Blues Discussion Thread 2018-2019

[mk80]

As much as I’d love to see Vignault (I know I screwed up the spelling) or some other top candidates behind our bench, or would be dancing in the streets if Armstrong was fired we need to be honest with ourselves...

There’s no way we will can them at the beginning of their contracts. Moving Allen would be the most likely that we do but I don’t see Armstrong doing it, or any teams taking his contract on.

As I’ve said in other posts, I’d focus on the upgrades to the roster needed in front of Allen first, then seeing what to do about him. Our laundry list as I see it includes: 1C, another top scoring wing, resigning Edmundson (RFA), Fabbri (RFA-a bridge deal due to injury), I’d say given the way he stepped up this year resign Brodziak (UFA) for the right amount, and I don’t think Husso is ready to backup so probably resigning Hutton is needed, unless Jordan Binnington is ready for the backup role.

 

[Spektre]

Next season is in the bag. Fabbri has his own line of hats on the Blues website.

 

[BrokenFace]

Sign Tavares or I won't care.

Also is anyone else concerned that Thompson, Thomas, Kostin, and Kyrou might end up no better than Jaskin, Rattie, and Barbeshev? They are all late first or early second rounders.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

#TavaresDahlin18

 

[BrokenFace]

Jake the Fake feels more appropriate.

As bad as Allen was this year, the offense was more fake than he was. If the power play wasn't bottom 5 then we wouldn't be out.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Sign Tavares or I won't care.

Also is anyone else concerned that Thompson, Thomas, Kostin, and Kyrou might end up no better than Jaskin, Rattie, and Barbeshev? They are all late first or early second rounders.

I don't think Barb should be labeled with Jaskin and Rattie just yet, He's only 22 he can still become a solid 3rd liner, it took him a season to get used to the AHL, wouldn't surprise me if he takes the same path in the NHL.

Thompson and Kostin don't really worry me too much, Thompson was forced (As a 20 year old) to play in the NHL before he was ready. Kostin in the same way came into the AHL, as an 18 year old who missed the majority of last season due to injury, was thrown into a league with men to which some were twice his age.

They just need more growth, and not to be forced into playing in over their heads.

 

[Evocable Manager]

Sign Tavares or I won't care.

Also is anyone else concerned that Thompson, Thomas, Kostin, and Kyrou might end up no better than Jaskin, Rattie, and Barbeshev? They are all late first or early second rounders.

Yea but so were Claude Giroux, Rickard Rakell and David Pastrnak so it goes both ways.

 

[Dbrownss]

Sign Tavares or I won't care.

Also is anyone else concerned that Thompson, Thomas, Kostin, and Kyrou might end up no better than Jaskin, Rattie, and Barbeshev? They are all late first or early second rounders.

There is zero Chance Thomas ends up mediocre. His hype isn't based around Blues fans, He's a legit elite prospect. Kyrou possesses elite skills in skating and high end vision. Kostin and Thompson could end up meh....

Ratio, Jaskin and Barbashev didn't display any outstanding skills. They were good Junior players but that was it.

 

[BlueDream]

Sign Tavares or I won't care.

Also is anyone else concerned that Thompson, Thomas, Kostin, and Kyrou might end up no better than Jaskin, Rattie, and Barbeshev? They are all late first or early second rounders.

Thomas, no. Dude is legit. He's a top 6 forward in the NHL in the future, IMO.

The others are more of question marks, but all prospects are so there's no real sense of worrying about it right now.

 

[Robb_K]

As much as I’d love to see Vignault (I know I screwed up the spelling) or some other top candidates behind our bench, or would be dancing in the streets if Armstrong was fired we need to be honest with ourselves...

There’s no way we will can them at the beginning of their contracts. Moving Allen would be the most likely that we do but I don’t see Armstrong doing it, or any teams taking his contract on.

As I’ve said in other posts, I’d focus on the upgrades to the roster needed in front of Allen first, then seeing what to do about him. Our laundry list as I see it includes: 1C, another top scoring wing, resigning Edmundson (RFA), Fabbri (RFA-a bridge deal due to injury), I’d say given the way he stepped up this year resign Brodziak (UFA) for the right amount, and I don’t think Husso is ready to backup so probably resigning Hutton is needed, unless Jordan Binnington is ready for the backup role.

I think Husso is as ready as Binnington, and would likely be more effective. Better to re-sign Hutton, or sign someone else (although, I wouldn't have a problem with Husso joining The Blues.). I think he'll be ready.

 

[Robb_K]

Sign Tavares or I won't care.

Also is anyone else concerned that Thompson, Thomas, Kostin, and Kyrou might end up no better than Jaskin, Rattie, and Barbeshev? They are all late first or early second rounders.

If you were Tavares, would YOU now choose to sign with St. Louis, seeing that they failed to make the playoffs, and are saddled with several relatively ineffective players on poor to inconvenient contracts, and the few skilled replacements that WILL be playing a fair amount next season will make rookie mistakes, and likely take much of the season (or maybe 2) to adjust to The NHL? And the contract problems run across the board (Allen in goal, Bouwmeester and Gunnarsson on defence, and Sobotka and Berglund at forward). So, Tavares' own salary might, in combination with The Blues' inefficient contracts, might strap The Blues from getting the additional help they'll need to surround him with the help to make the team a true contender. The goaltending uncertainty/implosion is enough, on its own, to discourage a UFA who wants to win now.

