2024-2025 Blues Trade Proposals Thread.

[Brian39]

Hence why in the part you snipped (not accusing you of nefarious intent) I said I'd take a top pair LHD if that was on offer. All else being equal, I'd prefer a Righty

Yeah, I wasn't really meaning to dispute what you said or anything like that. I just quoted the two posts as a jumping off point for my stance that quality of the player is way more important than handedness to me in this conversation.

 

[BleedBlue14]

I just don't think that Parayko, Broberg, Lindstein, Jiricek, and the rest of the lower tier prospects are enough on a 2-5 year timeline. You need all of them to hit there exact ceiling and do it quickly (as D men timelines go). In 2 years Lindstein and Jiricek will only be 21 and 20. They will be 24 and 25 in 5 years, but by then Parayko will be 36.

We need another good top 4 D man in the medium-term core even if those guys are everything we want them to be. And there is a pretty damn good chance that we actually need another top pair guy.


I'd be thrilled to offer our 1st up for McDavid, but that is also not happening.

Byram is the #2 D man on Buffalo this year and he's playing really well in that role. They traded an (imperfect) young 2C for him 9 months ago and Byram's stock has gone up since then. They aren't trading him (or any of their other top D) for a non-insane futures package.

Like I said, I'm not sure about Kyrou for Byram. I haven't watched the Sabres enough this year to be confident in how sustainable his play is and there is the injury concern.

I’m just not overly thrilled about robbing Peter to pay Paul. We move Kyrou and we have a very glaring scoring issue that is unequally as guaranteed to be able to be addressed internally as our defensive issues are assured to be addressed internally.

I know your comment in regards to McDavid was in jest and I get where you’re coming from, but I don’t generally believe Byram holds much more value than a probable lotto 1st and I’m sure a few other pieces which could range from a Bolduc to a collection of pieces. I don’t think that’s a route Buffalo should/will go. But I also don’t think Kyrou is a route Buffalo should/would go.

I like Byram the player, when he’s playing. I don’t think he’s a game changing player like I would need him to be to justify moving off a very established first line winger. There’s alot to get frustrated about Kyrous playstyle over the past 2-3 years. But if we’re going to be pie in the sky in regards to some of the younger guys I think we should recognize how well Kyrou has been playing in the same timeframe.

I do agree in practice that we need to address the top end 1D hole somehow. I’m just not thrilled by the idea of doing it with as many risks are attached to Byram as there are and doing so while creating another massive hole to fill.

 

[Stealth JD]

Power is f***ing terrible every time I watch him. EJ-vibes are strong with that one. I definitely would not trade Kyrou for him.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

One player I hope the Blues take a look at in the offseason is Vladislav Gavrikov who I've coveted for a couple seasons now. After the Doughty injury he's been getting top pairing minutes and is shining with the Kings.

I also think he's a guy that isn't a household name and could end up being a rare FA signing that isn't completely overpaid. He just keeps getting better and better.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Power is f***ing terrible every time I watch him. EJ-vibes are strong with that one. I definitely would not trade Kyrou for him.

Each time I watch the Sabres, I see Power having a rough game.

 

[sfvega]

One player I hope the Blues take a look at in the offseason is Vladislav Gavrikov who I've coveted for a couple seasons now. After the Doughty injury he's been getting top pairing minutes and is shining with the Kings.

I also think he's a guy that isn't a household name and could end up being a rare FA signing that isn't completely overpaid. He just keeps getting better and better.

View attachment 944214

Whoa now, I agree wholeheartedly with your post but a FA defensemen not getting overpaid is a bridge too far.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Each time I watch the Sabres, I see Power having a rough game.

Me too. He is still young and may figure it out, but he always underwhelms me. Dahlin, on the other hand..

 

[Brian39]

Maybe my viewings of Power have just come from his better games, but I'm not seeing overall rough games from him.

I'm seeing very noticeable warts and big mistakes that are often ending up in his own net, but I see a ton of very high level plays too. I see a guy whose coverage instincts are well below average in his own zone and a very large man who doesn't know how to effectively leverage his size in one on one battles.

But I also see a guy who already has borderline elite offensive instincts and is very good in his own zone once the puck is on his stick. I see a hell of an outlet pass and the ability/willingness to carry the puck up ice. And he has been really good in the O zone.

For all the talk about his struggles, no one is talking about how he is tied with Makar for 1st in 5 on 5 scoring among NHL D men this year. He's 3rd in even strength scoring among D men.

I think that many of his defensive flaws are flaws that damn near ever 21 year old D man has and the vast majority of those guys make major improvements to their defensive play through their mid-20s. My eyes see him doing a really good job when Buffalo has the puck and a poor job when they don't (on a team that happens to have basically everyone playing like crap without the puck).

The good way outweighs the bad for me when I try to peg what he is going to be by his mid-20s. Most of the bad are things I expect an early 20s D man to be bad at in high-minute usage and FWIW I have zero belief that Buffalo is playing a style where anyone is going to look good when the other team has the puck.

