Will the Blues get a top 10 pick at next years draft?

[Blanick]

Why would you use that as the example you absolute madman

Only reference I could think of, I am sure there are others though.

 

[Stealth JD]

Only reference I could think of, I am sure there are others though.

Yeah…but in your example the team giving up the pick got a bust and the guy the (traded) pick was used on became a star goal-scorer. Thats the exact opposite of what you described wanting the Blues to do!

 

[Mike Liut]

More likely… top 10 pick or winning a round in the playoffs?

 

[kimzey59]

Honestly I hope we are in the playoffs, I don't think we will go very far but you never know. The reason I say this is because every summer I take some time to look at players eligible for the next years draft to get an early idea on who to follow throughout the year. Looking at next years draft, outside of maybe the top 5 I really think it will be a weak draft year. Now a lot can change over the course of the season but my first glance hasn't exactly got me excited. If we find ourselves in the 8-16 range next summer I would hope DA might consider moving the pick for an already drafted prospect. Kind of like when Ottawa traded us the 16th pick that became Tarasenko for I believe it was Runblad.

My biggest concern with this years crop is the general lack of size.
Way too many guys listed as sub-6' for my liking.

Having said that, I would strongly disagree with trading out of an 8-16 pick this year. There's some guys I really like in that range(at least at this point), starting with Logan Hensler and Charlie Tretheway.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

More likely… top 10 pick or winning a round in the playoffs?

Trade Saad or similar, retain, get a 1st, receiving team falls into a tailspin....why not both?

 

[TurgPavs]

Trade Saad or similar, retain, get a 1st, receiving team falls into a tailspin....why not both?

Rather trade Schenn then Saad.

 

[LogosBlue]

More likely… top 10 pick or winning a round in the playoffs?

I mean, at this point, I don't see either one as likely but top 10 pick would be least likely

 

[Brian39]

Rather trade Schenn then Saad.

Schenn is likely an unmovable contract at the moment while Saad should have positive value.

Schenn is a year older than Saad, is under contract for 2 more years than Saad, has a cap hit $2.5M higher than Saad, and is owed $14.8M real dollars than Saad.

We can retain 50% on Saad at the deadline and be on the hook for about $2-$2.25M real dollars. Trying to trade Schenn with 50% retention would put us on the hook for about $8M real dollars. We're just not going to do that and even if we did, 4 years of Schenn at $3.25M AAV is almost certainly less appealing than 2 years of Saad at $2.25M for a contender.

Part of the 'who do I want to trade' question is based on the trade value of your assets. Schenn doesn't have trade value.

 

[Brian39]

What are the chances this team is much better that we realize? The 4 new guys come in and play a tough 2-way Blues style of game, Thomas, Kyrou and Neighbors all take another step, Binny and Parayko remain beasts and this team goes deep in the playoffs.

Chances are pretty damn low. That requires basically everything to go perfectly and that rarely happens in sports.

I'm not sure how much more steps forward are left for Thomas. It could exist, but last year was already a massive step forward. Setting career highs in goals and assists while playing the hardest defensive role of his career against the toughest competition of his career and a middling 2nd, 3rd line behind him was incredible. Sustaining last year's performance would be a fantastic follow up. Another step forward seems unlikely.

Kyrou took a huge leap forward defensively last year. It came at the expense of a little offense, but not a ton. At this point, I think the 'step forward' would be limited to avoiding the extended slumps rather than adding a major tool/improvement to his A game.

Neighbours has room to grow, but it will be difficult to have that growth while maintaining a 25+ goal pace. Possible, but I think it is reasonable to expect a bit of a goals dip while he works on the rest of his game.

It's possible that all 3 could simultaneously take these steps forward, but way more likely that it would be a mixed bag of results.

I like the upside we added with our new guys, but not all are going to hit.

I wouldn't call it impossible that all of it goes right, but even with great betting odds I wouldn't lay down any money that I couldn't afford to lose.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Rather trade Schenn than Saad.

Schenn has negative value. I’m afraid we’re stuck with him for the duration. He could be a buyout candidate in two years.

—

I still think we squeak into the W2 slot in a weak conference, but get swept in the 1st round or maybe win one game. The goal is to win the Cup, but getting lots of young guys playoff experience is best right now. Blues will pick somewhere around 17-19.

 

[joe galiba]

Schenn had negative value. I’m afraid we’re stuck with him for the duration. He could be a buyout candidate in two years.

—

I still think we squeak into the W2 slot in a weak conference, but get swept in the 1st round or maybe win one game. The goal is to win the Cup, but getting lots of young guys playoff experience is best right now. Blues will pick somewhere around 17-19

the goal is to entertain ME

 

[TurgPavs]

Schenn is likely an unmovable contract at the moment while Saad should have positive value.

