The Blues future is looking brighter and brighter. That’s if they sign their highly touted prospects and they pan out. I hope that Holloway and Broberg fits in well and lives up to their contract’s. Only time will tell. Let’s Go Blues!
I would agree. Even if we don't make the playoffs this year, there are a bunch of young guys with potential and this team could look real good in the coming years. Kyrou, Thomas, Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Dvorsky, now Holloway, Broberg, Texier and Lindstein, Stenberg on the horizon. Even Hofer looks like he's gonna be solid.
Driving from western Montana to St. Louis to the prospect tourney in a couple of weeks to get a look at those prospects. Should be fun. I wonder if the U of Minn. will let Snuggerud play in that?
Army definitely seemed to fix the biggest need which was scoring depth last year with all the additions. Blues were a 1 line team all last season so if they are able bring up the goal totals from the middle six especially were they struggled the most they should be a competitive team this next season.
That 2.2 Million in cap space includes Torey Krug's salary still on the books, so if he does not play this season, they have 8.9 million in cap space. I don't necessarily think they'll use it, but it makes them dangerous in the salary retention space or adding at the deadline, depending how the season pans out
LTIR is not calculated by just adding the LTIR contract to the current cap space so it's not going to be that much unless the Blues add anyone prior to the start of the season and when they put Krug on LTIR (LTIR basic (in-season) equation vs Training Camp Equation). Blues are unlikely to use the Training Camp Equation as it is usually used by teams to be cap compliant by the beginning of the season (team's current cap hit - LTIR contract). If they wait till the regular season to put Krug on LTIR, the equation is current ACSL (cap hit) (currently ~$85.8M) + cap hit of LTIR contract ($6.5M), so the adjusted cap would be ~$92.3M, or exactly $6.5M in space, which only ~$2.2M will "grow" during the season. This is why teams try to get as close to the salary cap prior to placing a player on LTIR to maximize their adjusted cap. Also, Suter has $2.225M in bonuses, mostly based on games played, so if he does end up making most of that, the Blues will want to keep that cap space clear so they don't get a bonus overage cap penalty next season.
@@andrewwilbraham6875 well, it turns out I both don't know how the ltir equations work, and now that it's been explained to me, still am not entirely sure how the ltir equations work 🙃 Either way, the Blues will likely have some additional room to work with beyond 2.2 million at the trade deadline, but it won't be 8.9 million
@@andrewwilbraham6875 Unless they have a ton of injuries, they probably won't even need to put him on LTIR as they won't need the cap relief. Regular IR would be just fine to free up the roster spot.
Drew Bannister did a great job stepping in to coach after they fired Berube. They also have brought in Claude Julien as an assistant coach. I am hoping that with the full off season and additional players they will be a much better team this season. Every year they are the underdog team and thats ok with me. LGB!
Love Kessel. He definitely strengthened our very mediocre blue line. Also I want to say I like torey krug the person, but our defense will be so much better without him. And his offensive numbers can be replaced by perunovich,(if he can stay healthy), and broberg. Addition by subtraction
With all the new faces, I have no idea what we are going to have results wise. However, on the positive side, we should have Binner break his agent’s record for most wins as a Blue and there’s every chance at least one of our goalies gets a goalie goal.
I don't know what to expect from this year but their future looks very bright with the young players they have both on their NHL roster and in their organization that should be contributors foe the Blues in the next couple of years
I think Kessel will be in the top 6, over Sutter and Perunovich if need be. He played really well last year. I'd also love to see Bolduc crack the 3rd line.
They're a better team on paper than they where last year and they just missed last year. Surprisingly they played pretty good against the better teams too. If their D improves, which it should I think they make it as a wild card.
Unlike the hapless baseball team in St Louis, I like how the Blues are proactive in improving the team. The offer sheets proved that. The team will be better, but still might just fall short of the playoffs. Better days are ahead, so I'm not stressed about it.
@@clydeblair9622 Clyde, you are correct, but the last one was 13 years ago. We are 1-9 in our last 10 playoff games. We were dead last in the division last year. Face it, our Cardinals have been either mediocre or just plain bad ever since 2015. I still think this correlates to the loss of traditional baseball men like Jocketty, LaRussa, George Kissell, and most of the people who espoused The Cardinal Way, and replaced them with Mozo the Clown Mozeliak, and all of his preppy hires who only look at analytics.