Also, Thomas and Kyrou have legitimate Top 6 skill in several different areas. They are excellent bets to become regular Top 6ers in The NHL. Kostin is not as sure, but, still a decent bet to succeed. Thompson is a longer shot, but better shot than Sanford. Foley is right up there with Thompson.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

What would we have to give up for Tyler Johnson? He’d be our 2C. He’s a RHS. He’s small, but has a lot of speed. Also, wouldn’t stop us from signing Tavares. In that case you move Schenn back to RW.

Fabbri-Tavares-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Johnson-Schenn

or

Schwartz-Schenn-Kyrou/Tage/TBA
Fabbri-Johnson-Tarasenko

 

[Robb_K]

What would we have to give up for Tyler Johnson? He’d be our 2C. He’s a RHS. He’s small, but has a lot of speed. Also, wouldn’t stop us from signing Tavares. In that case you move Schenn back to RW.

Fabbri-Tavares-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Johnson-Schenn

or

Schwartz-Schenn-Kyrou/Tage/TBA
Fabbri-Johnson-Tarasenko

Do you really think that there's ANY chance that Tavares will sign with The Blues after seeing them failing to make the playoffs when they SHOULD have, and seeing that Allen had TWO separate long meltdown periods in the same season, after having at least one long one in each of the 3 seasons before? I think he must realise that The Blues have a big problem in goal. We'll be lucky IF Armstrong can "fix" The Blues' problem in goal long after Tavares decides to NOT sign with them. I think that The Blues had a small chance that he'd sign with them before the last 4 weeks of this season. But, I think they have virtually zero chance now (unfortunately). I hope I am wrong, but have almost no hope in that area. Maybe they can pick up Tyler Johnson or Bozek.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

JT is not coming here.

NEXT

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Do you really think that there's ANY chance that Tavares will sign with The Blues after seeing them failing to make the playoffs when they SHOULD have, and seeing that Allen had TWO separate long meltdown periods in the same season, after having at least one long one in each of the 3 seasons before? I think he must realise that The Blues have a big problem in goal. We'll be lucky IF Armstrong can "fix" The Blues' problem in goal long after Tavares decides to NOT sign with them. I think that The Blues had a small chance that he'd sign with them before the last 4 weeks of this season. But, I think they have virtually zero chance now (unfortunately). I hope I am wrong, but have almost no hope in that area. Maybe they can pick up Tyler Johnson or Bozek.

I’m of the belief that we’ll be adding another top 6 guy at the draft. Add that to the core we have, Fabbri coming back, one of the prospects in the lineup, more after them. Our D core. It’s very enticing IMO.

The goaltending does need fixed, but we have Husso and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Army switch up the starter as well.

 

[EastonBlues22]

I don't think Barb should be labeled with Jaskin and Rattie just yet, He's only 22 he can still become a solid 3rd liner, it took him a season to get used to the AHL, wouldn't surprise me if he takes the same path in the NHL.

Thompson and Kostin don't really worry me too much, Thompson was forced (As a 20 year old) to play in the NHL before he was ready. Kostin in the same way came into the AHL, as an 18 year old who missed the majority of last season due to injury, was thrown into a league with men to which some were twice his age.

They just need more growth, and not to be forced into playing in over their heads.

I'm not sure you can put Jaskin and Rattie on the same level.

After all, Jaskin has 7 goals in his last 127 NHL games while Rattie has 9 in his last 35.

 

[Dbrownss]

Do you really think that there's ANY chance that Tavares will sign with The Blues after seeing them failing to make the playoffs when they SHOULD have, and seeing that Allen had TWO separate long meltdown periods in the same season, after having at least one long one in each of the 3 seasons before? I think he must realise that The Blues have a big problem in goal. We'll be lucky IF Armstrong can "fix" The Blues' problem in goal long after Tavares decides to NOT sign with them. I think that The Blues had a small chance that he'd sign with them before the last 4 weeks of this season. But, I think they have virtually zero chance now (unfortunately). I hope I am wrong, but have almost no hope in that area. Maybe they can pick up Tyler Johnson or Bozek.

I doubt JT is that wishy washy on his decision. If Armstrong sells him on the roster with him and Armstrong is committed to addressing issues unlike Snow, I think the Blues have just as much of a chance as they did months ago.

 

[Robb_K]

I doubt JT is that wishy washy on his decision. If Armstrong sells him on the roster with him and Armstrong is committed to addressing issues unlike Snow, I think the Blues have just as much of a chance as they did months ago.

I hope you are right, but have little faith that will happen.

 

[Itsnotatrap]

I don’t know what the right play will be for goaltending when you look around the league. I don’t know what you do on the left side d other than let it play itself out either.

