2024-2025 Blues Trade Proposals Thread.

[ChicagoBlues]

5 years. He should be on the up swing I think.

Small increments of improvements, but I have lost faith that he can make Detroit a winner again.

He is going to have to show some flexibility.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I've been noodling on a potential trade with Detroit. That team is a mess. They seem likely to want to shake things up. Army was scouting them last week. So..

Joe Veleno is someone who has fallen out of favor there, and not undeserved. But he has good size, seems like he gets around okay, and can play center. He is basically same age and has same contract as Texier. That feels like the basis of a trade to me., with maybe a late pick thrown in.

Thoughts?

 

[bleedblue1223]

Probably scouting for Canada, but I guess Velano or Rasmussen wouldn't shock me.

 

[StlBigFly]

Just wanted to share some tin foil hat level stuff with yall.

Minnesota doesn’t have the missing draft picks we do.

But when you look at the completed trade for Jiricek, it involves the picks we do have available - and it seems odd to negotiate for a 2nd 2 years from now unless you had to.

I’m okay accepting it’s a coincidence, but it paints the picture that the Blues were the offer to beat, it was shopped around, and something like Columbus liking the defensive prospect options from Minnesota tipped the scales.

If that is the case, it would indicate the 1st is less than untouchable.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Probably scouting for Canada, but I guess Velano or Rasmussen wouldn't shock me.

I thought about that, but the game he was there the only candidate was Weegar. So maybe. And that isn't as fun to speculate on.

 

[bleedblue1223]

You're reading too much into it. The value of our pick this year is way more than the value of Minnesota's pick. If season ended today, ours would be 11th and Minnesota's would be 28th.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Just wanted to share some tin foil hat level stuff with yall.

Minnesota doesn’t have the missing draft picks we do.

But when you look at the completed trade for Jiricek, it involves the picks we do have available - and it seems odd to negotiate for a 2nd 2 years from now unless you had to.

I’m okay accepting it’s a coincidence, but it paints the picture that the Blues were the offer to beat, it was shopped around, and something like Columbus liking the defensive prospect options from Minnesota tipped the scales.

If that is the case, it would indicate the 1st is less than untouchable.

Our 1st would be MUCH more valuable than Wild's, which makes me doubt that we offered it.

 

[Reality Czech]

Our 1st would be MUCH more valuable than Wild's, which makes me doubt that we offered it.

Yes, if the Blues put their first on the table it had better be for a sure thing, which Jiricek is not. Minnesota is making a calculated risk, but they are in a better position than us to take that risk. If Jiricek fulfils expectations, then it's a great move for them. If he doesn't, then Columbus will be quite happy with this return.

 

[bleedblue1223]

With Suter's play, I wonder what he'll get at the deadline.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

With Suter's play, I wonder what he'll get at the deadline.

Would be hilarious if we dealt him with retention to Colorado or Winnipeg. He would then be getting paid by 4 of the 8 Central teams!

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I've been noodling on a potential trade with Detroit. That team is a mess. They seem likely to want to shake things up. Army was scouting them last week. So..

Joe Veleno is someone who has fallen out of favor there, and not undeserved. But he has good size, seems like he gets around okay, and can play center. He is basically same age and has same contract as Texier. That feels like the basis of a trade to me., with maybe a late pick thrown in.

Thoughts?

My thoughts are that everyone is going to fall out of favor at some point in Detroit, including Steve Yzerman.

 

[Reality Czech]

With Suter's play, I wonder what he'll get at the deadline.

Can't see us getting a 1st or anything like that, but perhaps a (likely low) 2nd or B/C prospect? The way he's playing, he deserves one more shot with a contender before he most likely hangs them up. Then again, he could probably play next year if he really wants to. Gotta give him credit for the way he's battled this year.

 

[StlBigFly]

I was bored and decided to go draft by draft. If Doug Armstrong is hunting an age range I’ll go look there.

There’s so many borderline untouchable guys I’d pay market price for: Connor mcmichael, Seth Jarvis.

But then I got to the 2022 draft.

It is wild how many players have been traded from this draft class already.

But going from 2017-2022’s first rounds: I don’t really see anybody that jumps out to me as something the Blues would be able to do or would look to do. A few interesting cases (Ostlund) have injuries that are taking awhile.

