Blues Trade Proposals 2021-2022 Part 1

[Stupendous Yappi]

Per this Athletic snipped; take with a grain of salt in your desired amount:

I’ve read that Vladimir Tarasenko's issues are with Blues coach Craig Berube and not necessarily the Blues. Any context you can add? — Jeremy B.

Quotes from JR. Delightful. I honestly think I'd give more credibility to any other person you could have cited in the entire world.

 

[ezcreepin]

I bolded those to parts to emphasize that this seems to be all speculation from JR. The "according to sources" portion just refers to a lack of trust in the organization at large. While JR has written about this topic a lot, this is the first time that he has mentioned Berube specifically (in articles, I don't know about comments). There is nothing about this quote that suggests any sources have said Tarasenko has a problem with Berube and nothing about this indicates that Tarasenko voiced any health concerns to Berube.

It is possible that Tarasenko did voice these concerns to Berube (or to someone else who would have been reasonably expected to pass them along). It is possible that this conclusion is accurate. But this quote absolutely is informed speculation and not presented as reporting. Or he is doing his "well I can't actually report it because it was said off the record, but I can hint about what I was told" act again.

It's just such a worthless and spineless thing to do to the team, Tarasenko, and Berube. Why even speculate out in the open, get paid for it, and then pretend like you don't know what's going on? "I think Tarasenko probably had a problem with Berube and the way he coached him into being a better player than he felt he could be" what a stupid comment to make. It says nothing about what actually happened between Tarasenko and the team/Berube, and if there are no facts present, then stop commenting on it. His job is/was to report, not formulate baseless claims. I used to respect JR as a beat writer when I was younger, but as time goes on, I become less naive to the fact that he knows nothing about this team.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I'd rather listen to an Andy Strickland interview on Bally Sports than read a JR article nowadays.

 

[Xerloris]

One thing I can say about Tarasenko is this, he may not be the best at defense but he sure as hell tries. That's more than you can say for a hell of a lot of players around the league. Pretty sure he wasn't upset Berube tried to make him a better player.

 

[Reality Czech]

One thing I can say about Tarasenko is this, he may not be the best at defense but he sure as hell tries. That's more than you can say for a hell of a lot of players around the league. Pretty sure he wasn't upset Berube tried to make him a better player.

Yeah, I'm kind of surprised that this narrative is popping up now after all this time. Since Tarasenko's dad is a coach, I can't imagine he'd complain about being pushed harder by Berube. Tarasenko isn't a me-first guy like Hull who would expect special treatment because his main role is scoring goals.

 

[DatDude44]

That’s a hell of a package. I’m really high on Neighbors and Kostin.

I think if were strong about how good chycrun is....that we'd do that in a heartbeat. Maybe we swap bolduc for neighbours too which might be more enticing for ARZ anyway and we keep the kid we view as a long term identity type in neighbours.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

I'd rather listen to an Andy Strickland interview on Bally Sports than read a JR article nowadays.

ouch

 

[BlueMed]

I think if were strong about how good chycrun is....that we'd do that in a heartbeat. Maybe we swap bolduc for neighbours too which might be more enticing for ARZ anyway and we keep the kid we view as a long term identity type in neighbours.

I'd rather trade Neighbors than Bolduc. However, at this point, I'm not sure we need to trade for another LHD anymore with the emergence of Mikkola.

 

[Moose and Squirrel]

I'd rather trade Neighbors than Bolduc. However, at this point, I'm not sure we need to trade for another LHD anymore with the emergence of Mikkola.

I'm in this boat as well. not only has Mikkola really stepped it up, but Parayko's play has progressed as well. a twofer!

and the Chych narrative... WAY overrated by some folks, especially the AZ fans. to me he's a nice Dman who had ONE great season.
honestly, that looks more like an outlier than a trend to me

ymmv

 

[DatDude44]

I'd rather trade Neighbors than Bolduc. However, at this point, I'm not sure we need to trade for another LHD anymore with the emergence of Mikkola.

I love mikkola too, but in a 7 game playoff series against a colorado or someone, I don't think we're good enough yet, but if that were a chycrun/lindholm/a different defensive/physical stud LHD with parayko, then krug-faulk, Mikkola-perunovich then bortz as #7 (assuming scandella is gone in the trade or a separate one for cap) we can rotate mikkola-perunovich-bortz game by game like we did , eddy gunnar and bortz the cup year. maybe guys get banged up after a couple games and u replace with someone fresh etc and rinse and repeat. Super important to have 7 D you trust come playoff time.

