Value of: Blues Players

[CaliforniaBlues310]

I wouldn’t mind a swap for Silfverberg. I wonder if Anaheim would do Sobotka+2nd or Blais+WPG 1st. He’d play RW on either the 2nd or 3rd line, and gives us more options to trade if we miss on Tavares.

 

[MissouriMook]

He's way less physically engaged. He doesn't do the wrecking ball thing and he'll blatantly slow up, reach a little, and let the other team take the puck if it looks like he's going to meet with another player with speed near the boards. That frees him up to make more offensive plays sometimes, because he's doing less plumbing, but there's a ceiling on that for him. His shot isn't good enough and he's beyond awful on the powerplay (he's okay in front of the net, but if he has to handle the puck or make a play, expect a turnover).

He had back issues while he was playing in Europe, but the weird thing is that every once in a while, old Sobotka will show up for a period. He'll throw a couple huge hits and get rough about 50/50 pucks. It makes me wonder if it's sheer motivation instead of age and injuries catching up with him. There were rumors about players on the Blues playing "for the paycheck/lifestyle," and fans have suspected it's him because of the odd inconsistency, but nobody really knows. He's an okay player, he's just underwhelming and redundant on the Blues.

I had a hard time this year figuring out whether his lack of engagement was due to some physical issue (like the back issue you mentioned), getting re-acclimated to the speed of the league (which is measurably faster than when he left) and perhaps some lingering resentment over how his contract was handled before he left for the KHL. I honestly believe a change of scenery will result in him getting back to at least 80-90% of the little ball of hate he was before he jumped to the KHL.

 

[67Blues]

Seeing the want for a RW above, something around Aberg for Sobokta?

St. Louis clears out some salary, Edmonton turns one of its young tweeners into a legit PK'er.

Rather keep Sobatka. We have guys like Aberg. No need for more. We need a scoring RW.