Confirmed with Link: Blues acquire Olli Jokinen for Lindström & Conditional 6th

[kimzey59]

it's location-specific

I get that.
I was taking a dig at the Asylum's method of Troll control.

Troll's get out of control; que the taco talk.
A Jokinen taco gif would be the perfect solution.

 

[KirkOut]

I get that.
I was taking a dig at the Asylum's method of Troll control.

Troll's get out of control; que the taco talk.
A Jokinen taco gif would be the perfect solution.

fair enough, I never visit there so I didn't get the taco reference.

 

[WalterSobchak]

If Hitch hasn't learned from his mistakes last year then we are in trouble. It was clear as day to everybody that we ran out of gas at the end of the year. It would behoove Hitch to get some guys rested down the stretch.

Plus, I want to see what Jokinen can do for us.

Could it be Hitch towing the company line? While a team like Detroit can afford to rest it's players, filling every seat every night is still a priority to this owner.

 

[Robb_K]

Could it be Hitch towing the company line? While a team like Detroit can afford to rest it's players, filling every seat every night is still a priority to this owner.

What? Hitch is pulling The Blues' rules policies to where he likes them, (as opposed to following management's dictates)? Or do you mean "toeing the line" (as in "staying along it and not crossing over" - the proper English language idiomatic phrase)? I'm shocked! We Canadians generally are pretty good at spelling and grammar. You'll give us a bad name!

 

[Vladys Gumption]

Could it be Hitch towing the company line? While a team like Detroit can afford to rest it's players, filling every seat every night is still a priority to this owner.

I'm not saying sit everybody at once and play with our bench guys, but keeping everyone fresh should be a huge priority. Hitch can stagger the days off so we'd still ice a good team. This team desperately needs to make a deep run to help itself financially. Stillman seems to be the type of owner that understands this.

 

[kagei]

Should have been a taco.

If he's gonna score at all, it needs to be a Big Mac

 

[Thallis]

fair enough, I never visit there so I didn't get the taco reference.

I envy you.

 

[STL fan in MN]

Now that Nashville has lost 4 in a row and the Blues have a legit chance of regaining 1st overall in the Central, I could see Hitcg/Army going for it. I guess we'll see. I would like to see them win the Central (and thus not play the Hawks in the 1st rd) but I also don't want them to be gassed going into the playoffs. It's a hard balance.

The Blues will also have to balance getting the new guys in the lineup and acclimated with the team. If they take some games off and/or the new guys play with players they won't play with in the playoffs (because their playoff partner is resting and/or getting fewer minutes) then perhaps that opportunity to build that chemistry is more important than the rest. Again, it's a difficult balance.

I'll also note that I don't really think the Blues lost their last 6 games of the regular season and went into the playoffs flat because they were tired. Those losses and flatness was caused by a ton of injuries all at the same time. Would the injuries not have occurred if some of the guys had gotten some rest instead of pushing for the President's Trophy though? Yeah, I think that's a valid argument but we'll truly never know for sure. I also worry that if the Blues rest/coast at the end of the regular season if they'll be able to flip the switch and instantly be in playoff mode for Game 1. Again, another factor that has to be balanced into the equation.

Putting it all together, I expect the team to play tough and for guys to not be given too many games off. There could very well be a lot of "maintenance days" in which guys are allowed to skip practice on off days though to maintain their energy levels. Either way, I guess we'll find out!

 

[BlueDream]

I love this guy's honesty about how terrible Toronto is. He doesn't hold anything back.

 

[ManyIdeas]

I love this guy's honesty about how terrible Toronto is. He doesn't hold anything back.

tweets or an interview?

 

[BlueDream]

tweets or an interview?

Too many to post, but basically wasn't happy about getting traded to Toronto and said the atmosphere there was so negative. Gets traded to St. Louis and talks about how happy he is to be here and how he feels like he won the lottery. Said he feels bad for the players in Toronto. Said when he got traded from Nashville to Toronto it was like getting punched in the stomach. And re-iterated to Strickland once again how bad he feels for players in Toronto. He's right, I just think it's funny.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Now that Nashville has lost 4 in a row and the Blues have a legit chance of regaining 1st overall in the Central, I could see Hitcg/Army going for it. I guess we'll see. I would like to see them win the Central (and thus not play the Hawks in the 1st rd) but I also don't want them to be gassed going into the playoffs. It's a hard balance.

