Speculation: Tavares Tells Toronto, "I'm YOUR Huckleberry Now". Fans leaguewide mourn.

[Evocable Manager]

He's shown that the wing is a better spot for him in Philly, not St. Louis. Any team could use John Tavares, and I agree we should still pursue him. But Schenn is absolutely a 1C "right now." It's anyone's guess how long he can sustain ppg numbers.

Considering his on ice percentages are sky high compared to previous years and league averages, he is almost assuredly going to slip in production.

Which is fine, cause less than 10 players hit P/PG a year.

While he's not going to score 100pts. It would be just as shocking to see him slip back to 50-60pts. Two major differences is Schenn can skate and shoot, Lehtera could do neither. If the Blues have the chance to get Tavares, its a no brainer. Tavares and Schenn down the middle is better then Schenn and whoever down the middle

Why would it be shocking for him to slip down to what his normality is?

Obviously he's better than Lehtera and it would not be surprising if he hit some career high's but underlying numbers suggest he has gotten puck luck and will eventually slip. Again, that doesn't mean he is bad. He's just human. I don't think he'll hit 70, but him reaching 60 for the first time is reasonable.

 

[Dbrownss]

Considering his on ice percentages are sky high compared to previous years and league averages, he is almost assuredly going to slip in production.

Which is fine, cause less than 10 players hit P/PG a year.

Why would it be shocking for him to slip down to what his normality is?

Obviously he's better than Lehtera and it would not be surprising if he hit some career high's but underlying numbers suggest he has gotten puck luck and will eventually slip. Again, that doesn't mean he is bad. He's just human. I don't think he'll hit 70, but him reaching 60 for the first time is reasonable.

Different team and different usage. It seems like quite a few guys are over achieving this years. He would only have to maintain a .72 ppg pace from here on out to hit 70pts. His last 3yr average is .67 ppg. To only get 60pts he would have to under perform and maintain a .59 pace.

His last 3yrs
16-17: .74
15-16: .70
14-15: .57

The 14-15 season is pulling down his average. Given who is wingers are....70pts is completely realistic, even with an inevitable cool down.

 

[Meatball]

Imagine Tavares-Schenn-Stastny down the middle.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Imagine Tavares-Schenn-Stastny down the middle.

Counter that imagine having the actual cap space to run this for next year

Steen - Tavares - Fabbri
Schwartz - Schenn - Tank
Sobotka - Berglund - Jaskin/ one of our rookies
Upshall - Brodz - Sundqvist

Eddy - Pietro
Dunn - Parayko
Walman -Bort

The third line can turn into our shutdown line as opposed to having the 2nd line and 3rd line running as shutdown lines. We don't lose much in terms of two-way play from the forwards either. Look I love Stas but what I put there is actually realistic if all of the cards fall in to place cap wise. Down the line I'm not positive if it could with re signing Pietro which should be priority number one coming here in a year or two. If we have to trade Walman for Tavares in this hypothetical. So be it with as much as our top two pairings could play I think it would be alright to do so.

 

[Ranksu]

Imagine Tavares-Schenn-Stastny down the middle.

Next year its going to be Schenn - Berglund - Sundqvist - Brodziak

 

[simon IC]

Next year its going to be Schenn - Berglund - Sundqvist - Brodziak

Possibly. But I hope it's Schenn-Stastny-Thomas-Sundqvist.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Possibly. But I hope it's Schenn-Stastny-Thomas-Sundqvist.

I vote Schenn, Stastny, Thomas, Barbashev with Sundqvist as the 13th forward.

Tarasenko, Schwartz, Fabbri, Steen, one of Bergy/Sobi, then 3 of Kostin, Thompson, Kyrou, Sanford, and Blais would be the wingers.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Imagine Tavares-Schenn-Stastny down the middle.

And no religion, too?

 

[Brian39]

Considering his on ice percentages are sky high compared to previous years and league averages, he is almost assuredly going to slip in production.

Which is fine, cause less than 10 players hit P/PG a year.

Why would it be shocking for him to slip down to what his normality is?

Obviously he's better than Lehtera and it would not be surprising if he hit some career high's but underlying numbers suggest he has gotten puck luck and will eventually slip. Again, that doesn't mean he is bad. He's just human. I don't think he'll hit 70, but him reaching 60 for the first time is reasonable.

I think it is worth pointing out that he is currently on pace for well over a point per game pace. I don't expect him to finish as a point per game guy, but he has built quite the cushion if the target is 70. He's on pace for 101 points at the moment, so he can still hit 70 points with a massive slide in his current production. His 14% shooting percentage is amazingly right on par with his past 2 seasons, so he shouldn't see a huge dip there. He will certainly see some regression on the score sheet when Schwartz stops shooting over 20%, but Tarasenko is probably due to see a slight uptick in shooting percentage which could limit that regression.

Anyway, he obviously isn't going to be a 100 point guy, but I think 70 points is a very reasonable target and I'd pencil him in for 65 if he stays healthy. I think this is more than just a hot streak. He and Schwartz compliment each other very well and Tarasenko is going to boost the stats of most guys in the league. He hit 59 and 55 (on pace for 57) in his last 2 years in Philly. I think his new usage and line mates are worth more than 1-3 points for his current production. Especially with his hot start. He'll push 70 points if his hot streak ends next game and he plays the remainder of the season like he played for the sum of last season.

