2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

[Xerloris]

I want Snuggy and Dvorsky to start getting reps together in Springfield, immediately!

Stenberg-Dvorsky-Snuggerrud

Kid line 3.0

Pretty sure Armstrong has promised Snuggy NHL time if he comes now.

 

[Reality Czech]

Tarasenko at his peak, averaged 35g per year. I think Holloway will average 30g and play much more of a complete game.

I'll repeat scoring is up significantly since Tarasenko's peak. He was a top 7 or so goal scorer in the league during his best years if not higher than that. During a 5 year period he was only 6 goals shorts of having the second most goals over that time span.

I like Holloway a lot, but I can't see him being a top 7 goal scorer in the league. I won't mind if he proves me wrong though.

NHL Goal Leaders From 2013-14 To 2018-19 | StatMuse

Between the 2013-14 and 2018-19 seasons, Alex Ovechkin got the most goals, with 287 scored.

www.statmuse.com

 

[Beninnola]

I think Matt Joseph gets a rest for Snuggerud when they decide he goes maybe? Feels like this would work very well.

Bolduc Thomas buchnevich
Holloway Schenn Kyrou
neighbors sunny Snuggerud
Wtf

 

[ezcreepin]

Don't know where to post but I thought it was pretty fun. Since the 4 Nations Faceoff, here are Binnington's stats:

Games played (including non-starts) - 11 games
Win/Loss/OT - 9-2-0
Goals against - 2.19
Save % - 0.912
Shots against - 23.6

League Averages
Goals against - 2.80
Save % - 0.900
Shots against - 28.1


What Binnington and Monty have done since the break has been astounding. Shades of the 2008-2009 team that when on a 27-11-7 run from the start of January 2009. For context, the team ended up with a 41-31-10 record at the end, going 14-20-3 from the start until Jan 1st. In the first 37 games, they put up 31 points, the next 45 put up 61 points.

 

[Xerloris]

I'll repeat scoring is up significantly since Tarasenko's peak. He was a top 7 or so goal scorer in the league during his best years if not higher than that. During a 5 year period he was only 6 goals shorts of having the second most goals over that time span.

I like Holloway a lot, but I can't see him being a top 7 goal scorer in the league. I won't mind if he proves me wrong though.

NHL Goal Leaders From 2013-14 To 2018-19 | StatMuse

Between the 2013-14 and 2018-19 seasons, Alex Ovechkin got the most goals, with 287 scored.

www.statmuse.com

During his prime he did not have the determination like Holloway does. If he did, he would have been #1 and not #7. I loved and still do love Tarasenko but if Holloway is a 25-30 goal scorer that puts up near 40 assists, I will happily take him over Vladdy. He makes everyone around him better, shit just look how much better Kyrou is with him.

 

[MissouriMook]

Don't know where to post but I thought it was pretty fun. Since the 4 Nations Faceoff, here are Binnington's stats:

Games played (including non-starts) - 11 games
Win/Loss/OT - 9-2-0
Goals against - 2.19
Save % - 0.912
Shots against - 23.6

League Averages
Goals against - 2.80
Save % - 0.900
Shots against - 28.1


What Binnington and Monty have done since the break has been astounding. Shades of the 2008-2009 team that when on a 27-11-7 run from the start of January 2009. For context, the team ended up with a 41-31-10 record at the end, going 14-20-3 from the start until Jan 1st. In the first 37 games, they put up 31 points, the next 45 put up 61 points.

You have to give credit to Hofer as well. He is 5-0-2 since the break with a 1.98 GAA and a .910 SP. They’ve both been instrumental in our resurgence.

 

[Reality Czech]

During his prime he did not have the determination like Holloway does. If he did, he would have been #1 and not #7. I loved and still do love Tarasenko but if Holloway is a 25-30 goal scorer that puts up near 40 assists, I will happily take him over Vladdy. He makes everyone around him better, shit just look how much better Kyrou is with him.

I'm just curious how you measure determination. Tarasenko seemed to be a pretty determined competitor but I know everyone's in Holloway mode right now, so I'm not gonna argue about opinions. Don't really see the point in comparing him to Tarasenko anyway. I just think it's silly for people to act like 37 goals was not that good, but it would be the equivalent of around 50 or so today.

