GDT: Free Agency Game 1: Blues vs Avs 11 AM CT

[542365]

I respectfully disagree. If Berglund can't get even a 2nd in 2015, then we keep him. He's still very useful and I'm sure we can divest cap hit in other ways.

I would hang onto him too. I wasn't trying to say that I'd like to see him traded, just that if he is I wouldn't expect all that much in return. I'd only trade him if it was necessary in order to fit Schwartz and Soby's contracts in under the cap.

 

[Note Worthy]

I would hang onto him too. I wasn't trying to say that I'd like to see him traded, just that if he is I wouldn't expect all that much in return. I'd only trade him if it was necessary in order to fit Schwartz and Soby's contracts in under the cap.

Exactly. If we have to trade him in order to get Sobe and Schwartz to be able to stay then so be it.

But if not we should most definitely keep him. Especially now that he has a chance to play in a role that he performs best at instead of being forced into a different role because of our lack of depth.

 

[gqmixmaster]

I was thinking the 2nd and a prospect/roster player similar to what the oilers paid for Perron.

I just cant figure out what the prospect/roster player add would be to a 2nd rounder.

 

[Majorityof1]

I was thinking the 2nd and a prospect/roster player similar to what the oilers paid for Perron.

I just cant figure out what the prospect/roster player add would be to a 2nd rounder.

Our roster is full. Unless we are getting some sort of upgrade, I don't think we want a roster player. I know I have wavered on this 3 times today alone, but I don't think we should trade Berglund now. His value is at an all time low. He is coming off a bad year, an injury at the end and a pretty hefty contract extension for his point total.

Instead trade Leopold, or buy him out. Sign Cola or another decent defenseman who will play for less than a mill. Maybe an old vet who wants one more shot at a cup (Hal Gill if he still has any juice for example). Or give Del Zotto a shot. He is a young kid with upside in desperate need of a chance to resurrect his career. Anyway, swap D. Save $1.5M to do what we need to do.

Then play Berglund and hope he improves to get his value up. Either he gels with our guy and we have a great third line wing. Or he plays a bit better, gets his value up and we have a piece to trade at the deadline for a rental. Give Ottawa another shot at Berglund in a deal for Bobby Ryan. Maybe Dallas is out of the playoffs and on the outs with Spezza, so we can get him anyway. He'll still have 2 years of term and hopefully, established himself as a solid wing, so he could maybe fetch a decent rental.

 

[gqmixmaster]

Our roster is full. Unless we are getting some sort of upgrade, I don't think we want a roster player. I know I have wavered on this 3 times today alone, but I don't think we should trade Berglund now. His value is at an all time low. He is coming off a bad year, an injury at the end and a pretty hefty contract extension for his point total.

Instead trade Leopold, or buy him out. Sign Cola or another decent defenseman who will play for less than a mill. Maybe an old vet who wants one more shot at a cup (Hal Gill if he still has any juice for example). Or give Del Zotto a shot. He is a young kid with upside in desperate need of a chance to resurrect his career. Anyway, swap D. Save $1.5M to do what we need to do.

Then play Berglund and hope he improves to get his value up. Either he gels with our guy and we have a great third line wing. Or he plays a bit better, gets his value up and we have a piece to trade at the deadline for a rental. Give Ottawa another shot at Berglund in a deal for Bobby Ryan. Maybe Dallas is out of the playoffs and on the outs with Spezza, so we can get him anyway. He'll still have 2 years of term and hopefully, established himself as a solid wing, so he could maybe fetch a decent rental.

id say it would be hard for berglund to improve his #'s or value playing as the 3 or 4C though, but if they can keep it all under the cap it would probably be a good move to keep quality depth for sure.

 

[542365]

I was thinking the 2nd and a prospect/roster player similar to what the oilers paid for Perron.

I just cant figure out what the prospect/roster player add would be to a 2nd rounder.

If we are forced to trade Berglund, you won't have to pay nearly the same price as you paid for Perron. If he's moved, it's because it's necessary to fit under the cap. Other teams know this, and would thus have all the leverage because if we ask for too much in return, other GMs could simply say "well, have fun in cap hell". I hope it doesn't happen, but if it does, he's going to come at a steal for the other team.

 

[Majorityof1]

id say it would be hard for berglund to improve his #'s or value playing as the 3 or 4C though, but if they can keep it all under the cap it would probably be a good move to keep quality depth for sure.

Not really. 32 points is pretty bad, even for a 3rd liner. We will probably roll our top 3 lines pretty equally and sacrifice the 4th. I think he'll get 15 minutes of ice time. Even if he can't raise his overall numbers, he can improve his per 60 minute numbers which accounts for ice time. If he gets on a line with one of our playmaking centers, its a good chance he can net 45 points with that time which would up his value.

 

[Alklha]

If we are forced to trade Berglund, you won't have to pay nearly the same price as you paid for Perron. If he's moved, it's because it's necessary to fit under the cap. Other teams know this, and would thus have all the leverage because if we ask for too much in return, other GMs could simply say "well, have fun in cap hell". I hope it doesn't happen, but if it does, he's going to come at a steal for the other team.

Perron was moved for the same reason last summer and the number of potential suitors for him was much lower considering we had to drop $2.5m in the trade. Centres are more in demand and there are a lot more teams out there capable of taking on salary this summer.

A 2nd and a decent prospect would be realistic.

 

[Robb_K]

I was away on a 35 km bicycle trip yesterday, so I couldn't participate in the anguish and final joy of the opening of the free agent period. It was a really nice present to me upon returning, to see that The Blues got Stastny, and out-of-the-blue signed Lehtera, obliterating the need to trade for an older centre like Spezza, or sign a player like Bolland.

