2024-2025 Blues Multi-Purpose Thread.

[ArenaRat]

That’s why our best targets (still) aren’t established NHL players. They’re young guys on the edge who haven’t broken through yet. Prospects who had big seasons in the AHL, got a cup of coffee or two, but haven’t nailed down a spot yet on their current teams. We should be targeting the good players whom their current teams simply don’t have space or opportunity for. That was a winning formula for Broberg and Holloway, I don’t see any reason why we should stop trying it less than a year later.

I agree that's been a huge part of our resurgence, but I don't agree that's what we need next. If you think of the impact the 2 roles we're looking to fill have on the team, I think we have to find a way to get a really premium player. That's going to cost, but so be it. IMO these next 2 guys really shouldn't fit the Holloway/Broberg age, cost or experience profile.

 

[WeWentBlues]

Names I'd kick the tires on for 2C/3C
ANA: McTavish, Strome
BUF: McLeod, Norris
BOS: Zacha, Lindholm, Mittelstadt
CAR: Kotkaniemi
CGY: Kadri
DET: Larkin
LAK: Danault
MON: Dach
NSH: Stamkos, O'Reilly
NYI: Barzal, Horvat
NYR: Trocheck, Zibanejad
OTT: Cozens
PHI: Couturier, Cates
SEA: Stephenson, McCann
TB: Cirelli
UTAH: Hayton
VAN: Pettersson
UFA: Bennett, Tavares, Duchene, Granlund

Would be willing to deal Dvorsky in a trade for some of these. Might be worth overpaying someone in free agency.

 

[Majorityof1]

How many teams have a 2C that scores 25-30 goals? And how much is it gonna cost to trade for that guy? I just checked the depth charts around the league and not many teams have a 2C that scores much more than Schenn's 50 points last year.

A much more realistic scenario is to get more of a 3C type and eventually someone pushes Schenn down the depth chart. Schenn is more likely to start the year as 2C than 3C.

Looking at the whole league is the mistake. Do we really want to emulate the Flyers? Look at the 2nd round teams and the ones going to the Conference Finals:

Blues - Thomas (1.16) and Schenn (.61)

Better 2C
Toronto - Matthews (1.16 ppg) and Tavares (.99 ppg)
Edmonton - McDavid (1.5) and Draisaitl (1.49)
Dallas - Duchene (1.0), Johnson (.87) and Hintz (.88)
Washington - Strome (1.0) and PLD (.8)
Vegas - Eichel (1.22), Hertl (.84) and Karlsson (.55)
Florida - Barkov (1.1), Bennett (.7) and Lundell (.6)

Worse 2C
Winnipeg - Scheifele (1.06) and Lowry/Namestinikov (.47/.49)
Hurricanes - Aho (.94) and Roslovic/Staal (.48/.48)

So 6 out of 8 teams in the 2nd round have better (at least in terms of points) 2C. The close ones and ones below us (Vegas, Fl, Jets and Canes) have better top line wing and D plus a 3C that is as good as the 2C. I do not think just improving our 3C puts us with these teams. I'd also argue other good regular season teams who lost in the first round have a better 2C: Devils with Hughes and Hichier (.9), Tampa with Point and Cirelli (.7), Kings with Kopitar and Byfield (.7).

Plus Schenn is on a downside of his career. I am not saying he is washed. But he was bolstered by a period playing with 2 wings who were really clicking and was not driving the line. Maybe that lasts until next year, but soon he will fall below that .6 ppg.

if we cannot bolster our 2C and push Schenn down, then obviously it is better to bolster our 3C to someone close to Schenn's level. But we will not be competitive by just finding a 35-point 3C and calling it a day.

 

[BrokenFace]

Names I'd kick the tires on for 2C/3C
ANA: McTavish, Strome
BUF: McLeod, Norris
BOS: Zacha, Lindholm, Mittelstadt
CAR: Kotkaniemi
CGY: Kadri
DET: Larkin
LAK: Danault
MON: Dach
NSH: Stamkos, O'Reilly
NYI: Barzal, Horvat
NYR: Trocheck, Zibanejad
OTT: Cozens
PHI: Couturier, Cates
SEA: Stephenson, McCann
TB: Cirelli
UTAH: Hayton
VAN: Pettersson
UFA: Bennett, Tavares, Duchene, Granlund

Would be willing to deal Dvorsky in a trade for some of these. Might be worth overpaying someone in free agency.

