquisitions have exceeded expectations. How do you currently feel about the state of the team moving forward with the approach that Army took?

Holloway, Broberg, and Fowler have all very much exceeded my expectations. Holloway is a legitimate 1st line play driver, Broberg is at worst a really good #3, but I'd say top pair quality, and Fowler looks like he used to now that he's out of Anaheim. As a team we are top 10 in both goals and goals against since Monty took over.

One of my biggest concerns was scoring. Long-term I wasn't too worried with all the prospects we have, but with how Holloway has broken out and what Bolduc has been doing, I really don't have any concerns there anymore, even in the short-term. With defense, it's now about adding young pieces, so that we can transition away from the older guys, but the older guys are still playing quality hockey, so that's less of an immediate need, and Broberg helps lead that transition now. I went from cautiously optimistic with some concern that we'd lack a true #1 D, to now very optimistic about our future.
Holloway and Boberg essentially short-cutted adding not only two top-10 draft caliber players, but two pro-ready players. They definitely changed the trajectory of our team and i don't wanna see an alternate timeline where DA doesn't have the balls for the double offer sheet.

That stated, i think it woulda been even more ideal to finish a few spots lower these previous two seasons by selling off some peripherals a little harder and never adding the Vrana and Kap types. Woulda been nice to maximize the down years and have the best shot of those picks hitting in the future. I still think our window truly opens next year and we have the ability to turn into a true elite contender in a few seasons if a few of our prospects are on their way to reaching their ceilings along with the current core we have built/kept.
 
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The Blues are not going to be an easy out this year. It’s a young team playing with house money in a lot of ways, but you also have Binnington and guys like Suter and Fowler. You also have some Cup veterans with Parayko, Subdqvist and Thomas. Finally, Broberg and Holloway were part of a team that just made it through the conference finals.

There’s a tremendous amount of postseason savvy and experience on this team, for a young team that is rising. If I were Edmonton and got matched with the Blues I’d be a little frustrated we didn’t get a better first round draw. Especially if Minnesota is slotted at 7 (although I’m starting to think we’ll pass them).
 
The point isn't to rehash any old decision or to say who was right or wrong. If you asked Army if he expected Holloway and Broberg to be this good this season, he'd probably grin and laugh and jokingly say "of course". I'm just genuinely curious where some people are on their current opinions on the state of the team moving forward.
I mean...other than the infamous "New Coach Bump" poster, how could you be anything other than bullish? In the last eight months they add one of the best coaches in the game, two legit young pieces to a team on the rise, an incredibly reliable top 4 defenseman who fits the system perfectly, while also possessing a litany of young players breaking out or with significant upside. Yes, bullish. Very bullish on the state of the team.
 
Question for those that wanted more of a tear-down approach, and I want to stress that this isn't about calling anyone out or saying that either side was wrong, I'm genuinely curious on opinions after some of our acquisitions have exceeded expectations. How do you currently feel about the state of the team moving forward with the approach that Army took?

Holloway, Broberg, and Fowler have all very much exceeded my expectations. Holloway is a legitimate 1st line play driver, Broberg is at worst a really good #3, but I'd say top pair quality, and Fowler looks like he used to now that he's out of Anaheim. As a team we are top 10 in both goals and goals against since Monty took over.

One of my biggest concerns was scoring. Long-term I wasn't too worried with all the prospects we have, but with how Holloway has broken out and what Bolduc has been doing, I really don't have any concerns there anymore, even in the short-term. With defense, it's now about adding young pieces, so that we can transition away from the older guys, but the older guys are still playing quality hockey, so that's less of an immediate need, and Broberg helps lead that transition now. I went from cautiously optimistic with some concern that we'd lack a true #1 D, to now very optimistic about our future.

I never wanted a tear-down, but definitely wanted more of a re-tool than we got. My ideal scenario was to trade Buchnevich for another bite at a young D with 1st pair upside (not gurantee 1st pair, nor 100% lottery ticket, think Brandt, Nenec etc). Then trade off vets that we could at the deadline. Those moves would hopefully get us a top 10 pick. Didn't happen.

