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

[TK 421]

It really could go either way next year, with Yeo running the team nothing would surprise me.

I think the key factor in which way it goes will be goaltending out of any of the individual personnel impacts. How well Allen plays and what Husso can do when he's in could really be either a boost or bust effect (I'm assuming Hutton's play has earned him a nice UFA deal elsewhere).

 

[Ranksu]

Blues situation is such a mess. It sucked we didn't suck that much so we couldn't draft top 10 pick this draft. In other hand its good to lose this year draft pick then next season draft is bigger then this year. (what I've read in here)

Its such a Bluesy way to suck to be 'meh' team, that good we can't draft high or can't get over the top of NHL.

What Jets did and sucked in right time, drafted Laine, Ehlers, Connors, Niku and recently Vesalainen. (btw who is going to be rock solid NHL'er) Now they are top team of West. We can't do what Preds did. Trade away vets for good promising prospects and acquire needed depth.

It hurts so see that Blues best players Tarasenko, Pietro, Schwartz, Schenn are getting older and their primes are now. Imagine when that we're going to suck even more when they start to decline and we finally draft high, but then we're facing re-build.

Its f***ing endless loop where Blues are.

 

[The Note]

So basically we could be better or worse depending on a myriad of situations.

That’s the hard hitting analysis you can only get at HFBlues.

 

[Dbrownss]

Blues situation is such a mess. It sucked we didn't suck that much so we couldn't draft top 10 pick this draft. In other hand its good to lose this year draft pick then next season draft is bigger then this year. (what I've read in here)

Its such a Bluesy way to suck to be 'meh' team, that good we can't draft high or can't get over the top of NHL.

What Jets did and sucked in right time, drafted Laine, Ehlers, Connors, Niku and recently Vesalainen. (btw who is going to be rock solid NHL'er) Now they are top team of West. We can't do what Preds did. Trade away vets for good promising prospects and acquire needed depth.

It hurts so see that Blues best players Tarasenko, Pietro, Schwartz, Schenn are getting older and their primes are now. Imagine when that we're going to suck even more when they start to decline and we finally draft high, but then we're facing re-build.

Its ****ing endless loop where Blues are.

I could only imagine the perpetual meltdowns this forum would have if the Blues went the Jets route. The Predators are very close to the Blues but more things went right for them then the Blues.

As we've seen with those 2 teams. Everything can change in one year.

 

[The Note]

I could only imagine the perpetual meltdowns this forum would have if the Blues went the Jets route. The Predators are very close to the Blues but more things went right for them then the Blues.

As we've seen with those 2 teams. Everything can change in one year.

It’d also be nice if we could at least postpone writing the team off before the draft and free agency. I mean, hell the whole feel of this team could conceivably change later tonight if the Blues pick top 3 (I understand how unlikely that is but still.)

 

[Dbrownss]

It’d also be nice if we could at least postpone writing the team off before the draft and free agency. I mean, hell the whole feel of this team could conceivably change later tonight if the Blues pick top 3 (I understand how unlikely that is but still.)

Yea, the Blues finally have currency to make trades like Nashville did. We have a couple high impact(potential) forwards coming up too

 

[BlueDream]

Blues situation is such a mess. It sucked we didn't suck that much so we couldn't draft top 10 pick this draft. In other hand its good to lose this year draft pick then next season draft is bigger then this year. (what I've read in here)

Its such a Bluesy way to suck to be 'meh' team, that good we can't draft high or can't get over the top of NHL.

What Jets did and sucked in right time, drafted Laine, Ehlers, Connors, Niku and recently Vesalainen. (btw who is going to be rock solid NHL'er) Now they are top team of West. We can't do what Preds did. Trade away vets for good promising prospects and acquire needed depth.

It hurts so see that Blues best players Tarasenko, Pietro, Schwartz, Schenn are getting older and their primes are now. Imagine when that we're going to suck even more when they start to decline and we finally draft high, but then we're facing re-build.

Its ****ing endless loop where Blues are.

Our situation isn’t a mess at all.

I know you love being dramatic but can you ever just be realistic about things and not always try to be as negative as possible?

 

[Ranksu]

Our situation isn’t a mess at all.

I know you love being dramatic but can you ever just be realistic about things and not always try to be as negative as possible?

I think majority in here are too optimistic, nah that is wrong word, majority in here are delusional about Blues getting Tavares.

You really believe Blues will get Tavares? Lets talk about realistic change.

 

[David Dennison]

I guess the deal with NRY isnt done, any chance Tarasenko and Brodeur could make a pitch?

 

[Stealth JD]

Yes...could easily go either way (better or worse) but I was simply responding to the notion that the Blues are too good to find themselves picking top-10 after next season. None of the things I listed were even remotely unlikely...and you throw another injury or slump into the equation and have a couple of vets losing a quarter of a step over the off-season, suddenly the Blues are challenging the Hawks at the wrong end of the standings.

Now, I don’t expect the wheels to come off completely next season, based on the core in place and the apparent urgency that the front office has to improve the roster. But if you miss on Tavares, then can’t get a ROR, RNH, Tyler Johnson, Duchene, etc. suddenly the forecast isn’t so rosy.

As much as Army wants a couple of top-6 forwards, so will every other team in the league. Coming in second place on a multitude of offers and entering next season more or less on par with where we sit today wouldn’t be the most surprising outcome for this franchise’s off-season.

