Make some bold predictions for this season

[LetsGoBooze]

Allen doesn't even need to get hurt for Husso to get a chance. He just needs to play like he normally does and eventually Husso will get an opportunity.

Interesting. You don't think a 2.47 GAA and .914 save% will be good enough?

 

[Majorityof1]

Interesting. You don't think a 2.47 GAA and .914 save% will be good enough?

If you are going with his career average, its .913 according to NHL.com. If he had a .913 last year, he would have been tied with 5 other goalies for 24th in the league (min 25 games). That's not exactly great. Probably not bad enough to have him sent down, but not good enough for us to try to find a better option next off-season.

 

[LetsGoBooze]

Probably not bad enough to have him sent down, but not good enough for us to try to find a better option next off-season.

I can agree with this, i think the 2019-20 season is when the great Husso emerges and runs with any opportunity he is given.

 

[Robb_K]

If you are going with his career average, its .913 according to NHL.com. If he had a .913 last year, he would have been tied with 5 other goalies for 24th in the league (min 25 games). That's not exactly great. Probably not bad enough to have him sent down, but not good enough for us to try to find a better option next off-season.

Again we are trying to make a judgement about a statistic without considering its context. Save % is highly affected by the type of defence a goalie's team plays in front of him, determining what mix of frequency of kinds of shots he faces, and how much, how quickly and even IF he gets to see them. Having so-so save % can be caused by being a super goalie playing behind a terrible defence, or being a terrible goalie playing behind a stifling defence, or several other combinations. The few games I watched Husso play he used good positioning, showed good reflexes, read plays well, saw the puck well, was adequate covering rebounds, and seemed decent at passing the puck. I'd guess he's almost ready for The NHL. I'd base that a lot more on scouting reports, what the experts say about him, how The Blues' brass feels about him, and what I, personally saw than trust his minor league numbers.

 

[LGB51]

I haven't opined in this thread yet, so here goes:

1) Tarasenko (my favorite player) does not hit another level, scores between 30 and 35 goals and around 70 points, leading to trade rumors;
2) Fabbri re-injures his knee at home during the first week of the season, leading everyone in the building to groan in depression, knowing that his career is likely over;
3) Schwartz does not miss significant time and plays 75+ games, leading the Blues in scoring with over 75 points;
4) Thomas starts out on the 4th line but moves up to the 3rd line RW in time, putting up 25 points on the season;
5) Parayko has another 35 point season, with no improvement in goal scoring, leading to more trade rumors;
6) Husso steals the job from Allen 3/4 into the season, but Allen is declared the starting goaltender for the playoffs.

God **** dude, you sent over half the board into full on depression with this post.

Why is that you might ask?

Well I'll answer.

There is nothing bold about these predictions.

 

[tfriede2]

God **** dude, you sent over half the board into full on depression with this post.

Why is that you might ask?

Well I'll answer.

There is nothing bold about these predictions.

Depends on what your definition of “bold” is - if your definition is “unlikely”, then most of my predictions likely aren’t bold. But Tarasenko having another down year scoring wise is definitely an unpopular opinion. Schwartz having a healthy season is probably unlikely, ha. Husso likely won’t steal Allen’s job, and Parayko failing to score goals is probably another unpopular opinion.

 

[simon IC]

Depends on what your definition of “bold” is - if your definition is “unlikely”, then most of my predictions likely aren’t bold. But Tarasenko having another down year scoring wise is definitely an unpopular opinion. Schwartz having a healthy season is probably unlikely, ha. Husso likely won’t steal Allen’s job, and Parayko failing to score goals is probably another unpopular opinion.

Meh, I am completely unconcerned about Parayko putting up better numbers. In fact, I would prefer him to concentrate more on his defensive game. If his offense drops a bit, so what? We have Pietrangelo and Dunn for that.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

There is a bit of VGK in this St Louis team. Good spread of vets, solid mobile Defence.

Curious, what are the thoughts of Yeo as a Coach? He reminds me of Maurice. Just average, as long as he does not get in the way of talent, he will be fine.

 

[BlueDream]

There is a bit of VGK in this St Louis team. Good spread of vets, solid mobile Defence.

Curious, what are the thoughts of Yeo as a Coach? He reminds me of Maurice. Just average, as long as he does not get in the way of talent, he will be fine.

I think that's a pretty decent comparison, or at least what we're hoping for.

The fact is, we really don't know yet. As disappointed as we were last year, Yeo had nothing to work with. He started the season with Sobotka on the 2nd line and he ended it with Brodziak and Berglund on the 2nd line. That's just not good depth at all.

But that said, the powerplay I do believe was his fault. It was just a disaster, and he's had that problem before. So far, his criticisms in Minnesota have rang true here. So he needs to get better. This could be a make or break season for him.

 

[Ranksu]

I think that's a pretty decent comparison, or at least what we're hoping for.

The fact is, we really don't know yet. As disappointed as we were last year, Yeo had nothing to work with. He started the season with Sobotka on the 2nd line and he ended it with Brodziak and Berglund on the 2nd line. That's just not good depth at all.

