Are the Blues Headed for a Fall?

[Kent Nilsson]

Maybe Fabbri can become Tarasenko's center ? Finding a good goalie isn't that hard.

 

[Klank Loves You]

Most Blues fans thought this would be a down year. Losing Backes and Brouwer really hurts, but will look like a positive move in 2-3 years. Fabbri, Parayko, Tarasenko, Schwartz will probably continue to get better. What makes or breaks this team is what happens with Shattenkirk.

 

[TruBlu]

Do you honestly think Minnesota won't come back down to earth?

I don't know. I don't have a crystal ball. If you are implying the Wild are not a legit team then...

Are you really basing trending down on 3 or 4 games? If so, than it's clear you have your mind made up and, like a few others here, nothing will deter you from your dark clouds.

I'm basing trending down compared to the rest of the league over a two month period of time, not cherry picking numbers (see you) to make my argument.

There is a difference between "being honest" and refusing to see anything positive or admit some things are outliers.

All you have to do is look at my previous post and you will see I gave examples of things to be proud of.

I am sorry you can't get beyond the dark clouds. You really should be posting at the asylum, with that attitude.

I am sorry you can't get beyond the dark clouds. You really should be posting at the asylum, with that attitude.

 

[sfvega]

No, it's more than that. Spend some time perusing the Blues board and other, non-HF, Blues boards. You will see how irrationally negative Blues fans can be. In this thread alone it's gone in the usual direction, not one Blues fan truly defending the Blues in any way, except for Parayko. Other teams fans think more highly of the Blues, Blues players, Blues management and Blues coaches, than Blues fans do. Its sad and embarrassing.

LOLOLOL. Did you just tell a BLUES fan to read more Blues discussion? Thanks, guy. Blues fans are obsessed with constantly defending Fabbri and Petro, for starters. And there is this guy in 91. And our 4th line has been among the best in the league. If you think that no Blues fans are fawning (myself included) over Fabbri all the time, then man, maybe YOU need to read more Blues discussion.

 

[Dbrownss]

Im not quite sure what we have to defend....the Blues look awful and disorganized. I cant get a pulse on whats wrong...from the top to bottom they just look bad. Offense is no where to be found, defense isnt very good, and goaltending is abysmal.

We have some excellent young core (Tarasenko, Schwartz, Pietrangelo, Parayko, Fabbri). Our vets are no where to be found...Steen, Stastny, Boumeester....these guys take alot minutes are just not cutting it. Our secondary lineup is Lehtera, Berglund, Jaskin, and Gunnarsson.....wow.... almost no production out of that. Berglund is a solid player but thats it.

Look at our prospects.....yes, we have some good peices, but no Fabbri's or Parayko's coming up. You can make a case for TT...but I wouldn't bank on it.


I love my team, but my hope for the future is just fading.... always middle of the pack. We cant blow it up due to our new core, but we dont have the pieces to get the players we need. I was hopeful maybe Yeo would have learned from his Wild experience but if our PP is any indication....were in trouble moving forward

 

[CrypTic]

I've not seen any Blues fans suggest blowing up the team. You are right that we are only 8 points out of first, but you aren't mentioning that we are only 4 points away from being out of the last playoff spot. we have been surpassed by Chicago, then Minnesota and, as mentioned before, pretty close to being knocked out of the third spot. We currently sit at 13th in the entire league after being in the 1st spot two weeks in. That is the absolute definition of trending down.

Yes, they can turn it around at any point, but the inconsistency you spoke of gives no one any reason to believe they know how to do that to this point. We are approaching the halfway point of the season and have a -6 in goal differential. If that trend continues, we will most certainly not be holding a birth to the post season. I feel your pain, too, but being honest about the teams play so far this season isn't the equivalent of hating on the team, it's simply being honest.

Right, but as noted by Oberyn below, CO, Dallas, and Winnepeg are not good. CO and WPG are below .500 this season and Dallas sits at .527 vs .581 for the Blues. The Pacific isn't good either: AZ and Vancouver are below .500 and the Flames are just below Dallas at .526. They'll probably make the playoffs.

Lol yeah we're pretty terrible this season, our team defense has been completely abysmal. I also think we might have the worst center depth in the league, for some reason Armstrong thought Lehtera was a top six center when he is clearly an awful player.

Hawks and Wild are definitely better than us. Nashville is probably getting there as well. I'd still take us over the Stars, Avs, and Jets but that isn't saying much.

Any chance Fabbri plays center? He's looked very good this season.

Part of me hopes that this could be the year we pull the plug. This team has top ten talented assets at their peak and gave up everything this season. Doug Armstrong has been trying to ride a consistently ok product without trying to improve it for a while now and this is the season it shows.

Core players the Blues have lost over the past three seasons: Oshie, Backes, Brouwer, Elliot, and by the end of the year Shattenkirk is certainly looking like he's gonna end up the same way.

What have the Blues gotten in return for either trading or letting all these player walk? Jordan Kyrou, Pheonix Copley, and moving up a couple spots to get Tage Thompson.

