Blues Discussion Thread 2018-2019

[MortiestOfMortys]

Yep, Van Ryn in for Sydor. I have to admit that surprises me a little bit. The defense, when it clicked, was our team’s engine last year. I guess it just didn’t click often enough. I’m a big fan of Van Ryn though, so I’m happy with the replacement.

Blues name Mike Van Ryn as assistant coach

 

[Stealth JD]

Any idea how long we have Bill Armstrong under contract? I can't imagine that the Blues would let him out of his contract for a lateral move into another organization. Teams will often/usually let guys explore a promotion outside the organization, but are much less willing to let a guy take the same position with another team. Hopefully we have him under contract for another year and Toronto has to fill the position before he is free to go there.

The Director of Amateur Scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs is not a "lateral move" from the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Blues. lol

I'd expect his salary to increase by a factor of 4 at minimum.

 

[Oberyn]

Sydor stepped down to spend more time with his family, I respect that decision. Looking forward to seeing what Van Ryn can do behind the bench.

 

[BlueDream]

The Blues have a talented defense. When you have a core like Pietrangelo, Parayko, Edmundson and Dunn, they should be good no matter who is coaching them.

But still, hopefully we can get some continuity soon. Been a revolving door with Wilson, Sydor, now Van Ryn.

 

[Blueston]

Sydor stepped down to spend more time with his family, I respect that decision. Looking forward to seeing what Van Ryn can do behind the bench.

Do we believe this? Or do we think he was pushed?

 

[Dbrownss]

Do we believe this? Or do we think he was pushed?

its not like Armstrong is afraid to flat out fire guys.....

 

[Dbrownss]

The Blues have a talented defense. When you have a core like Pietrangelo, Parayko, Edmundson and Dunn, they should be good no matter who is coaching them.

But still, hopefully we can get some continuity soon. Been a revolving door with Wilson, Sydor, now Van Ryn.

I hope the Blues walk away from the passive defensive system.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Do we believe this? Or do we think he was pushed?

My mind first went to hoping it isn’t alcohol related, I know he’s had struggles with that before. If he needs to get out of an environment that triggers a drinking reaction from him, you can’t fault the guy. But I sincerely hope it isn’t that, and that he truly is just trying to move on and spend time with the family. We should all be so lucky!

 

[mk80]

All the best to Sydor, I hope he enjoys his time with his family. Van Ryn coached an impressive Tuscon Roadrunners team this season 42-20-5 and brings a solid coaching resume. Last season we had times where the defense clicked and times when it didn't, I think with his coaching background he'll be able to get it turned around.

 

[Daley Tarasenkshow]

Really interested to see how Parayko does with Van Ryn behind the bench now. I feel as if Parayko didn't quite live up to lofty expectations last year yet had a great World Championships playing for team Canada. I almost feel like Sydor was a little too controlling of Parayko, particularly with unleashing his shot considering how well he scored for team Canada. I'm thinking Parayko is the type of player who does better with less structure, so it'll be interesting to see his performance this season.

 

[Brian39]

The Director of Amateur Scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs is not a "lateral move" from the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Blues. lol

I'd expect his salary to increase by a factor of 4 at minimum.

It's literally the same position at another organization. I'm not saying it isn't more money, more appealing, or that it wouldn't be better for the career of B Armstrong. But it is not a position with more responsibility and it doesn't put him closer to being a full GM. Teams are generally unwilling to let a guy out of his contract to go work for another team in the same capacity as their current job. There is an understanding that teams will generally let a guy out of a contract to take a promotion with another team, but significantly less precedent to let a guy out of a contract to do the same job at a more glamorous team.

With the job he has been doing for the Blues, I'd be shocked if we let him out of a contract to go do anything short of being the GM of another NHL team. He's arguably our best asset in the front office.

 

[TruBlu]

We have a great defensive d core. However, outside of Petro, our d doesn't provide much secondary scoring. I think that will improve once Parayko gets it together; Dunn seems to be on the rise. The total output of the team on the scoreboard is abysmal. It's actually pretty amazing we came down to the last game of the season to decide whether we were in or not. 24th in the league in scoring. We outscored Ottawa by 4 goals.

