2024-2025 Blues Trade Proposals Thread.

[ChicagoBlues]

Yep, and with Stenberg likely being ready by the 2026-27 season, I do anticipate Army/Steen trading one of Bolduc or Snuggerud unless they decide to move Holloway to the center position, which is unlikely.

We are wavelengthing (that's a word now).

 

[TheOrganist]

Yep, and with Stenberg likely being ready by the 2026-27 season, I do anticipate Army/Steen trading one of Bolduc or Snuggerud unless they decide to move Holloway to the center position, which is unlikely.

Teams missed the boat on trading for Bolduc before he broke out. It would take a pretty big haul for me to part with that guy. He has future playoff stud written all over him. But I agree in theory that we have plenty of young forward assets to trade for a top 4 D.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Teams missed the boat on trading for Bolduc before he broke out. It would take a pretty big haul for me to part with that guy. He has future playoff stud written all over him. But I agree in theory that we have plenty of young forward assets to trade for a top 4 D.

Yes, there is just no way we can keep all of these forward prospects. It can't happen and it shouldn't happen.

 

[Mike Liut]

Yep, and with Stenberg likely being ready by the 2026-27 season, I do anticipate Army/Steen trading one of Bolduc or Snuggerud unless they decide to move Holloway to the center position, which is unlikely.

I’d rather trade Buch

 

[BlueMed]

Teams missed the boat on trading for Bolduc before he broke out. It would take a pretty big haul for me to part with that guy. He has future playoff stud written all over him. But I agree in theory that we have plenty of young forward assets to trade for a top 4 D.

This team really needs another RHD prospect, and I don't see how we keep all of these wingers. Going down the list here...

Kyrou - will have NTC
Buchnevich - will have NTC
Neighbours - likely future captain or assistant captain and beloved by the front office for his intangibles. He embodies Blues hockey in every way, and there's no way he is traded.
Holloway - his forecheck is too valuable to lose by switching him to center, which will likely be Dvorsky's position when Stenberg is finally ready anyways. He has cemented himself as a core player this season, and given his recent arrival, I don't see this organization trading him anytime soon.

That leaves two spots in the top 9 for Snuggerud, Bolduc, and Stenberg. One of them will have to go, and I get the impression that the front office thinks too highly of Stenberg to trade him at this point, which leads me to believe it's one of the former two. To receive something significant, one has to give something significant. A realistic trade will make you a little uncomfortable, but it will be necessary to keep this team balanced and competitive for years to come.

 

[Mike Liut]

Teams missed the boat on trading for Bolduc before he broke out. It would take a pretty big haul for me to part with that guy. He has future playoff stud written all over him. But I agree in theory that we have plenty of young forward assets to trade for a top 4 D.

Hard to believe he just turned 22. He’s going to be a core player for a long time. Love his game right now

 

[Beninnola]

This team really needs another RHD prospect, and I don't see how we keep everyone. Going down the list of wingers here...

Kyrou - will have NTC
Buchnevich - will have NTC
Neighbours - likely future captain or assistant captain and beloved by the front office for his intangibles
Holloway - his forecheck is too valuable to lose by switching him to center, which will likely be Dvorsky's position when Stenberg is finally ready anyways.

That leaves two spots on the wings in the top 9 for Snuggerud, Bolduc, and Stenberg. One of them will have to go, and I get the impression that the front office thinks too highly of Stenberg to trade him at this point, which leads me to believe it's one of the former two. To receive something significant, one has to give something significant. The trade will make you a little uncomfortable, but it will be necessary to keep this team balanced and competitive for years to come.

I agree but also could see Stenberg start on the 4th line (barbashev).

I think we’d have the full 2 years of Faulks current deal to figure things out. That’s a whole lot of time. I don’t know that we are yet bound to deal. (As in get fleeced because we have an uncontrollable abundance - Utah is more like this than us imo)

I think we could look at the 3 first round picks we have between now and when Faulks deal expires - what if we moved 2 of those 3 in a deal? Hronek was a 1st and 2nd. Maybe that type of deal comes around again.

 

[BlueMed]

I agree but also could see Stenberg start on the 4th line (barbashev).

I think we’d have the full 2 years of Faulks current deal to figure things out. That’s a whole lot of time. I don’t know that we are yet bound to deal. (As in get fleeced because we have an uncontrollable abundance - Utah is more like this than us imo)

I think we could look at the 3 first round picks we have between now and when Faulks deal expires - what if we moved 2 of those 3 in a deal? Hronek was a 1st and 2nd. Maybe that type of deal comes around again.

