Half-Assed GDT: STL @ DAL

[BlueDream]

Peru and Krug can and should both be regulars in this lineup. I'm not saying Peru is untouchable in trade for someone liky Chyrcrun, but when he is healthy he is absolutely one of our top 6 and should be back in the lineup.

So who from last night is Perunovich replacing? Our defense finally looked good, none of them deserve to come out.

Both are undersized Dmen. Krug IMO does his best work when he's on the offensive. My bone to pick with Krug has been (again IMO) that he's not really a Dman, but a forward. He has moments when he plays really slick D but more often than not he allows chances on botched plays and that's the cost you pay for a guy that's really good at putting up points. If he was a bigger guy who used their size he'd be absolutely frightening.

Peru I refuse to speak on because he's new and he's working on his game. I love what I see out of him so far and I'm hoping that he might actually bulk up abit too.

Saying all of that, we can absolutely shelter both and be a contender.

Disagree. I’m not sure how we can sit here after watching this mess of a defense for most of the season and come to that conclusion. Having only 4 d-men that can PK in your lineup is a major deficiency. If one of them is in the box, you can’t even run 2 full PK units.

We don’t need to make a decision on Perunovich’s future just yet, but he’s currently not one of our 6 best D and not a ‘must have’ in the lineup. He’s a flawed player that we already have a better version of, and a lot of people still don’t like the better version of him.

 

[ezcreepin]

So who from last night is Perunovich replacing? Our defense finally looked good, none of them deserve to come out.


Disagree. I’m not sure how we can sit here after watching this mess of a defense for most of the season and come to that conclusion. Having only 4 d-men that can PK in your lineup is a major deficiency. If one of them is in the box, you can’t even run 2 full PK units.

We don’t need to make a decision on Perunovich’s future just yet, but he’s currently not one of our 6 best D and not a ‘must have’ in the lineup. He’s a flawed player that we already have a better version of, and a lot of people still don’t like the better version of him.

One problem is we don't have a guy on the 3rd pairing who is good enough to make up for Perunovich's mistakes, and you're not going to be pairing him with Parayko or Faulk to mess up any chemistry that has been built. Scandella and Bortuzzo alone aren't enough to shelter him if they want Perunovich playing like 18-19 minutes a night like they initially were doing, but if you want to shelter him AND play him fewer minutes while giving Scandella a few nights off, then that could work. I don't know if keeping him down in the AHL is going to do much for his development if he is destroying the league, and idk if he'll be learning defense better down there rather than up in the NHL. I'm not a coach nor do I understand those intricacies, but I would wager he's probably best served up here.

 

[GoldenSeal]

So who from last night is Perunovich replacing? Our defense finally looked good, none of them deserve to come out.


Disagree. I’m not sure how we can sit here after watching this mess of a defense for most of the season and come to that conclusion. Having only 4 d-men that can PK in your lineup is a major deficiency. If one of them is in the box, you can’t even run 2 full PK units.

We don’t need to make a decision on Perunovich’s future just yet, but he’s currently not one of our 6 best D and not a ‘must have’ in the lineup. He’s a flawed player that we already have a better version of, and a lot of people still don’t like the better version of him.

Half the team is out and we’re winning games and picking up points. We need our vets to show up more and play to their level. The D isn’t pretty but it’s not our biggest problem. We got passengers and they NEED to show up.

 

[Blueston]

So who from last night is Perunovich replacing? Our defense finally looked good, none of them deserve to come out.


Disagree. I’m not sure how we can sit here after watching this mess of a defense for most of the season and come to that conclusion. Having only 4 d-men that can PK in your lineup is a major deficiency. If one of them is in the box, you can’t even run 2 full PK units.

We don’t need to make a decision on Perunovich’s future just yet, but he’s currently not one of our 6 best D and not a ‘must have’ in the lineup. He’s a flawed player that we already have a better version of, and a lot of people still don’t like the better version of him.

I honestly don't know what our best 6 is yet. We are still sorting out our D. Can Miko handle top 4 assignment? Will Scandella regain his confidence? If so, is he better option in top 4? Is Parayko better with Miko or is he just getting his crap together? With so many forwards out are we better off going with 7d?

 

[Blueston]

One problem is we don't have a guy on the 3rd pairing who is good enough to make up for Perunovich's mistakes, and you're not going to be pairing him with Parayko or Faulk to mess up any chemistry that has been built. Scandella and Bortuzzo alone aren't enough to shelter him if they want Perunovich playing like 18-19 minutes a night like they initially were doing, but if you want to shelter him AND play him fewer minutes while giving Scandella a few nights off, then that could work. I don't know if keeping him down in the AHL is going to do much for his development if he is destroying the league, and idk if he'll be learning defense better down there rather than up in the NHL. I'm not a coach nor do I understand those intricacies, but I would wager he's probably best served up here.

