GDT: IT IS YOUR SAINT LOUIS BLUES HOME OPENER!!! (Ok, so there's a little amount of train.)

[Brian39]

Excuse me but Schenn is a PP specialist or haven't you heard?

Haven't thought about that narrative in years.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

The Blues could use a PP specialist or two right now.

 

[Blueston]

The Blues could use a PP specialist or two right now.

I hear Krug is one

 

[joe galiba]

I hear Krug is one

I thought Krug is a little guy with gumption

 

[lakai17]

It's been early but how has Tyler Tucker looked?

 

[Linkens Mastery]

It's been early but how has Tyler Tucker looked?

Like a solid NHL caliber 3rd pairing defenseman. No gripes from me.

 

[finnishflash13]

It's been early but how has Tyler Tucker looked?

definitely see why he made the NHL team over Rosen. he has size, he's young, and he's held his own on the 3rd pairing. a no brainer, really.

 

[Mike Liut]

It's been early but how has Tyler Tucker looked?

like a younger, smaller Bortuzzo

 

[Reality Czech]

like a younger, smaller Bortuzzo

With seemingly more offensive potential, not that it's hard to accomplish. As long as Tucker is playing like this, it's gonna be hard for Bortz and Perunovich to crack the lineup. Gotta say I felt bad for the healthy scratch guys trying to smile while being introduced before the home opener. Especially Bortz as he's been such a proud and loyal Blue, but those are the breaks I guess. Wouldn't be surprised to see Bortuzzo dealt at some point this season just to give him more of a chance to play since Army has a track record of doing that.

 

[sbet1998]

Surely we're not overanalyzing this team 2 hours into the season, right guys?

Im looking towards game 10, 20 and 30 to see if the team defense and special teams can at least be average. If it is they make the tourney.

Team chemistry and special teams could make a huge difference..

 

[Blueston]

Kyrou was really good. Impactful all over the ice. Thomas had nice game also. Parayko I liked too. If these 3 keep it up that can be huge part of reestablishing foundation of contender (not to contend this year, just helping us get to it).

 

[Brian39]

Especially Bortz as he's been such a proud and loyal Blue, but those are the breaks I guess. Wouldn't be surprised to see Bortuzzo dealt at some point this season just to give him more of a chance to play since Army has a track record of doing that.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Bortz is content to play out his career as the 7th D man here. He's been here for almost a decade and I don't think he is an every day guy on a playoff team at this point in his career. I think there is a good chance that he isn't an every day guy for any NHL team at this point.

If there is a team that would commit to giving him NHL minutes, I could see Army trading Bortz as a favor/reward for his service as a Blue. But I don't think a team will commit to that. I think he's going to play out his season as our #7 that gets into games as injuries/matchups dictate. And then I think he retires next summer when there aren't any NHL deals on the table.

I love what he brought to the team and I'm happy he got his name on the Cup. Every year there are fewer guys like him in the NHL. But he's 34, was never a good skater, and plays a style that takes a toll on the body. I think that retiring after a 10 season stint with a franchise that got your name on the Cup is the best end his career is going to get.

 

[ToniJ1960]

I also wouldn't be surprised if Bortz is content to play out his career as the 7th D man here. He's been here for almost a decade and I don't think he is an every day guy on a playoff team at this point in his career. I think there is a good chance that he isn't an every day guy for any NHL team at this point.

If there is a team that would commit to giving him NHL minutes, I could see Army trading Bortz as a favor/reward for his service as a Blue. But I don't think a team will commit to that. I think he's going to play out his season as our #7 that gets into games as injuries/matchups dictate. And then I think he retires next summer when there aren't any NHL deals on the table.

I love what he brought to the team and I'm happy he got his name on the Cup. Every year there are fewer guys like him in the NHL. But he's 34, was never a good skater, and plays a style that takes a toll on the body. I think that retiring after a 10 season stint with a franchise that got your name on the Cup is the best end his career is going to get.

Might a position in the Blues organization be appropriate?

 

[Blueston]

I also wouldn't be surprised if Bortz is content to play out his career as the 7th D man here. He's been here for almost a decade and I don't think he is an every day guy on a playoff team at this point in his career. I think there is a good chance that he isn't an every day guy for any NHL team at this point.

