Blues Discussion Thread 2018-2019

[BleedBlue14]

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.

I disagree the Sharks are closer. Their core is much much older. Granted they have a solid young goalie and Couture. But their marquee players and leadership is all older (Burns, Vlasic, Pavelski, Thornton). We can offer a core aged group Tavares' age and young solid olayers coming up the pipeline. The only thing we can't offer is a 1G. Personally if I'm negotiating with him I say what goalie do we target we will try and go get him if you sign.

 

[Reality Czech]

Blues finished the season 24th in the NHL in goals per game. The lowest team that made the playoffs was the Ducks at #19.

What does that mean? It means the 16 playoff teams all finished among the top 19 teams in scoring. So I guess scoring the most goals really does matter! The Blues had better find a way to score more. Should be the top priority, as it should have been the past 5-7 years.

 

[Alklha]

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.

I agree that San Jose is likely going to be more desirable from a personal life standpoint, and for endorsements.

They absolutely aren't a better option on the ice than the Blues. They have more stable goaltending and that is it.

Even with the Blues injury issues, ineffective PP and inept goaltending from our starter for months, the Sharks only managed 6 more points. And that was entirely down to the Sharks feasting on the garbage in their Division. Outside the Pacific the Sharks were 24-22-7.

From a roster standpoint? Tavares would be a replacement for Thornton, sooner rather than later. It's a rather lateral move in the long term. Pavelski is 34 this summer. Then they have Couture, Hertl and the risk of a long term deal for Evander Kane.

The Blues are a different situation. Tavares is a clear roster upgrade, not a replacement. The key forwards (Tarasenko, Schwartz & Schenn) are all younger than him. That's omitting Fabbri, and if he returns at the level he was then is already comparable to Hertl. Our prospect depth is absolutely a selling point, despite what people think. Nobody is suggesting that he is going to a team solely because of the prospects, but a teams that drafts well is going to stay competitive. Not all these guys have to hit, but having 4 higher end forward prospects gives a good chance of at least 1 hitting and/or currency to upgrade our roster.

Our key defensemen going forward are 28 or younger, compared to 31 or older for the Sharks. It's less of an issue than the age of forwards, but it's notable.

The biggest issue is our goaltending, and given his time with the Islanders than might actually kill the Blues chances. I don't think we're favourites, but we make the most sense of the Western teams from a strictly roster and cap standpoint.

 

[carter333167]

Husso/Hutton would be a good outcome but I don’t think moving Jake will be easy. I don’t want Armstrong including a prime asset or pick to get rid of yet another of his mistakes.

Everything the wild fans told us about yeo seems to be true, alarmingly true. I like him but don’t think he can get it done.

I think the offense will see a dramatic jump with the infusion of young talent, the return of Fabbri, and someone getting our PP on track. We’ll see.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

In my view we need Dunn to become our PP QB. He has the speed, skill, and puck sense to be that guy.

 

[Stealth JD]

With as much as this roster struggles with scoring goals, i don't know that I'd be in such a hurry to trade off Berglund, if I'm the Blues. He's a fine 3rd line winger, and has proven an ability to score in this league. That's more than most of the guys on this roster can say.

 

[TruBlu]

Blues finished the season 24th in the NHL in goals per game. The lowest team that made the playoffs was the Ducks at #19.

What does that mean? It means the 16 playoff teams all finished among the top 19 teams in scoring. So I guess scoring the most goals really does matter! The Blues had better find a way to score more. Should be the top priority, as it should have been the past 5-7 years.

That is what I see. We finished 24th in the league in scoring. Our D is top 5 in the league in scoring. That tells me our forwards are absolutely putrid. We iced a first line, a third line, and two fourth lines this season. That isn't going to cut it. Jake isn't the biggest problem on this team, and there are currently no options to replace him. The scoring burned us time and time again in games where both Allen and Hutton played lights out, yet we end up with a loss. The first order of business should be to get two top six forwards.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

I'm reading the comments at STLToday.

Good lord...and to think I'm a pessimist....those people are down right upset asshats.