The state of the team is pretty close to my biggest fear in terms of the standings, although they are playing better than I would gave guessed. I told everyone they'd love Holloway. I didn't expect this much but I expected 45ish points with solid D. I also thought Broberg was shrewd and could blossom I wouldn't have bet my house they'd both hit, especially to this level, but it was within my expectations.

When we acquired Fowler my complaint was that it would have us pushing for a playoff spot and out of the lottery. Generally that's where we are. I always knew he'd be good and was good value for the short term. I just never cared about the short term this season.

I will eat crow as I did not think we'd be a contender. I didn't think Monty would have this big of an effect. Given how we are playing now, I think we can make some noise in the playoffs. I do feel we are in a bit of a hot streak, and won't sustain this. But playing like we are now, we could give a lot of playoff teams a tough series.

My biggest fear is long term lack of elite talent, especially at D. Fowler was what we needed and really stabilized our D, giving Parayko a partner who can move the puck and play tough minutes. But he is 33. He'll be 34/35 when we need to re-sign him. When his play starts to drop off or we cannot re-sign him, we are back to square 1. Faulk is already struggling. We need Broberg to hit another level, Lindstein to hit Broberg level, and find a top 4 RHD to just tread water on a D group already worse than our Cup team.

I have moved off the tank train. I still think my plan I outlined above would have been for the best long-term. But we are where we are. Missing the playoffs and drafting 15 or 16 may be better than 17. Drafting 1 spot later did hurt us last year. But this team has earned a shot to see how long they can keep this rolling and I don't think we will see that big of a drop off from 15 to 17 this year.

People will call me a hypocrite. Oh well. For me I've always weighed the chance of playoff success vs the long term value of losing. We have hit a tipping point where we aren't going to draft low enough and where we are playing well enough, I want to see how we do in the playoffs. So LGB!!!
 
Question for those that wanted more of a tear-down approach, and I want to stress that this isn't about calling anyone out or saying that either side was wrong, I'm genuinely curious on opinions after some of our acquisitions have exceeded expectations. How do you currently feel about the state of the team moving forward with the approach that Army took?

Holloway, Broberg, and Fowler have all very much exceeded my expectations. Holloway is a legitimate 1st line play driver, Broberg is at worst a really good #3, but I'd say top pair quality, and Fowler looks like he used to now that he's out of Anaheim. As a team we are top 10 in both goals and goals against since Monty took over.

One of my biggest concerns was scoring. Long-term I wasn't too worried with all the prospects we have, but with how Holloway has broken out and what Bolduc has been doing, I really don't have any concerns there anymore, even in the short-term. With defense, it's now about adding young pieces, so that we can transition away from the older guys, but the older guys are still playing quality hockey, so that's less of an immediate need, and Broberg helps lead that transition now. I went from cautiously optimistic with some concern that we'd lack a true #1 D, to now very optimistic about our future.
I didn't want a tear-down, but this stretch has really changed my thinking on a few fronts:

- I really wanted us to move on from Buch at the deadline or draft last year, but Holloway's emergence relieves so much pressure and allows us to deploy Buch to his strengths. My expectations have shifted and I can easily imagine a clean slate next season and he is back to being an asset teams have difficulty countering. (side note: I was ok with Army setting a super high price and holding the line, didn't want to lose a trade just to make one)

- I was generally positive towards Neighbors and Bolduc but ambivalent as to should we keep them or cash out on their value. Now I see their growth and the chemistry they're developing and really can't see disturbing that. I see them as part of our core.

- Fowler is better than expected. He's quite deft in tight spaces and alert to smart, often unexpected passes to relieve pressure in our end, or keep pressure on in theirs. I thought he was a band-aid but I really like him in our mix.

- I was focusing on Sunny's skating and honestly thought of him as an aging vet in the sunset of his career playing out the string. I was totally missing his influence on the younger players and the trust the coaches have in him.

- If we would've moved on from Binny for a big payoff (I know, rare for teams to spend big for a goalie but I thought there was a better-than-zero chance someone would step up) I would've been sad but not mad. We would've missed this run!