The Blues will also have to balance getting the new guys in the lineup and acclimated with the team. If they take some games off and/or the new guys play with players they won't play with in the playoffs (because their playoff partner is resting and/or getting fewer minutes) then perhaps that opportunity to build that chemistry is more important than the rest. Again, it's a difficult balance.

I'll also note that I don't really think the Blues lost their last 6 games of the regular season and went into the playoffs flat because they were tired. Those losses and flatness was caused by a ton of injuries all at the same time. Would the injuries not have occurred if some of the guys had gotten some rest instead of pushing for the President's Trophy though? Yeah, I think that's a valid argument but we'll truly never know for sure. I also worry that if the Blues rest/coast at the end of the regular season if they'll be able to flip the switch and instantly be in playoff mode for Game 1. Again, another factor that has to be balanced into the equation.

Putting it all together, I expect the team to play tough and for guys to not be given too many games off. There could very well be a lot of "maintenance days" in which guys are allowed to skip practice on off days though to maintain their energy levels. Either way, I guess we'll find out!

My recollection was that the team had a bad vibe and was playing out of synch before the rash of injuries. The injuries just let it snowball.

I felt like Hitch didn't care about the President trophy, but he needed a goal for the team to stay engaged and playing hard when they were in the playoffs long before the season ended. I'm not convinced the team wore itself out trying to get it. I think the end of the season just found the team mentally tired and unable to bring that focus that desperation gives you, and then it all went to hell with the injuries. But they played at a pretty high level in the playoff series, given who was out of the lineup or hobbled.

 

[Dbrownss]

My recollection was that the team had a bad vibe and was playing out of synch before the rash of injuries. The injuries just let it snowball.

I felt like Hitch didn't care about the President trophy, but he needed a goal for the team to stay engaged and playing hard when they were in the playoffs long before the season ended. I'm not convinced the team wore itself out trying to get it. I think the end of the season just found the team mentally tired and unable to bring that focus that desperation gives you, and then it all went to hell with the injuries. But they played at a pretty high level in the playoff series, given who was out of the lineup or hobbled.

People forgot about this little nugget of truth. They were like zombies in the last few games of the Regular season. But as soon as the puck dropped in game one, individual "effort" wasn't an issue. Now look at the roster and tell me that you can't get excited

Previous

Steen - Backes - Ott
Schwartz Sobokta Tarasenko
Roy Berglund Porter
Cracknall Lapierre Reaves


Bouwmeester Pietrangelo
Cole Shattenkirk I seriously don't remember
Jackman Polak


Now/ Hopefully

Steen Backes Oshie
Schwartz Lehtera Tarasenko
Berglund-Stastny-Jaskin
Ott-Goc-Reaves

Bouwmeester Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson Shattenkirk
Jackman Michalek

 

[KirkOut]

were Sobotka and Oshie injured last year? I also remember Morrow being in and Roy being a HS. I don't know

 

[BlueDream]

People forgot about this little nugget of truth. They were like zombies in the last few games of the Regular season. But as soon as the puck dropped in game one, individual "effort" wasn't an issue. Now look at the roster and tell me that you can't get excited

Previous

Steen - Backes - Ott
Schwartz Sobokta Tarasenko
Roy Berglund Porter
Cracknall Lapierre Reaves


Bouwmeester Pietrangelo
Cole Shattenkirk I seriously don't remember
Jackman Polak


Now/ Hopefully

Steen Backes Oshie
Schwartz Lehtera Tarasenko
Berglund-Stastny-Jaskin
Ott-Goc-Reaves

Bouwmeester Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson Shattenkirk
Jackman Michalek

Yeah it's nice to see it laid out like that, shows what a good job Armstrong has done IMO. Sure he's made a couple bad trades like the Perron one, but overall he's built a very good team. I think that's why asset management isn't always the most important thing. Sometimes you just need to move out pieces that aren't working, and replace them in other ways, whether it's free agency or whatever.

I mean that's a huge improvement, especially Stastny and Jaskin on the 3rd line. I would love it if those two had big playoff performances. Could really pay huge dividends to this team.

And then Gunnarsson in that 2nd pairing really is nice too.

Feeling more optimistic about this team recently, especially with some of the added depth too. If they can stay healthy I do have some hopes for them.

 

[bleedblue1223]

It's all about our health. Hopefully Backes and Oshie don't have scrambled brains and hobble around.