 

[Dbrownss]

I think majority in here are too optimistic, nah that is wrong word, majority in here are delusional about Blues getting Tavares.

You really believe Blues will get Tavares? Lets talk about realistic change.

There is absolutely a chance they get him.

They are a playoff team

Young core

No insane media...seriously, you know this for a fact.

Cap space and owners willing to spend to the cap

A nice "new" arena and soon to be built nice new practice facility.


Now no one knows what Tavares is thinking, but drawing conclusions from what we know, the Blues make sense. Sure its possible he has no interest here but no one knows that. This doesn't require some insane trades or luck. It literally requires 1 guy to say, yes.

 

[TruBlu]

I know everyone is bummed about missing the playoffs, but the main culprit that destroyed us were the number of injuries to quality players. It was a very bad year for injuries for us. It happens. If we get even one more top 6 forward in the lineup next year, and Fabbri is anywhere near his prior form, we are in the top 3 of the division. I just don't see the doom and gloom that some people are projecting onto next season. We are here because we took the medicine and began to ship out the old core after the WCF run. We are just now getting to a position where the tide is back on the rise with our prospects starting to break into the lineup and our overpriced vets dropping off. It's actually a good time for optimism.

 

[Ranksu]

There is absolutely a chance they get him.

They are a playoff team

Young core

No insane media...seriously, you know this for a fact.

Cap space and owners willing to spend to the cap

A nice "new" arena and soon to be built nice new practice facility.


Now no one knows what Tavares is thinking, but drawing conclusions from what we know, the Blues make sense. Sure its possible he has no interest here but no one knows that. This doesn't require some insane trades or luck. It literally requires 1 guy to say, yes.

Its not realistic. Wake up kiddo.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Its not realistic. Wake up kiddo.

I’d give it better odds that Tavares is on our opening roster over Mikkola.

 

[Ranksu]

I’d give it better odds that Tavares is on our opening roster over Mikkola.

You take a bet?

 

[KirkOut]

You take a bet?

There just isn’t a spot for Mikkola and I can’t really see any circumstance where they don’t put him in the AHL to get him up to speed with the North American game

 

[Ranksu]

There just isn’t a spot for Mikkola and I can’t really see any circumstance where they don’t put him in the AHL to get him up to speed with the North American game

No bet?

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Are people really trying to stop the Tavares talk again?

It was juvenile then and it still is. If people want to discuss the possibility, just let them. We are all aware it’s unlikely to happen, but god forbid there are people who actually want to discuss something optimistic.

 

[carter333167]

I’m with Mortiest. I am sick of trading away our top picks. No more, I say. Time to do what we always should have done, build from within ala the jets.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

You take a bet?

I’m a fan of gambling

 

[Dbrownss]

Its not realistic. Wake up kiddo.

As opposed to Norris Mikkola and Vezina Husso? The scenario has been laid out and it is realistic regardless of how likely it is. There's a difference between the 2

 

[TK 421]

I’m with Mortiest. I am sick of trading away our top picks. No more, I say. Time to do what we always should have done, build from within ala the jets.

We have been building from within. Are you suggesting we collect multiple lottery picks like the Jets did? That team failed a bunch to get those players.

Tired of seeing praise for a team that collected a whole bunch of high picks for an extended time. Congrats on not missing the fish in that barrel?

 

[BlueDream]

Are people really trying to stop the Tavares talk again?

It was juvenile then and it still is. If people want to discuss the possibility, just let them. We are all aware it’s unlikely to happen, but god forbid there are people who actually want to discuss something optimistic.

Exactly. Until Bob McKenzie reports this Summer that the Blues are out of the Tavares race, why not discuss the possibility?

His caliber of player may not hit the UFA market again for a long time. It's not like this happens every year. Just let people have fun, damn.

Until we are given a flat out no, you better believe I'm going to hope for it to happen every single day.

 

[Majorityof1]

Are people really trying to stop the Tavares talk again?

It was juvenile then and it still is. If people want to discuss the possibility, just let them. We are all aware it’s unlikely to happen, but god forbid there are people who actually want to discuss something optimistic.

Not people right now, just one person. A person who is either the most pessimistic person on earth, so much so that he revels in bad things happening to confirm his pessimistic world view....or he's a troll who picked Blues fans as the ones he is going to dedicate his life to trolling. You can decide why, just don't take him seriously.

 

[carter333167]

We have been building from within. Are you suggesting we collect multiple lottery picks like the Jets did? That team failed a bunch to get those players.

Tired of seeing praise for a team that collected a whole bunch of high picks for an extended time. Congrats on not missing the fish in that barrel?

So if it's not a top 3 pick, we should trade it away? To get 2-3 years of control over vets who are either about to sign a huge contract or are within 2-3 years of the downturn in their career??

We got Jaden Schwartz at 14, we got Thomas at 20, Toli and Frost went very late first last year. Could we use another player of their caliber, with extensive control over them at a cheap cost for a number of years? I think we could.

Thinking this team is a Hoffman away from contending for the Cup is a pipe dream IMO. Now, if Army had held on to more of those first round picks, we might well be on that type of arc. Bill Armstrong has proven far more skilled at his job than Doug Armstrong.