- Overall, I underestimated the value of patience and letting a full season play out.

p.s. can't understate Monty's role in all of this. What a lights-out killer move by DA (and I was not one lamenting Bannister getting shafted on his opportunity - this is the NHL and nothing is forever)
 
I never wanted a tear-down, but definitely wanted more of a re-tool than we got. My ideal scenario was to trade Buchnevich for another bite at a young D with 1st pair upside (not gurantee 1st pair, nor 100% lottery ticket, think Brandt, Nenec etc). Then trade off vets that we could at the deadline. Those moves would hopefully get us a top 10 pick. Didn't happen.

The state of the team is pretty close to my biggest fear in terms of the standings, although they are playing better than I would gave guessed. I told everyone they'd love Holloway. I didn't expect this much but I expected 45ish points with solid D. I also thought Broberg was shrewd and could blossom I wouldn't have bet my house they'd both hit, especially to this level, but it was within my expectations.

When we acquired Fowler my complaint was that it would have us pushing for a playoff spot and out of the lottery. Generally that's where we are. I always knew he'd be good and was good value for the short term. I just never cared about the short term this season.

I will eat crow as I did not think we'd be a contender. I didn't think Monty would have this big of an effect. Given how we are playing now, I think we can make some noise in the playoffs. I do feel we are in a bit of a hot streak, and won't sustain this. But playing like we are now, we could give a lot of playoff teams a tough series.

My biggest fear is long term lack of elite talent, especially at D. Fowler was what we needed and really stabilized our D, giving Parayko a partner who can move the puck and play tough minutes. But he is 33. He'll be 34/35 when we need to re-sign him. When his play starts to drop off or we cannot re-sign him, we are back to square 1. Faulk is already struggling. We need Broberg to hit another level, Lindstein to hit Broberg level, and find a top 4 RHD to just tread water on a D group already worse than our Cup team.

I have moved off the tank train. I still think my plan I outlined above would have been for the best long-term. But we are where we are. Missing the playoffs and drafting 15 or 16 may be better than 17. Drafting 1 spot later did hurt us last year. But this team has earned a shot to see how long they can keep this rolling and I don't think we will see that big of a drop off from 15 to 17 this year.

People will call me a hypocrite. Oh well. For me I've always weighed the chance of playoff success vs the long term value of losing. We have hit a tipping point where we aren't going to draft low enough and where we are playing well enough, I want to see how we do in the playoffs. So LGB!!!
For the record, my motivation with my question and topic isn't for people to be called hypocrites or for people to eat crow and to rehash what our expectations were to see who was right and who was wrong. I was also on the trade Buch boat, we'll see how that contract ages. I was similar to you on the Holloway move, and even the biggest fans of that move probably didn't expect him to push for 70 points. I was someone that was unsure on Kyrou's long-term fit, but he has genuinely grown as a complete player, and Holloway has been a perfect linemate, and now I don't even think it would be worth moving him in any sort of blockbuster move.
 
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I didn't want a tear-down, but this stretch has really changed my thinking on a few fronts:

- I really wanted us to move on from Buch at the deadline or draft last year, but Holloway's emergence relieves so much pressure and allows us to deploy Buch to his strengths. My expectations have shifted and I can easily imagine a clean slate next season and he is back to being an asset teams have difficulty countering. (side note: I was ok with Army setting a super high price and holding the line, didn't want to lose a trade just to make one)

- I was generally positive towards Neighbors and Bolduc but ambivalent as to should we keep them or cash out on their value. Now I see their growth and the chemistry they're developing and really can't see disturbing that. I see them as part of our core.

- Fowler is better than expected. He's quite deft in tight spaces and alert to smart, often unexpected passes to relieve pressure in our end, or keep pressure on in theirs. I thought he was a band-aid but I really like him in our mix.

- I was focusing on Sunny's skating and honestly thought of him as an aging vet in the sunset of his career playing out the string. I was totally missing his influence on the younger players and the trust the coaches have in him.