 

[Brian39]

Imagine Tavares-Schenn-Stastny down the middle.

Like about 10 other teams, we become Cup favorites if we just plug Tavares into the lineup without losing a key roster guy. It's fun to think about.

 

[simon IC]

Quick question, why does it seem like everyone is determined that Barbashev is a C? I swear, I remember him playing RW when he first played for the Blues, and also in the AHL. I could be wrong, (and yes I'm too lazy to look it up right now ), but if he pulls his head out of his ***, he could be our 2nd RW.

 

[Ranksu]

Possibly. But I hope it's Schenn-Stastny-Thomas-Sundqvist.

I thought many posters have noted Stastny might not come back If contract starts with 5mill.$ OFC term is biggest reason, long term absolute no-no and short term 1-3 years maybe If cap isn't high which I don't believe.

Correct me wrong can we afford 5mill.$ x 3-years with Stastny?

 

[Evocable Manager]

Quick question, why does it seem like everyone is determined that Barbashev is a C? I swear, I remember him playing RW when he first played for the Blues, and also in the AHL. I could be wrong, (and yes I'm too lazy to look it up right now ), but if he pulls his head out of his ***, he could be our 2nd RW.

Well his first few games he was replacing Brodziak as the 4C (Brodz was injured). He played very well, was moved up but when we were fully healthy he was moved to RW for like maybe 5 games? Then Stastny got hurt and things were normal. As for AHL, I've no idea.

He can play any position.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Rumors going around that a 3M increase in the cap next year is possible. If the Blues want Tavares, I don't see anyone in the Western Conference that could make a better pitch.

Also, imagine grabbing Simmonds, too:

Fabbri Tavares Tarasenko
Schwartz Schenn Simmonds
Sobotka Berglund Jaskin/rookie

 

[ZigZagBluesFan]

This team has never been in a better situation to add a player like Tavares. The future and supporting cast is an easy sell, the cap flexibility is there, the prospects to make a trade to facilitate the deal are there, a dearth of prospects to keep the pipeline going even with a trade involving a couple of our better prospects is there, and we have an owner that seems likely to approve a major deal like this.

I really hope they can find a way to make this happen because chances are this franchise will never have a better window for a cup than they do right now for the next several years if they add John Tavares.

 

[Ranksu]

Brayden Schenn adjusted point for this season. 32+70=102

I think we've found our 1c.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Brayden Schenn adjusted point for this season. 32+70=102

I think we've found our 1c.

I'm fine with Tavares playing 2RW in a BlueNote

 

[HighNote]

Brayden Schenn adjusted point for this season. 32+70=102

I think we've found our 1c.

 

[Dbrownss]

I'm fine with Tavares playing 2RW in a BlueNote

Im fine with Stastny being a 3c again

 

[BleedBlue14]

Im fine with Stastny being a 3c again

Tomato - Potato

 

[Dbrownss]

Tomato - Potato

Oranges and apples

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Oranges and apples

Walnuts and Pecans

 

[TK 421]

This team has never been in a better situation to add a player like Tavares. The future and supporting cast is an easy sell, the cap flexibility is there, the prospects to make a trade to facilitate the deal are there, a dearth of prospects to keep the pipeline going even with a trade involving a couple of our better prospects is there, and we have an owner that seems likely to approve a major deal like this.

I really hope they can find a way to make this happen because chances are this franchise will never have a better window for a cup than they do right now for the next several years if they add John Tavares.

I strongly agree with this post. As a long time fan (31 years), I cant remember the stars aligning in so many facets the way they are now. There is no current Western powerhouse and we are well set up to make this type of move. If I step back into helicopter view I'm seeing a big picture that looks like our very best opportunity to win a Cup in my 31 years as a fan.

What makes me feel even better is that if for whatever reason we can't get Tavares we have a very solid plan B that involves a known commodity in Statsny and a very good top 6 center prospect whose defensive play at a young age indicates a strong possibility of him being ready as soon as next season.

When so many things line up you have to recognize your opportunity and reinforce the current core group who are all in their prime. Our current lineup problems are relatively easy fixes. We're needing more from our 3rd line but we have as of yet unseen options including a vet in Berglund, the possibility of Barbashev, Blais, Megan etc as a late season add and of course we could go outside the org via trade. Lots of options for fixing the 3rd line scoring that cost either nothing or very little. Very excited to see how the rest of this season plays out.

 

[Xerloris]

Rumors going around that a 3M increase in the cap next year is possible. If the Blues want Tavares, I don't see anyone in the Western Conference that could make a better pitch.

Also, imagine grabbing Simmonds, too:

Fabbri Tavares Tarasenko
Schwartz Schenn Simmonds
Sobotka Berglund Jaskin/rookie

I guess I missed something but how did the Waynetrain get brought into this?

 

[Oberyn]

Simmonds will cost a lot. Not really interesting in trading one of our top prospects for him. I'm also worried that his performance will begin to deteriorate due to his style of play.