I get the sense that Stenberg's upside is much higher than Barbashev's, who was a complementary player at best. Otto is going to be a core player someday, and those types don't typically start on the 4th line from my viewing experience.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I get the sense that Stenberg's upside is much higher than Barbashev's, who was a complementary player at best. Otto is going to be a core player someday, and those types don't typically start on the 4th line from my viewing experience.

Didn't Tarasenko, Schwartz and RT all start off on the 4th line?

 

[BlueMed]

Didn't Tarasenko, Schwartz and RT all start off on the 4th line?

Nah, they all started off on the top 9. Although, I do remember Hitch's worst coaching decision when he healthy scratched Vlady throughout the 2013 series against the Kings and letting him play ONE game on the 4th line.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Nah, they all started off on the top 9. Although, I do remember Hitch's worst coaching decision when he healthy scratched Vlady throughout the 2013 series against the Kings and letting him play ONE game on the 4th line.

oh...ok

 

[BlueDream]

Nah, they all started off on the top 9. Although, I do remember Hitch's worst coaching decision when he healthy scratched Vlady throughout the 2013 series against the Kings and letting him play ONE game on the 4th line.

Schwartz most definitely started on the 4th line. I don’t remember how long it lasted, but he played games there.

Also, Barbashev is a 50 point, physical forward. Is Stenberg really going to be that much better than him? I doubt it.

Anyways, a lot can change in 2 years. Let’s just let these kids play and see what happens. Feels a bit silly to already talk about needing to trade someone to make room for Stenberg. He’s not the 2nd coming of Gretzky and shouldn’t just be penciled in over anyone.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Schwartz most definitely started on the 4th line. I don’t remember how long it lasted, but he played games there.

Also, Barbashev is a 50 point, physical forward. Is Stenberg really going to be that much better than him? I doubt it.

Anyways, a lot can change in 2 years. Let’s just let these kids play and see what happens. Feels a bit silly to already talk about needing to trade someone to make room for Stenberg. He’s not the 2nd coming of Gretzky and shouldn’t just be penciled in over anyone.

That's what I thought.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Nah, they all started off on the top 9. Although, I do remember Hitch's worst coaching decision when he healthy scratched Vlady throughout the 2013 series against the Kings and letting him play ONE game on the 4th line.

I vaguely remember Tarasenko leading his team in goals and playing very few minutes for his KHL playoffs his last season before coming over. I couldn’t understand it at the time. I’m guessing he got extremely protected ice time and took advantage of his opportunities.

 

[AyeBah]

3/4 of these guys haven't even played 5 games in the NHL and we're already talking about who will be traded bc there won't be spots lmao. These things tend to work themselves out whether its injuries, trade requests, or busts. Think we're getting way ahead of ourselves trying to map out who gets traded in 2-3 years, when its a luxury to have this many good forwards

 

[ChicagoBlues]

3/4 of these guys haven't even played 5 games in the NHL and we're already talking about who will be traded bc there won't be spots lmao. These things tend to work themselves out whether its injuries, trade requests, or busts. Think we're getting way ahead of ourselves trying to map out who gets traded in 2-3 years, when its a luxury to have this many good forwards

And? That’s it?

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

I doubt many of these guys envisioned a career as 4th liners, especially the high picks. But that’s gonna be the route for the ELC players over the next few years. Guys like Sunny and Walker are good/sufficient role players that are good in the locker room, but they are probably the most vulnerable regulars on the roster right now. Stenberg and/or Peterson could push for 4th line spots next season if they were ok with it. That’s not even including guys like Dean, Robertsson, Stancl, and Pekarcik.

It won’t kill some of these guys to wait out the logjam in Springfield for a few years. Some of them will top out there. Some of them will get traded. But I hope some of them realize that there are jobs to be won still if they’re ok with starting in a reduced role. We could legitimately roll 4 lines soon, and that’s a pretty great problem to have.

 

[PeoriaBlues309]

Stenberg has the style of play to where he can start off on the 4th line when the team is fully healthy and it’ll work out fine. Injuries happen in season, and he would more than likely be the first choice to move up in the lineup.

I’m also curious to see if they end up giving him some reps at center in Springfield over the next year.

 

[Reality Czech]

And Joseph gets PK time. The 'extra' deployment on special teams is part of what makes those two more important to the team's success than Joseph. Joseph averaged 7:34 at even strength in the last 2 games. There were 11 total powerplays across both games, which isn't a huge number that caused most the game to be played on special teams.


Like I said, I'm content with his game.

