Best case scenario if Pietrangelo walks

[Spektre]

At this point my mindset is Pietrangelo is gone. I've been wrong before and who knows what will happen but it feels like he's gone. If that's the case what is the best scenario for the Blues next year and moving forward?

There's no way Army is embracing a rebuild 1 year removed from winning the Cup. With no Pietrangelo the Blues still have 22 signed players with $5,153,096 in cap space. That's plenty to sign Dunn and have a little cushion against the cap.

The forward group feels bloated now. There's 15 forwards right now and that's without Kostin who really should be playing in the NHL next season. It just feels like something has to give on the forwards side to make room for some youth.

Do you trade for futures, keep what you have, try to dump salary to sign better FA's, or other?

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[bleedblue1223]

Best-case, we get a top 4 LHD that fits as a partner with Faulk. I don't know the exact player that would be, but we basically would have Scandella/Parayko as the top pair that can be used in any defensive situation, so we need a 2nd pair that can also used in defensive situations, but also is used a bit more offensively.

I'd have Dunn/Perunovich and Bortozzo as the 3rd pair.

 

[Celtic Note]

Ideally you find a #1 D without killing depth elsewhere.

More realistically you look for a #2-3D on the left side.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Can Brodie play that type of role anymore? Would making a move for OEL make sense on any level? In a truly ideal world, we traded for Skjei instead of Faulk and were able to extend Pietrangelo.

 

[TruBlu]

The only good thing that would come from Petro leaving is that our cap would then be in good shape to make some moves. I agree we probably need to look for a left side D. I'm also of the mind that we probably aren't going to find one on the top line, especially since Petro's current cost for a #1 D man is extremely cap friendly. We still have a good core, although I do have serious concerns about Tank. I worry his best days are behind him. I'd like to see us drop Steen and Bozak and use that to find some scoring help. The only big question then is which Binny we get back. I worried once the hype was over from the SC season and teams had a good look at him that his numbers would drop.

 

[The Note]

I would hope they give a hard look at taking a step back over the next year or two to reload though I realize that won't happen. I essentially posted the same thing in another thread. The team without Pietrangelo and a mangled Tarasenko isn't contending. It wouldn't be popular but exploring the market for Schwartz in a straight futures deal (1st + a good W/D prospect) ideally with some team he is willing to extend with. Bridge Dunn, extend Thomas longer term, start working with Parayko on an extension. Pray you can pawn Faulk off on Seattle and that Kyrou takes a big step. Let Steen, Gunnarsson, and Bozak walk. Head into 2021 with a restocked farm system, cap space and hopefully you're in a good spot while not completely bottoming out. It's a risk but I'd rather they take some risks than just try to paper over the holes.

 

[TruBlu]

I just don't think we are in a position right now where we have to start looking at re-tooling. Even if Tank is only going to be a 20-25 goal scorer from here on out, we still have Schwartz, Schenn, ROR, Parayko, etc. all in their prime. If we strike a couple of years off trying to stack the deck you've got a bunch of guys around 30 with bloated contracts that make it difficult to make any moves. Then we're approaching complete rebuild territory.

 

[Ranksu]

Best case scenario. I'll give you hint. THERE ISN'T ONE.

 

[Alklha]

Can Brodie play that type of role anymore? Would making a move for OEL make sense on any level? In a truly ideal world, we traded for Skjei instead of Faulk and were able to extend Pietrangelo.

OEL will probably be dealt before or at the draft, not timing we can likely be involved in. In another situation then I think OEL would have very much been a player Armstrong targetted, similar to the Bouwmeester situation in Calgary. Make a move, hope the team are determined to move on and the player with a NTC has a very, very short list your team is on. Then you're getting him for a first and junk.

 

[MissouriMook]

At this point my mindset is Pietrangelo is gone. I've been wrong before and who knows what will happen but it feels like he's gone. If that's the case what is the best scenario for the Blues next year and moving forward?

There's no way Army is embracing a rebuild 1 year removed from winning the Cup. With no Pietrangelo the Blues still have 22 signed players with $5,153,096 in cap space. That's plenty to sign Dunn and have a little cushion against the cap.

The forward group feels bloated now. There's 15 forwards right now and that's without Kostin who really should be playing in the NHL next season. It just feels like something has to give on the forwards side to make room for some youth.

Do you trade for futures, keep what you have, try to dump salary to sign better FA's, or other?

You seem conflicted even within your own post, and I'm right there with you. I disagree with Kostin needing to be on the NHL roster next season, though - he has to earn that, and he may.

I think shoring up the left side of the D with a guy like Dillon in addition to bringing back Dunn makes some sense. We have a lot of guys who are in limbo for one reason or another (Steen, Bozak, Gunnarsson) who don't seem to be in the long-term plans, but aren't necessarily easy to move on from. I agree that the roster (not just the forward group) feels a little bloated, primarily because we seem to be drifting back to the purgatory of a lot of good players but little elite talent.