But that said, the powerplay I do believe was his fault. It was just a disaster, and he's had that problem before. So far, his criticisms in Minnesota have rang true here. So he needs to get better. This could be a make or break season for him.

Our powerplay ranking of 30th spot will automatically get better what players Army did add to this team. ROR, Bozak, Perron. Now add there hopefully healthy Fabbri and we've monster powerplay unite. If we aren't top10 in the league at powerplay with this squad I'll say Yeo has failed big time. Realistically we should be top5 in NHL at powerplay, but I'll give time to them, but top10 should be very realistic metric where to aim and be.

 

[Brian39]

Our powerplay ranking of 30th spot will automatically get better what players Army did add to this team. ROR, Bozak, Perron. Now add there hopefully healthy Fabbri and we've monster powerplay unite. If we aren't top10 in the league at powerplay with this squad I'll say Yeo has failed big time. Realistically we should be top5 in NHL at powerplay, but I'll give time to them, but top10 should be very realistic metric where to aim and be.

I almost completely agree with this, but I also wouldn't be surprised if there are some struggles early with so much new personnel.

My expectation is that the PP is top 10 over the last 50 games of the season. So long as it is performing like a top 10 unit those final 50 games, I'll be content if the PP starts slow and causes us to finish outside the top 10. However, anything less than that is a complete and total failure in my eyes. We have too many good offensive players with a history of PP success this year. We have to pick 10 guys out of Schenn, Schwartz, Tarasenko, ROR, Bozak, Perron, Steen, Maroon, Fabbri, Petro, Dunn, Parayko and potentially Thomas/Kyrou to form 2 units. There is too much talent and variety in playstyles in that group to blame a middling PP on lack of execution. We can overload one unit with a huge amount of talent, spread talent through both units and mix/match guys based on chemistry/playstyle. We have quick players in that group, big players, good shooters, good passers and a mix of RHS and LHS at each position. If some combination of that group can't be a top 10 PP in the NHL, then the issue is the system.

 

[TK 421]

Agree that the PP "should" be improved on personnel alone however I'm concerned that coaching or lack thereof could be the issue. Is it possible that Yeo simply doesn't set aside much practice time for the PP? His teams PP's being consistently poor have made me really wonder what exactly the cause could be. Is it possible he doesn't have a clear message for the PP units? Last year's PP made me curse at my T.V., I'd rather not repeat that experience again but history says we will unless some new element intervenes.

 

[thedustman]

-husso goes hamburger at the end of the season

-berglund has a career year with buffalo

-fabbri hits 70 points

-entire hf board agrees petro should handily win the norris, but it goes to someone else

-bouwmeester leads d-men in points after first 15 games of season

-barbashev scores game winning goal in game 6 of the stanley cup finals

 

[Bluesguru]

Blues reach Stanley Cup Finals this year. Is that bold enough? I really think the Blues have a serious shot. Blues and Toronto play each other in the SC Finals, the 2 longest running Cup-less teams meet up in Finals and go head to head.

 

[simon IC]

Blues reach Stanley Cup Finals this year. Is that bold enough? I really think the Blues have a serious shot. Blues and Toronto play each other in the SC Finals, the 2 longest running Cup-less teams meet up in Finals and go head to head.

OMG! I live about 45 mins from Toronto. I would have to leave town for a week or two!

 

[stl76]

I almost completely agree with this, but I also wouldn't be surprised if there are some struggles early with so much new personnel.

My expectation is that the PP is top 10 over the last 50 games of the season. So long as it is performing like a top 10 unit those final 50 games, I'll be content if the PP starts slow and causes us to finish outside the top 10. However, anything less than that is a complete and total failure in my eyes. We have too many good offensive players with a history of PP success this year. We have to pick 10 guys out of Schenn, Schwartz, Tarasenko, ROR, Bozak, Perron, Steen, Maroon, Fabbri, Petro, Dunn, Parayko and potentially Thomas/Kyrou to form 2 units. There is too much talent and variety in playstyles in that group to blame a middling PP on lack of execution. We can overload one unit with a huge amount of talent, spread talent through both units and mix/match guys based on chemistry/playstyle. We have quick players in that group, big players, good shooters, good passers and a mix of RHS and LHS at each position. If some combination of that group can't be a top 10 PP in the NHL, then the issue is the system.

Agree with a lot of what you're saying here, but the bolded in particular is 100% true. Unfortunately, I think it is also true that last season we had the personnel to be much better than 30th on the PP...in other words, the issue is already the system rather than a lack of talented players.

Obviously adding players like ROR, Perron, Bozak, etc to an already talented PP crew is not going to hurt. However, I am hesitant to say that adding a guy who is very effective on the PP like ROR will automatically improve our PP. Because PP's are situations where the system plays such a large role in player outcomes, it's really hard to say if a player who was successful in one system will be similarly successful in another. One must look no further than our very own Brayden Schenn in Philly's system vs in Yeo's system last year.

