News: Doug Armstrong given full backing to make splash for center.

[NobleSix]

If I was a betting man I would say Tavares ends up in St. Louis.

 

[FrontYardSpecial]

Blues have not had a big name 1C since i don't even know when.

Gretzky,...Turgeon,...?

Needless to say it's been a while.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

The writer named the names.

Army didn't mention any of these players specifically.

It means management is willing to match any offer given to JT

I suspect they'll have to do a lot more then simply "match" any offer if they want to land Tavares.


Cant see the Blues being all that high on the list.

 

[stl76]

I highly doubt Stastny would even consider going back to St. Louis. He never fit in well and didn't have the nicest of things to say when he left. I think this at least assures the Blues will do everything they possibly can to get Tavares.

Paul Stastny ‘absolutely’ open to St. Louis Blues return

You were saying...?

 

[kerrabria]

If this means the Blues are gonna offer like 12m to Tavares then they are stupid.

Tavares isn't even a top 5 player at his own position, and St. Louis didn't even make the playoffs last year even being in the much weaker conference. Blowing all that cap on one player won't work. JT alone is not the difference between a cup-having and a cup-less city of St. Louis.

 

[ginner classic]

If this means the Blues are gonna offer like 12m to Tavares then they are stupid.

Tavares isn't even a top 5 player at his own position, and St. Louis didn't even make the playoffs last year even being in the much weaker conference. Blowing all that cap on one player won't work. JT alone is not the difference between a cup-having and a cup-less city of St. Louis.

St Louis lacks a first line center. If Tavares is top 15 at his position (and he is) then it is a massive upgrade. He fits St Louis like a glove. I'm jealous.

 

[Dbrownss]

I suspect they'll have to do a lot more then simply "match" any offer if they want to land Tavares.


Cant see the Blues being all that high on the list.

Tarasenko as a winger. A really good top 4 defense to play in front of. There's more reasons then just money

 

[Dbrownss]

If this means the Blues are gonna offer like 12m to Tavares then they are stupid.

Tavares isn't even a top 5 player at his own position, and St. Louis didn't even make the playoffs last year even being in the much weaker conference. Blowing all that cap on one player won't work. JT alone is not the difference between a cup-having and a cup-less city of St. Louis.

Uh....what now? The western conference was weak?

 

[Dominicr]

If this means the Blues are gonna offer like 12m to Tavares then they are stupid.

Tavares isn't even a top 5 player at his own position, and St. Louis didn't even make the playoffs last year even being in the much weaker conference. Blowing all that cap on one player won't work. JT alone is not the difference between a cup-having and a cup-less city of St. Louis.

Weaker conference? Hahahaha you’re hilarious.

 

[Esq]

It makes sense. Blues have not had a big name 1C since i don't even know when.

This is a rare chance to get one in free agency.

JT obv

Doug Weight?

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Tarasenko as a winger. A really good top 4 defense to play in front of. There's more reasons then just money

Not really. Blues aren't exactly the least appealing team in the league by any means(Looking at you Montreal), but they're certainly not in the top tier either.


They just missed the playoffs, they have a GM who has been a seller at the deadline each of the last 2 seasons, despite his team being in the playoffs.


They dont have good goaltending, and while Tarasenko is great, they dont have a tonne else up front to surround Tavares with.


Not to mention other factors such as travel(Extremely rare to see a player from the East go West in Free Agency), pretty average tax rates, etc. etc.


If winning is his goal, he can find a better fit around the league no doubt.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Make me a hypothetical offer for Getzlaf

 

[BleedBlue14]

Make me a hypothetical offer for Getzlaf

I mean realistically it wouldn't happen until after the JT situation pans out. That being said, what does ANA need. I think if we miss out on JT which I understand is highly likely, I don't think Silf is that bad of a target

 

[Revelation]

If this means the Blues are gonna offer like 12m to Tavares then they are stupid.

Tavares isn't even a top 5 player at his own position, and St. Louis didn't even make the playoffs last year even being in the much weaker conference. Blowing all that cap on one player won't work. JT alone is not the difference between a cup-having and a cup-less city of St. Louis.

Jeff Carter was the difference between missing the playoffs and cruising to a cup in 2012

 

[BlueDream]

I highly doubt Stastny would even consider going back to St. Louis. He never fit in well and didn't have the nicest of things to say when he left. I think this at least assures the Blues will do everything they possibly can to get Tavares.

Another thing you could take out of these comments, is that the ownership may be willing to take on dead money that doesn't have a big cap hit attached to it. I don't know if there's anything out there that would fit the bill but it's possible.

This is just false but okay.

Anyways, the Blues actually would have one of the best teams in the league if they signed Tavares, they'd just need to do something about their goaltending.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I was thinking the same thing.
Staz is American.

