2024-2025 Blues Trade Proposals Thread.

[Majorityof1]

On Bolduc - he may produce low volume assists or have fewer primary assists, but the eye test paints an entirely different picture. Bolduc is a picture perfect breakout young forward on a team on the rise. I think his rise will be slower than maybe some elite talent, but he is consistently making plays that aren't padding the stats. He's not acquiring Thomas style assists where it's a clear setup from him, but to say he's not making his teammates better is disingenuous; he absolutely adds to whatever line he is on. Not only because his shot is an elite shot, but because he is responsible as a young player, he will make the simple play to open up his teammates, and he really doesn't care if you're 6'6 or 5'9, he's going to get a lick in. Also, his shot on the powerplay is just stupid.

On Snuggerud - Only thing I can really critique at this point in time is his balance and physical presence. He's 20, so I'm not really concerned the least bit, but if you believe he is just kinda meh, then you're watching the wrong games. I take some of his play with a grain of salt ie. getting out muscled, falling over from a check, turnovers, but his offensive ability and IQ on the ice is pretty remarkable. He's not getting points like you might expect, but he has consistently, nearly every game, made a feed that a player has a greater than 70% to bury. His vision is staggering because I feel like I see this kid feed from across the ice in the offensive zone that I'm not seeing and that most players wouldn't make. His entries and then no look drop passes to a supporting forward or defenseman on the blueline are plays that veteran players who are keenly aware of the play make and he's only played 7 games. I'm not making a prediction that he will breakout next year, I think it's more likely he has a 2013-2014 Tarasenko year, but he has skill that probably should have been a top 15 at the very least if not top 10. He's very good.

Agreed on Bolduc. On Snuggy, not to speak for others, but I read their "kinda meh" analysis of his play in regards to him being on a top 6 line for a playoff team, not for him being a 20 year old with less than 10 pro games.

The thing that takes away from his performance for me are the occassional deer in the headlight moments that lead to those turnovers. It's opposite of Bolduc who you praised for smart little plays in those moments It's why I want to see Bolduc get preference over Snuggy in the playoffs.

None if that speaks to their long term outlook. It speaks to Bolduc being a year older with a lot more pro games under his belt.

 

[AyeBah]

Zacha seems likely because the age, term, cap hit, and familiarity with Monty all lineup with what we are looking for. Also expect Bruins to sell off non McAvoy, Pasta, Swayman pieces

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

In terms of advanced stats, the analytics say he was our best forward tonight against Utah.

But I’m not putting a whole lot of stock into his advanced stats since there’s just so many factors in play. His addition to the lineup has coincided with Holloway’s exit, and that set everything into a frenzy. The whole team went into a slump and wasn’t playing well the last handful of games, and Snuggerud has been moved around the lineup and put with a bunch of different guys so he hasn’t had any time to build chemistry with anyone. Before tonight, none of our lines besides the Buch-Thomas-Kyrou had done anything of late. So, I don’t view analytics as much of a real indictment of his play.

And that’s why I prefer the eye test with Snuggy and he’s definitely passing it. The skill, skating, compete level, it’s all there. Everything else will come naturally.

I don't disagree with you! I think there is a lot of valid reasons to caveat the hell out of his results so far. But the plain fact is that his results have not been particularly good so far. We're working with a super small sample size here, so last night's performance swung things in a positive direction, which I think is consistent with what we're both seeing upside-wise. It has just been a tough situation to walk into as a rookie. Baptism by fire.

Skills, skating, compete, all yes. Strength, decision-making, defense, all no. You put up with the "nos" now, because they are things that come with experience and age (one hopes). He seems like a kid that will put in the work to close those gaps, but the fact that those deficiencies are tanking his stats so severely right now underscores their importance.

 

[Reality Czech]

I don't disagree with you! I think there is a lot of valid reasons to caveat the hell out of his results so far. But the plain fact is that his results have not been particularly good so far. We're working with a super small sample size here, so last night's performance swung things in a positive direction, which I think is consistent with what we're both seeing upside-wise. It has just been a tough situation to walk into as a rookie. Baptism by fire.

Skills, skating, compete, all yes. Strength, decision-making, defense, all no. You put up with the "nos" now, because they are things that come with experience and age (one hopes). He seems like a kid that will put in the work to close those gaps, but the fact that those deficiencies are tanking his stats so severely right now underscores their importance.