Bottom line: it was unacceptable for our PP to suck as bad as it did last year, I think a lot of the blame rests with the coaching staff/system, and if Yeo and Co. can't achieve better results with this line up then heads need to roll. Like you say, with the amount of options they have, there's simply no excuse to have a bad PP. I guess my only gripe is really that they never had an excuse in the first place (if that makes sense).

 

[Mike Liut]

-husso goes hamburger at the end of the season

-berglund has a career year with buffalo

-fabbri hits 70 points

-entire hf board agrees petro should handily win the norris, but it goes to someone else

-bouwmeester leads d-men in points after first 15 games of season

-barbashev scores game winning goal in game 6 of the stanley cup finals

If Fabbri has that kind of year, we will be unstoppable.

 

[thedustman]

Blues reach Stanley Cup Finals this year. Is that bold enough? I really think the Blues have a serious shot. Blues and Toronto play each other in the SC Finals, the 2 longest running Cup-less teams meet up in Finals and go head to head.

That would be the best.

Blues take the canucks in seven to come outta the west.
Leafs come back from a three goal deficit to beat the sabres in game seven and meet the blues in the finals.

 

[simon IC]

We also came in 18th OA on PK %. Despite the injuries, that to me is unacceptable, given the personnel at Yeo's disposal. PP is not the only problem. Special teams are a problem! I hope Yeo is on a short leash this coming season. I, for one, have no faith in him.

 

[KirkOut]

We also came in 18th OA on PK %. Despite the injuries, that to me is unacceptable, given the personnel at Yeo's disposal. PP is not the only problem. Special teams are a problem! I hope Yeo is on a short leash this coming season. I, for one, have no faith in him.

PK is one thing I'm low-key worried about, especially after losing Sobotka, Brodziak, Upshall, and Berglund who were all reliable. ROR and Perron will be additions to the PK, but besides those two, Schwartz and Steen, who are our PKers? Barbashev? Can Schenn PK?

 

[tfriede2]

PK is one thing I'm low-key worried about, especially after losing Sobotka, Brodziak, Upshall, and Berglund who were all reliable. ROR and Perron will be additions to the PK, but besides those two, Schwartz and Steen, who are our PKers? Barbashev? Can Schenn PK?

Sundqvist, if he’s in the lineup (meh). I bet Thomas could, but he has to earn that trust, which will take time. Did Jaskin or Soshnikov play on the PK last year?

 

[Brockon]

PK is one thing I'm low-key worried about, especially after losing Sobotka, Brodziak, Upshall, and Berglund who were all reliable. ROR and Perron will be additions to the PK, but besides those two, Schwartz and Steen, who are our PKers? Barbashev? Can Schenn PK?

Even if Schenn can PK, do you want him playing top line minutes, PP and PK minutes game in, game out? Last season William Karlsson did it with 19:21 ATOI for 82 games, but that doesn't mean that it's a good idea either.

I'd personally like to see no forward log over 18-19 minutes consistently through the season to try and reduce potential injury risk due to fatigue and keep them fresher for down the stretch and into a hopefully deep run this spring.

I agree losing a big portion of our PK is worthy of concern - but I'd really hate to see a guy running PP1/PP2, top line and even PK2 minutes. That applies across the board. The amount of shots blocked on the PK climbs, and personally I'd like to keep as much of our top lines off the PK as possible (not feasible to keep them all off it, I know) especially Schwartz, who seems to get injured blocking shots most seasons.

 

[KirkOut]

Even if Schenn can PK, do you want him playing top line minutes, PP and PK minutes game in, game out? Last season William Karlsson did it with 19:21 ATOI for 82 games, but that doesn't mean that it's a good idea either.

I'd personally like to see no forward log over 18-19 minutes consistently through the season to try and reduce potential injury risk due to fatigue and keep them fresher for down the stretch and into a hopefully deep run this spring.

I agree losing a big portion of our PK is worthy of concern - but I'd really hate to see a guy running PP1/PP2, top line and even PK2 minutes. That applies across the board. The amount of shots blocked on the PK climbs, and personally I'd like to keep as much of our top lines off the PK as possible (not feasible to keep them all of it I know) especially Schwartz, who seems to get injured blocking shots most seasons.

I agree, ideally the skilled guys wouldn't be subjected to the perils of PK. But we seem to be somewhat low on options. I wonder if Maroon can PK

 

[Ranksu]

@Alklha @EastonBlues22 please send this discussion to Blues discussion thread.

 

[EastonBlues22]

It's generally fine if a thread has a little tangent that springs naturally from the on-topic discussion, even if that discussion is ideally suited for a different thread or is a bit redundant given a similar conversation elsewhere. Allowing for some deviation helps sustain spontaneous conversations, as many discussions can touch on a lot of different bases within the span of a few posts, anyway. For example, a Bold Prediction can provoke a Blues Discussion response, which might in turn spark an AHL observation and a Trade Proposal.

We'll typically only move stuff if it looks like it's going to become an extended discussion (like 10+ posts that are decidedly off-topic with no immediate end in sight), or if it looks like it's going to derail a thread completely.