2020-2021 St. Louis Blues: Well, ****.

[ChuckLefley]

2019 Playoffs he was

16-10
with a 2.46 GAA
and a 0.914 save percentage

Won the Cup

---------------

In the COVID-shorted regular season (2019-2020, up to March 2020) he was:

30-13-7
with a 2.56 GAA
and a 0.912 save percentage

3 shutouts in 50 starts

Not bad

--------------

In the COVID-playoffs (after many months off) he was:

0-3
with a 0.800 GAA

Not great, but this was for a restarted season July 31, 2020 to August 21, 2020 (three weeks).

Obviously, he struggled with the bubble hockey restart.


Let's not all jump the gun and throw Binny under the bus. The whole team played poorly in the bubble. We turned it over way too much and we only played our Grade A style of game twice in 10 games.

Jeres the thing, and I’ve said this before, Those are average numbers. From his first start, last season un the end of the regular season he was lights out. Once the playoffs started he made the key saves, but his numbers were average. He helped us win the Cup but he has to be a huge question mark.p going forward.

 

[MissouriMook]

If Tarasenko needs more reconstructive surgery, I’d expect him to be out at least nine months. That would have him back sometime in the 2021 playoffs at the earliest. It would give us the flexibility we need to re-sign Petro, but it would also create a need to add someone with finishing skills to compliment the forward lineup. Inability to cash in on our chances and beat Markstrom was one of the many reasons we flamed out in the first round of the playoffs. Perron was the only guy who could do so consistently.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Hochman: Perseverance made Blues winners in 2019. A lack of it defines them as losers in 2020.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Bubble burst: Inability to ramp up their game led Blues to early exit

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Jeres the thing, and I’ve said this before, Those are average numbers. From his first start, last season un the end of the regular season he was lights out. Once the playoffs started he made the key saves, but his numbers were average. He helped us win the Cup but he has to be a huge question mark.p going forward.

We all want Binnington to prove to be a long term solution at starter and a Top 10 in the league goalie for a few years. I think the more realistic view is that he’s an average starter. If he’s paid that way, and without a too-long commitment, that’s acceptable too. Who his partner is becomes more important.

Decisions like this are what separate good and bad GMs. All indications are that Armstrong has a pretty realistic view of Binnington. There was nothing wrong with giving him a bit of a ‘thank you’ contract (or maybe an “I’m sorry”). Armstrong has good leverage to pay a lot less with the last deal. But instead he was paid more than Allen and enough guaranteed money to make a huge difference in his life between being an AHL guy who nearly made it, to a guy who could retire comfortably if he manages his affairs wisely.

But Armstrong didn’t commit too much term. I think the more likely scenario is that the Blues have a different starter in 2-3 years and that Binnington is a tandem goalie or a back-up somewhere else. I hope that’s wrong and he’s a long-term answer for the Blues. I just doubt it. I think as an UFA he’ll take the best offer and it won’t be from St Louis. And I think he’ll end up overpaid relative to his actual performance on that contract.

 

[Quaz]

Before last year Husso was ranked higher than Binnington. They need to trade Allen and roll with Binnington and Husso next year. If Tarasenko or Steen go on LTIR moving Allen would give them room to resign Petro. They need to see what they have in Husso and decide who they are going to expose in the expansion draft. I also think they need to make room for Kyrou, Kostin, and Mikkola/Perunovich next year. I think Bozak may have to go, or one of Blais/Sanford. I guess a lot will depend on what happens with Tarasenko (may hear about him tomorrow) and Steen.

 

[TheDizee]

sanford should not be moved, hes a good hockey player.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

sanford should not be moved, hes a good hockey player.