 

[542365]

Those bottom two pairings are just so much better, as is the center depth. I appreciate everything Polak did here, but Gunnarsson is just a much better hockey player in my opinion. I have no idea why the Leafs had to throw in a pick there.

 

[KirkOut]

Those bottom two pairings are just so much better, as is the center depth. I appreciate everything Polak did here, but Gunnarsson is just a much better hockey player in my opinion. I have no idea why the Leafs had to throw in a pick there.

gotta pay if you want that toughness

 

[Dbrownss]

were Sobotka and Oshie injured last year? I also remember Morrow being in and Roy being a HS. I don't know

I wouldn't say Sobokta was injured, but Bickell pounded him into the dust, so he might as well of been. I don't think Oshie was even close to being ok from Rupp hit. He wasn't he usual energizer bunny self and he didn't engage in too much contact and again....Bickell took runs at him the whole time.

Morrow didn't play at all, Steen broke his foot in practice....Steen also broke Backes foot too. He was on a tear last year lol.

So to sum it up

Played injured:

Backes: foot then concussion

Oshie: concussion

Tarasenko: wrist (it was still heavily tapped)

Berglund: shoulder.

So that's 4 of the top 6 that were badly banged up and Still kept it close with Chicago till the very last 20min of the game.

 

[Captain America*]

I wouldn't say Sobokta was injured, but Bickell pounded him into the dust, so he might as well of been. I don't think Oshie was even close to being ok from Rupp hit. He wasn't he usual energizer bunny self and he didn't engage in too much contact and again....Bickell took runs at him the whole time.

Morrow didn't play at all, Steen broke his foot in practice....Steen also broke Backes foot too. He was on a tear last year lol.

So to sum it up

Played injured:

Backes: foot then concussion

Oshie: concussion

Tarasenko: wrist (it was still heavily tapped)

Berglund: shoulder.

So that's 4 of the top 6 that were badly banged up and Still kept it close with Chicago till the very last 20min of the game.

If Stewy was here to whoop/intimidate Seabrook & Bickell then that series would probably have ended up differently.

 

[Dbrownss]

If Stewy was here to whoop/intimidate Seabrook & Bickell then that series would probably have ended up differently.

Except stewart is soft outside of fighting, rarely are their fights in the POs, let alone Hitch encouraging it. So no, Stewart wouldn't of done jack other then skate up and down the ice waving his stick

 

[542365]

If Stewy was here to whoop/intimidate Seabrook & Bickell then that series would probably have ended up differently.

I know you're just being silly, but who does Stewart intimidate? He actively avoids contact. Sobotka, Reaves, Polak, Backes, Lapierre, Ott, and Jackman are all more intimidating than Stewart, and we still got beat. It had nothing to do with lack of toughness, or being intimidated. The Hawks were faster, more skilled, and had better goaltending than we did in that series.

 

[Captain America*]

I know you're just being silly, but who does Stewart intimidate? He actively avoids contact. Sobotka, Reaves, Polak, Backes, Lapierre, Ott, and Jackman are all more intimidating than Stewart, and we still got beat. It had nothing to do with lack of toughness, or being intimidated. The Hawks were faster, more skilled, and had better goaltending than we did in that series.

None of them, with the exception of Reaves could beat up Seabrook (Jackman would be a good match) and we know Seabrook is not going to agree to fight Reaves. Anyway Bollig wouldn't allow it and Reaves wouldn't disrespect the code. But with Stewy, Seabrook would have no choice (skilled player vs. skilled player). He would have to 'man up' or he would lose respect and be called a 'punk'.

Whoever said "there's no fights in the playoffs". That's false, there are many playoff games with fights and they can sway momentum in a series.

 

[KirkOut]

that's true fights definitely happen. In fact 2 years ago Chris Stewart had a fight in the playoffs against the Kings player. I remember distinctly, since that is the only time in the entire series that I noticed Chris Stewart. It's a good thing Stewie was there to fight, it really swung the momentum of the series.

 

[Captain America*]

that's true fights definitely happen. In fact 2 years ago Chris Stewart had a fight in the playoffs against the Kings player. I remember distinctly, since that is the only time in the entire series that I noticed Chris Stewart. It's a good thing Stewie was there to fight, it really swung the momentum of the series.

At least it gave us something to cheer about.