 

[Thallis]

I'm reading the comments at STLToday.

Good lord...and to think I'm a pessimist....those people are down right upset asshats.

STLToday's lack of moderation has cause it to become a complete cesspool. For some people it's the pessimism olympics where they all try to be the first one to hate on important players. For others its a contest to see who can hate the other guy the most, so if the other guy talks about how good a player is, the side that doesn't like him suddenly hates the player and only wants to point out his mistakes.

 

[Alklha]

With as much as this roster struggles with scoring goals, i don't know that I'd be in such a hurry to trade off Berglund, if I'm the Blues. He's a fine 3rd line winger, and has proven an ability to score in this league. That's more than most of the guys on this roster can say.

@Thallis was saying this yesterday.

My issue is where he fits on the roster going forward. Steen isn't going anywhere and should be getting viewed as a third liner. Berglund is a winger and not a centre. We're paying Steen $5.75m, so he should be on LW. Berglund hasn't exactly been consistently good on RW.

Part of the problems on the PP is a lack of RH shots. So we're going into next season with only rookies as righties?

I like Berglund as a winger. I'd keep him as the third line LW if we didn't have Steen.

I'm wanting to actually see Armstrong looking to build a balanced roster going forward. That's not about perfect RH/LH balance, it's about not putting square pegs in round holes and hoping for the best because they are good players

 

[Dbrownss]

@Thallis was saying this yesterday.

My issue is where he fits on the roster going forward. Steen isn't going anywhere and should be getting viewed as a third liner. Berglund is a winger and not a centre. We're paying Steen $5.75m, so he should be on LW. Berglund hasn't exactly been consistently good on RW.

Part of the problems on the PP is a lack of RH shots. So we're going into next season with only rookies as righties?

I like Berglund as a winger. I'd keep him as the third line LW if we didn't have Steen.

I'm wanting to actually see Armstrong looking to build a balanced roster going forward. That's not about perfect RH/LH balance, it's about not putting square pegs in round holes and hoping for the best because they are good players

If we assume Kyrou and Thomas make the team, you really can't ask for a better rookie option. Both are sublime playmakers. Both work the LW halfwall very well.

I wont bank on them, but look at the rookie success around the league. I don't expect us to ice a couple Barzels with them, but I can see them being impact players with their high IQs and skating ability.

 

[ZigZagBluesFan]

Maybe it's because this season's collapse is so fresh, but I'm having a hard time feeling positive about next season. After things looked so promising to start the year it's hard not to wonder:

- Who is going to fill the void in net with no promising free agent options and Jake Allen's trade value low.
- Is there a leadership issue with the players?
- Did Mike Yeo lose another locker room?
- Do we fire Yeo and open ourselves of two seasons of a new system being put in place?
- How do we fix the powerplay?
- Are Thomas, Kyrou, etc. ready to step in and be legitimate contributors just one season removed from juniors?
- Most importantly: what is the team's identity? Because the past two seasons have left a whole lot of questions as to who they want to be.

A few thing I'd like to see (many of which have been mentioned hundreds of times already:
- Allen has got to go. He shows flashes of greatness but only in between periods of frustratingly inconsistent play.
- Sobotka needs to be dealt. One of he or Berglund has to go but Berglund is the better player with Sobotka probably having better trade value.
- I want Reaves back.
- Re-sign Brodziak.
- Get the Hoffman deal done already.
- I'm not even getting my hopes up with signing John Tavares but sign John Tavares. This changes the outlook completely. Give him whatever he wants.

 

[Novacain]

That is what I see. We finished 24th in the league in scoring. Our D is top 5 in the league in scoring. That tells me our forwards are absolutely putrid. We iced a first line, a third line, and two fourth lines this season. That isn't going to cut it. Jake isn't the biggest problem on this team, and there are currently no options to replace him. The scoring burned us time and time again in games where both Allen and Hutton played lights out, yet we end up with a loss. The first order of business should be to get two top six forwards.