100% agree. It's easy to get excited about Snuggerud but there's no way he was our best forward assist Utah. He's still very much a limited player who needs to lean on his linemates like almost every rookie. There were a few ill-advised passes he made last night that could have gotten a player benched if the other team had capitalized on them. But with Holloway out, we kinda need him in the lineup. Baptism by fire is a good way of putting it.

 

[Brian39]

Love the idea of Duchene but would be shocked if he didn't extend in Dallas on a team friendly deal.

Surveying the landscape of 2C and its pretty slim pickins:
John Tavares, UFA
Brock Nelson, UFA
Sam Bennett, UFA
Ryan McLeod, RFA
Mikail Granlund, UFA
Chandler Stephenson, 6 years at 6.25M, NMC, UFA at 37
Sean Monahan, 4 years at 5.5M, NMC, UFA at 34
William Karlsson, 2 years at 5.9M, 10-team no trade, UFA at 34
Pavel Zacha, 2 years at 4.75M, 8-team no trade, UFA at 30
Elias Lindholm, 6 years at 7.75M, NMC, UFA at 36
Casey Mittelstadt, 2 years at 5.75M, UFA at 28
Vincent Trocheck, 4 years at 5.625M, 12-team no trade, UFA at 35
Mika Zibanejad, 5 years at 8.5M, NMC, UFA at 37
Nazem Kadri, 4 years at 7M, NMC, UFA at 38
Sean Couturier, 5 years at 7.75M, NMC, UFA at 37
Shane Pinto, 1 year at 3.75M, RFA
Josh Norris, 5 years at 7.95M, 10-team no trade, UFA 31
Ryan Strome, 2 years at 5M, UFA at 33
Dawson Mercer, 2 years at 4M, RFA

Pursuing a free agent signing (Duchene, Nelson, Tavares, Bennett) makes a lot of sense. The team being competitive would hopefully help get a deal done.

From the group of veterans under contract, Holloway-Stephenson-Kyrou would be a nightmare to play against. (Fully expect to get blasted for suggesting such). Also would check in on the availability of Monahan, Trocheck and Karlsson. Can't imagine Kadri having any interest in playing here and the fanbase probably feels the same but it would actually be a good fit.

Boston is also intriguing with Lindholm, Zacha and Mittelstadt and in a clear rebuild/retool. Would be interested in Zacha and Mittelstadt to a lesser extent.

Also would be checking in with Buffalo on McLeod.

I've been kicking around the name Elias Lindholm as a potential buy-low gamble for a few days now. There are absolutely warts and I don't like the AAV/term on the contract at all. I don't expect Boston to try and move him, but I would have to really think about it if they were willing to retain. I do think that he would be a really good on-ice fit.

First and foremost, while the offensive decline is a real concern, the rest of his game is still alive and well. He's got a 55% goals for at 5 on 5 and the underlying possession/chance metrics are hovering around 49% on a Bruins team that is mostly underwater. I've still seen the smart, well-positioned, defensively responsible plays from him when I've watched the Bruins this year. He's still elite at the dot and he's still good on the PK. In short, I see a guy who is still playing a strong two-way game. When we're talking about a potential 2C on a team with a plethora of young wing talent that will have defensive gaps, I think he'd be a really good on-ice fit if you ignore the cap hit.

I also see a path for an offensive resurgence. I'd be penciling him in right between Holloway and Kyrou, which is important because the skillsets and style of those two reminds me of the two fantastic wingers he played with in Calgary. Not a direct 1:1 match (stylistically or pure talent), but a lot of overlap. Tkachuk and Gaudreau were the primary offensive engines on that line. Kyrou and Gaudreau are both skilled, elusive players with high level skating, puckhandling, shooting, and passing ability. Tkachuk and Holloway both have a relentless motor paired with a high level of skill with the puck and a nose for scoring goals in tight. I'm not saying that Lindholm returns to 70+ point form between those two, but his role between Holloway/Kyrou would be essentially identical to his role between Tkachuk/Gaudreau when he played his absolute best hockey. He hasn't worked as a playmaking center to a one-time machine trigger man, but that wouldn't be what we'd ask of him.

And while the remaining term of contract is uncomfortable, his on-ice skillset is very well-suited to slide down from 2C, to 3C, to bottom 6 C as he ages and younger players (knock on wood) start to outplay him.

I think that his contract (and the Bruins situation in the standings/cap) likely means that a deal isn't appealing. The risks/downsides outweigh the reward/upside in most hypothetic scenarios I lay out. But I do still like the player and think that he would make a really good 2nd line with Holloway/Kyrou.