But being the 12th forward who is on the bench for 50+ minutes a night to avoid 'taking ice time from someone who deserves it more' is not an indication that a guy is too important to the team's recent success to be taken out of the lineup. In the 9 game winning streak he is one of just 4 forwards without a positive goal differential at 5 on 5. He and Texier at at 50%, Sunny is at 33%, and Dvorsky is undefined at 0 GF and 0 GA. He has the 3rd worst xGF%, scoring chance percentage, and high danger percentage in the same 9 game stretch (Texier and Dvorsky are below him). His zone starts are all middle of the pack on the team while the WTF line and Sunny are getting noticeably more defensive usage.

We are (at best) treading water with him on the ice during this win streak and the coach has started scaling back his minutes (he has lost TOI compared to his previous game in each of our last 4 games). Again, I'm content with his play. If there is a deep playoff run to be made here, he is going to be in a non-meaningless number of games in that run.

But when we are talking about whether we can get a high-end 20 year old into the NHL lineup, being a tread-water 12th forward on a team's '3rd' line is not a role so valuable that you can't disrupt the lineup. Sometimes in the NHL bottom-of-the-lineup guys get moved in and out of the lineup without doing anything "wrong" or being "an issue" simply because they aren't contributing enough. That's where I'm at with Joseph. I don't see him contributing as much as he was a couple weeks ago.

To put it bluntly, we need more scoring from our '3rd' line than we are getting out of it if we are going to have playoff success. We've gotten 21 even strength goals out of the top 2 lines during the win streak. The 3rd and 4th lines have combined for 5 goals: 3 from the WTF line and 2 from the (rotating) 3rd line. To their credit, the bottom 6 are also doing a good job of preventing the other team from scoring. But we're not going to win 4 of 7 against multiple good teams if we're asking our top 6 to provide enough offense to outscore the other team's top 6 AND our special teams weakness. We simply need more production from the 3rd line once playoffs get here.

I'm not against giving Snuggerud a shot but it seems that fans focus 90% on offense while defense is just as important if not more in some cases. The question is will a rookie get exposed if you throw him into the fire too quickly? Sure it would be nice to get more scoring from the third line but if their offense improves but the defense gets worse is it really a net positive? Every team has a 12th forward not getting much ice time and Joseph happens to be ours.

Yes if we're truly a contender then we need contributions from all 4 lines but we're not there yet. Monty and Schenn cautioned about not expecting Snuggerud to come in and save the team, but it seems that's what some fans would like to see.

 

[ArenaRat]

Also factor in expansion in the next few years and we're going to lose someone, so the depth will take a hit regardless..

 

[DatDude44]

This team really needs another RHD prospect, and I don't see how we keep all of these wingers. Going down the list here...

Kyrou - will have NTC
Buchnevich - will have NTC
Neighbours - likely future captain or assistant captain and beloved by the front office for his intangibles. He embodies Blues hockey in every way, and there's no way he is traded.
Holloway - his forecheck is too valuable to lose by switching him to center, which will likely be Dvorsky's position when Stenberg is finally ready anyways. He has cemented himself as a core player this season, and given his recent arrival, I don't see this organization trading him anytime soon.

That leaves two spots in the top 9 for Snuggerud, Bolduc, and Stenberg. One of them will have to go, and I get the impression that the front office thinks too highly of Stenberg to trade him at this point, which leads me to believe it's one of the former two. To receive something significant, one has to give something significant. A realistic trade will make you a little uncomfortable, but it will be necessary to keep this team balanced and competitive for years to come.

Or we can just build a nasty, physical and skilled top 9 with elite depth. Have three lines with speed, talent size and scoring ability. Versus our current makeup up of a clear top and clear bottom 6.

If a trade comes along for an Elite D that we have to do, then obviously pursue that, trade from a position of strength, but otherwise, I'd keep our guys as long as we can and develop them without rushing into too big of roles and until the salary cap becomes a concern, we can be very patient with this. We don't need to panic trade anytime soon.

 

[BlueMed]

Or we can just build a nasty, physical and skilled top 9 with elite depth. Have three lines with speed, talent size and scoring ability. Versus our current makeup up of a clear top and clear bottom 6.

If a trade comes along for an Elite D that we have to do, then obviously pursue that, trade from a position of strength, but otherwise, I'd keep our guys as long as we can and develop them without rushing into too big of roles and until the salary cap becomes a concern, we can be very patient with this. We don't need to panic trade anytime soon.

When Dvorksy and Snuggerud are ready for full-time roles, there will be a skilled top 9. The problem is, there won't be anymore positions in the top 9 available for players who come after that (Stenberg and Pekarcik). And that timeline won't be 3 years from now. It will likely only be 1-2 years. Therefore, fans should expect a trade and be okay with that. I'm only pointing this out because people seem to be emotionally tied to some of these players and unwilling to let any of these prospects go when we can't exactly keep and play all of them.

