2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

[ChicagoBlues]

You could tell Buchy is really taking that last minute from Game 7 hard, just beating himself up over that missed empty netter. I know he has some highs and lows in his demeanor, but he really looks like his dog just died. Hopefully he channels that during the summer and we get pissed off, maniac, nasty Buchy at the start of next season.

Buchy made at least two big errors in the closing minutes. One was an icing and the other was passing up the shot opportunity when he was right in front of Helly.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

I like Buch but he has no killer instinct. He proved that in Game 7 and he's proven it time and time again when he gives up prime scoring opportunities to make one extra pass.

 

[TheDizee]

So Army basically said the players who were healthy enough to play are not allowed to use injuries as a excuse.

That also means people need to stop saying Kyrou was hurt and that is why he stunk up the joint.

 

[TheDizee]

A bit messy, apologies

• 6 on 5 being treated like a serious issue.
• Lots of expectations around offseason training...conditioning and lean muscle for certain guys
• Plan is for everyone (coaches to players to zamboni drivers) to improve 3-5%. That's how you change and improve culture.
• Fowler loves it here - interested in having discussions this summer
• Monty played Snuggy and Bolduc because Army told him to "play the best players"
• What could Monty have done differently in Game 7? "Probably called a timeout to go over things"
• Army: Decent year, not a great year
• Army Holloway and Tucker: 100% for training camp. Holloway had surgery (was unlikely to play again). Tucker doesn't need it.
• Other injuries: "If you were healthy enough to play, we're not going to go through the injuries/things bothering guys"
• Army will have conversations with Faksa about extensions
• Army on Roster areas for improvement: Top 4D shored up, for now. Add another player that provides 200ft offense. "Would like to improve in the 200ft offensive game". Unlikely to go into further detail
• Army: Re-whatever is ending. Plan now is to evaluate the velocity we want to approach contention
• Army: Boldy was able to play through mistakes this year, which is a part of growth. Expectations will be much higher next year." Snuggy will have Boldy's leash from this year, more or less.
• Army: Free Agency will be looked at. He doesn't feel quite the same as Trotz who noted yesterday it would not be appealing this year due to rising cap.
• Army: How close was he to breaking the team up? "I told my counterparts coming out of 4Nations that if we played 500-600 hockey coming out, we'd be sellers" They were still open to hockey trades. Parayko injury gave him pause, but ultimately decided to stay pat
• Army on Krug: Almost 'normal' to day to day living, now...Army doesn't think he'll play again, but leaves the door open in case of a miracle
• Army on Dvorsky: Got a call from his national team down the stretch asking if we would allow him to play. Army made sure he was going to be a big part of it. Wanted him with the team, but since the physical maturity wasn't there, he was unlikely to get into the playoffs. Has to earn his spot next year - high expectations to accelerate physical maturity, but won't fail him by rushing him into the NHL
• Joseph/Texier: Speed element they wanted to bring in. Both showed flashes, but competition pushed them out. Expects them to come back next year to try and wrestle ice time away.
• Army on Kyrou: He's matured. Next 3-4 years will be Thomas and Kyrou's top of the bell curve - up to him to decide how high those peaks will be. TL;DR: Thinks he can be even better. Kyrou learned that Winnipeg was circling names for their pound of flesh...he's a marked man now.
• Army on Stenberg: Eyes opened to volume and 'mans league'
• Army on Kaskamaki: Clearly loves his game. Compared him to Steen without offense (yet). Thinks he'll get games quickly if he does what he's supposed to
• Army on Petterson: Credit to Thorburn for pushing for him...compared him to Torpo
• Army on Buchinger: Jury is still out

• Army on Kyrou: He's matured. Next 3-4 years will be Thomas and Kyrou's top of the bell curve - up to him to decide how high those peaks will be. TL;DR: Thinks he can be even better. Kyrou learned that Winnipeg was circling names for their pound of flesh...he's a marked man now.

DING DING DING, THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOLKS! Easy to put up points when you are going up against lower skill, checking and competition. When you are "the guy", you get circled as a "we wont let this player beat us" type of thing. And to get past that, you have to have a SECOND GEAR & DETERMINATION.

He has neither, he does not care to ever have either and HE MUST GO.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

I'm not gonna beat on #25. He is what he is

However, if we can get a good trade out of him (e.g. an almost comparable player but with more grit or two slightly less capable players but more all around game and desire level) I would say go for it.

 

[Brian39]

I'd really like to know which players the front office believes comprise our core for the purpose of the term 'core age range.'

I'm guessing most of us hear that and think about our top young players/prospects up to Kyrou (who is 27)

But as we sit here today, there is absolutely no doubt that Parayko and Binner are part of our core and they are both 31. Based on the contract they gave him, I'm guessing they consider Buch part of the core too.