Schenn is a year older than Saad, is under contract for 2 more years than Saad, has a cap hit $2.5M higher than Saad, and is owed $14.8M real dollars than Saad.

We can retain 50% on Saad at the deadline and be on the hook for about $2-$2.25M real dollars. Trying to trade Schenn with 50% retention would put us on the hook for about $8M real dollars. We're just not going to do that and even if we did, 4 years of Schenn at $3.25M AAV is almost certainly less appealing than 2 years of Saad at $2.25M for a contender.

Part of the 'who do I want to trade' question is based on the trade value of your assets. Schenn doesn't have trade value.

Again, would rather move out Schenn then Saad, but really dont think either should be moved. The Blues have a lot of players with potential, but Saad and Scheen are both point per game 20+ goal scorers right now.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Again, would rather move out Schenn then Saad, but really dont think either should be moved. The Blues have a lot of players with potential, but Saad and Scheen are both point per game 20+ goal scorers right now.

Neither Saad or Schenn has ever been a point per game, Schenn came close one time, but never was one.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Neither Saad or Schenn has ever been a point per game, Schenn came close one time, but never was one.

Love Saad, but he will fetch a 2nd, as long as he pots his typical 17 goals and 15 assists by the TDL. Grandpa Schenn is gonna be here for a minute.

Something funny I read about Saad on his NHL page.

The son of a Syrian immigrant and grandson of a former NFL official who worked two Super Bowls, Saad does not come from a hockey background. He knew at a young age, though, that he would grow up to be an NHL star and he didn't hesitate to share that thought.

After being scolded by a teacher for not studying hard enough in school one day, the young boy who collected hockey pucks and kept his collection safe under his bed told his teacher flat out that he didn't need to study because he was going to play in the NHL.

 

[BlueMed]

Chances are pretty damn low. That requires basically everything to go perfectly and that rarely happens in sports.

I'm not sure how much more steps forward are left for Thomas. It could exist, but last year was already a massive step forward. Setting career highs in goals and assists while playing the hardest defensive role of his career against the toughest competition of his career and a middling 2nd, 3rd line behind him was incredible. Sustaining last year's performance would be a fantastic follow up. Another step forward seems unlikely.

Kyrou took a huge leap forward defensively last year. It came at the expense of a little offense, but not a ton. At this point, I think the 'step forward' would be limited to avoiding the extended slumps rather than adding a major tool/improvement to his A game.

Neighbours has room to grow, but it will be difficult to have that growth while maintaining a 25+ goal pace. Possible, but I think it is reasonable to expect a bit of a goals dip while he works on the rest of his game.

It's possible that all 3 could simultaneously take these steps forward, but way more likely that it would be a mixed bag of results.

I like the upside we added with our new guys, but not all are going to hit.

I wouldn't call it impossible that all of it goes right, but even with great betting odds I wouldn't lay down any money that I couldn't afford to lose.

But maybe not that low. I do agree that Buch, Thomas, and Kyrou probably don't have much more to give collectively. However, the main limiting factors these past 2-3 seasons have been the defense, 2C, and bottom 6 scoring depth.

Defensively, losing Krug and essentially replacing him with Broberg is exactly what this team needed. I don't expect him to come in and put up significant points, but he also doesn't have to. A veteran JBo produced 15-20 points for most seasons he was here, and I'd be happy if Broberg could do the same while providing solid defense and a good transition game next to Faulk/Parayko. That's not an unrealistic expectation despite the limited regular season minutes and opportunities he's had in Edmonton. Furthermore, having Suter/Joseph next to Kessel on the bottom pairing further solidifies the depth on defense.

Offensively, this team's biggest need is a 2C that can help Buch/Thomas/Kyrou do the heavy lifting. Can we expect Dvorsky to do that this year? That remains to be seen. His offensive trajectory seems to be in the same ballpark as Wyatt Johnston who also entered the NHL after a strong D+1 OHL season. If not him, could Holloway step up and grab that role? He'll be 23 years old to start the season, and like Broberg, had an impressive showing in the playoffs. Then we have new faces including Texier, Joseph, and Faksa to futher provide depth scoring.

Lastly, the goaltending tandem here is probably top 10 in the NHL. Will Joel Hofer take a step forward as a 24 year old this year with a full-season under his belt? There are lots of questions that remain to be seen, but with the addition of new players, there can be a strong ripple effect that can shift other players into more appropriate roles and potentially push this team into a wild-card spot.