Blues Discussion Thread 2018-2019

[Dbrownss]

There are quotes from Hitchcock saying that they whiffed on their evaluation of him and didn't really pursue him because they thought he was too small.

Maybe he wouldn't have come here anyway, but it sounds like the Blues never really gave him the option to turn them down.

I can see it both ways. I dont know APs decision making the first go around but if its reflected in what we know now, then Stl never had a chance. I just remember some painted a picture that Panarin was dying to play with Vladi and the Blues wouldn't give him the time of day when in fact they did submit an offer

 

[EastonBlues22]

I can see it both ways. I dont know APs decision making the first go around but if its reflected in what we know now, then Stl never had a chance. I just remember some painted a picture that Panarin was dying to play with Vladi and the Blues wouldn't give him the time of day when in fact they did submit an offer

When did they submit an offer? Back then when he was coming over to the NHL for the first time, or do you mean a trade offer to CLB?

He's had a long time in the league and in this country now to establish himself and formulate opinions regarding what he does like and doesn't like. I'd be extremely hesitant to infer what his mindset might have been back then from what he's doing now.

Just coming over to a new country and new league, not speaking the language...it very well might have been a compelling draw to have a familiar face and friend in the locker-room. Now, years later when the circumstances are completely different? It would probably matter a whole lot less.

 

[Dbrownss]

When did they submit an offer? Back then when he was coming over to the NHL for the first time, or do you mean a trade offer to CLB?

He's had a long time in the league and in this country now to establish himself and formulate opinions regarding what he does like and doesn't like. I'd be extremely hesitant to infer what his mindset might have been back then from what he's doing now.

Just coming over to a new country and new league, not speaking the language...it very well might have been a compelling draw to have a familiar face and friend in the locker-room. Now, years later when the circumstances are completely different? It would probably matter a whole lot less.

Yea, the Blues gave him an offer the first go around. It was brought up again by JR over the weekend. That is a good point that he may have adapted to the big city life in Chicago. It's just me connecting the dots

 

[Itsnotatrap]

I'd like to see Barbashev and Sanford compete for 4C role. Barbs played well down stretch in checking role with a bit of offensive skill and Sanford if he gains strength has some nice hands. Either of those guys with Sosh and Jaskin sounds like nice 4th line.

It depends on the dollars, but I’d pay a bit more for a righthander that has proven to win draws and can play on both special teams units. That’s not a common commodity, to have that degree of a Swiss Army knife on the 4th line. Handedness matter on both faceoffs and PP, and Letestu might be a very low cost option that sands out some roster inbalance. It’s not everything, but it’s also not nothing.

Also, people get hurt. Barby and Sanford will have every opportunity to play, with or without a veteran 4C.

 

[Zamadoo]

What would you guys think if Army inked Thornton @ 2y/$16m and James Neal @ 4y/$20m? Of course this could include trading away guys like Steen, Berglund, and/or Sobotka.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

What would you guys think if Army inked Thornton @ 2y/$16m and James Neal @ 4y/$20m? Of course this could include trading away guys like Steen, Berglund, and/or Sobotka.

Wouldn't want 2nd year on Thornton. Neal doesn't excite me. Certainly wouldn't want to dump Steen for Neal.

 

[tfriede2]

What would you guys think if Army inked Thornton @ 2y/$16m and James Neal @ 4y/$20m? Of course this could include trading away guys like Steen, Berglund, and/or Sobotka.

Neal reportedly turned down 5x5 from Vegas, so a 4 year deal won't do it.

 

[WeWentBlues]

Would love to have Thornton. I don't think there is any amount of term or salary that would convince him to come to St. Louis. It's San Jose or bust for him.

 

[Zamadoo]

Neal reportedly turned down 5x5 from Vegas, so a 4 year deal won't do it.

Ah, I wasn't sure how much Neal was looking for, just saw a report of between $4-5m/year. I figured 2 years on Thornton would get him lower in cost.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Neal reportedly turned down 5x5 from Vegas, so a 4 year deal won't do it.

Somebody gonna regret that if they give him more. But that is par for the course. Pretty much every long-term free agent contract for non-elite players turns out to be awful.

 

[Mike Liut]

We are going to regret 5 yr deals for Bozak and Neal just like we are regretting the Steen and JBo deals at this stage of their contracts. The first couple years might be ok, but the final 2-3 are going to be awful. I’m just not interested in descending players on long contracts.

 

[WeWentBlues]

I'm past looking for the perfect player at the perfect age for the perfect price and salary. Those options just don't appear to be out there.

In hindsight, the Bouwmeester contract was perfect. If it had more than 1 year left, I would agree with you @Mike Liut . Steen's contract is certainly starting to look bad but he is still an effective player. Just not producing at the same clip from what we had previously seen from him.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

No surprise but Army confirmed we’ve reached out.

 

[brokeu91]

No surprise but Army confirmed we’ve reached out.

From what we've been hearing, it sounds like JT is not interested, despite us reaching out to him. Pretty disappointing that he wouldn't even listen to our pitch.

 

[STL fan in MN]

From what we've been hearing, it sounds like JT is not interested, despite us reaching out to him. Pretty disappointing that he wouldn't even listen to our pitch.

According to reports, 2-3 teams will likely be able to talk to Tavares and his agent via phone in addition to the 5 teams he’s meeting with in person. Maybe the Blues will be able to convince him to at least take their call? It’s still an incredible longshot but maybe there’s still a glimmer of hope there.

