Confirmed with Link: Bozak to STL (3 years @ $5m)

[Meatball]

I refuse to believe he's this bad. Hopefully, he'll bounce back in the second half.

 

[Falco Lombardi]

So thoughts on Bozak half way through the season?

I try not to

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Ideally, they'll re-sign Schenn (even if he ends up playing wing eventually) and move Bozak. But maybe Bozak is going to just be the 3C. Its not my preferred option because he isn't as strong defensively as you'd like at that position. Maybe its a philosophical move, with the intent to have a more offensively dangerous 3rd group. But he's had so much inconsistency with linemates and linemates who have struggled themselves, its not a surprise his numbers aren't as good as projected. I don't recall him making lots of bonehead plays. Just kind of invisible, and not as much finish as I expected.

I won't be surprised if Armstrong keeps him for the 3rd line as Thomas asserts himself as a top 6 center. The contract doesn't both me much, its just the price of signing an UFA at a position of scarcity.

My suspicion is that we haven't see Bozak's best production yet, but I've thought that about most of the team.

 

[Renard]

Bozak is inconspicuous on the ice. And that's not good.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

His season has been sunk by being shackled to a struggling Maroon for nearly 60% of his 5v5 minutes. And while his PP production has been pitiful, the scheme implemented by the coaching staff has definitely hindered some of it.

Overall, he's been meh, but there's a room for improvement, especially if he can finally get the right fit in terms of linemates.

 

[Celtic Note]

I wasn’t in love with the signing, but I expected better than his play thus far. Not seeing much promise for turning the corner at the moment. Better wingers might help, but they will need to be capable of doing the heavy lifting.

 

[67Blues]

There are times in the season that I forget he is on this team even when he isn't out on injury. Maybe next year when he is paired with more skilled players he will be noticeable.

 

[Brian39]

I guess I'm the only person who has been completely and totally fine with his play. His 15 even strength points put him in a 17 way tie among NHL forwards for 195th in even strength scoring. That puts him right in the upper echelon of 3rd line players in terms of even strength production (with 31 teams, that means that the top 93 is top line players, 94-186 are 2nd line players and 187-279 are 3rd liners). He has also missed 9 games due to injury, so it's not as if you can point to injuries to other guys as a reason he would otherwise be slotted lower. It's not as if he is getting 2nd line usage and putting up good 3rd line numbers. He is being used squarely as a 3rd liner both in TOI (7th among forwards in even strength TOI per game and practically attached at the hip to the one player that this entire board agrees has been just terrible). He had 30 even strength points in 81 game last year, so his 15 in 40 so far this year is exactly on par with his even strength production last year.

His big issue is his powerplay production. 4 points isn't good enough, but how many of us think that the coaching staff is running a good PP scheme? He had 13 PP points on Toronto's 1st unit last year and 18 PP points the year before that. Schenn's PP production dropped from 28 to 19 points coming from Philly to here. Statsny had 5 PP points through 63 games here last season and was on the top unit. He had 4 in 19 games with Winnipeg. How many guys do we need to watch struggle on our PP compared to other PPs before we lay the blame directly at the feet of the coaches? Bozak has made some bad decisions on the PP, but I don't think the coaching staff has put our forwards in position to succeed on the PP.

At the end of the day, Bozak is on pace for 39 points over 82 games. That's only 4 shy of his pace last year (while he was getting top PP usage for one of the best PPs in the league). I think he is performing right on par with reasonable expectations as our 3rd line center. That role almost certainly isn't worth a $5 mil AAV in a vacuum. However, you have to overpay in AAV in order to get a reasonable term out of a 32 year old UFA who was one of the best 5 centers available. Looking at our cap structure moving forward, a higher AAV for 3 years was much more manageable than a fair AAV for 4 years. We don't have cap issues next year. We have a good chunk of roster spots to fill, but should have $20+ mil in space to do so and no one is due a substantial raise. Eddy is probably due the biggest raise and he has played himself out of the salary bracket we all thought he would be in. We'll need to either re-sign one of Gunnar/Bo or find a legitimate 4th D caliber replacement, but that will be cheaper than the combined $8.3 mil coming off the books for them. A few RFAs are due modest raises, but nothing troubling. His $5 mil cap hit is a non-issue next season. So that means that the $5 mil hit is only really an issue for one year, but his limited NTC (which goes away completely in January of 2021) means that it shouldn't be difficult to deal with if need be. Like I said, $5 mill AAV is an overpay in a vacuum, but it is an overpay that isn't hurting the Blues at the moment and shouldn't hurt for very long (if ever). It's not an anchor contract.

