Toggle sidebar

2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

Brian39 said:
Kyrou's production is nearly identical when he plays with Holloway or Buch. All numbers at 5 on 5:

With Holloway: 1.27 goals per 60 and 2.52 goals per 60.
With Buch: 1.19 goals per 60 and 2.59 points per 60. Last season, Kyrou's numbers with Buch were 1.38 goals per 60 and 2.3 points per 60.

Kyrou is chugging along with production right in line with the past several years. He had 22 goals at 5 on 5 in each of the last 3 seasons and is currently at...22. In the previous 3 seasons he's had 28, 20, and 22 assists at 5 on 5. He's at 20 right now. His 75 games played has already surpassed his games played in 1 of those 3 seasons.

Kyrou's defensive improvement was noticeable before the two of them got put together as well. I'm not saying to split them up. I love the two of them on the ice together. There is chemistry and the speed of both players is difficult on opponents, but Holloway isn't making Kyrou better. Kyrou is being Kyrou.
Click to expand...

I never said Kyrou has better stats with him, I just said he's better with him. Kyrou stays late for practice with Holloway and I ask, did he do that before? He uses his speed much more effectively now. I remind you have that beautiful wrap around from a few games back and those 2 great 2 on 1's Holloway and Kyrou had both going flat out from our Dzone till the crease. He's a much better play now. If you're still not convinced which I'm sure you already knew all of this just look at how much less Dizee bitches about him now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kreele and Bye Bye Blueston
Xerloris said:
I never said Kyrou has better stats with him, I just said he's better with him. Kyrou stays late for practice with Holloway and I ask, did he do that before? He uses his speed much more effectively now. I remind you have that beautiful wrap around from a few games back and those 2 great 2 on 1's Holloway and Kyrou had both going flat out from our Dzone till the crease. He's a much better play now. If you're still not convinced which I'm sure you already knew all of this just look at how much less Dizee bitches about him now.
Click to expand...
Yes, he did.



That is the only tweet I found similar to the one from this year, but I also recall seeing a video of Kyrou and Buch working together after practice earlier this year. Each of our last 3 coaches have praised Kyrou's work ethic in the media too. You might just now be noticing it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't happening.

Kyrou has been making great wraparound plays his entire career. He's had tons of highlight rush plays through his time here. ITons of us have noticed how much better he has looked for over a year now. We've been vocal about it and the numbers back up that he's been a much better player since before getting put with Holloway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Vladys Gumption and bleedblue1223
Brian39 said:
Yes, he did.



That is the only tweet I found similar to the one from this year, but I also recall seeing a video of Kyrou and Buch working together after practice earlier this year. Each of our last 3 coaches have praised Kyrou's work ethic in the media too. You might just now be noticing it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't happening.

Kyrou has been making great wraparound plays his entire career. He's had tons of highlight rush plays through his time here. ITons of us have noticed how much better he has looked for over a year now. We've been vocal about it and the numbers back up that he's been a much better player since before getting put with Holloway.
Click to expand...


But he plays fortnite.....what about that don't you understand?!?!? He can't be a hard worker....he just can't....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bobby Orrtuzzo
I think the problem with Kyrou

Is that we put him into a position to kinda not succeed by being a depth team without depth.

We traded tarasenko for nothing basically - depth chart wise. Vrana didn’t work at all. Bolduc, Neighbors are 19, 20, 21, or whatever. Thomas is elite but - he’s just 25. The last few seasons have caused Kyrou’s flaws to be super magnified. IMO it’s okay and great that he’s a riverboat gambler at times. My initial complaints about him being soft are gone: he’s as physical as I need him to be now - just fight for pucks when appropriate. He’ll be stronger than his opponents more often the coming years.

The competitive advantages you get from Kyrou or Tarasenko occur when you can deploy them against lesser competition and with rest. They’re so potent. We couldn’t do this for Kyrou the last few years. We had depleted forwards. Other teams had very basic strategy sessions.

All it took was balancing the roster just a bit. And a coach that lets things get wild when appropriate.

There is so much room for growth. Don’t be so sure the uptrend has stopped. Sometimes you may think that, then later, look back and realize it had only just begun.

This message was brought to you by the chairman of the Kyrou is gonna go to the Olympics fan club.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: stlwahoo
I have heard Armstrong mention Snuggerud playing with Thomas being a goal/possibility probably over 10 times before in interviews. I was thinking about it today that a line of Neighbours - Thomas - Snuggerud is basically the exact same as the uber-successful line of Knies - Cooley - Snuggerud that Minnesota had in his freshman year. Tough gritty left winger who can retrieve pucks and battle in the corners while still having the skillset to play with those highly skilled guys. Fantastically skilled puck-handler and passer at center. And of course Snuggerud at RW for both. Definitely a line I think we will see at some point within the next year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheOrganist, Beninnola, Bye Bye Blueston and 1 other person
taylord22 said:
Armstrong is on a bit of a media tour here the last few days. All smiles and as giddy as I've seen him.

Click to expand...


