Adios Amigo, Bon Voyage! Jbo

[trublmaker]

Originally Posted by drPepper1

Thought I saw a tweet earlier stating they were holding a press conference for him this morning. The guy could barely speak a word at times.

why would he get a presser? strange

[Coach]

I was impressed with his play this year. I think it showed what he can do when given a little freedom to roam about. Amazing watching him negate 2 on 1s when he was the deepest guy in the Ozone. I think he'll help St. Louis. Too bad it took him so long to find his game here. Happy trails Jay.

[Change of Heart]

Originally Posted by Wood

Watch him win the Norris next year. Most awkward acception speech ever

Acception??

[boogerz]

Brent Sutter ruined his time here. Hopefully Bouwmeester does well with the Blues

[Jordan!]

Can a mod change my name back to Jordon? It's beyond obsolete now. lol

[drPepper1]

Originally Posted by trublmaker

why would he get a presser? strange

Not sure. Just found the tweet

“@SportsnetSpec: Flames holding a press opportunity w/Bouwmeester at 9:15 am. Always find it good form when team that trades holds availability”

[blankall]

Originally Posted by MattyC

I was impressed with his play this year. I think it showed what he can do when given a little freedom to roam about. Amazing watching him negate 2 on 1s when he was the deepest guy in the Ozone. I think he'll help St. Louis. Too bad it took him so long to find his game here. Happy trails Jay.

His play this year was just okay. He was still below a 40 point pace. In terms of +/- he was the worst d-man on our team. Yes he was on the ice for more time than other d-men and had greater opposition, but he was paid to be more.

[nieuwy-89]

I remember how excited I was when Sutter signed him. Adding Bouwmesster to a defense that already included Regehr, Gio, and Phaneuf made us the envy of the league that summer. Edmonton was incredulous that their local boy and the biggest UFA on the market chose the hated rival. That signing was the last high point for the franchise, we all know what has happened since.

Bouwmeester is a talented defenseman and an excellent skater. I think he reads plays well and rarely (if ever) gets beaten one on one. However his lack of drive and emotion, especially in big games, has been one of the most frustrating things to watch over the past three years.

[Puppet Guy]

It was real, and it was good, but it wasn't real good.

Hope he's a better fit in St. Louis than he was in Calgary.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

I remember how excited I was when Sutter signed him. Adding Bouwmesster to a defense that already included Regehr, Gio, and Phaneuf made us the envy of the league that summer. Edmonton was incredulous that their local boy and the biggest UFA on the market chose the hated rival. That signing was the last high point for the franchise, we all know what has happened since.

Bouwmeester is a talented defenseman and an excellent skater. I think he reads plays well and rarely (if ever) gets beaten one on one. However his lack of drive and emotion, especially in big games, has been one of the most frustrating things to watch over the past three years.

Watching him back off hits for the past few years is enough for me. He doesn't have to go full-Phaneuf and put himself in bad positions, but surely there must be something resembling a happy medium somewhere.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by nieuwy-89

I remember how excited I was when Sutter signed him. Adding Bouwmesster to a defense that already included Regehr, Gio, and Phaneuf made us the envy of the league that summer. Edmonton was incredulous that their local boy and the biggest UFA on the market chose the hated rival. That signing was the last high point for the franchise, we all know what has happened since.

Bouwmeester is a talented defenseman and an excellent skater. I think he reads plays well and rarely (if ever) gets beaten one on one. However his lack of drive and emotion, especially in big games, has been one of the most frustrating things to watch over the past three years.

Hindsight being 20/20, I think the most frustrating part of him was the fact that he was stuck in Sutter's system. One of the biggest round hole-square peg situations I've seen in a while. Even in 30-odd games under Hartley, it's obvious that when Bouwmeester is allowed to pinch, he's a much more adept player at driving the offence and has more ability than the "soft minute logger who kills offensive plays" that this forum roasted before the lockout. Is he still passive? Yeah. I don't think anything is going to change the fact that he'll sometimes let the forward drive the play and will probably never ramp up his game.