Goaltending will dictate what kind of year 2024-2025 will be for St. Louis. They had impressive goaltending last year considering the rest of the team was statistically lousy. The Blues needed scoring depth and got it this offseason, but the objective for STL is to get young guys experience and get the team to gel by the 2026ish season where they should be very competitive.
With Binnington and Hofer we always have a shot at the Playoffs. Our off season pickups seem to fill in some of the major issues we had last season (scoring and defense) So if that does workout, I could see them in the hunt for the top 3 in the division. But we’ll have to see how it plays out
Thank you for these wonderful and informative videos! I have a question for either you or the community here. I do a yearly bet with a buddy of mine. It's 4 bets, actually. We both pick a team in the east and west. Add their point totals up at the end of the year and whoever has the highest total points wins. That's one bet, the "Winners" bet. Same exact thing, except you want to pick a bad team from each conference and the lowest point total wins. The "Losers" bet. For the 3rd bet, you again pick a west and east team, but you are picking based on them improving their point total from last year's standings. So whoever has the biggest improvement total points wins. "Biggest improvement bet". And lastly, you again pick a west and east team and you get biggest decrease from last year wins. Can anyone help me with these 8 teams that I should choose?! It's OK to use the same team twice for separate bets!!
They definitely have a better team on paper than last year. Keys for improved play are: Faulk needs to bounce back, Krug needs to move on, Kyrou needs to stop coughing up the puck so much, and good 2nd and 3rd line centers need to emerge from their forward mix.
Honestly I don't see how they don't score more goals this year. Kyrou will hopefully have a full season of not pouting over something, Holloway and Faksa should add in the teens, and another year of Thomas should mean more production. Obviously everyone has gotten a little better in the Central, but that division has always been the toughest anyway. Should be fun.
As a fan of the franchise since the beginning, I have to say how great it was to finally see them win a Stanley Cup--However, since then,they have regressed each season, altho they did do much better last season after changing coaches--despite some talent on the roster, realistically, i don't see them making the playoffs this year. (Altho I always want them to do well and win.)😀
STL local here... havnt even watched the video yet, legit surprised we get one this early. I mean its the midwest we get shit on for a LOT of things, our teams, the schedule (what you mean you didnt want 930pm cst starts for playoff games vs another team in the central time?)... etc. I think we DO make the playoffs this year, as for making any noise during them? debatable. Is binner hot? How hurt are we? Going back to last year had we been in the East... we would have taken Washingtons spot. This being in a VERY competitive western conf. Also... god... losing 3 to the sharks (the one reason we didnt make the playoffs)... oof.
Love the Blues but think they'll probably end up right around where they did last year. Fringe playoff team that could just as easily miss as they could get the 1st or 2nd WC. There are brighter days ahead with all the young talent coming in but not this year. Getting to the playoffs again would be a success.
The ceiling is higher for the blues than it was last year. And they only need to be better than one more team to get a wild card. Faster, bigger, with a lot of potential break out players and lets face it, we don't even know who'll make the starting lineup.
They will be interesting, if nothing else. I’ve been a Blues fan since 1976 and this is one of most unpredictable rosters I can recall. I still think Army unloads a contract or two before the season starts, especially if Krug can play.
My most major concern is that the re-signing of Drew Bannister will end up mirroring the recent coaching change in Vancouver, when Bruce Boudreau had the Canucks just outside the playoffs but the bump in production didn't continue (and Boudreau, consequently, wasn't long for the job). If that doesn't happen, likely because many of the players were more familiar with Bannister from the jump, I think this team's in a good spot even if Krug doesn't end up playing. They _have_ to get better with discipline and fundamentals though, which sounds cliche but was what ultimately drove Berube out, and they have to actually win the games they should against bad teams-if the series against the Sharks had flipped, the Blues would've landed the 8 seed, and all it takes is a ticket to the dance.