It feels like someone (or two) needs to go to give some flexibility, I just don't know what you really do with more cap space. Do you go after a guy like Krug and forget about the fact that at some point you could have Krug, Dunn and Perunovich on the left side and that is a lot of smallish players that do pretty much the same thing? Do you look for the big fish up front (Hall) given that you don't know what (if anything) you will get from Tarasenko this year or in the future? Do you try to make a hockey trade and trade two quarters for a half dollar to thin out your depth a little to add more of a game breaker? I wouldn't even know where to start.

Which leads you (well, me anyway) back to the idea that you probably ought to do everything you can to re-sign your Captain, because there are no easy answers out there as to the alternatives if you don't.

 

[MissouriMook]

OEL will probably be dealt before or at the draft, not timing we can likely be involved in. In another situation then I think OEL would have very much been a player Armstrong targetted, similar to the Bouwmeester situation in Calgary. Make a move, hope the team are determined to move on and the player with a NTC has a very, very short list your team is on. Then you're getting him for a first and junk.

I don't see why we would have any interest in OEL unless Petro has absolutely closed the door on coming back here for less than $10M a year. His cap hit is right around where we are allegedly trying to fit Petro and OEL is a worse player offensively (at least the last few years) and defensively. Why not pay Petro's price $64M-$72M over the next 8 years and keep your captain, rather than paying assets to acquire someone else's captain, a lesser player that will make $54M over the next 7 years?

 

[Xanadude]

If Petro walks and our internal cap stays static, I think we'd be silly not to use that cap to try and pry a defenseman or a scoring winger off of a cap-strapped team.

Others have talked about OEL, and while I've seen some concerning stat trends in regards to him after Tippett left, if DA is big on him I really don't think it'd take much to get him out of Arizona. Then you figure out which of OEL/Faulk to expose to Seattle after this year. The more I think of it, it makes sense if Petro walks to at least slap OEL in as a band-aid to patch up our cup window with ROR and Parayko signed. We're already kinda screwed w/o Petro and Tarasenko anyway...

And for wingers, I'm not sure. I'm sure there's an overpaid one we could take on for picks somewhere in the east-again, if they don't work out, expose them to Seattle.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Brenden Dillon if available for a LHD. Very good defensive LHD. But we need to make room for Mikkola also. I really don't think we have room for Dunn long term, and he might be better being traded for assets for our team.

 

[Reality Czech]

This is a little bit out there, but would anyone else look to sign Chara to a 1-year deal if he leaves Boston? I know he's not what he used to be, but he's still a solid pro and could fill the void left by Bouwmeester. He doesn't have to be a top guy per se, but it would be interesting to see.

Obviously losing Petro would hurt our Cup chances, but I'm not one to write us off completely. We still have a lot of depth and a solid system. Maybe we could add two decent players for the money we would otherwise use for Petro and still be a contender.

 

[67Blues]

You spend next season with the plan that you are a bubble playoff team and see who is worthy to continue forward as there are some contracts coming due. At the TDL, I'm shopping players for young talent if this team falls to the middle of the pack, especially if they miss the playoffs which could very well be a likely scenario. The Central is going to be too good to just be okay anymore. If we find ourselves with a top 10 pick, then they probably start a re-tool immediately.

 

[Stealth JD]

Bill Armstrong sounds like he's going to have to slash payroll. Word out of the desert is ownership wants to cut payroll in a serious manner.

Pietrangelo walks, the Armstrong boys work out a deal that sends OEL to STL for Dunn, Steen & some draft capital...which ARZ sorely needs. OEL rebalances the left-right dynamic that had an issue for years, and is a candidate for a bounce-back now that he's with a better team. The contract is heavy at $8.25M/year...but if Pietrangelo doesn't want that contract, then it would fit with Steen & Dunn heading the other way.

 

[Alklha]

I don't see why we would have any interest in OEL unless Petro has absolutely closed the door on coming back here for less than $10M a year. His cap hit is right around where we are allegedly trying to fit Petro and OEL is a worse player offensively (at least the last few years) and defensively. Why not pay Petro's price $64M-$72M over the next 8 years and keep your captain, rather than paying assets to acquire someone else's captain, a lesser player that will make $54M over the next 7 years?

In the current circumstances there is no chance we'd be in for OEL. I said in other cirumstances this is that is the exact type of situation that Armstrong targets, it's how we added Bouwmeester and ROR.

If we don't trade for Faulk last summer, signed Pietrangelo at $8.75m-$9m last year and didn't rush the Scandella extension (scenarios that most seem to have wanted)? Then we're sitting with ~$7m in cap space right now, and I think Doug is already talking to Bill about it. Also, if it's true we were using the OEL contract as a comparable for Pietrangelo early on, that should tell us how management view OEL as a player.