I still disagree with this statement. Now, we did not score enough goals, that much is true, but the Fabbri injury and an extended stretch without Schwartz hurt us a ton. Also, I'm not blaming our Poweplay failures on the actually players for the most part, I'm blaming them on absolutely stupid coaching. We've seen just about the same group of players put up a 21.3 power play percentage just last year. If they had that instead of what we got this year, we'd have just about as many goals as the Sharks did.

Also, getting 2 top 6 forwards only happens if we A: Get Tavares and B: Can find a team willing to move a Right Handed Top 6 RW. If you mean trade for 2, then we are most likely losing both Kyrou and Thomas while still betting everything on Jake Freaking Allen in net. And this team would have been in the playoffs today if Allen could have just stopped ONE of the weak goals against Chicago.

 

[Dbrownss]

Maybe it's because this season's collapse is so fresh, but I'm having a hard time feeling positive about next season. After things looked so promising to start the year it's hard not to wonder:

- Who is going to fill the void in net with no promising free agent options and Jake Allen's trade value low.
- Is there a leadership issue with the players?
- Did Mike Yeo lose another locker room?
- Do we fire Yeo and open ourselves of two seasons of a new system being put in place?
- How do we fix the powerplay?
- Are Thomas, Kyrou, etc. ready to step in and be legitimate contributors just one season removed from juniors?
- Most importantly: what is the team's identity? Because the past two seasons have left a whole lot of questions as to who they want to be.

A few thing I'd like to see (many of which have been mentioned hundreds of times already:
- Allen has got to go. He shows flashes of greatness but only in between periods of frustratingly inconsistent play.
- Sobotka needs to be dealt. One of he or Berglund has to go but Berglund is the better player with Sobotka probably having better trade value.
- I want Reaves back.
- Re-sign Brodziak.
- Get the Hoffman deal done already.
- I'm not even getting my hopes up with signing John Tavares but sign John Tavares. This changes the outlook completely. Give him whatever he wants.

I think the team is still trying to be that skilled team identity wise. We just lack the skill.

If we go from this

Schwartz Schenn Tarasenko
Steen Brodziak Berglund
Jaskin Sobokta Thompson
Soshnikov Barbashev Thorburn

To

Hoffman Tavares Tarasenko
Schwartz Schenn Kyrou
Steen Thomas Jaskin
Soshnikov Brodziak Barbashev

We become quite a bit more skilled. Now obviously it's very unlikely we have that much roster turn over

 

[Novacain]

BTW, as much as I love Reaves, we have 3 good 4th liner types in Brodziak, Jaskin, and Soshnikov, and Barbashev could fit in that mix as a guy who also can jump to line 3.

 

[ZigZagBluesFan]

Two lines that I really hope we see (either or both)

Fabbri-Tavares-Tarasenko

Schwartz-Schenn-Hoffman

Give me both and I'll need a cold shower.

 

[Alklha]

If we assume Kyrou and Thomas make the team, you really can't ask for a better rookie option. Both are sublime playmakers. Both work the LW halfwall very well.

I wont bank on them, but look at the rookie success around the league. I don't expect us to ice a couple Barzels with them, but I can see them being impact players with their high IQs and skating ability.

I'm not saying they won't make the team, I'm saying we shouldn't expect them to be difference makers on the PP immediately. It's the emergence of the prospects that makes it difficult for me to see a spot for Berglund...

Schwartz - Schenn - __?__
Fabbri - __?__ - Tarasenko
Steen - Thomas - __?__

A prospect is taking one of the RW spots, so if we're retaining Berglund then there is a chance he is a top-6 RW'er if Kyrou/Thompson needs more time. Getting a second line RH, RW to play on that third line gives us a lot more flexibility.

Everyone is talking about upgrading wingers... so is the idea to trade Fabbri? Or are we not playing any wing prospects? If it is neither of those then it means moving both Berglund and Sobotka out of the top-9.

 

[Novacain]

Two lines that I really hope we see (either or both)

Fabbri-Tavares-Tarasenko

Schwartz-Schenn-Hoffman

Give me both and I'll need a cold shower.