I thought Stankos was pretty much done as a center, not that Nashville would want to help us anyway. Would be funny to get RoR back and have him, Schenn, and Thomas down the middle again, this time with Thomas on the first line.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

I agree that's been a huge part of our resurgence, but I don't agree that's what we need next. If you think of the impact the 2 roles we're looking to fill have on the team, I think we have to find a way to get a really premium player. That's going to cost, but so be it. IMO these next 2 guys really shouldn't fit the Holloway/Broberg age, cost or experience profile.

I mean that’s the thing though. Would you have called either Holloway or Broberg “really premium” before this season? Would you have called William Karlsson premium before Vegas picked him up?

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: it’s just totally myopic to think that the piece or pieces that can help this team take the next step has to be an already-existing 90-point player or something. This team has never, and probably will never be the team that reliably lands those players. We didn’t need them to win the Cup in 2019. Having them hasn’t helped TOR or EDM win more cups than us. I’d rather take a bunch of swings on high upside guys than pin all of our hopes (and cap space) on one guy who may or may not jell here.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Names I'd kick the tires on for 2C/3C
ANA: McTavish, Strome
BUF: McLeod, Norris
BOS: Zacha, Lindholm, Mittelstadt
CAR: Kotkaniemi
CGY: Kadri
DET: Larkin
LAK: Danault
MON: Dach
NSH: Stamkos, O'Reilly
NYI: Barzal, Horvat
NYR: Trocheck, Zibanejad
OTT: Cozens
PHI: Couturier, Cates
SEA: Stephenson, McCann
TB: Cirelli
UTAH: Hayton
VAN: Pettersson
UFA: Bennett, Tavares, Duchene, Granlund

Would be willing to deal Dvorsky in a trade for some of these. Might be worth overpaying someone in free agency.

Dvorsky is burning a hole in some of y’all’s pockets and I just sincerely don’t get it.

 

[WeWentBlues]

Dvorsky is burning a hole in some of y’all’s pockets and I just sincerely don’t get it.

The only reason I'd consider moving Dvo is to speed up the timeline for a piece that fits into our current next core rather than waiting 2-3 seasons for him to develop. Most of the guys I listed, I would not move Dvo for.

Larkin, Pettersson, McLeod, McTavish would be the only ones. The rest are aging veterans with term that I'd only be good moving futures for.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Kadri, Bennett and EP are definitely not on my list.

Of those three, however, I’d take Kadri.

 

[HighNote]

Kadri, Bennett and EP are definitely not on my list.

Of those three, however, I’d take Kadri.

Take him where

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Take him where

Out back to the shed.

 

[Xerloris]

Kadri, Bennett and EP are definitely not on my list.

Of those three, however, I’d take Kadri.

Sadly he's exactly the type of 2c we need. The dude no matter how much you hate him is a gamer.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

The only reason I'd consider moving Dvo is to speed up the timeline for a piece that fits into our current next core rather than waiting 2-3 seasons for him to develop. Most of the guys I listed, I would not move Dvo for.

Larkin, Pettersson, McLeod, McTavish would be the only ones. The rest are aging veterans with term that I'd only be good moving futures for.

Trading someone like Dvorsky is something you do when your window is closing. When we traded Tage for O’Rielly, it was at the end of that window and trading young guys for older ones made sense. We are at the very beginning of this window, and we shouldn’t be eager to give up 6-7 years of team control on a former 10th OA pick who has done nothing but meet every expectation so far. It would be pretty silly to trade him ++ a bunch of stuff, kneecap our roster/cap flexibility in the process, and then watch Dvorsky put up 50 points on a rookie contract in Anaheim or wherever.

 

[joe galiba]

Take him where

an abandoned construction site with no return trip?