 

[Brian39]

Based on Army's comments today about having Monty run a really tight line between future and now, I think Army has Dvorsky on the roster next season. For us to hit the next level, it's going to be when Dvorsky, Snuggerud, Bolduc, etc. hit their potential. Similar to start the season, Dvorsky still has things to work on, but he's probably realistically done doing those things at the AHL level.

Put him in the 3C role, Sunny in the 4C, and lean on Sunny or the 4th line as a whole when the 3rd line needs a bit more sheltering.

If he's interested in extending at a reasonable amount/term, I'm in favor of keeping Faksa.

I still think that Sunny is best suited as a winger and he is still objectively bad at faceoffs. 20 year old rookie centers are almost always awful at the dot, so I assume that Dvorsky is going to be 45% or worse if he's actually at center. Schenn has been mediocre at the dot his entire career (this year is only the 2nd time he's been over 50%). Running Thomas-Schenn-Dvorsky-Sunny down the middle means that Thomas is basically the only option to take every big defensive draw (especially if the plan is to keep running Holloway and Kyrou with Schenn next year). The difference between Faksa and Sunny's faceoff ability is one of the reasons that the WTF '4th' line is seeing minutes right on par with the 3rd line. Even if Sunny can replace everything Faksa does while the puck is in play next year, the massive gap in faceoff ability alone would limit how that line is trusted by Monty.

If Dvorsky is ready to be the 3C then I'm more than content to rotate Sunny, Faksa, Torpo, and Walker as the 10th-13th forwards. And if Dvorsky turns out to not be ready for 3C, then suddenly we have an even bigger hole at center than we've had this year if we let Faksa go. Obviously the math on this can change if the plan is to acquire a top 9 center and slow play Dvorsky's development into the role (either by more AHL time or starting him off as a bottom 6 winger and forcing him to steal center minutes). But even then, I think I'd prefer to have a Faksa, Sunny, Torpo, Walker rotation for the 4th line than letting Faksa walk.

 

[BlueMed]

3/4 of these guys haven't even played 5 games in the NHL and we're already talking about who will be traded bc there won't be spots lmao. These things tend to work themselves out whether its injuries, trade requests, or busts. Think we're getting way ahead of ourselves trying to map out who gets traded in 2-3 years, when its a luxury to have this many good forwards

Based on their development trajectory, Stenberg and Pekarcik are not projecting to bust and will likely be ready for opportunities in 1-2 years rather than 2-3. Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Yes, but a big part of making future trade proposals is anticipation. Also, the 4th line has a unique and different role than the top 3 lines. Trying to develop a core player in that role with reduced ice time is suboptimal and poor asset management when there are other areas of the roster that need to be filled out.

 

[Brian39]

I get the sense that Stenberg's upside is much higher than Barbashev's, who was a complementary player at best. Otto is going to be a core player someday, and those types don't typically start on the 4th line from my viewing experience.

I think that sense is either based on wishful thinking about Stenberg or selective memory about Barby. Stenberg was drafted 8 picks ahead of Barby, so it isn't like there was a massive gap in draft pedigree to suggest that scouts saw way more offensive upside to Stenberg than they did with Barby. And I don't see what in their development skews towards Stenberg.

Barby had 45 goals and 95 points through 57 games in the Q during his D+1 season. He went to the AHL in his D+2 season and had 10 goals, 28 points in 65 games.

Stenberg played pro across 2 leagues in Sweden during his D+1 season, which is hardly comparable to junior. His production in his D+1 season was obviously not on par with Barby's because he was playing against better competition. But in his D+2 season he's had 6 points through 25 games in the top Swedish pro league and then 14 points through 31 games in the AHL. His AHL pace is 8.4 goals and 29.4 points through 65 games. That's remarkably similar to Barby's D+2 pace.

Obviously we can't compare Barby's D+3 season to Stenberg's, since that hasn't happened for Stenberg yet. But Barby had 19 goals and 37 points through 46 AHL games. which certainly doesn't scream "complimentary player at best." And FWIW, Barby has a 26 goal, 60 point NHL season on his resume. He's had 45+ points for 4 straight years and he is playing at a 26 goal, 62 point pace this year.

I think their pedigree, styles, and development so far are extremely similar and the timeline for Stenberg to turn pro would have him trying to join an NHL roster that really only has bottom 6 roles up for grabs. Like Barby, I think Stenberg could work his way up the depth chart and eventually become a middle-to-top 6 guy. But I don't feel a need to clear out a top 9 role for him. I'm more than content forcing him to excel in a bottom 6 role and try to take a top 9 spot by force. That is exactly they type of thing that allows you to build a deep team that can roll 4 lines that can outscore the opponent.