The kid has played like 12 games. I don't know that we can safely say he will make more mistakes 3 months from now than Scandella or Krug or whomever. I do know we can safely say that his offensive skills, especially but not exclusively on the PP, add an element to this team that makes us more potent.

 

[Blueston]

Half the team is out and we’re winning games and picking up points. We need our vets to show up more and play to their level. The D isn’t pretty but it’s not our biggest problem. We got passengers and they NEED to show up.

Who do you consider passengers at this point? We have some guys playing at less than full strength but not sure anyone is giving less than full effort currently.

 

[ezcreepin]

The kid has played like 12 games. I don't know that we can safely say he will make more mistakes 3 months from now than Scandella or Krug or whomever. I do know we can safely say that hi offensive skills, especially but not exclusively on the PP, add an element to this team that makes us more potent.

Oh I'm definitely not disagreeing here. I would much rather have him in the lineup getting experience than just sitting on the bench or even being in the AHL. I'm just speaking to the people who think that Perunovich isn't capable of being on this team right now, which I don't think is a reasonable opinion. His skill on the pp is extremely valuable and he's much more skilled than Parayko, Faulk, and maybe even Krug just skill wise. Krug has more seasoning and knows where to pick his spots which is why he is so effective. As far as defensively, I worry pairing him with Bortuzzo or Scandella will weaken the blueline, but I think I'm more comfortable with that than playing a struggling Scandella. That wasn't necessarily an option 10 games ago, but the healthier we get, the more luxury we have taking guys out when they don't look "right".

 

[simon IC]

I am not sure I am down with sitting Scandella or Mikkola to let Perunovich gain experience. Somebody has to play defense. Do we have enough defensively sound defensemen to shelter both Krug and Perunovich? Another factor, (that I am surprised has not been brought up yet), is that Perunovich does not have to clear waivers. Mikkola does. I understand that Perunovich is definitely NHL ready, but I really don't think it will hurt his development to spend this season traveling back and forth from Springfield.

 

[execwrite1]

Seems clearer now that Perunovich needs more time in the AHL. Either that or sits in the press box here and plays once a week or so.

 

[Blueston]

I am not sure I am down with sitting Scandella or Mikkola to let Perunovich gain experience. Somebody has to play defense. Do we have enough defensively sound defensemen to shelter both Krug and Perunovich? Another factor, (that I am surprised has not been brought up yet), is that Perunovich does not have to clear waivers. Mikkola does. I understand that Perunovich is definitely NHL ready, but I really don't think it will hurt his development to spend this season traveling back and forth from Springfield.

We need to peak entering playoffs. What will best put us in that position? Will Peru be better in May if he plays up here or in Springfield? I think up here. He is so talented that he can get away with things in Springfield that he can’t here. That is what he needs to learn. Sitting out to watch from time to time is fine, but sending him down for next couple months is I think counterproductive.

 

[Blueston]

Seems clearer now that Perunovich needs more time in the AHL. Either that or sits in the press box here and plays once a week or so.

That isn’t clear at all.

 

[Reality Czech]

We need to peak entering playoffs. What will best put us in that position? Will Peru be better in May if he plays up here or in Springfield? I think up here. He is so talented that he can get away with things in Springfield that he can’t here. That is what he needs to learn. Sitting out to watch from time to time is fine, but sending him down for next couple months is I think counterproductive.

Definitely get what you're saying but I don't think it would hurt him to go down for a bit. Give him the hardest D assignments in Springfield, give him some PK time and see how he responds. If circumstances were different I'd keep him up, but I really like the way our other 6 guys fit together right now. With all the injuries we've had, he might be back up soon anyway.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

We need to peak entering playoffs. What will best put us in that position? Will Peru be better in May if he plays up here or in Springfield? I think up here. He is so talented that he can get away with things in Springfield that he can’t here. That is what he needs to learn. Sitting out to watch from time to time is fine, but sending him down for next couple months is I think counterproductive.

This is where I've landed on this issue.

He's smart and adaptable. Perunovich needs to do a couple more faceplants and he will be fine.

My expectation is that he never repeats a prior mistake. First major mistake was the 2-on-1. Second one was the breakaway. Hopefully, his next faceplant is not on a 2-on-1 or a breakaway.