You spend next season with the plan that you are a bubble playoff team and see who is worthy to continue forward as there are some contracts coming due. At the TDL, I'm shopping players for young talent if this team falls to the middle of the pack, especially if they miss the playoffs which could very well be a likely scenario. The Central is going to be too good to just be okay anymore. If we find ourselves with a top 10 pick, then they probably start a re-tool immediately.

As good as the Central may be, I still think that this team will find a way to win without Pietrangelo and Tarasenko. We're built in a way that we can withstand that. In the regular season.

The very real concern is finishing third in the Central, getting beat in the first round and thinking that shuffling a few things is going to make it better.

 

[Blueston]

In the current circumstances there is no chance we'd be in for OEL. I said in other cirumstances this is that is the exact type of situation that Armstrong targets, it's how we added Bouwmeester and ROR.

If we don't trade for Faulk last summer, signed Pietrangelo at $8.75m-$9m last year and didn't rush the Scandella extension (scenarios that most seem to have wanted)? Then we're sitting with ~$7m in cap space right now, and I think Doug is already talking to Bill about it. Also, if it's true we were using the OEL contract as a comparable for Pietrangelo early on, that should tell us how management view OEL as a player.

As good as the Central may be, I still think that this team will find a way to win without Pietrangelo and Tarasenko. We're built in a way that we can withstand that. In the regular season.

The very real concern is finishing third in the Central, getting beat in the first round and thinking that shuffling a few things is going to make it better.

I want nothing to do with that OEL contract.

 

[BlueKnight]

At this point i may be wrong but doubt it. I believe Petro is good as gone, It was Petro who made me a Blues fan. I've made peace with it.

I would love to get OEL. Change of scenery and a winning team i think he'd do well. But that's where i stop. Why would the Blues pay OEL if they won't pay Petro.

I still think a Retool would be the best course of action.

 

[Stealth JD]

At this point i may be wrong but doubt it. I believe Petro is good as gone, It was Petro who made me a Blues fan. I've made peace with it.

I would love to get OEL. Change of scenery and a winning team i think he'd do well. But that's where i stop. Why would the Blues pay OEL if they won't pay Petro.

I still think a Retool would be the best course of action.

It's not a matter of whether the Blues would give Petro 7 x $8.25, as is what remains on OEL's deal...it's a matter of whether Petro would accept it. If he simply wants to test free agency and finds himself with a $75M offer on the table as a result, Blues may not be willing to pay that. At that point, acquiring a former All-star for a modest return makes all kinds of sense, considering those players don't typically come cheaply and the contract is simply the cost of doing business.

 

[Blueston]

It's not a matter of whether the Blues would give Petro 7 x $8.25, as is what remains on OEL's deal...it's a matter of whether Petro would accept it. If he simply wants to test free agency and finds himself with a $75M offer on the table as a result, Blues may not be willing to pay that. At that point, acquiring a former All-star for a modest return makes all kinds of sense, considering those players don't typically come cheaply and the contract is simply the cost of doing business.

Interesting that folks want to pay OEL $8.25mm over next 7 years but complain about paying Faulk $6.5mm over same span.

 

[Stealth JD]

Interesting that folks want to pay OEL $8.25mm over next 7 years but complain about paying Faulk $6.5mm over same span.

Best of a bad situation if Petro leaves. I don't think anyone actually 'wants' OEL, but he's certainly a headier and more productive player than Faulk. OEL's contract is less likely to look 'bad' when both are complete and unlike Faulk's could probably be moved for a decent return rather than needing retention or the attachment a sweetner.

 

[Blueston]

Best of a bad situation if Petro leaves. I don't think anyone actually 'wants' OEL, but he's certainly a headier and more productive player than Faulk. OEL's contract is less likely to look 'bad' when both are complete and unlike Faulk's could probably be moved for a decent return rather than needing retention or the attachment a sweetner.

OEL contract looks bad already. His play has really slipped.

 

[MissouriMook]

OEL contract looks bad already. His play has really slipped.

I’ve read a lot in the past few days about the potential for OEL to improve to his previous level of play as a reason to acquire him. And yet despite the fact that Faulk was arguably our best defenseman in the bubble, so many people are still writing him off as a waste of cap space despite being nearly $2M a year cheaper.

 

[Blueston]

I’ve read a lot in the past few days about the potential for OEL to improve to his previous level of play as a reason to acquire him. And yet despite the fact that Faulk was arguably our best defenseman in the bubble, so many people are still writing him off as a waste of cap space despite being nearly $2M a year cheaper.

Yep. The Faulk hate is completely irrational.