 

[ezcreepin]

Agreed on Bolduc. On Snuggy, not to speak for others, but I read their "kinda meh" analysis of his play in regards to him being on a top 6 line for a playoff team, not for him being a 20 year old with less than 10 pro games.

The thing that takes away from his performance for me are the occassional deer in the headlight moments that lead to those turnovers. It's opposite of Bolduc who you praised for smart little plays in those moments It's why I want to see Bolduc get preference over Snuggy in the playoffs.

None if that speaks to their long term outlook. It speaks to Bolduc being a year older with a lot more pro games under his belt.

If that is what they were speaking to, then I can agree to that. I'm not sure he should see top 6 action unless necessary, though you could make an argument for that type of thing to happen right now. There is also an argument to be made that you need to have Thomas, Kyrou, Buch, Schenn, Neighbours, and Bolduc in the top 6 and let Snuggerud be heavily sheltered. I can be convinced either way as I believe that both scenarios have pros and cons, but that's not super relevant.

I'd probably agree as well about the deer in the headlight moments for Snuggerud. I think Bolduc has been the beneficiary of learning to play a smart defensive game as a skilled forward, so that leads to less mistakes in the d-zone, and obviously Snuggerud is in his first pro season, so those things are going to happen more frequently for him. Not that he's totally inept defensively - I saw some good plays in his stint that leads me to believe that this can be corrected quickly in his career, but his strength isn't built up enough to make use of his talents now, so he's getting beaten when a forechecker is low or something like that. I think his pressure up high is good and he's fast enough to force a mistake, but yea I can agree with you. I think his smart plays seem to be exclusively in the o-zone, though they are highly intelligent and good plays. I think that's where the issue can sneak up though in that, same with Bolduc, Snuggerud having less gifted linemates is certainly going to lead to missed chances when otherwise they would be buried. There could be a strong argument here to have Snuggy up in the top 6 to make use of some of his really nice passes, whereas Bolduc is going to be the triggerman most of the time on the 3rd line. Those are tough decisions to make for the coaching staff.

If you could somehow find a way to construct the top 9 to bring out the best characteristics of each player, then (obviously) that will lead to the most success for everyone ie. Snuggy with maybe a Schenn and Kyrou (yes I know 2 RW), Bolduc with a Buch and Neighbours, Thomas with a..... Holloway (healthy) and Joseph? I wish they had another talented center at the moment, but this might be the only way to distribute the forwards nicely:

Joseph/Texier-Thomas-Bolduc
Neighbours-Schenn-Kyrou
Buchnevich-Sundqvist-Snuggerud
Walker-Faksa-Toropchenko


This lineup allows the first line to be a dogged, elite passer-elite shot setup with a true puck hound nuisance in Joseph (Texier I'm not sure), second line has two massive physical presences to allow Kyrou to do work either by taking the shot himself or setting up either linemate, the third line has two smart defensive forwards to shelter Snuggerud while also giving him a underrated playmaker in Buch, and the fourth is self-explanatory. The injury to Holloway really affects the offense, but if you have other ideas I'd be curious to see what you think could work?

 

[ezcreepin]

I've been kicking around the name Elias Lindholm as a potential buy-low gamble for a few days now. There are absolutely warts and I don't like the AAV/term on the contract at all. I don't expect Boston to try and move him, but I would have to really think about it if they were willing to retain. I do think that he would be a really good on-ice fit.

First and foremost, while the offensive decline is a real concern, the rest of his game is still alive and well. He's got a 55% goals for at 5 on 5 and the underlying possession/chance metrics are hovering around 49% on a Bruins team that is mostly underwater. I've still seen the smart, well-positioned, defensively responsible plays from him when I've watched the Bruins this year. He's still elite at the dot and he's still good on the PK. In short, I see a guy who is still playing a strong two-way game. When we're talking about a potential 2C on a team with a plethora of young wing talent that will have defensive gaps, I think he'd be a really good on-ice fit if you ignore the cap hit.

I also see a path for an offensive resurgence. I'd be penciling him in right between Holloway and Kyrou, which is important because the skillsets and style of those two reminds me of the two fantastic wingers he played with in Calgary. Not a direct 1:1 match (stylistically or pure talent), but a lot of overlap. Tkachuk and Gaudreau were the primary offensive engines on that line. Kyrou and Gaudreau are both skilled, elusive players with high level skating, puckhandling, shooting, and passing ability. Tkachuk and Holloway both have a relentless motor paired with a high level of skill with the puck and a nose for scoring goals in tight. I'm not saying that Lindholm returns to 70+ point form between those two, but his role between Holloway/Kyrou would be essentially identical to his role between Tkachuk/Gaudreau when he played his absolute best hockey. He hasn't worked as a playmaking center to a one-time machine trigger man, but that wouldn't be what we'd ask of him.