I hope both Bolduc and Dvorsky come into camp and steal some spots. It would make the next season even more exciting. They will be trying out Dvorsky, Buchnevich and Holloway at center in camp to see who fits best in the 2c hole. I'm hoping Holloway can fill in until Dvorsky is ready. This season hoping to see these lines: Bolduc - Thomas - Buchnevich Neighbours - Holloway - Kyrou Saad - Dvorsky - Schenn Texier - Faksa - Joseph Sunny - Toropchenko Buchnevich and Neighbours could swap lines if Buchnevich goes to 2c. Holloway and Kyrou would be some speedy wingers for him. On defense, I think Perunovich is waived, he doesn't provide much outside the PP and we have too many depth D to keep just a PP guy. I see the defense shaking out like this: Leddy - Parayko Broberg - Faulk Suter - Kessel PO Joseph Hopefully Leddy and Broberg swap at some point. Binnington Hofer
If Dvorsky makes the lineup they will be trading Sadd. Bolduc already earned his spot last year in the top 9 and with his shot should be top 6 and on the power play. I see the lines as this if the young guns make it out of training camp. Neighbors - Thomas - Kyrou Bolduc - Buchnevich - Schenn Holloway - Texier - Dvorsky Joseph - Faksa - Toropchenko Reserves Walker - Sundquist - Kapanan Sadd traded. Leddy - Parayko Bromberg- Faulk Perunovich - Kessel Reserves Joseph - Tucker Suter I don't see Krug returning. His ankle has been bothering him since he joined the Blues. We all know who the goalies are but if one of them get hurt I don't see an option within the organization that's ready. So they will have to trade for or sign someone to backup if that happens.
@@markhalloran9549 Why would a team that struggles to score last season trade a guy who is good for 20-25 goals? There is no reason in any scenario where it makes sense to trade Saad. You might at the deadline if Blues are out of it, however teams are normally looking for players whose contract ends at the end of the season. There will be injuries and depth is important.
After free agency I expected more of the same from the blues. Standing firm, something small here and there. Then BDD (Big Dick Doug) went after Holloway and Broberg, and got them. Lots of new blood on the blues. I can’t wait to see how it plays out.
With Pred goggles on- the depth impressive, but you dont exactly get star struck looking at their roster. Good goalie tandem, impossible to like Mr B, though. Blues pretty hard to valuate, most probably down the middle like last year. Them and Jets pretty even steven. Central hard as usual, apart from Atlantic this is the closest div. Some time Chicago will improve and I got no clue how Utah will respond.
Blues to make the playoffs at +160 is amazing value i got that as one of my main futures this season. they can beat nasvhille or minnesota poissibly hang with colorado and winnipeg
As a Springfield (AHL) fan I follow the blues very closely. The Holloway and Broberg signing is a win/win situation for the parent club and the farm team because we get more talent such as Dvorsky. We will probably see Kessel return and a lot of new faces. Gaudette was a huge loss but it’s the way minor league hockey goes. I am a little concerned about the goaltending because Zherenko got injured and his performance dipped the rest of the time he was healthy. Ellis looked good at first then he at the end of the season he really fizzled.
All the Blues likely need to do is win 3 more games than last year to make the playoffs. With the additions over this summer that seems very doable as long a injuries are within reason this coming year...
Just looking at the comments... Blues fans are so hard on their players. Like saying Kyrou needs to leave . If it comes to locker room culture, I can think of a lot more concerning players (Johansen, dubois). Everything is compared to the Gloria days. We aren't the same team and that's okay. I think Robert Thomas and Kyrou have elite skill and Bannister will get more out of them and the upcoming wave of first round prospects. It's an exciting time to be a blues fan. It's feel like they got back to youth without bottoming out like the sabres, devils and sens had to to draft they way back to optimism. And I think it's important to the culture of the organization to always be playing meaningful games regardless of making the playoffs.
Amen. Army's also got plenty of draft picks over the next couple seasons to wheel and deal with, either as trade chips if we're deadline buyers or to restock the cupboard if we end up being sellers, which I think is unlikely. I don't know why fans have been so nasty to Kyrou in particular, but it has to stop. He makes a lot of money, yeah, but that's no reason to treat him like dirt.
I suppose Nashville's recent moves could backfire spectacularly, the Jets, Wild, Kings and Canucks could regress, and MAYBE Seattle and Utah fail to take the next step... It's gonna be tough for them to make the playoffs as the only absolute locks to miss the post-season in the West are Calgary, San Jose, Anaheim and Chicago...
Just a hockey stat question that you probably might know, I was wondering who had the best scoring season followed by a terrible scoring season? Say a player got 50 goals and 60 assists and then the next year only got 15 goals and 20 assists, must be around the same amount of games played not because of a shortened season because of an injury.