I still very much see future #1 upside there and I will be surprised if he is not a legit top pair guy for the majority of his contract. It might not be the 'good at everything true all situations' top pair guy people thought he'd be on draft day, but that's not the only kind of damn good top pair D man that can be a cornerstone player in the NHL.

I'd trade Kyrou for him with no hesitation and I say that as one of the more vocally favorable Kyrou posters around here. That opinion is in no way a negative reflection on Kyrou, but a positive reflection on Power.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I largely agree. If Buffalo is looking to make a move and he's the defenseman to be moved, I'd absolutely move a lot to get him. Especially because the areas that he excels in, are the areas that we probably lack moving forward. We don't have someone with his offensive upside in our system on the back-end. And lets say the player he is now is largely the player that he remains, with some improvement over time, his contract will still be fine, it's not like his contract is based on him being a perfect #1 D that is elite in all areas of the game.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Saad should be the first player moved out on this team. He is a ghost out there.

Second player is Texier.

 

[bleedblue1223]

The extra years of term hurt them. Unless Saad gets on a hot streak, I don't expect movement there.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

The extra years of term hurt them. Unless Saad gets on a hot streak, I don't expect movement there.

I don't think Think either would be too difficult to trade. Saad has a reputation for being a consistent 20+ goal scorer only making 4.5 mil. Tex also only makes 2m so it's not an insane amount of money

 

[bleedblue1223]

Tex has been terrible, he's not movable. With Saad and his cap hit, that's the issue. He has been very consistent in terms of production, but with any aging player, will he remain consistent for this season and next when he's already showing signs of slowing down.

 

[Reality Czech]

Saad should be the first player moved out on this team. He is a ghost out there.

Second player is Texier.

I can't see either player bringing in much of a return at the moment. Texier is barely above a waiver level player and Saad's value has never been lower. At his salary I can't see a team giving up much for him right now.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Saad was in a similar position last year around this time where his production didn't look on par, and then he did what he always does where he has a stretch where he scores a bunch of a points. I think it's just what he is. I wouldn't think we'd have much of a problem moving him, he checks alot of boxes as a complementary forward to help bolster a middle 6 and has a track record.

Texier I agree with, I don't know how you sell him. He's got a lot of tools, but he's very chaotic. Not a great bottom 6 player because of this, and not reliable enough to have on a competitive top 6. I don't think the cap is going to hurt us by any means this offseason, I don't expect us to be terribly aggressive on the open market, although it would be nice even with Dvorsky to add a middle 6 center on a 1 year deal, I guess theoretically Schenn could continue to fill that role.

 

[Brian39]

Saad was in a similar position last year around this time where his production didn't look on par, and then he did what he always does where he has a stretch where he scores a bunch of a points. I think it's just what he is. I wouldn't think we'd have much of a problem moving him, he checks alot of boxes as a complementary forward to help bolster a middle 6 and has a track record.

Texier I agree with, I don't know how you sell him. He's got a lot of tools, but he's very chaotic. Not a great bottom 6 player because of this, and not reliable enough to have on a competitive top 6. I don't think the cap is going to hurt us by any means this offseason, I don't expect us to be terribly aggressive on the open market, although it would be nice even with Dvorsky to add a middle 6 center on a 1 year deal, I guess theoretically Schenn could continue to fill that role.

Similar? Try nearly identical.

He had 5 goals and 11 points through his first 27 games last year. This year he has 4 goals and 10 points through 27 games.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Similar? Try nearly identical.

He had 5 goals and 11 points through his first 27 games last year. This year he has 4 goals and 10 points through 27 games.

I'm glad someone was able to do the math lol I was too lazy to do it. I just remember around this time last year wondering what was wrong with Saad. And then he had a month where he scored like 15-20 points and he was tracking above his career norms and then tapered out a bit.

I'm just fairly certain he is what he is, and I'm not sure when that will change, but i'd venture to guess it wont change from his age 32-34 years which is all we need to be concerned about.

Not an exciting player by any means, but consistent and reliable. That's a good thing from a coaching/management perspective, it's why I don't think we'd have to hard of a time trading him this TDL or at the very least this offseason if management deems it necessary to open up roster spots.

Cap hit seems to be on the lower end of a 2nd liner and on the higher end of a 3rd liner, production matches as well.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Yeah, if he gets on a hot streak like he did last season, I can see movement. Then again, if he gets on a hot streak, and that puts us into a wild card race, we probably aren't moving him.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Yeah, if he gets on a hot streak like he did last season, I can see movement. Then again, if he gets on a hot streak, and that puts us into a wild card race, we probably aren't moving him.

I think the idea of moving him is predicated on having a roster spot available for Snuggerud anyways. It really doesn’t seem like the Blues are short sighted enough right now to not consider moving him even if your second hypothetical happens. Withstanding an injury, we’re already tight on roster space. Unless we try one of the wingers on center again, come the end of the playoffs for college, we’re already going to have to scratch someone we’d rather not. Logically thinking, Saads really the only viable option to scratch in lieu of Snuggerud, and he certainly doesn’t deserve to be scratched.