And while the remaining term of contract is uncomfortable, his on-ice skillset is very well-suited to slide down from 2C, to 3C, to bottom 6 C as he ages and younger players (knock on wood) start to outplay him.

I think that his contract (and the Bruins situation in the standings/cap) likely means that a deal isn't appealing. The risks/downsides outweigh the reward/upside in most hypothetic scenarios I lay out. But I do still like the player and think that he would make a really good 2nd line with Holloway/Kyrou.

I don't think it's out of the realm that Boston retains on Lindholm. I think you'd have to give up something of decent quality for that, but the Blues have a ton of d-prospects, and Boston just shipped out a good defenseman in Carlo and desperately need some decent quality prospects to come in shortly. Question is, who are you willing to give up to fill that center need? We have Ralph, Burns, Lindstein, Jiricek, Skinner, Mayich (unsigned), L Fischer, McIsaac, Kessel, Koromyslov, MAG, and Buchinger as legitimate prospects in the realest sense. I think Buchinger makes sense to trade away, but he's not enough to have Boston retain. Feels like you'd have to trade away at least Burns or Fischer to get them even slightly considering, along with another prospect or draft pick. I think the potential is there, it's more so will the Blues pursue that.

 

[Memento]

If that is what they were speaking to, then I can agree to that. I'm not sure he should see top 6 action unless necessary, though you could make an argument for that type of thing to happen right now. There is also an argument to be made that you need to have Thomas, Kyrou, Buch, Schenn, Neighbours, and Bolduc in the top 6 and let Snuggerud be heavily sheltered. I can be convinced either way as I believe that both scenarios have pros and cons, but that's not super relevant.

I'd probably agree as well about the deer in the headlight moments for Snuggerud. I think Bolduc has been the beneficiary of learning to play a smart defensive game as a skilled forward, so that leads to less mistakes in the d-zone, and obviously Snuggerud is in his first pro season, so those things are going to happen more frequently for him. Not that he's totally inept defensively - I saw some good plays in his stint that leads me to believe that this can be corrected quickly in his career, but his strength isn't built up enough to make use of his talents now, so he's getting beaten when a forechecker is low or something like that. I think his pressure up high is good and he's fast enough to force a mistake, but yea I can agree with you. I think his smart plays seem to be exclusively in the o-zone, though they are highly intelligent and good plays. I think that's where the issue can sneak up though in that, same with Bolduc, Snuggerud having less gifted linemates is certainly going to lead to missed chances when otherwise they would be buried. There could be a strong argument here to have Snuggy up in the top 6 to make use of some of his really nice passes, whereas Bolduc is going to be the triggerman most of the time on the 3rd line. Those are tough decisions to make for the coaching staff.

If you could somehow find a way to construct the top 9 to bring out the best characteristics of each player, then (obviously) that will lead to the most success for everyone ie. Snuggy with maybe a Schenn and Kyrou (yes I know 2 RW), Bolduc with a Buch and Neighbours, Thomas with a..... Holloway (healthy) and Joseph? I wish they had another talented center at the moment, but this might be the only way to distribute the forwards nicely:

Joseph/Texier-Thomas-Bolduc
Neighbours-Schenn-Kyrou
Buchnevich-Sundqvist-Snuggerud
Walker-Faksa-Toropchenko


This lineup allows the first line to be a dogged, elite passer-elite shot setup with a true puck hound nuisance in Joseph (Texier I'm not sure), second line has two massive physical presences to allow Kyrou to do work either by taking the shot himself or setting up either linemate, the third line has two smart defensive forwards to shelter Snuggerud while also giving him a underrated playmaker in Buch, and the fourth is self-explanatory. The injury to Holloway really affects the offense, but if you have other ideas I'd be curious to see what you think could work?

Would probably switch Neighbours and Bolduc, just because I want someone faster on Kyrou's line (Neighbours doesn't have the wheels to keep up with Kyrou, whereas Bolduc might.), and because Thomas and Neighbours are already familiar with one another.