I do not think that is what they are talking about-one player is SEVERAL steps beneath the others

 

[BlueDream]

I do not think that is what they are talking about-one player is SEVERAL steps beneath the others

Joke went right over your head.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Joke went right over your head.

joke was not delivered correctly

there is someone who sticks out and there is a rather large fan base that have argued till they are blue in the fact that he is on the same level as the others mentioned

 

[Brock Radunske]

Weaker conference? Hahahaha you’re hilarious.

Uh....what now? The western conference was weak?

Not that i necessarily agree that the West is weaker than the East but it's not like the past when the West was dominate. Its very comparable now.
Not to mention the last three cups came out of that conference.

 

[Brock Radunske]

I've said from the beginning that I think St.Louis will land JT if he leaves the Isles (though since then, I now consider LVGK about similar odds) but even if he doesn't go there, this news item being released is definitely going to jack up the price for other teams.

 

[Dbrownss]

Not really. Blues aren't exactly the least appealing team in the league by any means(Looking at you Montreal), but they're certainly not in the top tier either.


They just missed the playoffs, they have a GM who has been a seller at the deadline each of the last 2 seasons, despite his team being in the playoffs.


They dont have good goaltending, and while Tarasenko is great, they dont have a tonne else up front to surround Tavares with.


Not to mention other factors such as travel(Extremely rare to see a player from the East go West in Free Agency), pretty average tax rates, etc. etc.


If winning is his goal, he can find a better fit around the league no doubt.

So what about missing the playoffs. The Avalanche were a historically bad team and made the playoffs this year. This league has massive shifts year to year.


Goaltending deffinently isnt something I'd mention to him, but the Blue can make a move if Allen still struggles again. The goaltending issues aren't solely based on the position, some of it came from the anemic offensive support.

 

[kimzey59]

They just missed the playoffs,

By 1 game; while having multiple injuries up front including a top 6 forward missing the entire season.

they have a GM who has been a seller at the deadline each of the last 2 seasons, despite his team being in the playoffs.

Army has been open about transitioning from the Backes/Oshie/Staz to one built around Vladdy, Petro, Schwartz, Schenn and Parayko.
And he has what is widely considered a top 5 prospect pool to boot.

They dont have good goaltending,

Depends on how one views Allen.
He and Tavares do have some history together, and Allen was very good against Minnesota 2 years ago. IMO Tavares would be more inclined to think highly of Allen than to think he's bad.

and while Tarasenko is great, they dont have a tonne else up front to surround Tavares with.

Schenn, Schwartz(both of whom were producing at 70+ point paces without Tavares), Fabbri, Steen, Berglund
Not to mention Thomas, Kyrou and the rest of our prospects.

Sorry, but I'll put the supporting staff that St. Louis can offer up against just about anybody just on the basis of Vladdy/Schwartz/Schenn.

Not to mention other factors such as travel(Extremely rare to see a player from the East go West in Free Agency), pretty average tax rates, etc. etc.

Other factors; like one of his best friends being on the team(Pietrangelo), several guys that he is extremely familiar with playing on the team(Schwartz, Schenn, Allen, Parayko, Bouwmeester) and a FO that he is extremely familiar with(Army and Broduer).

If winning is his goal, he can find a better fit around the league no doubt.

Strongly disagree.
If winning is his goal, St. Louis has to be considered among his top 3-5 potential landing spots. There are very few teams that can surround him with a group like Vladdy, Schwartz, Schenn, Petro and Parayko and have a top end prospect pool to keep supplying talent.
I get that you're trying to justify Tavares signing someplace else; but the logic doesn't follow when you deliberately omit factors that are in the Blues favor.

 

[Pyrophorus]

I still he'd fit better at home, with a better chance at the Cup.
OTOH we shouldn't be too hot on him, with the bigger D fish coming up next year.

 

[logik47]

He'll make a big splash, so you'll hear him ROR.

 

[sfvega]

Not really. Blues aren't exactly the least appealing team in the league by any means(Looking at you Montreal), but they're certainly not in the top tier either.


They just missed the playoffs, they have a GM who has been a seller at the deadline each of the last 2 seasons, despite his team being in the playoffs.


They dont have good goaltending, and while Tarasenko is great, they dont have a tonne else up front to surround Tavares with.


Not to mention other factors such as travel(Extremely rare to see a player from the East go West in Free Agency), pretty average tax rates, etc. etc.


If winning is his goal, he can find a better fit around the league no doubt.

There are better teams, but some of them don't need a 1C or don't have the cap space to make a competitive offer. I don't think it comes down to St. Louis being the runaway #1 contender for Tavares, but the right situation of being a pretty well-built team, needing a high-end center, having cap space.

And selling Shattenkirk and Stastny at the deadline was the right move. I'm not the highest on Army at all, but it is hard to hold actual decent moves against him. Signing a top free agent for high-end money would be a much bigger indication about being serious about contending than trading off the expiring contracts of middling players.