During his in-booth interview the other day he was actually wearing a nice suit instead of one that looked bought second hand 20 years ago. And he still looked uncomfortable in it
 
STL fan in MN said:
Hopefully they can get him signed before it ever comes to that but if they (or any other team) does offer sheet Hofer, as Army explained today, the Blues will make sure to leave themselves enough cap room to match anything remotely reasonable.
Click to expand...
I fully expect DA to extend Hofer before any other team even gets a single whiff. Total offseason stuff and only distraction in-season.
 
Brian39 said:
I'd love to see them try. Not sure how they would manage to offer him enough to make it "hurt" without creating a massive Bouchard-sized issue in the budget.
Click to expand...
Very true. But other teams will have the cap space and picks needed to do it if they want so Army still needs to take care of business.

That said, I have no concerns he’ll do so. I’m sure he’d like to have it done already like it is with Neighbours but I haven’t heard negotiations are far apart or anything. Hofer’s camp could very likely just not want to do business in-season and/or waiting for the full season to play out to see if that’d increase his value any. Not too concerned they’ll get it done.
 
Mike Liut said:
With Ellis waiting, do we not match and take the compensation?
Click to expand...
It’d have to be a ridiculous level of compensation to not match IMO. Ellis has been good but has zero NHL experience. Hofer should get a nice raise but nothing too extreme to where it wouldn’t be in the Blues best interest to pay him that amount.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mike Liut
STL fan in MN said:
Very true. But other teams will have the cap space and picks needed to do it if they want so Army still needs to take care of business.

That said, I have no concerns he’ll do so. I’m sure he’d like to have it done already like it is with Neighbours but I haven’t heard negotiations are far apart or anything. Hofer’s camp could very likely just not want to do business in-season and/or waiting for the full season to play out to see if that’d increase his value any. Not too concerned they’ll get it done.
Click to expand...
What is a number that you think the Blues couldn't/wouldn't match?

I'd be perfectly content to take an unprotected 1st and a 3rd for Hofer ($4.581M+ AAV). I don't see contenders offering him that and I don't see teams offering him that to make him a backup. The teams offering him that kind of money would be looking to make him their 1A or outright #1. I'm a big Hofer fan and I think he will be that. But I'm not sure he will be good in that role in year 1 and I'd be more than happy to hold an unprotected 1st of the team putting him in that position.

So we're probably talking about a Broberg-like contract where the compensation is only a 2nd. $4.5M is obviously more than I'd like to pay him, but we have the cap space to make that work in the short term. I think any team signing him to an offer sheet in this range would have to know that they are very unlikely to get the player and are doing it almost exclusively to screw our cap structure and piss off a front office.

I just don't see a path for another team to actually pry him away from us with an offer sheet, which is why we so rarely see offer sheets.
 
Brian39 said:
What is a number that you think the Blues couldn't/wouldn't match?

I'd be perfectly content to take an unprotected 1st and a 3rd for Hofer ($4.581M+ AAV). I don't see contenders offering him that and I don't see teams offering him that to make him a backup. The teams offering him that kind of money would be looking to make him their 1A or outright #1. I'm a big Hofer fan and I think he will be that. But I'm not sure he will be good in that role in year 1 and I'd be more than happy to hold an unprotected 1st of the team putting him in that position.

So we're probably talking about a Broberg-like contract where the compensation is only a 2nd. $4.5M is obviously more than I'd like to pay him, but we have the cap space to make that work in the short term. I think any team signing him to an offer sheet in this range would have to know that they are very unlikely to get the player and are doing it almost exclusively to screw our cap structure and piss off a front office.

I just don't see a path for another team to actually pry him away from us with an offer sheet, which is why we so rarely see offer sheets.
Click to expand...
I think the courtesy 3rd we sent Edmonton to not match Holloway should forestall a retaliatory offer sheet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrokenFace, Bye Bye Blueston and ChicagoBlues
I think the more interesting thing with Hofer isn't an offer-sheet, it's trade possibilities. If we get an offer-sheet like Broberg, I think we pretty easily match because the compensation isn't worth it. At a 1st and 3rd round pick, I could see us taking the picks, and that would have to be the cap figure for Hofer to sign long-term IMO. But, I could see a situation where a team in need of a young goalie approaches us like we did for Halak. Askarov and Knight are somewhat comps, but not completely.

I haven't gone through the teams to figure out who would be in need of a goalie of the future that can step in immediately into at least a 1A/1B role to figure out a true comp, but I could see us being tempted by a Halak/Eller type offer. If you could use Hofer to get a young RD, I think that makes sense. Don't think you do something for a winger. Center is an option, but I don't know how much of one since we have Dvorsky, it would depend on the center.

I'm just curious what our plan is for Binnington, Hofer, and Ellis. Previously, I was thinking Binnington would be the one to leave, but now that we have improved our current situation, I think I lean towards us keeping Binnington, and make a decision on Hofer and Ellis. And with Ellis' contract, we aren't forced into make a decision this summer, but I do think we probably make a decision sooner than later, so that we don't waste the value of whichever one we don't keep.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrokenFace, STL fan in MN, ScratchCatFever and 1 other person
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Ad

Ad

Top Bottom