- If we would've moved on from Binny for a big payoff (I know, rare for teams to spend big for a goalie but I thought there was a better-than-zero chance someone would step up) I would've been sad but not mad. We would've missed this run!

- Overall, I underestimated the value of patience and letting a full season play out.

p.s. can't understate Monty's role in all of this. What a lights-out killer move by DA (and I was not one lamenting Bannister getting shafted on his opportunity - this is the NHL and nothing is forever)
Yeah, Sunny is another one to highlight. Almost in a similar way to Parayko, but on different levels, he's a guy that is very very good in certain aspects, and very limited in others. Sure, he's not a great skater and his offense is limited, but his IQ and defense are top notch and he does so many little things right, and that has certainly played a role in Bolduc's development.

And Monty has been huge as well. Army giving him the opportunity to return to coaching as an assistant is paying so many dividends today. Maybe he still becomes HC here, but the relationship that was developed back then certainly played a role IMO.
 
Yeah, it will be interesting if Steen sort of keeps the ship moving in the exact same way, or if he's going to have a pretty distinct style compared to Army's.

Army is still here directly able to over see anything Steen does, my concern is Steen negotiating contracts. I don't want a Dubas situation where we give people anything they ask for.
Jordan Kyrou is tied for 3rd in the league in 5v5 goals this season with..... Drai.

He's a bum and he needs to be traded. /s
 
For the record, my motivation with my question and topic isn't for people to be called hypocrites or for people to eat crow and to rehash what our expectations were to see who was right and who was wrong. I was also on the trade Buch boat, we'll see how that contract ages. I was similar to you on the Holloway move, and even the biggest fans of that move probably didn't expect him to push for 70 points. I was someone that was unsure on Kyrou's long-term fit, but he has genuinely grown as a complete player, and Holloway has been a perfect linemate, and now I don't even think it would be worth moving him in any sort of blockbuster move.
I am completely on-board with your question and was contemplating making a post like this unprompted. You gave me the excuse I needed.

Eating crow/admitting when you are wrong and reevaluating your positions to assimilate new information is healthy. I welcome the chance to do so in hopefully an interesting discussion.

On Kyrou, I had high hopes. I'd always seen the defensive side. The ability was there, just not the consistent effort. He has seemed to fix that this year. It was just a matter of growing up a bit for him.
 

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I am completely on-board with your question and was contemplating making a post like this unprompted. You gave me the excuse I needed.

Eating crow/admitting when you are wrong and reevaluating your positions to assimilate new information is healthy. I welcome the chance to do so in hopefully an interesting discussion.

On Kyrou, I had high hopes. I'd always seen the defensive side. The ability was there, just not the consistent effort. He has seemed to fix that this year. It was just a matter of growing up a bit for him.
Yeah, I've always thought Kyrou had the potential in the neutral zone with his speed and stick, he's shown it in the past, but it's way more consistent now, especially recently. While they are very much different players, I do view Kyrou as being more or less the same as Tarasenko now. A primarily offensive winger, but is solid enough defensively where they aren't a liability and they have certain defesnive strengths to be an asset. Tarasenko had his strength and could read plays, so he'd be able to create his fair share of turnovers because of that, like that one in game 7 on that Schenn goal(?). Kyrou's assets are more his speed/quickness and his stick, and combine that with Holloway, who has similar strengths, and it's a deadly combo.
 
We still have players on the roster today who are not part of that core. We've done a good job of moving on from some of them: no more Saad, Kapanen, POJ, Perunovich. We got 0 assets for any of them, but maybe addition by subtraction was good enough (see: current results). We have forward help on the way over the next few years from Stenberg, Snuggerud, Kaskimaki, etc. On defense, I think we have a lot to look forward to with Lindstein, Jiricek, Fischer, and maybe Ralph.
It isn't a pick/prospect, but we did gain $4.5M in 2025/26 cap space in the mutual contract termination with Saad. That has real value, especially if Krug attempts a comeback and his $6.5M is no longer on LTIR. There was future benefit beyond just clearing a roster spot.
 
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