These losses also helped keep players like Schwartz and Tarasenko locked up but then again there about 10 million or so locked up in two laughing stocks: Jay Bouwmeester and Jori Lehtera. And it looks like Armstrong has added another anchor to the list in Jake Allen.

I don't want this team to make it to the playoffs if its just another first round exit. Give us the opportunity to give Army the axe and give Bill Armstrong a chance to draft a real game changer.

I understand that bc I think that's what the Sharks tried to do for years: make the playoffs and hope for the best bc "anything can happen once you're in the playoffs." But it's hard to tell if that's coming from the GM or the owners. I think it was probably the owners in the Sharks' case so replacing the GM wouldn't have helped that if the owners were more concerned with the relatively guaranteed playoff revenue vs the long odds of winning a Cup, especially if it required missing the playoffs a few years to get the necessary pieces.

 

[Captain Creampuff]

Since we're talking about the Blues... why is it that Hitch will never use Fabbri as a C?

Fabbri has said he doesn't feel comfortable at C yet.

 

[TheDizee]

We need a top center and Allen needs to play better. Until that happens, this team isn't going anywhere. Also, I am the founder of the #Trade22 fanclub. Shattenkirk's time as a Blue needs to end soon and with a fair return back either in future package or otherwise.

 

[HighNote]

We need a top center and Allen needs to play better. Until that happens, this team isn't going anywhere. Also, I am the founder of the #Trade22 fanclub. Shattenkirk's time as a Blue needs to end soon and with a fair return back either in future package or otherwise.

This is the simplest way it can be put.

Shattenkirk needs to be the centerpiece for a #1C (which is going to be borderline impossible), and we need Allen to stop the puck more often. And to be honest, if we moved Shattenkirk it would probably improve Allen's numbers just because Shattenkirk wouldn't be there to hand the puck to the other team in our zone twice a game.

If both of those things happen, you've got a contender. I'm doubtful that that center ever comes, though.

 

[sfvega]

Im not quite sure what we have to defend....the Blues look awful and disorganized. I cant get a pulse on whats wrong...from the top to bottom they just look bad. Offense is no where to be found, defense isnt very good, and goaltending is abysmal.

We have some excellent young core (Tarasenko, Schwartz, Pietrangelo, Parayko, Fabbri). Our vets are no where to be found...Steen, Stastny, Boumeester....these guys take alot minutes are just not cutting it. Our secondary lineup is Lehtera, Berglund, Jaskin, and Gunnarsson.....wow.... almost no production out of that. Berglund is a solid player but thats it.

Look at our prospects.....yes, we have some good peices, but no Fabbri's or Parayko's coming up. You can make a case for TT...but I wouldn't bank on it.


I love my team, but my hope for the future is just fading.... always middle of the pack. We cant blow it up due to our new core, but we dont have the pieces to get the players we need. I was hopeful maybe Yeo would have learned from his Wild experience but if our PP is any indication....were in trouble moving forward

Schwartz is not playing well this year, but given his past performances, it's very likely an aberration. Berglund similarly hasn't had a great year, but it doesn't really seem like it's on him. Could be linemates, could be Hitch CONSTANTLY shuffling lines, etc. I don't think Gunnar is that bad this year either. He's more of a defenseman you don't notice to begin with. He could stand to actually try to clear the crease for once, but overall he's a pretty good responsible defenseman with no offense to speak of.

Tage looks good, Kyrou looks good. The problem is that neither of them are impact prospects. For as bad as we could end up being at the end of this or next year, we really are pretty far behind in a hypothetical rebuild. That's the problem when you don't commit to chasing a Cup or rebuilding; you end up good at neither. That's on Armstrong.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Since we're talking about the Blues... why is it that Hitch will never use Fabbri as a C?

Fabbri says he isn't comfortable with it yet and there's no reason to rush him.

 

[Evergreen]

What the heck is going on with Schwartz? I watched the game the other night and almost forgot he was even on the team. Didn't hear his name at all until the third period and I had completely forgotten he was playing. Not noticeable at all. Is he playing injured?

 

[Extra Texture]

Then they will continue to flounder. 1st round exit is something to look forward to, I guess.

You gotta give, to get.

They can do better than that deal. Parayko gets them more than Kadri.

And I'm pretty sure last year they made it to the conference finals.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

What the heck is going on with Schwartz? I watched the game the other night and almost forgot he was even on the team. Didn't hear his name at all until the third period and I had completely forgotten he was playing. Not noticeable at all. Is he playing injured?

He's been playing fine, just a bad game.

 

[Gains]

They currently have the worst SV% in the league @ .894. They were 6th last year @.917.

Depends if Allen can pick it up or if he's just not that good, I'd like to hear Blues fan on that.

 

[Measles]

The Leafs might......for a top young Defenceman.

Kadri for Parayco.

You get a guy who's on pace for 30 goals/55 points and who has a 4.5 million cap hit for the next 4 years, and the Leafs get a strong young D-man to pair with Rielly, or at least be in our top 4.