I'm also very much a believer in playing the **** out of Mikkola and starting to accelerate his experience/development by keeping him on top pair with tough minutes etc... against teams best players for the regular season until the trade deadline so then he's that much more ready for consistent time in playoffs, even if it is a smaller role

 

[BlueMed]

I love mikkola too, but in a 7 game playoff series against a colorado or someone, I don't think we're good enough yet, but if that were a chycrun/lindholm/a different defensive/physical stud LHD with parayko, then krug-faulk, Mikkola-perunovich then bortz as #7 (assuming scandella is gone in the trade or a separate one for cap) we can rotate mikkola-perunovich-bortz game by game like we did , eddy gunnar and bortz the cup year. maybe guys get banged up after a couple games and u replace with someone fresh etc and rinse and repeat. Super important to have 7 D you trust come playoff time.

I'm also very much a believer in playing the **** out of Mikkola and starting to accelerate his experience/development by keeping him on top pair with tough minutes etc... against teams best players for the regular season until the trade deadline so then he's that much more ready for consistent time in playoffs, even if it is a smaller role

After losing JBo, Parayko hasn't looked like the same player he once was until Mikkola was given a chance to step up this season and fill JBo's shoes, and he has done that remarkably so far. There is no guarantee that Chychrun or Lindholm will have chemistry with Parayko. If this team utilizes Mikkola-Parayko and Scandella-Bortuzzo for the defensive zone faceoffs and Krug-Faulk for most of the offensive zone faceoffs, then this team will be in good shape against anyone.

What this team cannot afford is to have Perunovich on the 3rd pairing because that pairing is needed for D zone faceoffs to take the load off of the Parayko pairing.

 

[DatDude44]

After losing JBo, Parayko hasn't looked like the same player he once was until Mikkola was given a chance to step up this season and fill JBo's shoes, and he has done that remarkably so far. There is no guarantee that Chychrun or Lindholm will have chemistry with Parayko. If this team utilizes Mikkola-Parayko and Scandella-Bortuzzo for the defensive zone faceoffs and Krug-Faulk for most of the offensive zone faceoffs, then this team will be in good shape against anyone.

What this team cannot afford is to have Perunovich on the 3rd pairing because that pairing is needed for D zone faceoffs to take the load off of the Parayko pairing.

It's not chemistry imo, it's just somebody stable next to him, mikkola has been great i agree. but he still has his issues with puck moving ability from time to time and i'm scared he gets overwhelmed come playoff time, for me I'm trying to win a cup with this fwd core and i think our goalies are good enough, I don't trust niko mikkola on our top pair for an entire playoff....a lindholm, absolutely and would be a great mentor for niko to and allow him more favorable 3rd pair defensive matchups.

Please don't mix that up with me not liking mikkola, i honestly love him and i think he will get to a level consistently where he is a solid top 4 trusted D, i'm just not convinced yet, it's too small of a sample size, if i only cared about development and was less worried about going for another cup, i'd agree not to move assets for a lindholm etc....

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

After losing JBo, Parayko hasn't looked like the same player he once was until Mikkola was given a chance to step up this season and fill JBo's shoes, and he has done that remarkably so far. There is no guarantee that Chychrun or Lindholm will have chemistry with Parayko. If this team utilizes Mikkola-Parayko and Scandella-Bortuzzo for the defensive zone faceoffs and Krug-Faulk for most of the offensive zone faceoffs, then this team will be in good shape against anyone.

What this team cannot afford is to have Perunovich on the 3rd pairing because that pairing is needed for D zone faceoffs to take the load off of the Parayko pairing.

Its one thing to have ideal pairings, and then another to have enough depth to survive a post-season. There's no chance those pairings would be able to play every game of a post-season run. Depth guys like Perunovich and Bortuzzo, maybe even Walman, would have to slot it at times. I have no problem with Perunovich getting regular season starts as long as the team is in playoff position when the dust settles. It wouldn't surprise me if he replaces Krug on the roster at some point (not this season), though there are questions that would need to be answered for that to happen.

I'm glad Mikkola is playing better, but he's not playing anywhere near to Bouwmeester or even Scandella in his first stint. Hopefully he keeps rising toward his ceiling. More likely he'll have ups and downs that include stretches where we are frustrated with him. There's no easy way to replace Bouwmeester. I think the Mikkola cheerleading is getting out over its skis a bit. He has a lot more to prove. But since he was looking like "bust" at the beginning of the season, its a great improvement.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Its one thing to have ideal pairings, and then another to have enough depth to survive a post-season. There's no chance those pairings would be able to play every game of a post-season run. Depth guys like Perunovich and Bortuzzo, maybe even Walman, would have to slot it at times. I have no problem with Perunovich getting regular season starts as long as the team is in playoff position when the dust settles. It wouldn't surprise me if he replaces Krug on the roster at some point (not this season), though there are questions that would need to be answered for that to happen.