I’m guessing Utah will have to move a few younger guys because they quite simply have too many, but I don’t see anything there that really jumps out.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I'm honestly not too sure what positions we'd really be targeting, if any right now. While Dvorsky and Snuggerud aren't guaranteed spots, if Army is reasonably projecting a top 9 forward group that we have mid-season next year, it's already full of players in our org. Thomas, Buchnevich, Kyrou, Schenn, Holloway, and Neighbours are already locks. Then you have Bolduc, Dvorksy, Snuggerud, and Saad creating a group of 10. Leaving Saad in just to show that we still have the vets on the roster to not hand young players a spot.

So, while offense is absolutely a need, the additions in my view will be mostly internal when Dvorsky and Snuggerud are ready, and Bolduc futher develops.

I don't see much change on defense either.

 

[BleedBlue14]

I'm honestly not too sure what positions we'd really be targeting, if any right now. While Dvorsky and Snuggerud aren't guaranteed spots, if Army is reasonably projecting a top 9 forward group that we have mid-season next year, it's already full of players in our org. Thomas, Buchnevich, Kyrou, Schenn, Holloway, and Neighbours are already locks. Then you have Bolduc, Dvorksy, Snuggerud, and Saad creating a group of 10. Leaving Saad in just to show that we still have the vets on the roster to not hand young players a spot.

So, while offense is absolutely a need, the additions in my view will be mostly internal when Dvorsky and Snuggerud are ready, and Bolduc futher develops.

I don't see much change on defense either.

I think you can take a flier in an expiring UFA C. And honestly I think it would be wise to.

For better or worse I think we have to have Schenn at C until Dvorsky is ready to jump into a top 6 role.

The 3C position however probably shouldn’t be solely manned by Sunny. Still really like Sunny, but he is pretty slow and I don’t really love watching him center two of our younger forwards in Bolduc and Holloway. I think he’s closing in on being more of a 13th forward and I think he’s a great guy to have there.

I highly doubt Saad finishes out his contract here. It seems almost like a waste to have him do so. Not a bad player by any means. But we need spots to keep the younger guys in the lineup, and unless we’re moving on from Schenn which I don’t think we will, I don’t really see a long term fit for him. We’ve experimented with Holloway and Buch at center and it wasn’t great. Bolduc needs ice time. Neighbors is pretty well here to stay. I don’t think it’s too big of a problem that a couple will have to play RW but Snuggerud is also going to need a spot as you outlined. The log jam on the wing is pretty thick, it seems silly to hold on to him to keep a vet around when we have a much more dire need at the center position that can be filled by a vet.

 

[StlBigFly]

I think the two things the blues face:

If you look a couple years out, no matter how it’s looked at, you’re maybe a center short of a top 9. There’s some guys who could fill the role, but certainly isn’t as clear how it will go compared to other roles.

And secondly - over the next 3 years - every d but Parayko will have gone through a contract negotiation.

I’m thinking in the next 18 months you’d begin to get clarity on those two fronts.

One concept that … I dunno. I don’t love it but it’s more viable than others:

Thomas Horvat feels like it would work as a 1-2 for about 3-4 years. Full future center depth of Thomas, Horvat, Schenn/Dvorsky, Sunny/Dean/etc. obv evolves over time. If you’re penciling in Dvorsky as a top 6 center I think Robert Thomas’ path was about as fast as it gets and that took a few years.

The Isles are trying to compete now but I wonder what can be pried loose if the team stays in the bottom tenth of the standings.

Horvat’s contract is kinda ugly. Very ugly really. Perhaps you could get in and out of the deal without spending too much. The islanders will transition to pretty much being stuck with him if they aren’t willing to move him while he has some quality years remaining. IMO Horvat will flip from positive to negative trade value as soon as 24 months, (32 with 4 years left, 40-50 pt 3C at 8.5aav…) so if the isles decide that last place isn’t a good spot for an old team maybe some old guys get turned into young guys while value still exists.