They are a team full of young, talented players, having only ONE "old" player (Jackman). This team looks to be The BEST Blues team that ever took the ice. I can't wait to watch this young and very skilled and talented Blues team play.

 

[LGB51]

I could see them putting Lehtera with Schwartz and Tarasenko, Sobotka-Backes-Steen, and Berglund/Jaskin-Stastny-Oshie.

Best depth around.

Foe some reason I see Steen skating on a line with Lehtera and Lindstrom a lot this year.

Schwartz - Stastny - Tarasenko
Berglund - Backes - Oshie
Steen - Lehtera - Lindstrom
Sobotka - Lapierre - Reaves/MPS/Jaskin (interchangeable parts imo)

What I'd like to see happen.

 

[gqmixmaster]

Not really. 32 points is pretty bad, even for a 3rd liner. We will probably roll our top 3 lines pretty equally and sacrifice the 4th. I think he'll get 15 minutes of ice time. Even if he can't raise his overall numbers, he can improve his per 60 minute numbers which accounts for ice time. If he gets on a line with one of our playmaking centers, its a good chance he can net 45 points with that time which would up his value.

you think Berglund rolls to the wing? Does he play much on the wing, I thought he was only a C

 

[Novacain]

you think Berglund rolls to the wing? Does he play much on the wing, I thought he was only a C

We've been trying to move him to LW for a while now, we just didn't have the depth at center to do so.

The games he has played wing last season he looked much more aggressive on offense then when lined up at C, and generally had better results.

 

[Majorityof1]

Yeah, I like Berglund on the wing much more. He is a sniper, not a playmaker. When he plays wing, he feels more comfortable taking shots. He has more confidence. When he plays center, its like he feels more pressure to be a playmaker. He doesn't use his shot as often, skates around with the puck looking for a play. He just doesn't have the playmakers vision to do anything with it. Put him on the wing, give him a set up guy and let him snipe. It also let's him forecheck where he will actually use some of his size, although he is good defensively as a center.

 

[Captain Creampuff]

Berglund-Lehtera-Lindstrom

Euro line

 

[SweetyV]

The Euro Triplets

 

[BlueBeard]

you think Berglund rolls to the wing? Does he play much on the wing, I thought he was only a C

Berglund has played an extremely low amount of games at LW for the Blues. Fans are pushing Berglund to the wing because of a preconcieved notion of a center must being a playmaking center and wingers the snipers. When Berglund isn't playing a straight forward north south game and/or lacks confidence he's not going to produce, but when the sample size on LW is so low we just haven't seen him cycle through the down times there yet.


Here is an excellent interview by Hitch where he goes over certain roles and how the game has changed. When Hitch finally retires I hope one of the networks gives him a segment where he can break things down because he has an excellent mind for the game. Hitch on KMOX

 

[542365]

Jay McClement to Carolina for one year 1M. That's a good deal for the Canes. Love that guy.

 

[Meatball]

I'm excited about Berglund on the wing this season, for many reasons. First being the whole "late blooming swede" thing, so maybe this is the season that he finally turns the corner. Secondly, he's got a better assembly of talent around him. One of Lehtera, Sobotka and possibly Stastny and Backes will be dishing him the puck, which is much better than anything he's had around him in previous seasons. If he can't make it happen this season, then he won't make it happen period.

By the way, what I mean by "make it happen" is at least hit 50 points.

 

[SweetyV]

I'd settle for 40

 

[SteenMachine]

Berglund is just really sloppy when passing into the slot / shooting lanes, I think he'd do much better in a fixed role on the wing.
He could focus on using his puck control and pulling away from the half boards to shoot or getting into lanes for one-timers and deflections.
He uses the boards well, but not the back of the net to create chances so taking the puck deep doesn't amount to much.
He's strong on his skates but not doing anything if he's behind the play trying to feed someone a pass.
He builds chemistry with creative players by providing consistency for them to look for.
He can focus more on playing the body instead of the puck during zone transitions and line changes.

 

[bleedblue1223]

In case you were feeling down with the Blues not playing on opening night...suck it Avs.

 

[TK 421]

In case you were feeling down with the Blues not playing on opening night...suck it Avs.

So bitter over there. Just got back from their around the league thread where a wishful thinker has concluded that it wouldn't surprise him if the Blues missed the PO's. Must....not.....respond....to......stupid.

 

[DoubleK81]

So bitter over there. Just got back from their around the league thread where a wishful thinker has concluded that it wouldn't surprise him if the Blues missed the PO's. Must....not.....respond....to......stupid.

That's funny, considering nearly every analyst says that if the line is so razor thin for Col, they could easily fall out of the playoffs if they don't get the same caliber goaltending out of Varly again this year.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

There's no doubt the Central is going to be a bloodbath this year. A key injury to the wrong guy could be devastating for several teams. I think Chicago is the team that will slip the most this season. Dallas, Minnesota and Colorado all have narrowed the gap enough to beat them head to head on any given night.

 

[bleedblue1223]

And for people to think that we will fall in the regular season are out to lunch. Our team is built for the regular season, it will be a piece of cake for us, even if we get hit with injuries within reason. Unfortunately, we still need some of our guys to hit their next level to be built for the playoffs. If we get Tarasenko, Pietrangelo, a goalie, and another forward or 2 to find that next playoff gear, then we can finally do some damage. We know Tarasenko has that since he showed it, but I think he can still hit a higher level than he showed against Chicago.