If their power play wasn't garbage for the first half of the season and they beat crap teams. They would have made the playoffs last year wild card, but still
I think the Blues finish in 5th again, unless someone above them in the standings implodes or Utah new defence corps allows them to finish ahead of St Louis. It'll be interesting to see how their shiny new offer sheet acquisitions turn out.
Blues are in the same boat as Minnesota if the season goes south early I don’t think it’s 2019 I think it’s basement with how insane this central division is
In order for the Blues to be a "true contender" they need a true superstar on offense. Ryan O'Reilly was the last one they had and I would put O'Reilly there as superstar as he may not have had typical superstar point totals but was so good all around. Could Thomas become a superstar? If he were to move in that direction this year and several players who had subpar years last year move back to where they could be like Kyrou, Buchnevich, Schenn, and Saad, and Neighbors continue to improve, then the Blues become a solid contender in their division--given the defense is better than last year and goaltending continues to be solid. I also think some of the other additions such as Holloway, the 2 Josephs, and Broberg have them in a better position than last year. Bolduc and Dean could also make the line-up and if they stay that means they're contributing. I have my doubts about Dvorsky--expect him next year.
the blues are a bubble team and will stay that way until they decide to get serious about moving out older players and start developing younger ones. you cant keep adding bottom 6 forwards and bottom pair defensemen to the team and hope to scrape into the playoffs. armstrong has to do what he did when he moved on from players like stastny and shattenkirk so he could bring in better players.o' reilly and schenn. that's how we won the cup and thats why we play the game, not to just make the playoffs and lose in the first round
You must be new here. The Blues have been making the playoffs and losing in the first or second round basically my entire life. The Cup run was a fluke, and by all accounts wasn't supposed to happen at all.
@@dfp_01 Blues were a preseason favorite to win the cup in 18-19. Did they get to the playoffs in an unconventional way... yes. But winning the cup wasn't a fluke, they were a favorite before the season.
This will always stick with me from last season. If we actually beat the sharks last year for 3 games.... we would of made the playoffs
Would have*
Don’t forget going 0-2 against the Blue Jackets.
@@PassingDrill oh... sick
St. Louis sports has an affinity for beating top teams, and embarrassing ourselves when playing the bottom of the barrell.......
@@mahockey3 I think you mean would've, goon
The Blues future is looking brighter and brighter. That’s if they sign their highly touted prospects and they pan out. I hope that Holloway and Broberg fits in well and lives up to their contract’s. Only time will tell. Let’s Go Blues!
I would agree. Even if we don't make the playoffs this year, there are a bunch of young guys with potential and this team could look real good in the coming years. Kyrou, Thomas, Neighbours, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Dvorsky, now Holloway, Broberg, Texier and Lindstein, Stenberg on the horizon. Even Hofer looks like he's gonna be solid.
Driving from western Montana to St. Louis to the prospect tourney in a couple of weeks to get a look at those prospects. Should be fun. I wonder if the U of Minn. will let Snuggerud play in that?
Army definitely seemed to fix the biggest need which was scoring depth last year with all the additions. Blues were a 1 line team all last season so if they are able bring up the goal totals from the middle six especially were they struggled the most they should be a competitive team this next season.
This is going to be an exciting year!
No matter what happens this year it will be exciting watching these young players grow along side our veteran players for the next 5 years or so.
I think they Will make the playoffs this season. I really like what they have done this offseason.
That 2.2 Million in cap space includes Torey Krug's salary still on the books, so if he does not play this season, they have 8.9 million in cap space. I don't necessarily think they'll use it, but it makes them dangerous in the salary retention space or adding at the deadline, depending how the season pans out
Excellent point about St. Louis
LTIR is not calculated by just adding the LTIR contract to the current cap space so it's not going to be that much unless the Blues add anyone prior to the start of the season and when they put Krug on LTIR (LTIR basic (in-season) equation vs Training Camp Equation). Blues are unlikely to use the Training Camp Equation as it is usually used by teams to be cap compliant by the beginning of the season (team's current cap hit - LTIR contract). If they wait till the regular season to put Krug on LTIR, the equation is current ACSL (cap hit) (currently ~$85.8M) + cap hit of LTIR contract ($6.5M), so the adjusted cap would be ~$92.3M, or exactly $6.5M in space, which only ~$2.2M will "grow" during the season. This is why teams try to get as close to the salary cap prior to placing a player on LTIR to maximize their adjusted cap.