Right or wrong, I would be more concerned with accommodating Snuggerud with how situation like McGroarty can go. He’s a pretty large piece of this retool and I personally would weigh his signing and development over trying to make a run this year.

You could definitely slide one down to the 4th line and I guess this is all way too forward thinking but unless we want Saad on the 4th line, move one of the wingers to center, or are planning on Snuggerud spending a year in the AHL, I don’t see where he fits on this roster post trade deadline, and I think he’s still a pretty valuable piece to a lot of teams, we’re just not at the point of needing to fill holes in the lineup and moreso need to see what the youth can grow into.

 

[SirPaste]

I don't think they will have any issue at all getting Snuggy in the lineup, there is several different scenarios that could make it work

 

[bleedblue1223]

I think the idea of moving him is predicated on having a roster spot available for Snuggerud anyways. It really doesn’t seem like the Blues are short sighted enough right now to not consider moving him even if your second hypothetical happens. Withstanding an injury, we’re already tight on roster space. Unless we try one of the wingers on center again, come the end of the playoffs for college, we’re already going to have to scratch someone we’d rather not. Logically thinking, Saads really the only viable option to scratch in lieu of Snuggerud, and he certainly doesn’t deserve to be scratched.

Right or wrong, I would be more concerned with accommodating Snuggerud with how situation like McGroarty can go. He’s a pretty large piece of this retool and I personally would weigh his signing and development over trying to make a run this year.

You could definitely slide one down to the 4th line and I guess this is all way too forward thinking but unless we want Saad on the 4th line, move one of the wingers to center, or are planning on Snuggerud spending a year in the AHL, I don’t see where he fits on this roster post trade deadline, and I think he’s still a pretty valuable piece to a lot of teams, we’re just not at the point of needing to fill holes in the lineup and moreso need to see what the youth can grow into.

I just view them as bumping them out of the lineup or down the lineup if the young guys are performing. I don't think Saad is to the point like Hayes that we just dump to dump, but he might be forced to the 4th line if he doesn't do what he normally does and get on a scoring streak and produce his typical 20+ goals.

I think similar to our #2 C situation, I think Army/Steen will basically look stop gap options, and that's Saad. Good enough, so that Snuggs still has to earn a spot, but not much of an issue to figure out if Snuggs does earn that spot. Saad on an expiring deal would be a lot easier to move. If we are talking just this season when Snuggs season is over after a hopefully deep tourney run, it's not difficult to adjust the lineup if we are already out of the playoffs.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Absolute best-case scenario where the young players prove they are ready day 1 next season. I think JR gets the top 9 right, swap players if you like. For the 4th, he had Saad and Joseph missing, but I'd probably put both of them in or try to move one of them. Dvorsky replaces Sunny and Snuggs replaces Saad. I think Dvorsky would play the #3 C role to start, but in theory there is enough natural talent here where you can move pieces around without much issue.

I do think Saad is on the roster and we don't just gift the young guys roster spots, but ideally he's on the 4th line, where maybe he plays up to shelter a younger forward.

LW	C	RW
Jake Neighbours	Robert Thomas	Pavel Buchnevich
Dylan Holloway	Dalibor Dvorsky	Jordan Kyrou
Zack Bolduc	Brayden Schenn	Jimmy Snuggerud
Alexey Toropchenko	Oskar Sundqvist	Nathan Walker

 

[DatDude44]

Trade Saad for picks at the deadline:
March/April Lineup could be fun:

Buchnevich-Thomas-Snuggerud
Neighbours- Schenn- Kyrou
Holloway- Dvorsky- Bolduc (I think this could be a dominant line with sheltered minutes)
Torpedo- Faksa- Walker/Joseph

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Absolute best-case scenario where the young players prove they are ready day 1 next season. I think JR gets the top 9 right, swap players if you like. For the 4th, he had Saad and Joseph missing, but I'd probably put both of them in or try to move one of them. Dvorsky replaces Sunny and Snuggs replaces Saad. I think Dvorsky would play the #3 C role to start, but in theory there is enough natural talent here where you can move pieces around without much issue.

I do think Saad is on the roster and we don't just gift the young guys roster spots, but ideally he's on the 4th line, where maybe he plays up to shelter a younger forward.

LW	C	RW
Jake Neighbours	Robert Thomas	Pavel Buchnevich
Dylan Holloway	Dalibor Dvorsky	Jordan Kyrou
Zack Bolduc	Brayden Schenn	Jimmy Snuggerud
Alexey Toropchenko	Oskar Sundqvist	Nathan Walker

PP groups
Jake
Snuggy-Buch-Thomas
Broberg

Schenn
Kyrou-Bolduc-Holloway
??? Peru or Faulk I guess.

 

[bleedblue1223]

PP groups
Jake
Snuggy-Buch-Thomas
Broberg

Schenn
Kyrou-Bolduc-Holloway
??? Peru or Faulk I guess.

Snuggy and Dvorsky will be such a boost to the PP. And they shoot opposite hands, so we'd have potential elite 1-time options from both sides. Does a PP get loaded up, do both units get one and have that threat? Options. The big thing is developing them. Projecting is nice, but need them to hit that potential.