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

[MissouriMook]

I think Seabrook is Seattle bound. Until then he's saddled in Chicago.

Not unless he agrees to it. I’m pretty sure he has a full NMC.

 

[Brian39]

Not unless he agrees to it. I’m pretty sure he has a full NMC.

Seabrook does have a full NMC, so you are correct that he'd have to agree to it. I also don't think that Seattle would take him without a substantial payoff. At that point, the Hawks would probably be better off using a compliance buyout that is bound to be a part of the next CBA.

 

[Sempiternal]

Difficult Central division and shaky Jake Allen might scare John Tavares away from playing for the Blues. I do think he'd mesh well with the team though.

 

[Dbrownss]

Difficult Central division and shaky Jake Allen might scare John Tavares away from playing for the Blues. I do think he'd mesh well with the team though.

Goalies are too much of a wildcard to base long term commitment on. Examples this year....Hellebyuck and Price....

 

[EastonBlues22]

If we're talking about factors affecting where a player might choose to spend the next seven years or so of his career, I feel like a team's current goalie is pretty far down that list...if it's even on there at all.

 

[Brian39]

If we're talking about factors affecting where a player might choose to spend the next seven years or so of his career, I feel like a team's current goalie is pretty far down that list...if it's even on there at all.

I agree, but Tavares has gone through some brutal goaltending with the Isles that have been a huge part of that team's lack of success. I don't think a team's current goalie would be much of a con if they are unstable/weak in net. However, I could see him viewing a stable/strong goaltending situation as a big pro if it appears that the position will stay that way for the future. For example, SJ has Jones locked up for the next 6 years and he is only 28. If Tavares is confident in Jones over that window, he could view it as a good selling point that we can't match.

 

[EastonBlues22]

I agree, but Tavares has gone through some brutal goaltending with the Isles that have been a huge part of that team's lack of success. I don't think a team's current goalie would be much of a con if they are unstable/weak in net. However, I could see him viewing a stable/strong goaltending situation as a big pro if it appears that the position will stay that way for the future. For example, SJ has Jones locked up for the next 6 years and he is only 28. If Tavares is confident in Jones over that window, he could view it as a good selling point that we can't match.

I think we tend to view these decisions from a fan's perspective, and I question how well that aligns with what the player's themselves are actually considering.

Tavares is contemplating a major life change...a potential new employer and new city to live in. The overall quality and condition of the organization will certainly be a factor, but will it come down to a player-by-player or position-by-position analysis? I doubt it. He's young and dating, so that perception of the city's entertainment/nightlife might matter. Geography might matter if he wants to stay close to family, or if he prefers a certain climate. He's likely going to start a family during this new contract, so a whole slew of things related to that (including how happy his potential wife is with the thought of moving to said place) might matter. The money and terms of the contract will certainly matter.

Players come and go, as they themselves are acutely aware, but many of those other things aren't going to change for the next seven years.

Flipping things around a bit, if you were switching locations and jobs, how heavily would the specific people you would directly working with factor into your decision (over things like money, location, family considerations, quality of the organization, etc.) regarding which job to take? I'm guessing for most people, it would matter very little. I'd even go so far as to say that most people wouldn't think about their coworkers at all until after they've already accepted the position.

 

[stl76]

I think we tend to view these decisions from a fan's perspective, and I question how well that aligns with what the player's themselves are actually considering.

Tavares is contemplating a major life change...a potential new employer and new city to live in. The overall quality and condition of the organization will certainly be a factor, but will it come down to a player-by-player or position-by-position analysis? I doubt it. He's young and dating, so that perception of the city's entertainment/nightlife might matter. Geography might matter if he wants to stay close to family, or if he prefers a certain climate. He's likely going to start a family during this new contract, so a whole slew of things related to that (including how happy his potential wife is with the thought of moving to said place) might matter. The money and terms of the contract will certainly matter.

Players come and go, as they themselves are acutely aware, but many of those other things aren't going to change for the next seven years.

Flipping things around a bit, if you were switching locations and jobs, how heavily would the specific people you would directly working with factor into your decision (over things like money, location, family considerations, quality of the organization, etc.) regarding which job to take? I'm guessing for most people, it would matter very little. I'd even go so far as to say that most people wouldn't think about their coworkers at all until after they've already accepted the position.

Point of clarification: Tavares is already engaged to his highschool sweetheart, he proposed to her last August LINK.

No idea if they're married yet, but I believe his wife/fiance is a physician, which may be a potential issue for any location change due to medical licensing and stuff...can't say for certain as the medical field is beyond my realm of professional expertise.

 

[EastonBlues22]

Point of clarification: Tavares is already engaged to his highschool sweetheart, he proposed to her last August LINK.