 

[brokeu91]

I feel like the blues are in a tough position. They're not good enough as they stand right now to win the Stanley Cup, but they're not bad enough to be able to draft the players that will help them win the Stanley Cup. It looks like either through trades or free agency the blues are not able to fill the needs for us to be a contender. i'm not necessarily saying we should blow up the team, but maybe we should play the young players so that we can ascend more quickly. I do believe in this teams young prospects, but they will need to go through some growing pains. Let's just let them get their lumps out of the way so that we can be better quicker.

 

[Chojin]

Anthony Duclair and Tobias Rieder were not tendered qualifying offers by Arizona and Chicago, respectively. Those are two guys I definitely wouldn't mind grabbing for RW depth.

 

[mk80]

Devante Smith Pelly was not qualified by the Caps either and would be a depth signing I'd explore as well. Very good this year for the Caps in their Cup run.

Problem is while I like improving our bottom 6 with them, we still aren't filling our top 6 holes.

 

[Brian39]

That's no different than the other professional sports in terms of team control and they still award some form of compensation.

That's just incorrect.

In the NFL, any player with more than 4 years of service is an unrestricted free agent once their contract expires. There is no compensation to the old team if an unrestricted free agent is signed.

2018 NFL Free Agency FAQ | NFL Football Operations

The MLB rules are way more complicated, but basically the team has 6 years of control and can then only get compensation if the player rejects a qualifying offer (1 year, $17 mil). A team can only give a player a qualifying offer one time, so that CBA essentially gives teams 7 years of control. Beyond that, there is no longer compensation for free agents in baseball.

In the NBA, guys are unrestricted free agents after 3 or 4 years of service, depending on when they were drafted.

If anything, hockey is the least player friendly and most team friendly sport in terms of compensation.

 

[Mike Liut]

In the NFL, you can franchise tag 1 player per year. That pretty much blocks that player from leaving that year. You can also tag that player multiple times if you want. He does get paid the average salary of the top 5 players in the NFL for his position for the year he’s tagged. That would be great for a player like Pietrangelo.

 

[Brian39]

Tyler Johnson would be a great center for 91. A guy like 91 who doesnt seem to be the type of sniper who needs to be set up since he literally can't take a one-timer. I think Johnson would back up the d with his speed and be able to dump it off to 91 for his bread and butter which is the wrister in the hashmarks.

He's been my #1 trade target for months now. I'm hopeful that Army has been bugging Yzerman daily to make sure that we are the team he talks to first if/when they decide they need to move him before his NTC kicks in on July 1. He meets a number of needs and shouldn't cost our completely top end assets.

 

[WeWentBlues]

That's just incorrect.

In the NFL, any player with more than 4 years of service is an unrestricted free agent once their contract expires. There is no compensation to the old team if an unrestricted free agent is signed.

2018 NFL Free Agency FAQ | NFL Football Operations

The MLB rules are way more complicated, but basically the team has 6 years of control and can then only get compensation if the player rejects a qualifying offer (1 year, $17 mil). A team can only give a player a qualifying offer one time, so that CBA essentially gives teams 7 years of control. Beyond that, there is no longer compensation for free agents in baseball.

In the NBA, guys are unrestricted free agents after 3 or 4 years of service, depending on when they were drafted.

If anything, hockey is the least player friendly and most team friendly sport in terms of compensation.

In the NFL, you can franchise tag 1 player per year. That pretty much blocks that player from leaving that year. You can also tag that player multiple times if you want. He does get paid the average salary of the top 5 players in the NFL for his position for the year he’s tagged. That would be great for a player like Pietrangelo.

First round picks sign a contract for 4 years with a fifth year option. Teams can franchise tag their star player for 3 consecutive seasons. 8 years of possible control + a compensatory pick awarded at the end of all that if certain conditions are met.

 

[Mike Liut]

First round picks sign a contract for 4 years with a fifth year option. Teams can franchise tag their star player for 3 consecutive seasons. 8 years of possible control + a compensatory pick awarded at the end of all that if certain conditions are met.

But you can only tag one player per year. They also have a transition tag, but not exactly sure how that works.

 

[A Real Barn Burner]

Man, people really need to calm down. Why is anyone worrying or even predicting we’re going to lose Pietrangelo? Some of you have gone off the rails with this.

STL isn’t an ideal destination for guys like Tavares and Panarin but so what? A lot of teams aren’t. It seems like those guys are interested in just playing on the coasts or in a big market.

All I’m saying is we’re not the only team getting turned down by these guys. Other teams are in our same boat. Yeah it sucks but I’m not losing hope yet. Just forces DA to be more creative.

I wasn’t predicting anything not that type of poster. I was just asking a question. When I brought up Pietrangelo leaving it was in reference to people being happy that they were right about Taravres not coming here.

I disagree with you though losing Pie and Schenn is a real possibility if this retool continues past this year. How long is a retool before you can call it a rebuild? If you consider that being alarmist, I apologize was just pointing it out a part of the discussion. The problem with the constant pessimism in our fan base is when there is really something to fear it gets drowned out.

I’m not a huge poster but maybe that deserves it’s own thread if it ruffles feathers here once the dust settles after July 1st and we see how creative DA actually manages to be.

 

[Thallis]

Man, people really need to calm down. Why is anyone worrying or even predicting we’re going to lose Pietrangelo? Some of you have gone off the rails with this.

STL isn’t an ideal destination for guys like Tavares and Panarin but so what? A lot of teams aren’t. It seems like those guys are interested in just playing on the coasts or in a big market.

All I’m saying is we’re not the only team getting turned down by these guys. Other teams are in our same boat. Yeah it sucks but I’m not losing hope yet. Just forces DA to be more creative.

If we do nothing and continue to slide in the standings, it's certainly a possibility.