Other than that, I like your example. It sucks that Holloway's out, but them's the breaks in a hockey season. You wish there was a better third line center than Sunny or to upgrade Joseph/Texier, but Dvorsky isn't ready (and you could make a case for Snuggerud not being totally ready either, but he's stuck in the NHL for now).

Either way, not expecting us to make much noise in this playoffs unless Binnington absolutely stands out. It's next year where things could get very interesting.

 

[AyeBah]

If that is what they were speaking to, then I can agree to that. I'm not sure he should see top 6 action unless necessary, though you could make an argument for that type of thing to happen right now. There is also an argument to be made that you need to have Thomas, Kyrou, Buch, Schenn, Neighbours, and Bolduc in the top 6 and let Snuggerud be heavily sheltered. I can be convinced either way as I believe that both scenarios have pros and cons, but that's not super relevant.

I'd probably agree as well about the deer in the headlight moments for Snuggerud. I think Bolduc has been the beneficiary of learning to play a smart defensive game as a skilled forward, so that leads to less mistakes in the d-zone, and obviously Snuggerud is in his first pro season, so those things are going to happen more frequently for him. Not that he's totally inept defensively - I saw some good plays in his stint that leads me to believe that this can be corrected quickly in his career, but his strength isn't built up enough to make use of his talents now, so he's getting beaten when a forechecker is low or something like that. I think his pressure up high is good and he's fast enough to force a mistake, but yea I can agree with you. I think his smart plays seem to be exclusively in the o-zone, though they are highly intelligent and good plays. I think that's where the issue can sneak up though in that, same with Bolduc, Snuggerud having less gifted linemates is certainly going to lead to missed chances when otherwise they would be buried. There could be a strong argument here to have Snuggy up in the top 6 to make use of some of his really nice passes, whereas Bolduc is going to be the triggerman most of the time on the 3rd line. Those are tough decisions to make for the coaching staff.

If you could somehow find a way to construct the top 9 to bring out the best characteristics of each player, then (obviously) that will lead to the most success for everyone ie. Snuggy with maybe a Schenn and Kyrou (yes I know 2 RW), Bolduc with a Buch and Neighbours, Thomas with a..... Holloway (healthy) and Joseph? I wish they had another talented center at the moment, but this might be the only way to distribute the forwards nicely:

Joseph/Texier-Thomas-Bolduc
Neighbours-Schenn-Kyrou
Buchnevich-Sundqvist-Snuggerud
Walker-Faksa-Toropchenko


This lineup allows the first line to be a dogged, elite passer-elite shot setup with a true puck hound nuisance in Joseph (Texier I'm not sure), second line has two massive physical presences to allow Kyrou to do work either by taking the shot himself or setting up either linemate, the third line has two smart defensive forwards to shelter Snuggerud while also giving him a underrated playmaker in Buch, and the fourth is self-explanatory. The injury to Holloway really affects the offense, but if you have other ideas I'd be curious to see what you think could work?

Great way to neuter thomas by putting an anchor on his LW

 

[Brian39]

If that is what they were speaking to, then I can agree to that. I'm not sure he should see top 6 action unless necessary, though you could make an argument for that type of thing to happen right now. There is also an argument to be made that you need to have Thomas, Kyrou, Buch, Schenn, Neighbours, and Bolduc in the top 6 and let Snuggerud be heavily sheltered. I can be convinced either way as I believe that both scenarios have pros and cons, but that's not super relevant.

I think it is worth noting that as our lines are currently constructed, Snuggy is getting heavily sheltered and has an easier assignment than Bolduc and the 3rd line. Snuggy and that line are getting heavy offensive deployment and Monty is trying to get them out there against weaker competition. Given the composition of our team right now, the only way to 'shelter him' to the same degree on the 3rd line would be to either bump Kyrou down to the 3rd line with him OR reduce Kyrou's offensive minutes.

If you could somehow find a way to construct the top 9 to bring out the best characteristics of each player, then (obviously) that will lead to the most success for everyone ie. Snuggy with maybe a Schenn and Kyrou (yes I know 2 RW), Bolduc with a Buch and Neighbours, Thomas with a..... Holloway (healthy) and Joseph? I wish they had another talented center at the moment, but this might be the only way to distribute the forwards nicely:

Joseph/Texier-Thomas-Bolduc
Neighbours-Schenn-Kyrou
Buchnevich-Sundqvist-Snuggerud
Walker-Faksa-Toropchenko


This lineup allows the first line to be a dogged, elite passer-elite shot setup with a true puck hound nuisance in Joseph (Texier I'm not sure), second line has two massive physical presences to allow Kyrou to do work either by taking the shot himself or setting up either linemate, the third line has two smart defensive forwards to shelter Snuggerud while also giving him a underrated playmaker in Buch, and the fourth is self-explanatory. The injury to Holloway really affects the offense, but if you have other ideas I'd be curious to see what you think could work?