Ahhhh, the difference two years make. Lol

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I just realized that the Kevin Shattenkirk trade directly led to the Schenn trade. So that's pretty cool. And idk why it took me so long to realize it.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

This whole *asterisk* cup may be a blessing in disguise for the Blues. I still think Binnington is the real deal and a contending franchise cornerstone. Having a partial season with 'average' numbers and a mostly 'meh' playoff run will potentially save the Blues millions of dollars and free up that cap space to spend on other areas of the team. As nice as a back to back run would have been for the Blues, it would have broken the payroll (especially with the new covid-cap) and the team would have had to be dismantled. Now they have a chance to build into a consistent contender - something they haven't been since the 90's. These are exciting times for the Blues.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

What went wrong: 10 reasons the Blues were upset by the Canucks

 

[Oberyn]

Binnington is an average goalie. He was remarkable turning our team around last season and also making key stops in the playoffs, but there was no way that type of performance was sustainable for him long term. Very smart move by Armstrong to give him a bridge instead of a long term deal. Allen is probably gone this offseason but I'm not sure I hold much faith in a Binnington/Husso tandem.

Tarasenko's injury woes are a huge cause for concern. Obviously the team has shown that they can be quite competitive without him, but no player on this team can make up his 35 goals/season. I'm not really sure what to do with him going forward. Trading him might be the way to go if you can find a taker and the return is a good young player that has the potential to be a solid contributor.

If Pietrangelo walks, then the prior two points don't matter because our Cup window is likely closed. I like Parayko but he is nowhere close to Pietrangelo in terms of offensive skill and puck moving ability.

 

[Brian39]

If Tarasenko is out six months then it doesn't really change too much. We will still need to have that cap space open for when Tarasenko returns. So we could sign Pietrangelo and use the LTIR at the start of the season, but the moment that Tarasenko is ready to return we'll have to make trades where we drop significant cap. That is difficult to do during the season, and we'd be desperate to move players who we don't find important at that point. I don't think that's a viable plan, unless Armstrong can have a handshake deal with another GM for a Steen trade at the start of February, when his NTC expires.

Dunn should have good value and we have a prospect that we're high on for the medium term replacement, so I could see him being moved. Moving Kyrou doesn't make a huge amount of sense, unless it's in a package in a major trade.

A 6 month timeframe changes a bit in that it buys time to make the moves. It let's you see 3-4 more months of Binner with Allen as a potential safety net (if you're uncomfortable moving Allen now). You mentioned Steen, but I don't think you need a handshake deal in place. Plenty of bottom feeders would take on half a year of that contract for a 3rd rounder especially if you can get Tarasenko back in under the cap while retaining a touch of Steen's remaining salary. I'd be very comfortable that I could move Steen without giving up a great asset in March. Pushing the decision 6 months down the line also gives you more looks at Kyrou, Kostin, Mikkola, etc to determine which guys are more expendable.

I agree with you that a 6 month Tarasenko injury wouldn't fully create the space, but it would make it easier to bring Petro back.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Steen believes Blues will be hungry to reclaim Cup next season
Sent with @Nhl

 

[AjaxManifesto]

I love Steen. He might be a good coach one day...like Ott.

His absence hurt us not on the scoreboard, but in the locker room.

 

[Brian39]

I love Steen. He might be a good coach one day...like Ott.

His presence hurt us not on the scoreboard, but in the locker room.

Are you saying him being a scratch hurt in the room or that him being present in the room hurt?

I disagree that him being a scratch didn't hurt us on ice. Our PK was awful above the hash marks and that is exactly where he conttribues.

 

[Alklha]

A 6 month timeframe changes a bit in that it buys time to make the moves. It let's you see 3-4 more months of Binner with Allen as a potential safety net (if you're uncomfortable moving Allen now). You mentioned Steen, but I don't think you need a handshake deal in place. Plenty of bottom feeders would take on half a year of that contract for a 3rd rounder especially if you can get Tarasenko back in under the cap while retaining a touch of Steen's remaining salary. I'd be very comfortable that I could move Steen without giving up a great asset in March. Pushing the decision 6 months down the line also gives you more looks at Kyrou, Kostin, Mikkola, etc to determine which guys are more expendable.