No idea if they're married yet, but I believe his wife/fiance is a physician, which may be a potential issue for any location change due to medical licensing and stuff...can't say for certain as the medical field is beyond my realm of professional expertise.

Licensing for health professions is done by state boards. She can obtain a license in a new state, but there's a review process (and potentially other requirements) that takes a decent chunk of time. Beyond that, there's the additional hassle of leaving an established position and trying to establish a new one.

 

[Ranksu]

Difficult Central division and shaky Jake Allen might scare John Tavares away from playing for the Blues. I do think he'd mesh well with the team though.

I could kind of see it all comes that -"hey I would love to join the Blues, but you guys have S-sshakey Jakey as a #1 goaltender, pass".

 

[mk80]

I think we tend to view these decisions from a fan's perspective, and I question how well that aligns with what the player's themselves are actually considering.

Tavares is contemplating a major life change...a potential new employer and new city to live in. The overall quality and condition of the organization will certainly be a factor, but will it come down to a player-by-player or position-by-position analysis? I doubt it. He's young and dating, so that perception of the city's entertainment/nightlife might matter. Geography might matter if he wants to stay close to family, or if he prefers a certain climate. He's likely going to start a family during this new contract, so a whole slew of things related to that (including how happy his potential wife is with the thought of moving to said place) might matter. The money and terms of the contract will certainly matter.

Players come and go, as they themselves are acutely aware, but many of those other things aren't going to change for the next seven years.

Flipping things around a bit, if you were switching locations and jobs, how heavily would the specific people you would directly working with factor into your decision (over things like money, location, family considerations, quality of the organization, etc.) regarding which job to take? I'm guessing for most people, it would matter very little. I'd even go so far as to say that most people wouldn't think about their coworkers at all until after they've already accepted the position.

This is spot on! I always equate it (because of similarities) to a prospective college recruit looking at their options, do they like the degree program, campus, campus life, do they like that school's athletic facilities, and program philosophy, do they want to go far from or close to home, etc.

Tavares is doing just that on a grand scale, evaluating where the best place is to bring up a future family, stability and security in his life, etc. first and foremost. Then I the athletic perspective kicks in after that, for the organization. But overall having player x on the team over player y is the least of his concerns as you stated.

 

[Brian39]

I think we tend to view these decisions from a fan's perspective, and I question how well that aligns with what the player's themselves are actually considering.

Tavares is contemplating a major life change...a potential new employer and new city to live in. The overall quality and condition of the organization will certainly be a factor, but will it come down to a player-by-player or position-by-position analysis? I doubt it. He's young and dating, so that perception of the city's entertainment/nightlife might matter. Geography might matter if he wants to stay close to family, or if he prefers a certain climate. He's likely going to start a family during this new contract, so a whole slew of things related to that (including how happy his potential wife is with the thought of moving to said place) might matter. The money and terms of the contract will certainly matter.

Players come and go, as they themselves are acutely aware, but many of those other things aren't going to change for the next seven years.

Flipping things around a bit, if you were switching locations and jobs, how heavily would the specific people you would directly working with factor into your decision (over things like money, location, family considerations, quality of the organization, etc.) regarding which job to take? I'm guessing for most people, it would matter very little. I'd even go so far as to say that most people wouldn't think about their coworkers at all until after they've already accepted the position.

I think it's hard to make a one to one comparison between teammates and co-workers. Teammates are directly involved/responsible for winning a championship, which is the ultimate professional goal for most athletes. My coworkers are significantly less responsible for my own professional success than the teammates of an athlete, so I'm going to consider them much less than an athlete should consider potential teammates. If a specific potential coworker had some specialty/attribute that put me in significantly better position to succeed professionally, that's absolutely going to be a consideration for me.

Again, I don't think that a specific teammate or positional strength will be his highest priority, but I do think it is a consideration if an organization has component of their team resolved for the majority of his 7 year deal. I think Tarasenko is a 'pro' of whatever offer the Blues make. Tavares knows that he will get to play with an elite goal scorer if he comes here and it is reasonable to believe that Tarasenko is here for the majority of the 7 year deal since he is under contract another 5 years. That's one fewer piece of the puzzle that the organization needs to fill. No matter how highly he thinks of the organization making an offer, a team with 5 more puzzle pieces to assemble is likely less enticing than a team with 2 more puzzle pieces to assemble.