 

[Beninnola]

I'm just curious how you measure determination. Tarasenko seemed to be a pretty determined competitor but I know everyone's in Holloway mode right now, so I'm not gonna argue about opinions. Don't really see the point in comparing him to Tarasenko anyway. I just think it's silly for people to act like 37 goals was not that good, but it would be the equivalent of around 50 or so today.

I use this scale:

John Wick: 10

Kirill Kaprisov: 9.5

That girl who did the really good vault routine and has the not impressed meme with Obama: 5

Me on Monday after a long weekend: 1


Holloway is about an 8 right now. Tarasenko was a 6, clearly this is obvious from the scale.

Holloway is about one more performance away from me suggesting his new nickname. He is sheer will. He doesn’t hit people, he goes through them. He doesn’t fight for loose pucks, he takes them.

Baba Yaga.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I can recall quite a few moments where Tarasenko scored clutch goals and refused us losing. If we are evaluating determination or clutch or whatever, Tarasenko certainly had it.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I can recall quite a few moments where Tarasenko scored clutch goals and refused us losing. If we are evaluating determination or clutch or whatever, Tarasenko certainly had it.

He did. When he felt like it.

 

[stl76]

The difference between what I’ve seen from Holloway and what I saw with Tarasenko is the ability to single handedly break a game open. Vova did it with his not just his shot, but also his skating/IQ/strength. Hopefully we see that ability from Holloway as he develops…personally, I see that already with Dvorsky.

Dvorsky may never be a 200 ft defensive monster 1C who can take tough match ups against opponents top lines. He has a lot of work to do to even be a NHL player, we’ll see how he develops. But he can change a game with one flick of his wrists and I’m confident that part of his game will translate.

 

[bleedblue1223]

The difference between what I’ve seen from Holloway and what I saw with Tarasenko is the ability to single handedly break a game open. Vova did it with his not just his shot, but also his skating/IQ/strength. Hopefully we see that ability from Holloway as he develops…personally, I see that already with Dvorsky.

Dvorsky may never be a 200 ft defensive monster 1C who can take tough match ups against opponents top lines. He has a lot of work to do to even be a NHL player, we’ll see how he develops. But he can change a game with one flick of his wrists and I’m confident that part of his game will translate.

I'd argue we've seen that in Holloway. His defensive ability and speed has allowed us quite a few odd-man breaks the other way, that's what makes him and Kyrou so dangerous together.

I agree though, what made Tarasenko special was that x-factor of when the puck was on his stick in an important situation, you felt like something was going to happen.

 

[joe galiba]

from his 2nd full season until he hurt his shoulder, Vlad was outscored by Ovi and Tavares(by one)

he was the top scoring winger in the NHL not named Ovi, I just don’t understand those who pretend that reality isn’t

 

[ezcreepin]

You have to give credit to Hofer as well. He is 5-0-2 since the break with a 1.98 GAA and a .910 SP. They’ve both been instrumental in our resurgence.

Absolutely, I give credit to both goalies, though Hofer seems to be more "consistent" in his play and hasn't shown a ton of stretches of bad play like we might have seen from someone like Greiss or when Elliott was in the dumps. But he has absolutely been great as of late. I only used Binnington since there have been many people around the league saying he is pedestrian or really not good when he has been elevating this team above bottom 10 when they probably should have been bottom 3-5.

I'm just curious how you measure determination. Tarasenko seemed to be a pretty determined competitor but I know everyone's in Holloway mode right now, so I'm not gonna argue about opinions. Don't really see the point in comparing him to Tarasenko anyway. I just think it's silly for people to act like 37 goals was not that good, but it would be the equivalent of around 50 or so today.

I think a good way to describe it is Tarasenko was either there or he wasn't for much of his time here. He no doubt had the talent that teams crave and was surrounded by a great group of players, so that made him even more lethal when he was on the ice. I would say 1 step below Patrick Kane when he was in his prime and would score at will - both clutch players with immense talent, but Kane seemed to do this every game when the team needed it, Tarasenko did it less often but in largely bigger moments. However, he was an average at best defender in his prime and despite being such a massive guy, didn't really take that much to causing havoc or creating turnovers like O'Reilly did.