Also, Suter has $2.225M in bonuses, mostly based on games played, so if he does end up making most of that, the Blues will want to keep that cap space clear so they don't get a bonus overage cap penalty next season.
@@andrewwilbraham6875 well, it turns out I both don't know how the ltir equations work, and now that it's been explained to me, still am not entirely sure how the ltir equations work 🙃
Either way, the Blues will likely have some additional room to work with beyond 2.2 million at the trade deadline, but it won't be 8.9 million
@@andrewwilbraham6875 Unless they have a ton of injuries, they probably won't even need to put him on LTIR as they won't need the cap relief. Regular IR would be just fine to free up the roster spot.
Drew Bannister did a great job stepping in to coach after they fired Berube. They also have brought in Claude Julien as an assistant coach. I am hoping that with the full off season and additional players they will be a much better team this season. Every year they are the underdog team and thats ok with me. LGB!
You've got it right. This is a playoff bubble team. If they stay healthier than several other teams, then they'll likely make the post season.
Kessel is locked in at the 3d on the right side... he's not an extra
I hope so, he was solid last year. A pleasant surprise
Love Kessel. He definitely strengthened our very mediocre blue line. Also I want to say I like torey krug the person, but our defense will be so much better without him. And his offensive numbers can be replaced by perunovich,(if he can stay healthy), and broberg. Addition by subtraction
With all the new faces, I have no idea what we are going to have results wise. However, on the positive side, we should have Binner break his agent’s record for most wins as a Blue and there’s every chance at least one of our goalies gets a goalie goal.
I would love for them to squeeze into a wildcard spot and end up playing the Oilers in round one.
The Central is brutally difficult. The Blues have to find consistency and the D needs to step it up.
Luckily, the Blues added Broberg with Krug going on LTIR. If Faulk has an up year and Kessel continues to play well, the D will have been mended.
I agree man, our defense will be so much better without krug. Also broberg is here, let's go!
Let's Go Blues!!!
I don't know what to expect from this year but their future looks very bright with the young players they have both on their NHL roster and in their organization that should be contributors foe the Blues in the next couple of years
I think Kessel will be in the top 6, over Sutter and Perunovich if need be. He played really well last year. I'd also love to see Bolduc crack the 3rd line.
Bolduc will be a regular on one of the top 2 lines.
Bennington great in net and I love when his cheese slides off his cracker! VERY EXCITING TIME
*Binnington
They're a better team on paper than they where last year and they just missed last year. Surprisingly they played pretty good against the better teams too. If their D improves, which it should I think they make it as a wild card.
Unlike the hapless baseball team in St Louis, I like how the Blues are proactive in improving the team. The offer sheets proved that. The team will be better, but still might just fall short of the playoffs. Better days are ahead, so I'm not stressed about it.
Cardinals second all time with 11 WS.
@@clydeblair9622 Clyde, you are correct, but the last one was 13 years ago. We are 1-9 in our last 10 playoff games. We were dead last in the division last year. Face it, our Cardinals have been either mediocre or just plain bad ever since 2015. I still think this correlates to the loss of traditional baseball men like Jocketty, LaRussa, George Kissell, and most of the people who espoused The Cardinal Way, and replaced them with Mozo the Clown Mozeliak, and all of his preppy hires who only look at analytics.
@@clydeblair9622they have a good history but at the present they’re painful to watch. They need a front office house cleaning.
100%, they also are dating marmol will be back, ugh. Bring in Skip!
This is a playoff team. Let's go Blues!
I think they squeeze in or just miss out on playoffs, but I'm more excited about the team and its future than i have been in a few seasons. LGB!
Binnington and Hofer can keep them in the running for a playoff spot
Let's Go Blues!
Excited for this year, the Blues are looking good!
Absolutely cannot wait for the season to start!
Goaltending will dictate what kind of year 2024-2025 will be for St. Louis. They had impressive goaltending last year considering the rest of the team was statistically lousy. The Blues needed scoring depth and got it this offseason, but the objective for STL is to get young guys experience and get the team to gel by the 2026ish season where they should be very competitive.
Let’s Go Blues!!!!
Faksa scored a huge goal in game 7 for Dallas to help beatout Vegas in last years playoffs.
