The Blues are a very good team. I don't think they'll make it out of the west and I think they're on the way down.
The Blues were the third-best team in the West last year. They are a good bet to emerge from the West this year, especially with how good Tarasenko, Schwartz and Lehtera are.
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
They presently look like a championship calibre team. The only real question right now for the Blues is in goal, but Elliot and Allen have so far have been great for them. I certainly don't think that any of their recent trades have hurt them, and what makes the difference for them is that their young, drafted players are emerging into stars. More importantly, with the core they have developed, the Blues look like they will remain competitive for a long, long time. This is what every team wants.
What glaring mistakes have they made in the last two years that have set them back?
I think they made mistakes bringing in Miller, Paajarvi and Gunnarsson.
You guys do make some very good points though, perhaps it's more wishful thinking on my part. I hate the Blues...
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They presently look like a championship calibre team. The only real question right now for the Blues is in goal, but Elliot and Allen have so far have been great for them. I certainly don't think that any of their recent trades have hurt them, and what makes the difference for them is that their young, drafted players are emerging into stars. More importantly, with the core they have developed, the Blues look like they will remain competitive for a long, long time. This is what every team wants.
What glaring mistakes have they made in the last two years that have set them back?
Not many, but $7 million for Stastny for the next 4 years is probably not a smart move. Not enough return on investment and he's not tough enough to compete against Anaheim/L.A. They had to do something to increase depth at center, just the dollar amount keeps them from being in on lots of good rental players at the deadline.
That's why today was smart, however. They needed some cap flexibility to improve at the deadline.
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I think they made mistakes bringing in Miller, Paajarvi and Gunnarsson...
I would agree that these trades have not really helped the Blues, but I disagree that they were necessarily mistakes. Would the Blues have been better off with David Perron last season? Would Halak and Stewart been enough for them to beat the defending Stanley Cup champions? While they lost game six in a third period meltdown, four of the previous five games in that series were won in overtime. I would argue that trades for these players have been basically lateral: they have not made the team any worse, and the team is better on the strength of improving youth already in the system.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
I think they made mistakes bringing in Miller, Paajarvi and Gunnarsson.
You guys do make some very good points though, perhaps it's more wishful thinking on my part. I hate the Blues...
I am not sure where Perron fits on the Blues. He is definitely behind Backes, Oshie, Schwartz, Tarasenko, Steen as top 9 wingers so maybe could have fit on the 3rd line, but considering he offers no defense at all not sure that is a great role for him. They got a little cap relief, a pick and a chance that MSP puts it together. As Textcritic said unlikely this affects them in the play-offs.
Miller was a decent trade as it gave them a shot to have elite level goaltending if Miller is on. Didn't work out but they didn't give up much of value and were a better team after the trade then before it.
Gunnarsson is tough because I prefer Polak but the difference isn't that big and perhaps they needed the puck mover as a better fit for their team over the steady Polak.
I would also say that Detroit hasn't made trades the past two years to make them better but I would say Holland still a great GM, not sure Boston has made a lot of great trades to make them better the past two years but still would take Chiarelli as a GM in a heartbeat, Chicago hasn't really made a ton of trades to make them better hard to argue with Bowman's track record.
I think with good teams like the Blues the trades aren't going to be big home runs because they are tweeking the roster more than anything.
Not many, but $7 million for Stastny for the next 4 years is probably not a smart move. Not enough return on investment and he's not tough enough to compete against Anaheim/L.A. They had to do something to increase depth at center, just the dollar amount keeps them from being in on lots of good rental players at the deadline.
That's why today was smart, however. They needed some cap flexibility to improve at the deadline.
I dunno, I think Statsny has played pretty well for them, but has had some injury trouble.
I dunno, I think Statsny has played pretty well for them, but has had some injury trouble.
Agreed. They basically have three number one centres if you consider Lehtera's start to be legitimate and Backes. They will be tough to beat if they get goaltending in the playoffs.
The equipment guys must be showing early signs of fatigue, hence the need for Butler. Good for him though, I would become willing to carry Tarasenkos jock strap around for that paycheque.
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Yeah but do you really want to go into the playoffs with a distinct possibility of Butler playing games? He was a liability in the regular season where the intensity isn't anything near what it is in the playoffs. I can only imagine how many brutal giveaways he'll commit when he has guys bearing down on him with everything they have.
In short, Butler is no good.
Butler had a strong (if not great) 7 game series with 2010-11 Buffalo forcing the #2 seed Flyers to 7 games. Butler played #2 minutes in that Playoff series 2 minutes a game more than teammate Leopold.
Butler had a strong (if not great) 7 game series with 2010-11 Buffalo forcing the #2 seed Flyers to 7 games. Butler played #2 minutes in that Playoff series 2 minutes a game more than teammate Leopold.
How strong or great is one point, second worst +/-, and second most giveaways?
People look at his time on ice and think it's a positive.
I hope he rediscovered his game in the minors. He was a mess here when given minutes, but with confidence and bottom pairing TOI he'll be a decent fit in St Louis. Price is right for a cap team.
I didn't like him here, but wish him well and hope he sticks.
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Oilers give up a pick and a player to take on 5.5 mil."
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