Hard pass from me on those lines. Thomas and Buch have been incredible together for months now and that duo is who we use to match up against other team's top lines. I'm not interested in breaking them up and I'm not at all confident in putting any of those 4 lines out there to go outplay a good team's top line. I don't want Snuggy playing the shutdown, defensive minutes I'd want a Buch/Sunny pair playing.

I'd much rather continue letting Snuggy fill in as a passenger in the top 6 than blow up our lines to try and get him on the 3rd line.

 

[MissouriMook]

<snip>I'd much rather continue letting Snuggy fill in as a passenger in the top 6 than blow up our lines to try and get him on the 3rd line.

I agree wholeheartedly. This is essentially sub-ing Snuggerud into the slot vacated by Holloway and leaving the rest of the lines the same as they were during the 12-game run. That's exactly what they should be doing.

 

[TheDizee]

What would a Faulk trade bring this summer? He has 15 team NTC starting on July 1.

 

[Xerloris]

What would a Faulk trade bring this summer? He has 15 team NTC starting on July 1.

Future considerations

 

[BleedBlue14]

Love the idea of Duchene but would be shocked if he didn't extend in Dallas on a team friendly deal.

Surveying the landscape of 2C and its pretty slim pickins:
John Tavares, UFA
Brock Nelson, UFA
Sam Bennett, UFA
Ryan McLeod, RFA
Mikail Granlund, UFA
Chandler Stephenson, 6 years at 6.25M, NMC, UFA at 37
Sean Monahan, 4 years at 5.5M, NMC, UFA at 34
William Karlsson, 2 years at 5.9M, 10-team no trade, UFA at 34
Pavel Zacha, 2 years at 4.75M, 8-team no trade, UFA at 30
Elias Lindholm, 6 years at 7.75M, NMC, UFA at 36
Casey Mittelstadt, 2 years at 5.75M, UFA at 28
Vincent Trocheck, 4 years at 5.625M, 12-team no trade, UFA at 35
Mika Zibanejad, 5 years at 8.5M, NMC, UFA at 37
Nazem Kadri, 4 years at 7M, NMC, UFA at 38
Sean Couturier, 5 years at 7.75M, NMC, UFA at 37
Shane Pinto, 1 year at 3.75M, RFA
Josh Norris, 5 years at 7.95M, 10-team no trade, UFA 31
Ryan Strome, 2 years at 5M, UFA at 33
Dawson Mercer, 2 years at 4M, RFA

Pursuing a free agent signing (Duchene, Nelson, Tavares, Bennett) makes a lot of sense. The team being competitive would hopefully help get a deal done.

From the group of veterans under contract, Holloway-Stephenson-Kyrou would be a nightmare to play against. (Fully expect to get blasted for suggesting such). Also would check in on the availability of Monahan, Trocheck and Karlsson. Can't imagine Kadri having any interest in playing here and the fanbase probably feels the same but it would actually be a good fit.

Boston is also intriguing with Lindholm, Zacha and Mittelstadt and in a clear rebuild/retool. Would be interested in Zacha and Mittelstadt to a lesser extent.

Also would be checking in with Buffalo on McLeod.

Thank you for compiling this list. Just commenting on the Boston part so partly cherry-picking. I would be legitimately pissed if we decided to save Boston by trading for Lindholm. That contract is a nightmare. He had a few good seasons stapled to Tkachuk and Gaudreau but he’s been pretty much a mid range 3C elsewhere that has gotten powerplay time. If his cap hit was 4-5m I’d have a bit of interest. But you’re paying him to be a top 6 center and I’m not sure it’s safe to say he’s ever been that away from elite elite talent.

 

[DatDude44]

I'd be down to sign tavares to a 1 yr deal lol..... If Dvo makes the team...then just move schenn to wing or down.... Let Dvo play and develop in a 3C role.... Obviously injuries will happen, we'd have a crazy amount of depth. Then come playoff time..... Thomas, Tavares, Schenn, Sunny/faksa down the middle.

That said, I know there's almost zero chance JT would happen

 

[BleedBlue14]

What would a Faulk trade bring this summer? He has 15 team NTC starting on July 1.