I'm glad Mikkola is playing better, but he's not playing anywhere near to Bouwmeester or even Scandella in his first stint. Hopefully he keeps rising toward his ceiling. More likely he'll have ups and downs that include stretches where we are frustrated with him. There's no easy way to replace Bouwmeester. I think the Mikkola cheerleading is getting out over its skis a bit. He has a lot more to prove. But since he was looking like "bust" at the beginning of the season, its a great improvement.

There is a lot of wishing and hoping with the Mikkola support. Parayko looks better than he did with Scandella this year, but neither eye test nor advanced stats suggest this is elite pairing.

 

[Ranksu]

It's not chemistry imo, it's just somebody stable next to him, mikkola has been great i agree. but he still has his issues with puck moving ability from time to time and i'm scared he gets overwhelmed come playoff time, for me I'm trying to win a cup with this fwd core and i think our goalies are good enough, I don't trust niko mikkola on our top pair for an entire playoff....a lindholm, absolutely and would be a great mentor for niko to and allow him more favorable 3rd pair defensive matchups.

Please don't mix that up with me not liking mikkola, i honestly love him and i think he will get to a level consistently where he is a solid top 4 trusted D, i'm just not convinced yet, it's too small of a sample size, if i only cared about development and was less worried about going for another cup, i'd agree not to move assets for a lindholm etc....

Can I ask where you fit cap wise Lindholm or Chychrun? And what your D-core looks like when we have have acquire one of them?

 

[Linkens Mastery]

If it wasn't for the fact we have an absurd amount of forward depth I'd love to grab someone like Namestnikov at the TDL. MOAR RUSSIANS WITH OVERLY LONG NAMES

 

[DatDude44]

Can I ask where you fit cap wise Lindholm or Chychrun? And what your D-core looks like when we have have acquire one of them?

Scandella would be going the other way or moved in a separate deal. assuming they retain enough to cover scandellas cap so it's even coming out and coming in

 

[Robb_K]

I'd rather listen to an Andy Strickland interview on Bally Sports than read a JR article nowadays.

This would really be funny if it weren't so true, and so pitifully sad. It certainly is one of the most ironic truths of 21st Century journalism (so far).

 

[Spektre]

Can I ask where you fit cap wise Lindholm or Chychrun? And what your D-core looks like when we have have acquire one of them?

You could make it work this year with either player. The real issue is next year. That could be solved with trading Tarasenko but it’s just one more piece that complicates things

 

[Frenzy31]

This would really be funny if it weren't so true, and so pitifully sad. It certainly is one of the most ironic truths of 21st Century journalism (so far).

Rewind like 5 years and the opposite was true.. We used to rip Strickland. But, he his much better now than JR.

 

[Renard]

Mikkola has been good. We need to be patient with him, as he has played in only 53 NHL games. Al Mac Innis said he didn't feel comfortable as an NHL defenseman until he had played 200 NHL games.

We can dream about acquiring other players in trades, but the need is not as extreme as it seemed a couple of months ago.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Mikkola has been good. We need to be patient with him, as he has played in only 53 NHL games. Al Mac Innis said he didn't feel comfortable as an NHL defenseman until he had played 200 NHL games.

We can dream about acquiring other players in trades, but the need is not as extreme as it seemed a couple of months ago.

The difference being that Chopper scored a point per game in his first full season in the league. It would be one thing (like with Dunn) if the offense was there, then you can accept some mix-ups on D. But if you can’t contribute offensively, and you’re making frequent mistakes defensively, at a certain point you’re just a liability. Not saying that’s the case right now with Niko, but I think there’s definitely room for improvement on both sides of the ice for him. That said, I have actually been pleasantly surprised by his play as of late

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Mikkola has been good. We need to be patient with him, as he has played in only 53 NHL games. Al Mac Innis said he didn't feel comfortable as an NHL defenseman until he had played 200 NHL games.

We can dream about acquiring other players in trades, but the need is not as extreme as it seemed a couple of months ago.

Al played 200 games by the time he was 22/23. If Mikkola plays EVERY game from here on out he'll hit 200 games the season after next at 27 years old.

So we're supposed to wait until he's 27 years old for him to get comfortable? So are we just supposed to throw this and next season to wait for Mikkola to get comfortable? Or should we upgrade our biggest area of need and try to go on a run this season?

 

[Robb_K]

Rewind like 5 years and the opposite was true.. We used to rip Strickland. But, he his much better now than JR.

That was precisely my point in mentioning the irony.

 

[simon IC]

IF Tarasenko still wants a trade by the off-season, how about something like Tarasenko and Kostin for a package including Braden Schneider from NYR? I am surprised that the Rangers haven't been discussed as a possible destination for Vladi. They certainly seem to have the cap space.