My gut tells me that Army's outlook is the latter and not the former. He mentioned potentially being willing to trade a young player or a 1st for a 2-3 year solution, which lines up a hell of a lot more with the age range that includes the vets.

 

[SirPaste]

I'd really like to know which players the front office believes comprise our core for the purpose of the term 'core age range.'

I'm guessing most of us hear that and think about our top young players/prospects up to Kyrou (who is 27)

But as we sit here today, there is absolutely no doubt that Parayko and Binner are part of our core and they are both 31. Based on the contract they gave him, I'm guessing they consider Buch part of the core too.

My gut tells me that Army's outlook is the latter and not the former. He mentioned potentially being willing to trade a young player or a 1st for a 2-3 year solution, which lines up a hell of a lot more with the age range that includes the vets.

In the past(last offseason) he mentioned in the age 25 or so range that is what he was looking to add so I think that is what most people envision, at least thats what I think of when he says that.

 

[STL fan in MN]

He hit this again during the BK and Ferrario interview. He clearly had some talking points/phrases walking into today and this was one of them. He added during the presser that he wouldn't go into detail due to noise of him e.g. not doing something immediately July 1 would generate.

Yep. How I interpreted it was that he’d like to add a forward somehow this summer but definitely didn’t want to get into the specifics. Talked about the need to get 5% better and you can’t really do that if you run back exactly the same lineup as this season.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I'd really like to know which players the front office believes comprise our core for the purpose of the term 'core age range.'

I'm guessing most of us hear that and think about our top young players/prospects up to Kyrou (who is 27)

But as we sit here today, there is absolutely no doubt that Parayko and Binner are part of our core and they are both 31. Based on the contract they gave him, I'm guessing they consider Buch part of the core too.

My gut tells me that Army's outlook is the latter and not the former. He mentioned potentially being willing to trade a young player or a 1st for a 2-3 year solution, which lines up a hell of a lot more with the age range that includes the vets.

It could be an older player that slides down (like Schenn is in the process of doing) or that becomes expendable on an expiring contract they don't renew.

I'm pleased to hear that 2C is a priority. I like the 200 ft player description.

As for the bigger Kyrou discussion, he needs some protection in the line-up. He can't be circled if there is another scoring threat that will go off on a different line if they overly focus on Kyrou. Holloway could have been that guy on the same line (and hopefully will be) but I think Kyrou is fine in this core if you simply add more effective scoring depth. It was too easy for the Jets to gameplan to stop the top line. This series would have been pretty ugly if the 4th line hadn't exceeded their role.

 

[taylord22]

One downside of the organization not disclosing who was dealing with what is that it makes it harder to separate short-term issues from signs of long-term decline. I’ve historically been a pro-Faulk poster, but his stick started to resemble a pinball slingshot—pucks were bouncing off it constantly. This “springy blade” effect is a subtle but very real trend with aging defensemen. As players get older, small declines in hand strength, fine motor control, and reaction time can erode their ability to absorb and settle pucks with soft touch. Stick feel is closely tied to reflexes and coordination, so even slight changes can lead to bobbled receptions or mishandled plays under pressure, which Faulk experienced frequently this season.

Some veterans adapt by switching to softer blades or lower flex sticks, but those with big shots—like Faulk—often don’t, which only makes things worse. Age-related changes in posture or edge control can also throw off blade angle consistency, especially on D-to-D passes or rimmed pucks. If we had learned he was nursing an upper-body injury, it’d be easier to write off the bobbles and turnovers. But given his age, style of play, and how clearly the issue presented, I’m starting to get a bit nervous.

There was also the post-game coverage that implied Broberg was set to hop onto the ice when Fowler changed, but Faulk prematurely popped onto the ice and struggled to play his offhand.

I still think Faulk is a good player, to be clear, but not good enough to play top-4 on a contending team. I had been assuming/predicting organizational assets would be used on upgrading that spot, and F/A dollars would be used for a band-aid at forward, but after today it sounds like it's the inverse.

I'd really like to know which players the front office believes comprise our core for the purpose of the term 'core age range.'

I'm guessing most of us hear that and think about our top young players/prospects up to Kyrou (who is 27)

But as we sit here today, there is absolutely no doubt that Parayko and Binner are part of our core and they are both 31. Based on the contract they gave him, I'm guessing they consider Buch part of the core too.

My gut tells me that Army's outlook is the latter and not the former. He mentioned potentially being willing to trade a young player or a 1st for a 2-3 year solution, which lines up a hell of a lot more with the age range that includes the vets.