 

[WeWentBlues]

We have a great defensive d core. However, outside of Petro, our d doesn't provide much secondary scoring. I think that will improve once Parayko gets it together; Dunn seems to be on the rise. The total output of the team on the scoreboard is abysmal. It's actually pretty amazing we came down to the last game of the season to decide whether we were in or not. 24th in the league in scoring. We outscored Ottawa by 4 goals.

Didnt we rank in the top 5-10 for goals from defensemen last year?

 

[TruBlu]

Didnt we rank in the top 5-10 for goals from defensemen last year?

I'd have to look, but we probably were at the beginning of the year. I remember hearing that early on. Not so much from January on. Parayko was our second best offensive d Man with a whole 6 goals and 34 points, if that helps...

 

[Robb_K]

Didnt we rank in the top 5-10 for goals from defensemen last year?

The Blues were first in goals by defencemen for the first 2 months of the season, but were passed by several teams by season's end. Don't forget that Edmundson scored a lot early, and even Bertuzzo scored most of his goals during a short period, fairly early. This season, Parayko and Dunn should break out with much more scoring.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Blues tied for 6th in goals by D. ARI, CBJ, NSH, PHI, TBL scored more, FLA tied.

 

[EastonBlues22]

Didnt we rank in the top 5-10 for goals from defensemen last year?

Blues finished tied (with Florida) for 6th in goals from defenseman at 44. Nashville was first at 56.

They finished 17th in points from defensemen at 160. Nashville was first there as well with 206.

 

[TruBlu]

Our D is pretty anemic when you remove Petro from that tally. He basically accounted for one third of the entire defensive group's scoring.

 

[BlueDream]

Petro can hit 50, Parayko and Dunn can hit 30+ points, and Edmundson and hopefully Schmaltz could even hit 20.

Why is anybody worried about offense from the blueline? It's fine.

 

[TruBlu]

I think we'd all like to see some more contribution from the blue line. The success we had in the early part of the season this year was probably largely in part to the secondary scoring we were getting from our defensemen. Petro was burning it up, Edmundson, and even Gunnar, were contributing goals. It all dried up going into December. I know what they are capable of, but we've yet to see it. Simply saying someone can hit a point total doesn't mean it happens. I'm really starting to wonder if Parayko will put it together on the offensive side of things. He's got a wicked shot, but he is nowhere near accurate when he fires it off. He has to get it lower and on net.

 

[Brian39]

Our D is pretty anemic when you remove Petro from that tally. He basically accounted for one third of the entire defensive group's scoring.

I'd be shocked if that wasn't true for almost every team in the top 10 among goals by D men. Removing the best player from a group of 6 is generally going to drastically impact the numbers and 33% of production from the best player who accounts for 17% of the group isn't an unreasonable reliance.

 

[Bluesfan54]

Didn't see this anywhere else, and it's not a huge deal, but the Blues extended their deal with Tulsa for another year.

 

[WeWentBlues]

Hypothetical:

If the Blues sign Kovalchuk, who is the ideal center between Kovy and Vladdy?

 

[kimzey59]

Hypothetical:

If the Blues sign Kovalchuk, who is the ideal center between Kovy and Vladdy?

Sidney Crosby(I would say McDavid, but you want somebody with at least some defensive ability between them)

Semi-realistically though(it would take a bit of cap clearing to actually make this work); it would be really interesting to see a Kovy-Tavares-Vladdy line.
They would definitely be a defensive liability, but that line could easily combine for 110+ goals.

 

[Majorityof1]

Hypothetical:

If the Blues sign Kovalchuk, who is the ideal center between Kovy and Vladdy?

Pietrangelo? Not even a defensive Center is adequate. Just put 3 Dmen back at all times and let Tarasenko and Kovy try to score on their own.

I mean, the move I'd most want to make in conjunction with signing Kovalchuk is to not sign Kovalchuk. Barring that, I'd want to trade Kovalchuk for future considerations.