That is, once more, a top 6 forward group with 0 Right Handed shots.

 

[ZigZagBluesFan]

I'm not saying no to Tavares or Hoffman because they're a lefty shot.

 

[Novacain]

I'm not saying no to Tavares or Hoffman because they're a lefty shot.

I'm not saying no to Tavares, but I AM saying no to Hoffman. I'm tired of this having no right handed shots on the poweplay shit. It's a giant hinderance.

 

[DatDude44]

Honestly, if we keep our top4 D intact(which we should) and we don’t play J-Bouw over Dunn........ and we add the likes of Fabbri, Kyrou and Thomas.......even if we don’t get Tavares or even stastny back...... this team will have gotten significantly better.

But if we do land JT..... we are as good as anyone in the league.

Fabbri-Tavares-Kyrou
Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko
Steen-Thomas-Tage
Barbs-Brodziak-Jaskin
Sundqvist

That’s some serious scoring ability and talent all over the lineup and if J-Bouw stays on LTIR we’d have a ton of cap room still

 

[Itsnotatrap]

I'm reading the comments at STLToday.

Good lord...and to think I'm a pessimist....those people are down right upset asshats.

A good point to state that this forum remains the best place to read discussion about Blues hockey, AINEC. I lurk more than comment, but many of the back and forth’s are educational. There is some good wit here too. Highlights the quality of moderation and community.

Also, The Dizee is fantastic and I cannot wait for his stone cold lock predictions over the summer.

 

[DatDude44]

Two lines that I really hope we see (either or both)

Fabbri-Tavares-Tarasenko

Schwartz-Schenn-Hoffman

Give me both and I'll need a cold shower.

If we don’t get Tavares, I’d low key be pumped to see a fabbri-Thomas-Tarasenko line

 

[TruBlu]

I still disagree with this statement. Now, we did not score enough goals, that much is true, but the Fabbri injury and an extended stretch without Schwartz hurt us a ton. Also, I'm not blaming our Poweplay failures on the actually players for the most part, I'm blaming them on absolutely stupid coaching. We've seen just about the same group of players put up a 21.3 power play percentage just last year. If they had that instead of what we got this year, we'd have just about as many goals as the Sharks did.

Also, getting 2 top 6 forwards only happens if we A: Get Tavares and B: Can find a team willing to move a Right Handed Top 6 RW. If you mean trade for 2, then we are most likely losing both Kyrou and Thomas while still betting everything on Jake Freaking Allen in net. And this team would have been in the playoffs today if Allen could have just stopped ONE of the weak goals against Chicago.

I understand people getting hung up on the Chicago game since it is the most recent game that can be pointed to where we missed out on points that we could have gotten. Jake was the biggest factor in that loss. I've no problem calling him out for that. My problem is just loading him down like he's the person responsible for the seasons woes. We were shut out 8 times this season and scored only once in 10 games. Those are games where you are not even giving your goaltender a chance. I didn't even bother checking two goal games, which is still below league average for scoring, but there were several where both of our goalies won games where we only scored twice. In those instances the goalies bailed them out. I assume you probably think Braden Holtby is a good goaltender. He's currently .001 sv% better than Allen and gives up a quarter of a goal per game more than Allen. The Caps are in the playoffs. Why? Because they can score. Look, I'm not saying Allen was good this year, he wasn't, but I don't see how anyone can look at the team this year and say he's the biggest problem. He's not at all. A lack of scoring is the main problem right now. That is why I advocate for fixing that first before going after a lesser problem that is currently more difficult to fix without hurting the teams future.

 

[Evocable Manager]

I wonder if we could turn Thompson and Sobotka into Tyler Johnson. They need cap help, Thompson could be marketed as an NHL ELC contributor with room to grow and Sobotka is cheaper with less term than Johnson (assumingly could replace him in their lineup).

Johnson is a RHS center with speed, skill, a good shot and plays with a lot of energy. The only thing I don't like is the term on his contract but 5M is a very reasonable cap hit for him. Point has taken over his role a little and I think he could be an excellent fit next to Tarasenko.