If there is a team that would commit to giving him NHL minutes, I could see Army trading Bortz as a favor/reward for his service as a Blue. But I don't think a team will commit to that. I think he's going to play out his season as our #7 that gets into games as injuries/matchups dictate. And then I think he retires next summer when there aren't any NHL deals on the table.

I love what he brought to the team and I'm happy he got his name on the Cup. Every year there are fewer guys like him in the NHL. But he's 34, was never a good skater, and plays a style that takes a toll on the body. I think that retiring after a 10 season stint with a franchise that got your name on the Cup is the best end his career is going to get.

i think this is right. i do think borts is type of guy that Army would have discussion with as year goes on to see whether he would like trade to a better team. He won't return enough (late, late pick at best i'd think) that it will matter, but if he wanted to go on 1 last Cup chase and somebody wanted him as their 6/7 guy for a run (or injury insurance), i expect that we would look to accommodate him.

 

[stl76]

Might a position in the Blues organization be appropriate?

I could definitely see a player development role with the Blues for Bortz at some point after he hangs them up.

 

[Majorityof1]

i think this is right. i do think borts is type of guy that Army would have discussion with as year goes on to see whether he would like trade to a better team. He won't return enough (late, late pick at best i'd think) that it will matter, but if he wanted to go on 1 last Cup chase and somebody wanted him as their 6/7 guy for a run (or injury insurance), i expect that we would look to accommodate him.

Bortz can no longer play consistent minutes for our god awful defensive unit. What contender is going to want him? I am a big fan of his. I like having him on the team for his leadership and PK. But the game is passing him by. I think there are dozens of other better players a contender can get for a late pick on any given trade deadline.

 

[Blueston]

Bortz can no longer play consistent minutes for our god awful defensive unit. What contender is going to want him? I am a big fan of his. I like having him on the team for his leadership and PK. But the game is passing him by. I think there are dozens of other better players a contender can get for a late pick on any given trade deadline.

i'm not going to say he has much left, just that on good team with good structure they might want his size and toughness and playoff experience. again, as injury insurance or just character guy for team that thinks they need it. i'm not advocating that he can actually help such a team, just that i could see someone thinking that intangibles he brings might be of benefit.

 

[mk80]

Bortz can no longer play consistent minutes for our god awful defensive unit. What contender is going to want him? I am a big fan of his. I like having him on the team for his leadership and PK. But the game is passing him by. I think there are dozens of other better players a contender can get for a late pick on any given trade deadline.

He could be someone's Michael Del Zotto

 

[Brian39]

Bortz can no longer play consistent minutes for our god awful defensive unit. What contender is going to want him? I am a big fan of his. I like having him on the team for his leadership and PK. But the game is passing him by. I think there are dozens of other better players a contender can get for a late pick on any given trade deadline.

I agree with you that he's not going to be a #6 for a contender. And probably not a #7 in a healthy lineup either. But the pace/style of the playoffs is better suited to his game than the pace/style of the regular season and it isn't uncommon for teams to have to use an 8th (or even 9th) D man on a deep playoff run.

I also don't think that his role in our D group captures what he could do on another D group. The right side of our D is a hell of a lot better than the left side of our D. Faulk and Parayko are both at absolute worst #2/3 D men in the NHL (and I think it is much more reasonable to say that they are both 1st pair caliber although not true #1 guys). They only missed 3 total games last year and the weakness of the left side meant that we had/have to give them big minutes. There simply are not many available 3RD minutes on this blueline for whoever is in the lineup in that spot. I think his 12:34 a night last year is more of a reflection of Faulk/Parayko logging big minutes than it is the bottom pair being incapable of playing 14-15 minutes.

Additionally, Bortz was effective in his role as that 3RD last year. He ended the year +9 with an expected +/1 of -1.3 while playing a pretty defensive-leaning role. The bottom pair absolutely wasn't the issue with the defense last year.

Looking at this season, we once again have a good amount of bottom-pair caliber guys with holes in the top 4. While the D unit overall may not be playoff-caliber, that is due to top 4 issues and not a lack of bottom pair players. There are always a number of playoff teams that have a nice top 4 but a poor group 5-7. Just because our group is bad with a poor top 4 and a fine 5-7 group doesn't mean that every better group has a comparable (or better) 5-7 group.