I find this an interesting question not only in regards to the next 1-2 years, but also in how the organization is approaching our contention window in the long-term. Obviously age curves don't favor Parayko and Binnington competing throughout the tenure of our franchise player (Thomas). How far down the road does the organization look? Much like Petro was a part of two contending cores with many of the same pieces, I would expect they approach Thomas's tenure similarly...? Especially with Broberg, Holloway, Snuggy, etc. all being younger.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

One downside of the organization not disclosing who was dealing with what is that it makes it harder to separate short-term issues from signs of long-term decline. I’ve historically been a pro-Faulk poster, but his stick started to resemble a pinball slingshot—pucks were bouncing off it constantly. This “springy blade” effect is a subtle but very real trend with aging defensemen. As players get older, small declines in hand strength, fine motor control, and reaction time can erode their ability to absorb and settle pucks with soft touch. Stick feel is closely tied to reflexes and coordination, so even slight changes can lead to bobbled receptions or mishandled plays under pressure, which Faulk experienced frequently this season.

Some veterans adapt by switching to softer blades or lower flex sticks, but those with big shots—like Faulk—often don’t, which only makes things worse. Age-related changes in posture or edge control can also throw off blade angle consistency, especially on D-to-D passes or rimmed pucks. If we had learned he was nursing an upper-body injury, it’d be easier to write off the bobbles and turnovers. But given his age, style of play, and how clearly the issue presented, I’m starting to get a bit nervous.

I wish I could upvote this more then once. The first thing I thought of while reading this was how, at my first Blues game live in forever back in Oct, I noticed how often Faulk fumbled pucks. He didn't outright miss, or completely lose control, but juuuuuuuust enough of a bobble to turn what might have been a scoring chance or a clean exit into something else. I remember Gretzky getting asked on one of the TNT panels one time what's the first thing to go when you age, and he, without a second's hesitation, said, "Hands."

I see a lot of the same from Schenn.

 

[STL fan in MN]

One downside of the organization not disclosing who was dealing with what is that it makes it harder to separate short-term issues from signs of long-term decline. I’ve historically been a pro-Faulk poster, but his stick started to resemble a pinball slingshot—pucks were bouncing off it constantly. This “springy blade” effect is a subtle but very real trend with aging defensemen. As players get older, small declines in hand strength, fine motor control, and reaction time can erode their ability to absorb and settle pucks with soft touch. Stick feel is closely tied to reflexes and coordination, so even slight changes can lead to bobbled receptions or mishandled plays under pressure, which Faulk experienced frequently this season.

Some veterans adapt by switching to softer blades or lower flex sticks, but those with big shots—like Faulk—often don’t, which only makes things worse. Age-related changes in posture or edge control can also throw off blade angle consistency, especially on D-to-D passes or rimmed pucks. If we had learned he was nursing an upper-body injury, it’d be easier to write off the bobbles and turnovers. But given his age, style of play, and how clearly the issue presented, I’m starting to get a bit nervous.

There was also the post-game coverage that implied Broberg was set to hop onto the ice when Fowler changed, but Faulk prematurely popped onto the ice and struggled to play his offhand.

I still think Faulk is a good player, to be clear, but not good enough to play top-4 on a contending team. I had been assuming/predicting organizational assets would be used on upgrading that spot, and F/A dollars would be used for a band-aid at forward, but after today it sounds like it's the inverse.


I find this an interesting question not only in regards to the next 1-2 years, but also in how the organization is approaching our contention window in the long-term. Obviously age curves don't favor Parayko and Binnington competing throughout the tenure of our franchise player (Thomas). How far down the road does the organization look? Much like Petro was a part of two contending cores with many of the same pieces, I would expect they approach Thomas's tenure similarly...? Especially with Broberg, Holloway, Snuggy, etc. all being younger.

As a hockey coach and a former manager of a pro shop (thus I know a good amount about equipment), this really spoke to me. I’m 44 now and have always been a pretty good stick handler. Known as the guy that could pull off some fancy moves…but this year we had a 20 yr old kid helping us out on the ice for practices. I reluctantly turned over a lot of the stickhandling drills to him as it was clear he was simply better. I just don’t have the hands I used to. Hopefully the Warrior stick rep Faulk works with can get him a good “old man” stick.

 

[taylord22]

As a hockey coach and a former manager of a pro shop (thus I know a good amount about equipment), this really spoke to me. I’m 44 now and have always been a pretty good stick handler. Known as the guy that could pull off some fancy moves…but this year we had a 20 yr old kid helping us out on the ice for practices. I reluctantly turned over a lot of the stickhandling drills to him as it was clear he was simply better. I just don’t have the hands I used to. Hopefully the Warrior stick rep Faulk works with can get a good “old man” stick.

My hips got tight before my hands went, and I was never great on my edges in the first place (40)

But yeah, shooting was always my thing - I was pretty good but it’s amazing how quickly it falls off the cliff, especially off receptions.