What for? We don’t have anyone near ready on the right side to play up the lineup and we don’t need the cap space. I don’t really love Faulks game, but he’s not a bad 2nd pairing defenseman.

 

[DatDude44]

Unless we're upgrading faulk into an Andersson or something, i don't see why we trade him, let him run out the course of his contract and hopefully one of our prospects is ready by then

 

[bleedblue1223]

If we are able to get a top 4 RD that fits long-term, Army/Steen has some options for a pretty nice D core.

Fowler-Parayko
Broberg-Upgrade

And then the 3rd pair depending on the cap could be anything as high as Leddy-Faulk and low as Tucker/Suter-Leddy/Faulk.

 

[bleedblue1223]

When it comes to C, I don't really care if Faksa comes back, but I do agree with previous comments made that Sunny should be upgraded, but the #4 C should be Faksa or someone like him that is very strong on faceoffs, and Sunny is more of a 4th line winger and defensive specialist.

With no 2nds in the next 3 drafts and no 3rds this draft, we'll be somewhat limited in what we can do. With some of the prospects and young players we have, we can probably do some sort of blockbuster, but I don't know if I'd trade any of the valuable ones for a stopgap solution. Prior to the trade deadline, it felt like Army was willing to shake up the current core, but I'm not sure how interested he is in doing that now that they made the playoffs.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

If Florida lets Ekblad walk I wonder if they would look at Faulk. They might ask us to retain, but we have a ton of capspace....

 

[ezcreepin]

Would probably switch Neighbours and Bolduc, just because I want someone faster on Kyrou's line (Neighbours doesn't have the wheels to keep up with Kyrou, whereas Bolduc might.), and because Thomas and Neighbours are already familiar with one another.

Other than that, I like your example. It sucks that Holloway's out, but them's the breaks in a hockey season. You wish there was a better third line center than Sunny or to upgrade Joseph/Texier, but Dvorsky isn't ready (and you could make a case for Snuggerud not being totally ready either, but he's stuck in the NHL for now).

Either way, not expecting us to make much noise in this playoffs unless Binnington absolutely stands out. It's next year where things could get very interesting.

I was more so constructing a lineup that felt equally dangerous and responsible for each line rather than putting the top guns on the top two lines and letting the third to fend for itself. If I'm Monty, I'm likely not considering Snuggerud too much into the top 9 and where he falls is where he falls. Would much rather have stability and familiarity than getting him opportunities and trying to min-maxing each player.

Great way to neuter thomas by putting an anchor on his LW

I don't know where I'd find the stats for this, but I'm going to wager than Thomas with anyone is going to do well enough that it isn't neutering him. Thomas, for all of his massive talent, is almost exclusively a one trick pony entering the zone. If he is the one bringing the puck in the o-zone (which visually this seems to be the case a lot of the time), he will go down the wing(s), pull up to set up a defenseman for a shot or pass across the blueline, and there's a lot of rinsing and repeating. His time spent is mostly waiting for support and finding someone in the slot or an open man, otherwise it is a pass back to the d-man. Not that he doesn't cycle, but his skills are mostly used on the walls or at the hash marks if he's attempting a rebound shot or to score.

Hard pass from me on those lines. Thomas and Buch have been incredible together for months now and that duo is who we use to match up against other team's top lines. I'm not interested in breaking them up and I'm not at all confident in putting any of those 4 lines out there to go outplay a good team's top line. I don't want Snuggy playing the shutdown, defensive minutes I'd want a Buch/Sunny pair playing.

I'd much rather continue letting Snuggy fill in as a passenger in the top 6 than blow up our lines to try and get him on the 3rd line.

Well to be fair Brian, I did not advocate for Snuggerud to be playing a shutdown role ever, and even if the lines were constructed the way they are now, the third line isn't the shutdown line, Thomas' line does that. As far as being defensively responsible, I think each line provides an adequate amount of that. Is that what I personally what I would roll out if I were Monty? No. Basically, the exercise I was doing was about making use of the offensive talents of the key players on the team, in a way that didn't produce a line of rookies like Oshie, Perron, and Berglund. Thomas has an elite shooter, Kyrou has good passers but big bodies that allow him room to make plays, Buchnevich is a great two-way player with great vision and passing for a young but talented triggerman in Snuggerud. Offensively, I think this lineup (if they had the time to familiarize themselves) would be a wood cannon - not necessarily defenseless, but good offense tools with passable defense. In the playoffs, I'm not sure these combos would work, but merely an exercise

 

[AyeBah]

I was more so constructing a lineup that felt equally dangerous and responsible for each line rather than putting the top guns on the top two lines and letting the third to fend for itself. If I'm Monty, I'm likely not considering Snuggerud too much into the top 9 and where he falls is where he falls. Would much rather have stability and familiarity than getting him opportunities and trying to min-maxing each player.