All this falls under the, 'best chance to win a Cup' umbrella. While the overall structure of an organization is a key component of that, I think the actual on ice roster composition is a big factor (both the current state of the roster and the projected state of the roster moving forward short and long term). While we have a lot of positives in this regard (especially on a long term scale), our goaltending isn't as promising as the goalie situations of other teams who will be making offers. I think our pros outweigh this negative, but none of us know what Tavares is thinking. If his biggest complaint about the Islanders was goaltending instability/performance, I could see him being hesitant to go to a team whose biggest question mark is in goal if there is a comparable offer/situation is from a team with stability in net.

 

[Ranksu]

I just love where this thread is going. Love it.

 

[Dbrownss]

I think it will just boil down to how Army sells the team. If he is "all in" and will be aggressive to correct issues, I dont think current negatives will be as bad. Jones was mentioned, but iirc....he kinda crashed this season too. Goalies are just too damn up and down to bank on long term imo. Would I try to sell Allen as a key piece? f*** no.... but if it came up, I'd point to the 2016 run.

 

[Ranksu]

I think it will just boil down to how Army sells the team. If he is "all in" and will be aggressive to correct issues, I dont think current negatives will be as bad. Jones was mentioned, but iirc....he kinda crashed this season too. Goalies are just too damn up and down to bank on long term imo. Would I try to sell Allen as a key piece? **** no.... but if it came up, I'd point to the 2016 run.

Allen run was one round then he fall down when we faced Sharks.

 

[Shwabeal]

Allen run was one round then he fall down when we faced Sharks.

I think DBrowns meant last year so 2017. Allen only started 2 games in 2016 against the Sharks in the WCF and went 1-1 and made 2 saves in relief of Elliott in another game. Allen only played 1 game before that series and it was in relief of Elliott when he allowed 4 goals on 7 shots against the Stars. On another note, the Blues lost that game only allowing 14 shots

 

[HighNote]

2016 was Elliott. 2017 was Allen and we lost to the Preds.

 

[Dbrownss]

Yea meant 2017....always mix up the 2nd half of the years

 

[BlueDream]

The players on the team might not be the biggest factor but I believe are definitely part of the equation at least.

Like it's been said, marketing Tarasenko to be attached to his hip definitely can't hurt us. Neither can having Pietrangelo (who he is friends with) as the #1 D. Those 2 should be good selling points. With Tavares in the fold, there is 3 legitimate star players at their position which basically makes us a championship caliber team by themselves. That's an insane trio that can match up to any other in the league.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

The players on the team might not be the biggest factor but I believe are definitely part of the equation at least.

Like it's been said, marketing Tarasenko to be attached to his hip definitely can't hurt us. Neither can having Pietrangelo (who he is friends with) as the #1 D. Those 2 should be good selling points. With Tavares in the fold, there is 3 legitimate star players at their position which basically makes us a championship caliber team by themselves. That's an insane trio that can match up to any other in the league.

Not only would we be able to sell him on the trio with him and Tarasenko/Pietrangelo, but having Schwartz, Schenn, Steen, Parayko, Edmundson, whoever we add at the draft, and the kids(including Fabbri/Dunn) to supplement them can be a huge sell as well. Our team would be an instant cup contender and he knows it.

 

[HighNote]

Not only would we be able to sell him on the trio with him and Tarasenko/Pietrangelo, but having Schwartz, Schenn, Steen, Parayko, Edmundson, whoever we add at the draft, and the kids(including Fabbri/Dunn) to supplement them can be a huge sell as well. Our team would be an instant cup contender and he knows it.

And we would be for several years. Going into next year:

Tavares (28)
Pietrangelo (28)
Schenn (27)
Tarasenko (26)
Schwartz (26)
Parayko (25)
Edmundson (25)
Fabbri (22)
Dunn (21)
Kyrou (20)
Thompson (20)
Thomas (19)

Our biggest concern would be goaltending, but I'm guessing Husso will be here soon enough.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

And we would be for several years. Going into next year:

Tavares (28)
Pietrangelo (28)
Schenn (27)
Tarasenko (26)
Schwartz (26)
Parayko (25)
Edmundson (25)
Fabbri (22)
Dunn (21)
Kyrou (20)
Thompson (20)
Thomas (19)

Our biggest concern would be goaltending, but I'm guessing Husso will be here soon enough.

100%. Also with regards to goaltending, it always seems to be an issue when we can’t score, and that lineup shouldn’t have an issue scoring goals.

 

[Ranksu]

Yea meant 2017....always mix up the 2nd half of the years

but the result is same, so it was semi-truth.

 

[Dbrownss]

but the result is same, so it was semi-truth.

What he did against Minny was rediculous though. Without him, that would of been a clown pounding. I cant stand Yeos collapsing defense. Just concedes possession time

 

[Meatball]

What would you say the criticisms of his play are? Strengths/weaknesses?