With Binnington and Hofer we always have a shot at the Playoffs. Our off season pickups seem to fill in some of the major issues we had last season (scoring and defense) So if that does workout, I could see them in the hunt for the top 3 in the division. But we’ll have to see how it plays out
Lets go blues
Crazy that Steener is still on the top 10 points in last 10 years list!
I think the additions this off season get us back in the playoffs. Just get in baby!
Thank you for these wonderful and informative videos!
I have a question for either you or the community here.
I do a yearly bet with a buddy of mine. It's 4 bets, actually.
We both pick a team in the east and west. Add their point totals up at the end of the year and whoever has the highest total points wins. That's one bet, the "Winners" bet.
Same exact thing, except you want to pick a bad team from each conference and the lowest point total wins. The "Losers" bet.
For the 3rd bet, you again pick a west and east team, but you are picking based on them improving their point total from last year's standings. So whoever has the biggest improvement total points wins. "Biggest improvement bet".
And lastly, you again pick a west and east team and you get biggest decrease from last year wins.
Can anyone help me with these 8 teams that I should choose?! It's OK to use the same team twice for separate bets!!
Have fun with Holloway and Broberg 😢
They definitely have a better team on paper than last year. Keys for improved play are: Faulk needs to bounce back, Krug needs to move on, Kyrou needs to stop coughing up the puck so much, and good 2nd and 3rd line centers need to emerge from their forward mix.
Honestly I don't see how they don't score more goals this year. Kyrou will hopefully have a full season of not pouting over something, Holloway and Faksa should add in the teens, and another year of Thomas should mean more production. Obviously everyone has gotten a little better in the Central, but that division has always been the toughest anyway. Should be fun.
I'm ready to be hurt again
Otto and Lindstein lurking....I expect big things
As a fan of the franchise since the beginning, I have to say how great it was to finally see them win a Stanley Cup--However, since then,they have regressed each season, altho they did do much better last season after changing coaches--despite some talent on the roster, realistically, i don't see them making the playoffs this year. (Altho I always want them to do well and win.)😀
Future looks good. This season same as last
second time for hutton to show up in the 5 top wins, wouldn’t be surprised to see him with buffalo too
Blues will be a wagon in 2-3 years I'm hoping
STL local here... havnt even watched the video yet, legit surprised we get one this early. I mean its the midwest we get shit on for a LOT of things, our teams, the schedule (what you mean you didnt want 930pm cst starts for playoff games vs another team in the central time?)... etc.
I think we DO make the playoffs this year, as for making any noise during them? debatable. Is binner hot? How hurt are we? Going back to last year had we been in the East... we would have taken Washingtons spot. This being in a VERY competitive western conf. Also... god... losing 3 to the sharks (the one reason we didnt make the playoffs)... oof.
They are going to give Dvorsky every opportunity to make the roster. Don't be surprised to see him start the season on the team in a top 6 role.
Love the Blues but think they'll probably end up right around where they did last year. Fringe playoff team that could just as easily miss as they could get the 1st or 2nd WC. There are brighter days ahead with all the young talent coming in but not this year. Getting to the playoffs again would be a success.
Like to see Joseph get his...
The ceiling is higher for the blues than it was last year. And they only need to be better than one more team to get a wild card. Faster, bigger, with a lot of potential break out players and lets face it, we don't even know who'll make the starting lineup.
They will be interesting, if nothing else. I’ve been a Blues fan since 1976 and this is one of most unpredictable rosters I can recall. I still think Army unloads a contract or two before the season starts, especially if Krug can play.
My most major concern is that the re-signing of Drew Bannister will end up mirroring the recent coaching change in Vancouver, when Bruce Boudreau had the Canucks just outside the playoffs but the bump in production didn't continue (and Boudreau, consequently, wasn't long for the job). If that doesn't happen, likely because many of the players were more familiar with Bannister from the jump, I think this team's in a good spot even if Krug doesn't end up playing. They _have_ to get better with discipline and fundamentals though, which sounds cliche but was what ultimately drove Berube out, and they have to actually win the games they should against bad teams-if the series against the Sharks had flipped, the Blues would've landed the 8 seed, and all it takes is a ticket to the dance.