I think the Blues are in a pretty awful spot for 2018-2019, honestly, but in a decent spot beyond that. I can see them clearing out some spots for forwards, whether prospects, free agents, or via trades.

They will be paying Jay-Bo and Gunnarson until they show they are healthy. I don’t know what the best direction will be for goaltending. I’d prefer to give Husso the Saros treatment from a few years ago, where he can bounce back and forth to get a few games. That requires a cheap 1 year backup, but Allen clearly can’t be trusted with that. At best, he needs a 1A/1B deal. Further complicating things, there isn’t Jack Squat that appears to be really available out there.

 

[Dbrownss]

I hope you are right, but have little faith that will happen.

I just don't think this collapse will change his mind. If he doesn't come to Stl, then he never was. Also....it doesn't really need to he stated that with Tavares....we're in the POs

 

[PiggySmalls]

7 of last years lottery teams are in the playoffs this year. That’s a big point I’d make with Tavares. The right player can make the difference between playing 86+ games or just 82. He is that right player.

 

[Novacain]

The bright side about this off-season is we have a lot valuable assets. Arguably the best positioned we've ever been in terms of total talent in the franchise from the NHL level to the Prospect level. The dark side of that is it's hard to tell how quickly that total talent will line up.

My hit list.

1. Get rid of Yeo, find someone who runs a good powerplay as an assistant.
2. Try to sign Tavares. If that fails, sign Bozak, who is at least a competent 2nd/3rd line center with a Right Handed Shot. He's not perfect, but he fits our needs.
3. Try to trade for a RIGHT HANDED RW. Screw the Hoffman noise. If, for whatever reason, Ottawa doesn't think they are going to be able to work out a long term contract with Stone, try to do that. There is such a shortage of Right Handed shooting wingers in free agency. David Perron, Thomas Vanek, Blake Comeau, Jay Beagle, and the corpse of Patrick Sharp are literally the 5 best. If we are getting a top 9 RW, it's likely in a trade.
4. Unload the crap. By crap, I'm talking Allen, Sobotka, and maybe Bouwmeester or Gunnarsson (though there are worse things then holding those 2 over). Bergie could fit this too because Bergie might actually have positive value right now.
5. Management needs to decide if they should try unload Thompson now or not. Maybe an off-season later he's going to look a lot better physically, but I'm just not buying it that much yet. I do want to give him another year, but if he can be the key piece to get that RW, you do it.
6. While not outright giving Thomas and Kyrou a spot, if they have good camps, absolutely be prepared to roster them from day one next year, especially Thomas.
7. Re-sign Brodziak. That one feels kinda obvious, but needs to be stated. Only UFA we have I think is a must sign at this stage.
8. As for goalie... I honestly don't know. This has no easy fix. I unload Allen for scraps. If Hutton is interested in another short deal, I would consider going Husso/Hutton next year, but I'm first kicking the tires on Lehner. Free Agency is a total wash. Does anyone wanna go with Bernier, cause I sure don't. If we "solve" our goaltending issues, it's with a trade. Maybe try to catch lightning in a bottle with a deal for Grubaur? This is a rough one.

Schwartz-Schenn-???
Fabbri-???-Tarasenko
Steen-Thomas-Berglund
Soshnikov-Brodziak-Barbashev-Jaskin (this can be worked with between these 4 all year)

Dunn-Petro
Edmunson-Parayko
Bouwmeester-Schmaltz
Gunnar/Bort

 

[Robb_K]

7 of last years lottery teams are in the playoffs this year. That’s a big point I’d make with Tavares. The right player can make the difference between playing 86+ games or just 82. He is that right player.

I think Tavares would rather go with a team that can afford him (capsize) but also one that is a lot closer to being a true Cup contender, so he has a significantly better chance to win The Stanley Cup, or, at least, go far in the playoffs. I think The Sharks are a lot better bet, because they are currently a significantly better team, and on top of that, The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most desired areas to work and live in USA, much more desirable than The St. Louis Metro Area. It is also easier to make significantly more endorsement income there. Again, I state that I hope Tavares will sign with The Blues. But, I think there was never much chance at all that he would. And I think there is even less now, given that it is much clearer now that The Blues' goaltending situation is a problem that won't be easy to fix any time soon.

 

[Robb_K]

I just don't think this collapse will change his mind. If he doesn't come to Stl, then he never was. Also....it doesn't really need to he stated that with Tavares....we're in the POs

I think that Tavares would easily pick The Sharks over The Blues, because they are closer to contending for The Stanley Cup, and are better for local endorsements, and located in a much more desirable place to live for most North Americans. I agree that there was little chance he would have come to St. Louis in any case. But, I think it's even lower now.

 

[BleedBlue14]

I pray to god we do not trade off Kyrou or Thomas at the draft. Thomas is a pretty much surefire 3c as a floor at this point. Kyrou possesses the same burst acceleration and speed that I saw in Barzal last year.

Regardless as the season is a wrap some things to think about. We were oft injured, Vladi shot at about 3% lower than his careeer average. Fabbri hopefully returns. Dunn Parayko have time to gel. Tavares is possibly a UFA.