Again, I don't think that Bortz is a 6th D on a contender. And he very well might not be as good as a lot of #7s. But I don't think that him being a healthy scratch in favor of Marco Scandella and Tyler Tucker (who we have incentive to develop) means that he can't be solid injury insurance to a good team. He has been effective in a #6/7 role for the last couple years, he plays a style more conducive to the playoffs, he brings an edge that is becoming increasingly less common in the NHL, he has a ring based on tangible contributions to a Cup team, and he appears to be a fun locker room guy. I think he checks a ton of the boxes a team is looking for when they are thinking about acquiring a veteran depth piece around the deadline without spending a real asset.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a top 10 team look to add him if they have a D on the shelf around the deadline and believe that they can carry him on the NHL roster for the rest of the season. Not for any real asset to get excited over, but if he wants to sit in the press box for a playoff team for the potential to get into a few playoff games, I think that Army would be able to get him to one.

 

[Xerloris]

Looking at this season, we once again have a good amount of bottom-pair caliber guys with holes in the top 4. While the D unit overall may not be playoff-caliber, that is due to top 4 issues and not a lack of bottom pair players. There are always a number of playoff teams that have a nice top 4 but a poor group 5-7. Just because our group is bad with a poor top 4 and a fine 5-7 group doesn't mean that every better group has a comparable (or better) 5-7 group.

Do you think our top 4 is bad or do you think one particular player in the top 4 is bringing the entire group down?

 

[Brian39]

Do you think our top 4 is bad or do you think one particular player in the top 4 is bringing the entire group down?

I think that we have 3 guys who are perfectly good in a top 4 role (Parayko, Faulk, and Leddy). I wouldn't describe any of them as bad. However, I think all of them are being overextended into a role that they are not capable of handling.

I think Parayko and Faulk are both very capable #2 D men. I think either could be 'the man' on a legit 2nd pair and I think that either could be half of a top pair with a similarly capable partner. I also think that Leddy is a perfectly good top 4 D man who is best suited as either the complimentary piece to an absolute stud #1 on a top pair or the 2nd half of a quality 2nd pair alongside a #2.

All of them could play effective top 4 roles IMO, but we don't have a 4th top 4 caliber guy to play with them.

We have to shelter Krug/Faulk for it to be an effective pair and when we put Faulk out for defensive minutes it is with bottom-pair caliber D. Faulk can play that role with a top 4 caliber D man, but not a bottom pair D man.

That sheltering means that Leddy/Parayko have do do insane heavy lifting defensively and are used like an elite shutdown pair. I think they could be a really effective all situations 2nd pair, but they aren't an effective only-hard situations top pair.

All 3 of those guys were given #1 D minutes last year. We basically tried to make a 3 person top 4 (with some #4/5 guys filling in some minutes with Faulk) and none of those 3 guys are elite. It's one reason I'm of the belief that the D can be fixed without waiting 5+ years. Top pair LHD aren't easy to come by, but adding a legit top pair LHD suddenly means the entire group is playing the exact role I think they are capable of.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Bortz is definitely the kind of guy playoff teams will spend a 7th rounder on for a locker room guy who can fill in for injuries. Unfortunately, they probably can't count on any Bobby Orrtuzzo moments, especially seeing as Joe Thornton is now retired.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

Surely we're not overanalyzing this team 2 hours into the season, right guys?

Im looking towards game 10, 20 and 30 to see if the team defense and special teams can at least be average. If it is they make the tourney.

Team chemistry and special teams could make a huge difference..

Chemistry is huge for this club. It was great to hear Kevin Hayes say that almost everyone was in town 3 weeks before camp opened up to get some work in together.

Last year's lack of chemistry was easy to see the rift between the old core and the new core.

 

[Thallis]

Chemistry is huge for this club. It was great to hear Kevin Hayes say that almost everyone was in town 3 weeks before camp opened up to get some work in together.

Last year's lack of chemistry was easy to see the rift between the old core and the new core.

This is something basically every team does, even last year's team.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

This is something basically every team does, even last year's team.

Fair enough. Hayes talked about it as if it was unique.