I hope both Bolduc and Dvorsky come into camp and steal some spots. It would make the next season even more exciting. They will be trying out Dvorsky, Buchnevich and Holloway at center in camp to see who fits best in the 2c hole. I'm hoping Holloway can fill in until Dvorsky is ready. This season hoping to see these lines:
Bolduc - Thomas - Buchnevich
Neighbours - Holloway - Kyrou
Saad - Dvorsky - Schenn
Texier - Faksa - Joseph
Sunny - Toropchenko
Buchnevich and Neighbours could swap lines if Buchnevich goes to 2c. Holloway and Kyrou would be some speedy wingers for him.
On defense, I think Perunovich is waived, he doesn't provide much outside the PP and we have too many depth D to keep just a PP guy. I see the defense shaking out like this:
Leddy - Parayko
Broberg - Faulk
Suter - Kessel
PO Joseph
Hopefully Leddy and Broberg swap at some point.
Binnington
Hofer
If Dvorsky makes the lineup they will be trading Sadd. Bolduc already earned his spot last year in the top 9 and with his shot should be top 6 and on the power play.
I see the lines as this if the young guns make it out of training camp.
Neighbors - Thomas - Kyrou
Bolduc - Buchnevich - Schenn
Holloway - Texier - Dvorsky
Joseph - Faksa - Toropchenko
Reserves
Walker - Sundquist - Kapanan
Sadd traded.
Leddy - Parayko
Bromberg- Faulk
Perunovich - Kessel
Reserves
Joseph - Tucker
Suter
I don't see Krug returning. His ankle has been bothering him since he joined the Blues.
We all know who the goalies are but if one of them get hurt I don't see an option within the organization that's ready. So they will have to trade for or sign someone to backup if that happens.
@@markhalloran9549 Why would a team that struggles to score last season trade a guy who is good for 20-25 goals? There is no reason in any scenario where it makes sense to trade Saad. You might at the deadline if Blues are out of it, however teams are normally looking for players whose contract ends at the end of the season. There will be injuries and depth is important.
After free agency I expected more of the same from the blues. Standing firm, something small here and there. Then BDD (Big Dick Doug) went after Holloway and Broberg, and got them. Lots of new blood on the blues. I can’t wait to see how it plays out.
With Pred goggles on- the depth impressive,
but you dont exactly get star struck looking at their roster. Good goalie tandem, impossible to like Mr B, though. Blues pretty hard to valuate, most probably down the middle like last year. Them and Jets pretty even steven. Central hard as usual, apart from Atlantic this is the closest div. Some time Chicago will improve and I got no clue how Utah
will respond.
No Halak within goalies really surprised me
Binnington needs an excellent start.
Blues to make the playoffs at +160 is amazing value i got that as one of my main futures this season. they can beat nasvhille or minnesota poissibly hang with colorado and winnipeg
Blues are playoffs bound this year. #LGB
LGB
Wasn’t a fan of Kapanens game last season could see him in Springfield very quickly after the start of the season and Bolduc getting the ice time
You forgot to say Torey Krug in the extras column or unless that was a mistake. I’m very sorry about both of those things.
I'm still worried about Jimmy Snugs
As a Springfield (AHL) fan I follow the blues very closely. The Holloway and Broberg signing is a win/win situation for the parent club and the farm team because we get more talent such as Dvorsky. We will probably see Kessel return and a lot of new faces. Gaudette was a huge loss but it’s the way minor league hockey goes. I am a little concerned about the goaltending because Zherenko got injured and his performance dipped the rest of the time he was healthy. Ellis looked good at first then he at the end of the season he really fizzled.
All the Blues likely need to do is win 3 more games than last year to make the playoffs. With the additions over this summer that seems very doable as long a injuries are within reason this coming year...
Signing P.O Joe just to have him be 7th D seems odd maybe they finally find a taker for Leddy
i think they are a wildcard team. going to depend on their defense. last year the defense was awful. the scoring and goaltending was fine.
Just looking at the comments... Blues fans are so hard on their players. Like saying Kyrou needs to leave . If it comes to locker room culture, I can think of a lot more concerning players (Johansen, dubois). Everything is compared to the Gloria days. We aren't the same team and that's okay. I think Robert Thomas and Kyrou have elite skill and Bannister will get more out of them and the upcoming wave of first round prospects. It's an exciting time to be a blues fan. It's feel like they got back to youth without bottoming out like the sabres, devils and sens had to to draft they way back to optimism. And I think it's important to the culture of the organization to always be playing meaningful games regardless of making the playoffs.