I don’t see a center that is cheaper that could cover 3-4 years while the 19-20 year olds turn into 23-24 year olds. I’m abstaining from making specific trade proposals cause I legit do not want to trade anybody, but I think the two things at the start of this ramble show volatility is coming. I do think if Horvat were a trade target that you stomp on the gas. The entire premise of the deal for all parties is Father Time. Get it done and move on or reject it and never revisit cause it only gets worse.

The downside of this that you get the boat anchor that is the last 2 years of Horvat’s deal.

 

[Majorityof1]

I think the two things the blues face:

If you look a couple years out, no matter how it’s looked at, you’re maybe a center short of a top 9. There’s some guys who could fill the role, but certainly isn’t as clear how it will go compared to other roles.

And secondly - over the next 3 years - every d but Parayko will have gone through a contract negotiation.

I’m thinking in the next 18 months you’d begin to get clarity on those two fronts.

One concept that … I dunno. I don’t love it but it’s more viable than others:

Thomas Horvat feels like it would work as a 1-2 for about 3-4 years. Full future center depth of Thomas, Horvat, Schenn/Dvorsky, Sunny/Dean/etc. obv evolves over time. If you’re penciling in Dvorsky as a top 6 center I think Robert Thomas’ path was about as fast as it gets and that took a few years.

The Isles are trying to compete now but I wonder what can be pried loose if the team stays in the bottom tenth of the standings.

Horvat’s contract is kinda ugly. Very ugly really. Perhaps you could get in and out of the deal without spending too much. The islanders will transition to pretty much being stuck with him if they aren’t willing to move him while he has some quality years remaining. IMO Horvat will flip from positive to negative trade value as soon as 24 months, (32 with 4 years left, 40-50 pt 3C at 8.5aav…) so if the isles decide that last place isn’t a good spot for an old team maybe some old guys get turned into young guys while value still exists.

I don’t see a center that is cheaper that could cover 3-4 years while the 19-20 year olds turn into 23-24 year olds. I’m abstaining from making specific trade proposals cause I legit do not want to trade anybody, but I think the two things at the start of this ramble show volatility is coming. I do think if Horvat were a trade target that you stomp on the gas. The entire premise of the deal for all parties is Father Time. Get it done and move on or reject it and never revisit cause it only gets worse.

The downside of this that you get the boat anchor that is the last 2 years of Horvat’s deal.

I don't see the upside in getting a stop gap for now that will become an anchor when we should be hitting our competitive window. We are going to be getting out of badly aging veteran contracts the next few years. Our prospects should be hitting their stride. Why add someone who is trending the other way.

There will be UFA we can add over the next few years that won't trend down so soon if need be as well as Army trying to find a steal in trade. Otherwise, why not take the time before our prospects are ready to see what else kicks loose in trade/UFA? Now is not the time to make a "eh, there are downsides but he fills a short-term need" move.

I preach patience. Get a 10-15 pick this year, a15-20 next year, then make moves to fill holes if nothing else has materialized.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Yep. We basically need to wait a little bit of time to see what we have in Holloway, Neighbours, Dvorsky, Snuggerud, and Bolduc. We could easily have our offensive issues solved internally, or a lot of these guys could bust and our offense is screwed. Sucks that Dean has been hurt this season to see if he's making progress as a potential bottom 6 center.

I view our stage as gathering more information to determine what our actual needs will be when Steen takes over and we are in a position to start pushing for playoffs. At that time, our need could be top 6 talent, but it could also just be 3rd line depth. No point in wasting assets when we don't know what our true needs are.

 

[DatDude44]

Yep. We basically need to wait a little bit of time to see what we have in Holloway, Neighbours, Dvorsky, Snuggerud, and Bolduc. We could easily have our offensive issues solved internally, or a lot of these guys could bust and our offense is screwed. Sucks that Dean has been hurt this season to see if he's making progress as a potential bottom 6 center.

I view our stage as gathering more information to determine what our actual needs will be when Steen takes over and we are in a position to start pushing for playoffs. At that time, our need could be top 6 talent, but it could also just be 3rd line depth. No point in wasting assets when we don't know what our true needs are.

Kaskimaki is no joke either, I think theres legit 3C upside there, or an effective chaos creating 4th liner

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Kaskimaki is no joke either, I think theres legit 3C upside there, or an effective chaos creating 4th liner

I don't think he is seen as center. Hasn't played C since drafted.