I agree with you that a 6 month Tarasenko injury wouldn't fully create the space, but it would make it easier to bring Petro back.

There is risk attached to going down that road. Once FA shakes out then how much space are most teams going to have? How many are going to want to budget a cushion so that they don't have a cap penalty next season for the bonuses their ELC players hit? How many of the teams with space are going to be budget teams that really don't want the salary?

If we end up in February and arenas are still at significantly lowered capacity, that's going to impact what the budget teams are willing to do. Taking on $1m+ in salary owed for a late third might not be appetising for a lot of the teams in the position to take him. The GM's will know our backs are against the wall, we need to make a deal and they have the upper hand.

I'd only take that risk if we really couldn't dump the salary in the offseason.

 

[Thallis]

Binnington is an average goalie, but that's all we ever needed.

 

[MissouriMook]

Binnington is an average goalie, but that's all we ever needed.

Exactly. If he had just been "average" in the bubble - like his 2.56 GAA and .912 SP regular season numbers - we'd still be playing.

 

[Brian39]

There is risk attached to going down that road. Once FA shakes out then how much space are most teams going to have? How many are going to want to budget a cushion so that they don't have a cap penalty next season for the bonuses their ELC players hit? How many of the teams with space are going to be budget teams that really don't want the salary?

If we end up in February and arenas are still at significantly lowered capacity, that's going to impact what the budget teams are willing to do. Taking on $1m+ in salary owed for a late third might not be appetising for a lot of the teams in the position to take him. The GM's will know our backs are against the wall, we need to make a deal and they have the upper hand.

I'd only take that risk if we really couldn't dump the salary in the offseason.

I don't think our backs would be against the wall. We'd be looking at a murky return date for Tarasenko, it is more likely than not that a player would land on LTIR in the interim and in a worst case scenario we also have guys that we could move besides Steen if a team wants to try and call that bluff.

I'd be comfortable with the risk of telling a team like Detroit "fine if you don't want to pay real cash for an3rd rounder, we'll go talk to some decent teams about renting an Allen or a Bozak."

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Are you saying him being a scratch hurt in the room or that him being present in the room hurt?

I disagree that him being a scratch didn't hurt us on ice. Our PK was awful above the hash marks and that is exactly where he conttribues.

I mis-typed my original post. I corrected it. We missed him when he was absent.

 

[Ridge1982]

Someone posted a clip of a weird Gaudette goal against Allen from 2018 a couple days ago and I cannot find it.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

This whole *asterisk* cup may be a blessing in disguise for the Blues. I still think Binnington is the real deal and a contending franchise cornerstone. Having a partial season with 'average' numbers and a mostly 'meh' playoff run will potentially save the Blues millions of dollars and free up that cap space to spend on other areas of the team. As nice as a back to back run would have been for the Blues, it would have broken the payroll (especially with the new covid-cap) and the team would have had to be dismantled. Now they have a chance to build into a consistent contender - something they haven't been since the 90's. These are exciting times for the Blues.

I agree. This year is the stupid COVID Cup. Who really wants that?

I also think Binnington is the real deal. Not one and done. I just don’t think he was duly checked in.

It’s almost as if the team had no desire to play this postseason and I don’t blame them, if that was the case.

 

[Blueston]

It’s almost as if the team had no desire to play this postseason and I don’t blame them, if that was the case.

I do. If they didn't want to be in the bubble and away from their families, I get that. Opt out. I would respect that. Nobody should question you valuing family over hockey. But if you show up you owe it to your teammates and fans to give it your all. If you are in you should be all in.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I do. If they didn't want to be in the bubble and away from their families, I get that. Opt out. I would respect that. Nobody should question you valuing family over hockey. But if you show up you owe it to your teammates and fans to give it your all. If you are in you should be all in.

Agree in a way, but, overall, I think we may have to agree to disagree.