Holloway, on the other hand, does not have the "clutch" factor that Tarasenko or Kane had, but I think he has determination that exceeds either one of those players. He may not be able to just come down on the wing and score like he's taking out the trash, and he doesn't have the unreal IQ, hands, and passing ability that Kane had, but he is going to fight tooth and nail to make something happen when he's on the ice. Takes more energy to do what he does, but that's what's so enjoyable about players like him.

I also am not sure why they are being compared because they are entirely different players with different skillsets, but yes, Vova's scoring in his prime was unreal for the time. In 2014-2015, he was tied for 5th in goal scoring with 37, 2015-2016 he was 4th with 40, 2016-2017 he was tied for 4th with 39, and between the years of 2014-2019 (2 years he dipped down to 33 goals a season), he is ranked 3rd in that span in goals scored, behind only Ovechkin and Tavares (only 1 goal behind JT). Also fun stat, he scored nearly 16% of all goals by the Blues in that span and contributed to nearly 31% of all goals in that time. Dude was an unreal player in the 2010's when he was healthy.

 

[BlueDream]

Absolutely, I give credit to both goalies, though Hofer seems to be more "consistent" in his play and hasn't shown a ton of stretches of bad play like we might have seen from someone like Greiss or when Elliott was in the dumps. But he has absolutely been great as of late. I only used Binnington since there have been many people around the league saying he is pedestrian or really not good when he has been elevating this team above bottom 10 when they probably should have been bottom 3-5.


I think a good way to describe it is Tarasenko was either there or he wasn't for much of his time here. He no doubt had the talent that teams crave and was surrounded by a great group of players, so that made him even more lethal when he was on the ice. I would say 1 step below Patrick Kane when he was in his prime and would score at will - both clutch players with immense talent, but Kane seemed to do this every game when the team needed it, Tarasenko did it less often but in largely bigger moments. However, he was an average at best defender in his prime and despite being such a massive guy, didn't really take that much to causing havoc or creating turnovers like O'Reilly did.

Holloway, on the other hand, does not have the "clutch" factor that Tarasenko or Kane had, but I think he has determination that exceeds either one of those players. He may not be able to just come down on the wing and score like he's taking out the trash, and he doesn't have the unreal IQ, hands, and passing ability that Kane had, but he is going to fight tooth and nail to make something happen when he's on the ice. Takes more energy to do what he does, but that's what's so enjoyable about players like him.

I also am not sure why they are being compared because they are entirely different players with different skillsets, but yes, Vova's scoring in his prime was unreal for the time. In 2014-2015, he was tied for 5th in goal scoring with 37, 2015-2016 he was 4th with 40, 2016-2017 he was tied for 4th with 39, and between the years of 2014-2019 (2 years he dipped down to 33 goals a season), he is ranked 3rd in that span in goals scored, behind only Ovechkin and Tavares (only 1 goal behind JT). Also fun stat, he scored nearly 16% of all goals by the Blues in that span and contributed to nearly 31% of all goals in that time. Dude was an unreal player in the 2010's when he was healthy.

And I’ll just say, Holloway might have it. We just don’t know yet and that remains to be seen.

But either way I am really excited to see him in the playoffs. Last year he was by far Edmonton’s most physical player and he found a way to make an impact while playing bottom 6 minutes. Now that he’s broken out offensively, I can’t wait to see how he combines his skill and physicality in a playoff series. I think his game is built for the postseason and he could be a monster.

 

[HighNote]

To me, Holloway is Schwartz if Schwartz was 3 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier. Their playstyles are pretty similar. Both are quick, have good hands, good shots, have a knack for stealing the puck, are good on both sides of the puck, both have a non-stop motor, and so far have similar goal to assist ratios.

With Holloway being bigger and heavier, I think he has potential to be Schwartz 2.0. He can play more physical, he'll almost certainly be more durable, and he can make plays with his size that lead to more offensive opportunities because he can contend with defenders more effectively and not have to rely almost entirely on his hands like Schwartz. His size paired with his playstyle will also make him an effective playoff player I think.

 

[Xerloris]

To me, Holloway is Schwartz if Schwartz was 3 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier. Their playstyles are pretty similar. Both are quick, have good hands, good shots, have a knack for stealing the puck, are good on both sides of the puck, both have a non-stop motor, and so far have similar goal to assist ratios.