Bam.

Win-win.

If the Blues were willing to part with Parayko to land a 1C, they could do much better than Kadri (who's a match-up 2C anyways, not a 1C). They might be able to get as high as Draisaitl, which would be an interesting trade imo.

 

[Evocable Manager]

They currently have the worst SV% in the league @ .894. They were 6th last year @.917.

Depends if Allen can pick it up or if he's just not that good, I'd like to hear Blues fan on that.

Allen is certainly capable of playing better, and we need him to be. Our defense has been worse this year, but if Allen can play more consistent and in general better it'd help a good bit. I think Hitch should do something to try and spark a flame under him, maybe send him to AHL on a conditioning assignment and see if he can find his game.

 

[Viqsi]

it really never is a good idea to build your team around a defense corps.

Yep. That's why the Jackets and Wild are a mirage, the Preds and Blues have been bottom-feeders, the Kings and Bruins have never amounted to anything in the playoffs, and meanwhile the Stars have been a modern Cup dynasty and the league has been otherwise dominated by teams like the Avs and Oilers and Leafs.

Acquire clue, kthx.

 

[Ducks in a row]

We need a top center and Allen needs to play better. Until that happens, this team isn't going anywhere. Also, I am the founder of the #Trade22 fanclub. Shattenkirk's time as a Blue needs to end soon and with a fair return back either in future package or otherwise.

Blues are in a playoff position and if they remain so do you really think they are going to trade him? How often does playoff teams trade away good players like this? Playoff teams like to trade for players that can help them win in the playoffs not trade them away.

This is the simplest way it can be put.

Shattenkirk needs to be the centerpiece for a #1C (which is going to be borderline impossible), and we need Allen to stop the puck more often. And to be honest, if we moved Shattenkirk it would probably improve Allen's numbers just because Shattenkirk wouldn't be there to hand the puck to the other team in our zone twice a game.

If both of those things happen, you've got a contender. I'm doubtful that that center ever comes, though.

Yeah the odds of Blues trading him for a #1C is extremely unlikely even for a #2C is very unlikely who wants to trade a top 6 center away for a UFA to be?

 

[Oberyn]

They currently have the worst SV% in the league @ .894. They were 6th last year @.917.

Depends if Allen can pick it up or if he's just not that good, I'd like to hear Blues fan on that.

He's not that good, but I do think his SV% is lower than it should be. Allen's issue is that he has some glaring weaknesses that have not been rectified since he joined the Blues. He has a tendency to allow short side goals that should have no chance of going in and he overcommits on plays way too much. If you watch him in the net, he scrambles around a lot and finds himself out of position consistently. Allen has mainly depended on his top notch athleticism to bail him out but he lacks some basic fundamentals of goaltending that for some reason our goalie coach isn't pointing out to him.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Center depth is really hurting them.

Out of the current 8 Western teams in playoff spots, it's probably the worst.

 

[TruBlu]

Center depth is really hurting them.

Out of the current 8 Western teams in playoff spots, it's probably the worst.

Spot on. This has been a glaring problem for years. DA addressed center depth in the draft this past summer, but they are years from being in the linueup and probably only a couple of them have the ability to become roster players (2C at best). Our center depth is bad enough that even a 2C acquisition would be a massive upgrade and push our current centers down the lines.

 

[Blues88]

Blues are in a playoff position and if they remain so do you really think they are going to trade him? How often does playoff teams trade away good players like this? Playoff teams like to trade for players that can help them win in the playoffs not trade them away.



Yeah the odds of Blues trading him for a #1C is extremely unlikely even for a #2C is very unlikely who wants to trade a top 6 center away for a UFA to be?

The UFA argument is pretty tired. The framework would obviously be there between player and team....the risk isn't nearly as high as its made out to be.

 

[TheDizee]

Blues are in a playoff position and if they remain so do you really think they are going to trade him? How often does playoff teams trade away good players like this? Playoff teams like to trade for players that can help them win in the playoffs not trade them away.



Yeah the odds of Blues trading him for a #1C is extremely unlikely even for a #2C is very unlikely who wants to trade a top 6 center away for a UFA to be?

Yes, we cannot afford to lose another player like we did with Backes and Brouwer (and Oshie) without getting something back in return.

He is a overrated player anyways, like 60-70% of his points are on the PP and hes a big time liability defensively. We have plenty of depth on the Blue line, we need a center or a futures package to help us get a center.

 

[CrypTic]

The UFA argument is pretty tired. The framework would obviously be there between player and team....the risk isn't nearly as high as its made out to be.

Doesn't he want to play in the NY metro area? If so, I doubt the Devils or Islanders will want to pay much bc they're looking at rebuilds and may as well try to get him in free agency (unless they can buy low). The Rangers may be interested but if the Blues ask too much, they will probably wait until free agency too. (They probably will want to pay with picks, though, which Blues fans seem to want, since they want to contend.) I think if he goes, the Blues will get back a rental price, maybe a bit more, but not a lot more.