 

[joe galiba]

Scandella and Borts
2 guys who will stand in front of the net and hit people
and go to the corner and win a decent share of 50/50's
then what?
flip it to center ice to the other team? over and over?
Peru, after only a few games, after missing all of last year, is already light years ahead of both getting the puck out of our zone with possession and transitioning to offense
if Borts or Scandella cannot cover for Peru's perceived shortcomings then maybe they are the part that needs replacing

 

[BlueMed]

Scandella and Borts
2 guys who will stand in front of the net and hit people
and go to the corner and win a decent share of 50/50's
then what?
flip it to center ice to the other team? over and over?
Peru, after only a few games, after missing all of last year, is already light years ahead of both getting the puck out of our zone with possession and transitioning to offense
if Borts or Scandella cannot cover for Peru's perceived shortcomings then maybe they are the part that needs replacing

Perunovich is effective once he gets the puck. In terms of boxing out opposing forwards, bringing a physical presence, and defending alone, it's not happening. And no one can convince me that Faulk can't replace him on the second power play unit.

 

[joe galiba]

Perunovich is effective once he gets the puck. In terms of boxing out opposing forwards, bringing a physical presence, and defending alone, it's not happening. And one can convince me that Faulk can't replace him on the second power play unit.

Physical defender to me means allowing the other team to have the puck so you can run into them, I would rather have the puck
defending in your own zone is more staying between the attacking player and the goal until your team can win the puck - skating/reach/hockey sense is what is important
and nobody clears the front of the net anymore, the rules don't allow it like it used to be - getting to the rebound first and doing something positive with it is what is needed - body mass is part of this, so is reach, quickness, anticipation, and actually having the skills to do something with the puck when you do win it
Nick Lidstrom played in a much more physical era, he didn't win all his Norris trophies by punishing guys in front of the net or in the corners

 

[Blueston]

Physical defender to me means allowing the other team to have the puck so you can run into them, I would rather have the puck
defending in your own zone is more staying between the attacking player and the goal until your team can win the puck - skating/reach/hockey sense is what is important
and nobody clears the front of the net anymore, the rules don't allow it like it used to be - getting to the rebound first and doing something positive with it is what is needed - body mass is part of this, so is reach, quickness, anticipation, and actually having the skills to do something with the puck when you do win it
Nick Lidstrom played in a much more physical era, he didn't win all his Norris trophies by punishing guys in front of the net or in the corners

100%.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Perunovich is effective once he gets the puck. In terms of boxing out opposing forwards, bringing a physical presence, and defending alone, it's not happening. And no one can convince me that Faulk can't replace him on the second power play unit.

In three years with the Blues Faulk had a grand total of ten points on the PP and that's with him being the main fixture on the second PP last year. This year in 14 games Perunovich has three. Faulk has not carried over his offensive production from the Canes to the Blues (probably due to Berube wanting him to play more of a 2-way game). In our system Faulk really isn't that great of a PPQB, which is totally fine because he's contributing in other aspects of the game. But, if Krug goes down, our PP without having Krug or Perunovich in the wings is going to suffer horribly.

 

[Brian39]

Physical defender to me means allowing the other team to have the puck so you can run into them, I would rather have the puck
defending in your own zone is more staying between the attacking player and the goal until your team can win the puck - skating/reach/hockey sense is what is important
and nobody clears the front of the net anymore, the rules don't allow it like it used to be - getting to the rebound first and doing something positive with it is what is needed - body mass is part of this, so is reach, quickness, anticipation, and actually having the skills to do something with the puck when you do win it
Nick Lidstrom played in a much more physical era, he didn't win all his Norris trophies by punishing guys in front of the net or in the corners

You're describing it like a defender's job is to just wait around until the other team either gives up the puck for no reason or one of the forwards helps out enough to strip it. I'm not sure if it is intentional or not, but you are massively underselling what defense actually looks like in the NHL. I 100% agree that defending is moving away from pure physicality, that you can defend without being a big monster, and that transition out of the zone is critical toward limiting goals. But NHL players are too good for your defensive strategy to just be staying between the attacking player and the puck.

Perunovich is well below NHL average in just about every defensive skill besides transitioning once he gets the puck. He has a well below average reach. His strength is well below average. His hockey sense when the other team has the puck is well below average. His gap control is below average. His shot blocking is below average. His skating is pretty good, but it is not so good that it allows him to consistently win races by enough margin that he avoids the (what should be) 50/50 battles that he loses 80% of the time due to his size. He doesn't clog passing lanes especially well. He's not effective at staying between the attacking puck carrier and the goal. He's also not effective at clogging passing lanes and checking his man when the puck carrier is away from him.