Amen. Army's also got plenty of draft picks over the next couple seasons to wheel and deal with, either as trade chips if we're deadline buyers or to restock the cupboard if we end up being sellers, which I think is unlikely. I don't know why fans have been so nasty to Kyrou in particular, but it has to stop. He makes a lot of money, yeah, but that's no reason to treat him like dirt.
Brandon Saad feels like he should be older than 31 right?
I suppose Nashville's recent moves could backfire spectacularly, the Jets, Wild, Kings and Canucks could regress, and MAYBE Seattle and Utah fail to take the next step... It's gonna be tough for them to make the playoffs as the only absolute locks to miss the post-season in the West are Calgary, San Jose, Anaheim and Chicago...
Im betting they will be a dark horse in the west, they should take at least 5th in the division.
Very sneaky playoff team this year, probably a 8th seed tbh
Just a hockey stat question that you probably might know, I was wondering who had the best scoring season followed by a terrible scoring season? Say a player got 50 goals and 60 assists and then the next year only got 15 goals and 20 assists, must be around the same amount of games played not because of a shortened season because of an injury.
I think Jonathan Huberdeau broke the record for biggest season-to-season point drop off two years ago.
@@dictatorofcanada4238 Good example, wow he must be pissed he got traded from the Panthers.
Thomas will have 100 points this season.
Not emphasized enough is, by losing to SJ they showed they just didn't give a skit.
If their power play wasn't garbage for the first half of the season and they beat crap teams. They would have made the playoffs last year wild card, but still
56% is a tad absurd.
I think the Blues finish in 5th again, unless someone above them in the standings implodes or Utah new defence corps allows them to finish ahead of St Louis. It'll be interesting to see how their shiny new offer sheet acquisitions turn out.
Blues are in the same boat as Minnesota if the season goes south early I don’t think it’s 2019 I think it’s basement with how insane this central division is
In order for the Blues to be a "true contender" they need a true superstar on offense. Ryan O'Reilly was the last one they had and I would put O'Reilly there as superstar as he may not have had typical superstar point totals but was so good all around. Could Thomas become a superstar? If he were to move in that direction this year and several players who had subpar years last year move back to where they could be like Kyrou, Buchnevich, Schenn, and Saad, and Neighbors continue to improve, then the Blues become a solid contender in their division--given the defense is better than last year and goaltending continues to be solid. I also think some of the other additions such as Holloway, the 2 Josephs, and Broberg have them in a better position than last year. Bolduc and Dean could also make the line-up and if they stay that means they're contributing. I have my doubts about Dvorsky--expect him next year.
Thomas is already a superstar. He carried the Blues' offense last year and always against the hardest matchups.
If they're a playoff team, Binnington needs to be near Vezina level...
I hope they finish 32nd then draft 3rd
The blues are so UNBELIEVABLY mid
Says the Pittsburgh fan
The offer sheets improve the team. But right now, I feel this team is very middle of the pack. 6th in the Central with 84-89 points.
It’s not out of the question at all but I feel this team is better on paper than last year and we had 93 points
I don't think they make the playoffs.
Trade Kyrou. Clubhouse cancer.
the blues are a bubble team and will stay that way until they decide to get serious about moving out older players and start developing younger ones. you cant keep adding bottom 6 forwards and bottom pair defensemen to the team and hope to scrape into the playoffs. armstrong has to do what he did when he moved on from players like stastny and shattenkirk so he could bring in better players.o' reilly and schenn. that's how we won the cup and thats why we play the game, not to just make the playoffs and lose in the first round
You must be new here. The Blues have been making the playoffs and losing in the first or second round basically my entire life. The Cup run was a fluke, and by all accounts wasn't supposed to happen at all.
@@donnieanderson9877 uh….that’s what they’ve been doing.
@@dfp_01 Blues were a preseason favorite to win the cup in 18-19. Did they get to the playoffs in an unconventional way... yes. But winning the cup wasn't a fluke, they were a favorite before the season.
Conclusion: Blues are stuck in mediocrity.
Says the butt-hurt Oilers fan
@@claytonwyatt9780 I live in Missouri Einstein, not an Oilers fan.
"Oilers fan" is what you got from the moniker "Hawklord?" Lol.
@@davidroberts1026 If I throw a frisbee will you go away?
Lets go blues