I don't know where I'd find the stats for this, but I'm going to wager than Thomas with anyone is going to do well enough that it isn't neutering him. Thomas, for all of his massive talent, is almost exclusively a one trick pony entering the zone. If he is the one bringing the puck in the o-zone (which visually this seems to be the case a lot of the time), he will go down the wing(s), pull up to set up a defenseman for a shot or pass across the blueline, and there's a lot of rinsing and repeating. His time spent is mostly waiting for support and finding someone in the slot or an open man, otherwise it is a pass back to the d-man. Not that he doesn't cycle, but his skills are mostly used on the walls or at the hash marks if he's attempting a rebound shot or to score.


Well to be fair Brian, I did not advocate for Snuggerud to be playing a shutdown role ever, and even if the lines were constructed the way they are now, the third line isn't the shutdown line, Thomas' line does that. As far as being defensively responsible, I think each line provides an adequate amount of that. Is that what I personally what I would roll out if I were Monty? No. Basically, the exercise I was doing was about making use of the offensive talents of the key players on the team, in a way that didn't produce a line of rookies like Oshie, Perron, and Berglund. Thomas has an elite shooter, Kyrou has good passers but big bodies that allow him room to make plays, Buchnevich is a great two-way player with great vision and passing for a young but talented triggerman in Snuggerud. Offensively, I think this lineup (if they had the time to familiarize themselves) would be a wood cannon - not necessarily defenseless, but good offense tools with passable defense. In the playoffs, I'm not sure these combos would work, but merely an exercise

20 minutes of Texier or Joseph. Great game plan

 

[Brian39]

Well to be fair Brian, I did not advocate for Snuggerud to be playing a shutdown role ever, and even if the lines were constructed the way they are now, the third line isn't the shutdown line, Thomas' line does that. As far as being defensively responsible, I think each line provides an adequate amount of that. Is that what I personally what I would roll out if I were Monty? No. Basically, the exercise I was doing was about making use of the offensive talents of the key players on the team, in a way that didn't produce a line of rookies like Oshie, Perron, and Berglund. Thomas has an elite shooter, Kyrou has good passers but big bodies that allow him room to make plays, Buchnevich is a great two-way player with great vision and passing for a young but talented triggerman in Snuggerud. Offensively, I think this lineup (if they had the time to familiarize themselves) would be a wood cannon - not necessarily defenseless, but good offense tools with passable defense. In the playoffs, I'm not sure these combos would work, but merely an exercise

I wouldn't call the Thomas line a 'shutdown' line but rather a matchup line. Thomas and Buch have a 55% O zone start rate. And the current 3rd line is absolutely getting heavy defensive usage as a shutdown line. Sunny and Joseph both have an O-zone start rate under 40%. The Thomas line is out there against the opponent's top line, the 3rd line is out there to defend and shutdown the opponent's next-best offensive group, and the Schenn-Kyrou line gets heavy offensive deployment.

If you're not advocating for Snuggy in a shutdown role, then what would the Buch-Sunny-Snuggy line be doing? Are you decreasing the offensive minutes for Schenn-Kyrou to have them pick up defensive slack? Are we pulling Thomas out of all-situations minutes to go all-in with defense? A combination? If Sunny's line is suddenly playing a hell of a lot less defense, then it takes offensive minutes from the other two lines in the top 9 so they can play that defense.

 

[SammyCartamatic]

Not really a trade proposal, but an under the radar UFA signing. Nick Perbix 26 yo 6’4” RD. He’s on the 3rd pair in Tampa, but I’ve seen he has an outside chance to be a 2nd pairing guy. Fits our age group and could slot into 3rd pair on the right side even if he never reaches his potential. Could be a solid cheaper option.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Not really a trade proposal, but an under the radar UFA signing. Nick Perbix 26 yo 6’4” RD. He’s on the 3rd pair in Tampa, but I’ve seen he has an outside chance to be a 2nd pairing guy. Fits our age group and could slot into 3rd pair on the right side even if he never reaches his potential. Could be a solid cheaper option.

Yeah him and Fabbro need to be big targets this offseason if they hit UFA