But I think we were seeing what Florida got from Bouwmeester when he was allowed to move around more. Probably still a little worse on his own blue line given that Hartley has been a disaster defensively (as in: when was the last time the defence was this porous? I can't even remember Keenan playing so fast and loose with so many scoring chances and odd man rushes against).

Originally Posted by blankall

His play this year was just okay. He was still below a 40 point pace. In terms of +/- he was the worst d-man on our team. Yes he was on the ice for more time than other d-men and had greater opposition, but he was paid to be more.

UFA are generally overpaid as a whole. You're paying to not have to give up assets (picks, trading) to acquire one.

Jay Bouwmeester was the biggest name in his year. Many teams wanted him, so his contract demands shot up. My mind seems to land on 1.5-2.0 million over-payment based on the market demands.

At 4.5-5.0, his play seems about right (or maybe it's because our D earning in the same region, Wideman and Giordano, are messing up my view of 4 million dollar D). In short, his recent play really does feel like the defenceman, given the situation in which we got him, that was advertised and paid for.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by kirant

Hindsight being 20/20, I think the most frustrating part of him was the fact that he was stuck in Sutter's system. One of the biggest round hole-square peg situations I've seen in a while. Even in 30-odd games under Hartley, it's obvious that when Bouwmeester is allowed to pinch, he's a much more adept player at driving the offence...

I am really curious how he's going to be used in St Louis; isn't Hitchcock's system similar to Sutter's - I could see him reverting back to the JBo we saw last year. I think Detroit would have been a better fit for him

[kirant]

Originally Posted by ah123

I am really curious how he's going to be used in St Louis; isn't Hitchcock's system similar to Sutter's - I could see him reverting back to the JBo we saw last year. I think Detroit would have been a better fit for him

It depends what similarities there are. If Hitchcock demands the D hold the line, then Bouwmeester I imagine is going to be a soft, passive defensive defenceman and is likely to be putting up 2-3 goal seasons again.

I wouldn't want to be on Stlouispuck for that.

[DuffMan]

I for one thinks this leaves a huge hole that will need to be plugged. Sure, he never lived up to his expected offensive abilities for what he was being paid, until recently, but defense wise, this is gonna hurt. I don't think Gio makes him expendable, nothing against Gordano, but that's just not true.

I wish him the best in the future, but yeah, I have to question why he'd go to a team with Hitchcock as the coach. Imagine what he could do on a team like Chicago,

[Neeper]

I never hated JBo. Good luck in St. Louis!

[you got PHANUEFED]

This guy took a lot of crap but the sad part was he was our best D-men. Good luck Jay all the best to him in StL

[blankall]

Originally Posted by kirant

UFA are generally overpaid as a whole. You're paying to not have to give up assets (picks, trading) to acquire one.

Jay Bouwmeester was the biggest name in his year. Many teams wanted him, so his contract demands shot up. My mind seems to land on 1.5-2.0 million over-payment based on the market demands.

At 4.5-5.0, his play seems about right (or maybe it's because our D earning in the same region, Wideman and Giordano, are messing up my view of 4 million dollar D). In short, his recent play really does feel like the defenceman, given the situation in which we got him, that was advertised and paid for.

If you want to look it that way, the Flames just acquired a 1st and 2 prospects for nothing. And you have to admit that JBo underperformed based on his expectations.

[Kolbe31]

Ever since he was part of trade rumors, I always thought if he went to Detroit that he'd win a Norris. Just thought he'd fit in well there. Now that he's in St. Louis, it's hard to say. A lot of good young d-men, only so much ice time to go around. But I think the Bouwmeester we saw under Hartley is the one we paid big money for. I remember watching him in the first few games as a Flame thinking he was going to be awesome, and then he stopped doing these little offensive things I thought made him great (coaching?).

Always liked him, thought he took way too much crap on here.

Good luck in St. Louis!

[Stay Golden]

having a decent 2013 season but Bye bye 6.68 million $ caphit and your prior soft meek seasons.

[JiriHrdina]

Just read that the flames made sure the deal was registered in such a way that the iron man streak is in tact. Nice gesture by the team