With Holloway being bigger and heavier, I think he has potential to be Schwartz 2.0. He can play more physical, he'll almost certainly be more durable, and he can make plays with his size that lead to more offensive opportunities because he can contend with defenders more effectively and not have to rely almost entirely on his hands like Schwartz. His size paired with his playstyle will also make him an effective playoff player I think.

I agree mostly but I think Holloway is much faster, After all he can keep up with Kyrou.

 

[illininer]

Obviously Holloway is a monster and rightfully being talked about, but I also really like what I see from Bolduc too and I love the physicality and "nastiness" he's starting to show.

I will say, when either guy has the puck in the offensive zone I find myself hoping they'll shoot,regardless of situation, similar to how I felt when Tarasenko was around. The puck seems to explode off their sticks and I just expect it to go in or at the very least, create a rebound situation. Seems like we've rarely had guys like that and now we've got 2 and both under the age of 25. Add in the guys coming up too and we are going to be absolute hell to play against for the forseable future. Feels good.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I can understand why Edmonton didn't match Broberg, as the money just got tricky. But I can't fathom how they let Holloway slip away.

I think those two offer sheets are going to go down as the worst GM mistake in modern times, by a mile. Imagine if they're both on a future Blues' Cup winning core....and now imagine if Edmonton never gets back to the Final. That part is actually pretty easy.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

I can understand why Edmonton didn't match Broberg, as the money just got tricky. But I can't fathom how they let Holloway slip away.

I think those two offer sheets are going to go down as the worst GM mistake in modern times, by a mile. Imagine if they're both on a future Blues' Cup winning core....and now imagine if Edmonton never gets back to the Final. That part is actually pretty easy.

Given where the Oilers were sitting at the time, I can see why they didn't match Broberg. But I still can't fathom why they spent $11.1M on Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique and Corey f'ng Perry to put themselves into that situation.

They created their cap pinch that offseason. When they signed Arvidsson, I understood. When they signed Skinner, I was wondering how the hell they were going to make that work. They weren't.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Given where the Oilers were sitting at the time, I can see why they didn't match Broberg. But I still can't fathom why they spent $11.1M on Arvidsson, Skinner, Henrique and Corey f'ng Perry to put themselves into that situation.

They created their cap pinch that offseason. When they signed Arvidsson, I understood. When they signed Skinner, I was wondering how the hell they were going to make that work. They weren't.

It was sooo stupid. Say you value those vets more, then TRADE one or both of your RFAs you can’t sign. Get something in return that you can use, even if it’s just draft currency.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

I can understand why Edmonton didn't match Broberg, as the money just got tricky. But I can't fathom how they let Holloway slip away.

I think those two offer sheets are going to go down as the worst GM mistake in modern times, by a mile. Imagine if they're both on a future Blues' Cup winning core....and now imagine if Edmonton never gets back to the Final. That part is actually pretty easy.

Totally agreed. Holloway was never going to be overpaid at 2.3 per, even if he didn’t have this offensive breakout. Just mind boggling.

 

[Xerloris]

It was sooo stupid. Say you value those vets more, then TRADE one or both of your RFAs you can’t sign. Get something in return that you can use, even if it’s just draft currency.

I mean they did get some draft picks

 

[Spear]

I mean they did get some draft picks

Yup. In a weak draft. I couldn't be happier!

 

[ezcreepin]

Obviously Holloway is a monster and rightfully being talked about, but I also really like what I see from Bolduc too and I love the physicality and "nastiness" he's starting to show.

I will say, when either guy has the puck in the offensive zone I find myself hoping they'll shoot,regardless of situation, similar to how I felt when Tarasenko was around. The puck seems to explode off their sticks and I just expect it to go in or at the very least, create a rebound situation. Seems like we've rarely had guys like that and now we've got 2 and both under the age of 25. Add in the guys coming up too and we are going to be absolute hell to play against for the forseable future. Feels good.

I've been super excited for a good chunk of time waiting for Bolduc to breakout. He was clearly a gifted offensive player in the Q and I think he has made massive strides defensively, similar to Perron (go figure). So happy to see him start to see things work in his favor because he's been doing all the little things right now the better part of a year now. At this point, we are starting to see just how dangerous he is in the offensive zone and it feels like it happens every game whether or not he gets a point.