 

[SneakerPimp82]

I guess I'm the only person who has been completely and totally fine with his play. His 15 even strength points put him in a 17 way tie among NHL forwards for 195th in even strength scoring. That puts him right in the upper echelon of 3rd line players in terms of even strength production (with 31 teams, that means that the top 93 is top line players, 94-186 are 2nd line players and 187-279 are 3rd liners). He has also missed 9 games due to injury, so it's not as if you can point to injuries to other guys as a reason he would otherwise be slotted lower. It's not as if he is getting 2nd line usage and putting up good 3rd line numbers. He is being used squarely as a 3rd liner both in TOI (7th among forwards in even strength TOI per game and practically attached at the hip to the one player that this entire board agrees has been just terrible). He had 30 even strength points in 81 game last year, so his 15 in 40 so far this year is exactly on par with his even strength production last year.

His big issue is his powerplay production. 4 points isn't good enough, but how many of us think that the coaching staff is running a good PP scheme? He had 13 PP points on Toronto's 1st unit last year and 18 PP points the year before that. Schenn's PP production dropped from 28 to 19 points coming from Philly to here. Statsny had 5 PP points through 63 games here last season and was on the top unit. He had 4 in 19 games with Winnipeg. How many guys do we need to watch struggle on our PP compared to other PPs before we lay the blame directly at the feet of the coaches? Bozak has made some bad decisions on the PP, but I don't think the coaching staff has put our forwards in position to succeed on the PP.

At the end of the day, Bozak is on pace for 39 points over 82 games. That's only 4 shy of his pace last year (while he was getting top PP usage for one of the best PPs in the league). I think he is performing right on par with reasonable expectations as our 3rd line center. That role almost certainly isn't worth a $5 mil AAV in a vacuum. However, you have to overpay in AAV in order to get a reasonable term out of a 32 year old UFA who was one of the best 5 centers available. Looking at our cap structure moving forward, a higher AAV for 3 years was much more manageable than a fair AAV for 4 years. We don't have cap issues next year. We have a good chunk of roster spots to fill, but should have $20+ mil in space to do so and no one is due a substantial raise. Eddy is probably due the biggest raise and he has played himself out of the salary bracket we all thought he would be in. We'll need to either re-sign one of Gunnar/Bo or find a legitimate 4th D caliber replacement, but that will be cheaper than the combined $8.3 mil coming off the books for them. A few RFAs are due modest raises, but nothing troubling. His $5 mil cap hit is a non-issue next season. So that means that the $5 mil hit is only really an issue for one year, but his limited NTC (which goes away completely in January of 2021) means that it shouldn't be difficult to deal with if need be. Like I said, $5 mill AAV is an overpay in a vacuum, but it is an overpay that isn't hurting the Blues at the moment and shouldn't hurt for very long (if ever). It's not an anchor contract.

what he said. like, every single thing.

 

[Em etah Eh]

I don't really remember him doing anything substantial this whole season and yet he's on pace for 40 points you say? Can we start calling him Casper?

 

[Meatball]

Others in the thread mentioned that he could be better depending on the winger, who on (or off) the roster fits the bill?

On paper, a 1-2-3 of ROR, Schenn and Bozak could and should be good in a playoff series.

 

[BlueDream]

He’s been better lately. 40 points is pretty solid. Especially for a 3C. He can fill in on the 2nd line and even play wing. He has also been killing penalties. So his versatility is nice.