Being a physical player is not just about hitting the puck carrier. It is about winning 50/50 pucks, disrupting a player trying to receive a pass, and staying/getting into position to effectively clear rebounds. Most races to rebounds are decided not based on the speed of the players, but based on who won the better position before the initial shot was even taken. Incredibly fast players can win races that they shouldn't, but I haven't seen that type of speed by Perunovich. He's often either starting the race a step behind due to losing a physical battle or he's starting in the right position but off balance already as a result of the contact he took to get there.

Perunovich is skilled at transitioning the puck, but it is quite literally his only plus skill defensively. And what you do once you get the puck is absolutely not 50% of defensive play. I'm in favor of feeding minutes to Perunovich and I think that his strengths can cover up a lot of his weaknesses. But acting like he is just as good defensively as our other defenders because he can move the puck out of trouble is not accurate.

 

[Brian39]

In three years with the Blues Faulk had a grand total of ten points on the PP and that's with him being the main fixture on the second PP last year. This year in 14 games Perunovich has three. Faulk has not carried over his offensive production from the Canes to the Blues (probably due to Berube wanting him to play more of a 2-way game). In our system Faulk really isn't that great of a PPQB, which is totally fine because he's contributing in other aspects of the game. But, if Krug goes down, our PP without having Krug or Perunovich in the wings is going to suffer horribly.

Faulk was absolutely not a main fixture on the 2nd unit last year. Dunn was the QB of that unit and sometimes it would have Faulk on it when we were missing a guy or two. Faulk was 14th in PP TOI per game for the Blues last year. Perunovich already has over 20% of the PP ice time that Faulk has had over his entire career as a Blue (32:21 to 149:57). Framing it as 3 years vs 14 games is ludicrous. Perunovich is on pace to put up 14 PP points over 149:57 in powerplay time. Better than Faulk's 10, but not remotely close to the gap in production you implied. I think the 2nd unit is better with Perunovich than Faulk. But I don't think that gap is so high that you make Perunovich untouchable in a trade that tangibly improves the roster in some area.

I'm not advocating for a Perunovich trade, but I don't think that "what do we do while Krug is hurt" is enough of a reason to ignore that possibility.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Faulk was absolutely not a main fixture on the 2nd unit last year. Dunn was the QB of that unit and sometimes it would have Faulk on it when we were missing a guy or two. Faulk was 14th in PP TOI per game for the Blues last year. Perunovich already has over 20% of the PP ice time that Faulk has had over his entire career as a Blue (32:21 to 149:57). Framing it as 3 years vs 14 games is ludicrous. Perunovich is on pace to put up 14 PP points over 149:57 in powerplay time. Better than Faulk's 10, but not remotely close to the gap in production you implied. I think the 2nd unit is better with Perunovich than Faulk. But I don't think that gap is so high that you make Perunovich untouchable in a trade that tangibly improves the roster in some area.

I'm not advocating for a Perunovich trade, but I don't think that "what do we do while Krug is hurt" is enough of a reason to ignore that possibility.

I'll admit I forgot about Dunn. Which probably says more about how I feel about Dunn and his time here more than anything.

 

[BlueMed]

I'm happy to keep Perunovich for the rest of this season, but come next off season, it's time to start thinking about what you can get for Tarasenko+Perunovich.

 

[BlueDream]

Physical defender to me means allowing the other team to have the puck so you can run into them, I would rather have the puck
defending in your own zone is more staying between the attacking player and the goal until your team can win the puck - skating/reach/hockey sense is what is important
and nobody clears the front of the net anymore, the rules don't allow it like it used to be - getting to the rebound first and doing something positive with it is what is needed - body mass is part of this, so is reach, quickness, anticipation, and actually having the skills to do something with the puck when you do win it
Nick Lidstrom played in a much more physical era, he didn't win all his Norris trophies by punishing guys in front of the net or in the corners

Perunovich currently has worse possession numbers than both. If he actually had the puck a lot and we were outshooting opponents while he was on the ice, you’d have a case. But it’s the opposite, despite him getting heavily sheltered minutes by getting to start in the O-Zone 81% of the time.

He’s a skilled guy. But at even strength, he’s really not doing basically anything to help us.

Let’s put it this way: Walman, Mikkola and Calle Rosen (yes, the guy who played 5 games) all have more even strength points than Perunovich.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I'm happy to keep Perunovich for the rest of this season, but come next off season, it's time to start thinking about what you can get for Tarasenko+Perunovich.

Wow!

That is spicy!!

 

[execwrite1]

Wow!

That is spicy!!

Perunovich will be exposed and end up a career AHLer.

How's that for spicy?