 

[TK 421]

And the wind....... it whispers......Stenberg.

 

[Lord Helix]

If we're talking about seriously competing in 3-8 years, we'll need serious defense/team defense help and realized potential. What's our D core in 5 years, realistically? Maybe(?) 1/6 of our current?

 

[LetsGoBooze]

I don't see the upside in getting a stop gap for now that will become an anchor when we should be hitting our competitive window. We are going to be getting out of badly aging veteran contracts the next few years. Our prospects should be hitting their stride. Why add someone who is trending the other way.

There will be UFA we can add over the next few years that won't trend down so soon if need be as well as Army trying to find a steal in trade. Otherwise, why not take the time before our prospects are ready to see what else kicks loose in trade/UFA? Now is not the time to make a "eh, there are downsides but he fills a short-term need" move.

I preach patience. Get a 10-15 pick this year, a15-20 next year, then make moves to fill holes if nothing else has materialized.

Finally my vision is rubbing off on others
And for what its worth i think this is Army's plan as well. He eluded to it over the summer in one of the Steen onboarding interviews. He stated something along the lines of wanting to pass the torch to Steen in a good position and he thinks that the roster will be competitive in around 3 or so years, then he kinda laughed and said Steen thinks we can get there in 2.

He also stated recently "We are a year and a half into this thing". So his clock for the re-tool just started at the 2023 draft.

Getting the highest possible picks for the first 2-3 years of the retool is key. This is why ive been Team Tank last year and this year. This roster with as many warts as it has, was never gonna be a bottom 5 team. That being said, getting a pick in the 8-12 range is not only realistic but also important. That pick last year would have netted us a choice of other high end D talent.

That all being said, we absolutely do not need to be "fixing" any roster holes(2c) with short term vets and dropping our pick 5-12 spots in the process. Let the retool breathe, i think you nailed it when you preached patience. There is a vision, shortcuting the process would most likely leave us in limbo... the dreaded murky middle.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Finally my vision is rubbing off on others
And for what its worth i think this is Army's plan as well. He eluded to it over the summer in one of the Steen onboarding interviews. He stated something along the lines of wanting to pass the torch to Steen in a good position and he thinks that the roster will be competitive in around 3 or so years, then he kinda laughed and said Steen thinks we can get there in 2.

He also stated recently "We are a year and a half into this thing". So his clock for the re-tool just started at the 2023 draft.

Getting the highest possible picks for the first 2-3 years of the retool is key. This is why ive been Team Tank last year and this year. This roster with as many warts as it has, was never gonna be a bottom 5 team. That being said, getting a pick in the 8-12 range is not only realistic but also important. That pick last year would have netted us a choice of other high end D talent.

That all being said, we absolutely do not need to be "fixing" any roster holes(2c) with short term vets and dropping our pick 5-12 spots in the process. Let the retool breathe, i think you nailed it when you preached patience. There is a vision, shortcuting the process would most likely leave us in limbo... the dreaded murky middle.

Don’t disagree, but I think you run a risk when you put guys like Holloway/Bolduc/Snuggerud etc in a position where you’re hampering their offensive ability by playing with guys who don’t have the capability of producing offensively.

Development isn’t over once they make it to the NHL, and there’s certainly a fine line between being stuck in the middle and wanting the younger guys to gain confidence.

Fwiw, I don’t think adding a Dvorak or someone in that ilk for a late round pick really hurts our chances of bumping up a few wins over Sunny/Faksa. I don’t really know what Dvorak is anymore, but just a situation of an actual center who isn’t a step or two behind when guys are trying to create offensively.

If it does drop us from 5OA to 14 OA in the draft I could see legitimate concern. But I think what you hypothetically lose in draft position from 10 or so to 14-16 could realistically be a win in development for some of those guys.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

I don't think he is seen as center. Hasn't played C since drafted.

I would say he plays a lot of center defense for Dvorsky as he is a much better skater. They have Dvo cover the points. Very good 200 ft player. Actually a good complement to Dvo to take more advantage of Dvo’s offense. He could play center, but he is best by the net as he can really tip the puck.