He only has 2 years left after this season. He’ll be 33 but his style of game should age just fine for those 2 years.

I’m much more concerned about dumping Steen. (And Maroon of course). Once we get those 2 off the roster, I’ll be good. Bozak is fine for now.

 

[Brockon]

Others in the thread mentioned that he could be better depending on the winger, who on (or off) the roster fits the bill?

On paper, a 1-2-3 of ROR, Schenn and Bozak could and should be good in a playoff series.

I'd like to add a caviat to this statement; a 1-2-3 of ROR, Schenn and Bozak would look good in a playoff series, without Maroon on their line.

I just don't see Maroon complementing any of our lines from 1-4 in my viewings thus far in the season throughout the course of a whole game. He's had flashes, but I would really like to see him gone before the TDL - he just isn't filling any of the roles he was supposed to fill successfully for us.

 

[Saint Loser]

I’ve heard of a Bozak, but not exactly sure what it is.

 

[DeuceNine]

I don't recall him making lots of bonehead plays. Just kind of invisible, and not as much finish as I expected.

So a direct replacement for Berglund, got it

 

[Brockon]

So a direct replacement for Berglund, got it

Nope, he needs at least a few memorable gifs before he can replace Bergy here for good!

Etc etc.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

He's been slightly disappointing but it's hard to expect much when he's been stapled to the boat anchor that is Maroon. Wouldn't mind seeing Fabbri stapled to his wing. I think they'd make a nice pair.

 

[Ranksu]

 

[Stealth JD]

What teams are looking for a responsible Center with Cup-winning experience, for a reasonable $5M/year? Anyone...? Anyone...? (kidding...but seriously...)

Bozak was a crucial support piece in the Blues overall depth...but you've got to think with the team's salary structure about to be impacted by THE WIN that Armstrong is going to have to make some tough decisions to keep this team financially flexible and competitive for the next several years. I don't think there's any rush to make changes to this roster...but you also can't get complacent thinking you owe it to the team to return it next year exactly as it stands today. There's room for improvement and you've got to think that if the Blues don't have guys ready to push for his spot in camp next year that they'll have guys ready before the start of Yr. 3 of Bozak's contract. It will be fascinating to see how Army goes about his roster construction for the defense of the title.

But, congrats to Bozak and the rest of the Blues. He certainly chose his UFA destination wisely.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

I don’t really think the cap will be an issue this coming season. I could see us moving him after next season though.

 

[Novacain]

Yeah, even with Binny probably working his way to a bigger deal, we should have no real problem keeping the band together for another year.

I am curious if we actually try to make an impactful trade due to our forward depth and the possibility Kyrou could be ready to make an impact this year.

 

[Deko]

Good enough offensively, good enough defensively. Great at faceoffs too and and assumedly brings leadership to the team as well. Really a perfect third-line center. Glad to have him for the next two years.

His family seems to be loving life in STL. Wonder if it will be another case of a former Blue staying in the city after retirement, even if he ends up finishing career somewhere else.

The first couple of pages of this thread is again a good read.

 

[David Dennison]

I don’t really think the cap will be an issue this coming season. I could see us moving him after next season though.

Even then, I don't think moving him is required to retain Schenn/Petro + retain RFAs like Barby/Sunny/Eddy/Binny/Dunn...y. Steen/Bouw will come off of the books next year, and I imagine Allen would be the #1 guy they want to dump.

 

[Blanick]

I am perfectly fine with keeping Bozak for the remainder of his contract and slowly transition Thomas into that role. Bozak was absolutely a crucial part of this cup run. At times he was centering our best line.

 

[ezcreepin]

What I find interesting is asking who has more value. Bozak or Schenn? I think it's safe to say that Bozak had more value because of his defensive responsibility and his faceoff numbers, but Schenn's ability to be a physical presence AND have the potential to be dynamic offensively is interesting. If we can lock up Petro and Schenn to respectable contracts, you do it, but then you have to ask who is more valuable, Bozak or Schenn?