 

[TheOrganist]

It wouldn’t be an end of year press conference without Armstrong making 57 references that include water. And ships. The man loves ships. And water vessels. Keys to the Titanic” “Turning a team around is like moving a tanker on the ocean.” Very odd but I digress. Everyone was pretty straightforward and I’m glad the 6 on 5 debacle and closing games out has the attention of the organization. Seems like good things are in store for the future.

 

[TheDizee]

It wouldn’t be an end of year press conference without Armstrong making 57 references that include water. And ships. The man loves ships. And water vessels. Keys to the Titanic” “Turning a team around is like moving a tanker on the ocean.” Very odd but I digress. Everyone was pretty straightforward and I’m glad the 6 on 5 debacle and closing games out has the attention of the organization. Seems like good things are in store for the future.

6on5 is such a easy fix. To start with, STOP USING THE SAME PEOPLE.

If you have a shitty closer in baseball, you don't keep feeding him the ball so he can keep blowing games. The constant need to use both Faulk and Buch out there cost them games and points all year long and is ultimately why they lost that series. There is ZERO reason why people like Broberg, Faksa, Toropchenko and others cannot be out there because they all kill penalties. It is no different 6on5. But instead they wanted to live by the Faulk so they died by the Faulk.

 

[TheOrganist]

6on5 is such a easy fix. To start with, STOP USING THE SAME PEOPLE.

If you have a shitty closer in baseball, you don't keep feeding him the ball so he can keep blowing games. The constant need to use both Faulk and Buch out there cost them games and points all year long and is ultimately why they lost that series. There is ZERO reason why people like Broberg, Faksa, Toropchenko and others cannot be out there because they all kill penalties. It is no different 6on5. But instead they wanted to live by the Faulk so they died by the Faulk.

Ladies & Gentleman, Scottie Bowman.

 

[Xerloris]

Those 4 had wildly different career trajectories and substantially more raw talent than Binner. Two of them are overwhelmingly labeled as top 5 goalies of all time. The other two are arguably the two most athletically-gifted goalies who have ever played the position, had noticeable consistency issues through their 30s, and ceded the starter's role in their 30s. Banking on him not to decline through his 30s using these 4 as examples is pretty much the definition of relying on anomalies.

I'm extremely content going into a playoff series with Binner in net. His mental strength when the team's back is against the wall is remarkable. But these guys are all horrible comps to him when trying to predict what the next 5 years are going to look like. He's just not remotely comparable to any of them.

Longevity has just as much to do with health as talent. That's why I specifically mentioned freak injuries.

So Army basically said the players who were healthy enough to play are not allowed to use injuries as a excuse.

That also means people need to stop saying Kyrou was hurt and that is why he stunk up the joint.

So the GM telling players that if they were healthy enough to play that they can't use excuses is now saying Kyrou wasn't hurt? After the hit he was different. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was hurt and not being a bitch.

 

[The Electrician]

It wouldn’t be an end of year press conference without Armstrong making 57 references that include water. And ships. The man loves ships. And water vessels. Keys to the Titanic” “Turning a team around is like moving a tanker on the ocean.” Very odd but I digress. Everyone was pretty straightforward and I’m glad the 6 on 5 debacle and closing games out has the attention of the organization. Seems like good things are in store for the future.

No actuarial tables mentioned, though.

 

[Meatball]

What I saw from Toropchenko was incredible, he was a terror out there during our home games. Speed, skill, size. That is the future of our 4th line and I couldn't be happier.

Tyler Tucker deserves some love too for how he played while healthy. I thought he helped rattle the Jets with his physical play.

It's funny, during the home games, we looked every bit like a team headed for a cup final.

 

[STL fan in MN]

No actuarial tables mentioned, though.

To be fair, that’s more of a July 1st talking point.

 

[STL fan in MN]

My hips got tight before my hands went, and I was never great on my edges in the first place (40)

But yeah, shooting was always my thing - I was pretty good but it’s amazing how quickly it falls off the cliff, especially off receptions.

Oh it’s bad. I had a pretty bad back injury at 30 and I’ve been progressively more and more horrible ever since.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Toropchenko was awesome. Playoff gamer. Must keep. Heart and soul.

 

[ArenaRat]

Toropchenko was awesome. Playoff gamer. Must keep. Heart and soul.

And good for him for taking his game there. While he is rarely invisible, he wasn't always impactful. He took his game up from 4 Nations on, and turned it up some more in the POs. Respect.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

And good for him for taking his game there. While he is rarely invisible, he wasn't always impactful. He took his game up from 4 Nations on, and turned it up some more in the POs. Respect.

Toro was one of my top-5 Blues prospects, at one point, because of what he just demonstrated. Playoff Sunny on steroids.

 

[tfriede2]

This is interesting to me, wonder if there are any players available in our core age range that he has his eye on.

Bennett