I disagree that the defense was as good as previous years this year. I think the defense, as a whole, was above average, but also suffered from some inconsistency that strayed from what we've become accustomed to over the years. Much of that was due to the abundance of injuries and a complete devolving of our special teams. You brought up being top 6 in the league in goals against. My issue with that is that the goalie is blamed when more goals go in, but the the praise goes to the defense whey they don't. The reality is that the truth is somewhere in between. I'm not trying to troll you on this issue, I'm just trying to have a real a real conversation on the thread about the problems and how to fix them, instead of just the "jake sucks! These numbers prove it!" commentary that is often displayed. In my personal opinion, almost every aspect of the club took a hit this year. Certainly the offense and goaltending, definitely the special teams, and to a lesser extent the defense. I think our record would have been bottom ten in the league without the acquisition of Schenn.
I disagree that the defense was as good as previous years this year. I think the defense, as a whole, was above average, but also suffered from some inconsistency that strayed from what we've become accustomed to over the years. Much of that was due to the abundance of injuries and a complete devolving of our special teams. You brought up being top 6 in the league in goals against. My issue with that is that the goalie is blamed when more goals go in, but the the praise goes to the defense whey they don't. The reality is that the truth is somewhere in between. I'm not trying to troll you on this issue, I'm just trying to have a real a real conversation on the thread about the problems and how to fix them, instead of just the "jake sucks! These numbers prove it!" commentary that is often displayed. In my personal opinion, almost every aspect of the club took a hit this year. Certainly the offense and goaltending, definitely the special teams, and to a lesser extent the defense. I think our record would have been bottom ten in the league without the acquisition of Schenn.
I see what you did thereYou better have a backup plan for when Hutton leaves
Yeah, but like, Im correct.Ville Husso Hype Train has entered the station. All aboard for impenetrable summer goalie arguments that you can't lose!
This is what I would do to address goalie situation for 2018-2019:
Resign Hutton
Trade for one of Dansk/Mrazek/Grubauer
Trade Allen to Carolina in a hockey trade
Let Husso continue to develop in the AHL
The teams that would take a shot on Allen are probably limited to Buffalo, NYI (and that's a steep maybe because Halak and Greiss haven't been great but Greiss hasn't been that bad either), Philly, and Vancouver. Very limited list. I think the Blues are stuck with Allen for better or worse. That's why I want to see Husso start taking games from Allen.With their long history of awful goaltending, I don’t see Carolina being the team that would take the risk of Allen, unless we were taking the risk of Darling back.
I don’t like Allen but he’s a shit ton better than Greiss IMO. The Isles have horrendous goaltending. They’d actually be smart to take a chance on him.The teams that would take a shot on Allen are probably limited to Buffalo, NYI (and that's a steep maybe because Halak and Greiss haven't been great but Greiss hasn't been that bad either), Philly, and Vancouver. Very limited list. I think the Blues are stuck with Allen for better or worse. That's why I want to see Husso start taking games from Allen.
Jake Allen — Another midseason unraveling could spell the end of the netminder’s time with the Blues, despite having three more years left at $4.35 million per. He turned it around down the stretch, but it’s believed the Blues only gave him the net to help improve his stock for a potential trade.
Philly could very well be the answer. Hextall sure likes other teams capdumps and is looking for veteran d as well. Two birds one stone?The teams that would take a shot on Allen are probably limited to Buffalo, NYI (and that's a steep maybe because Halak and Greiss haven't been great but Greiss hasn't been that bad either), Philly, and Vancouver. Very limited list. I think the Blues are stuck with Allen for better or worse. That's why I want to see Husso start taking games from Allen.
Saw that news about Schneider's house...personally, I'm hesitant to read too much into that sort of thing. We saw Backes put his house up prior to signing in Boston, so there is some precedence from a Blues fan perspective (even tho the situations are very different). But maybe Schneider just wants a bigger house in Jersey, wants a shorted commute to the NJD practice facility, or maybe his basement was constantly flooding. Anticipating a trade is just one of 1000+1 reasons he might be selling his house.Cory Schneider put his house up on the market. I wonder if NJ already has a deal in place.
I guess the length of the hook depends on who our backup is.If he's still on The Blues, and has an awful game in January, I'd give Allen 3 games before going to a "tandem" situation. Then, if he stays "bad", I'd play him only in back-to-backs, until he'd start playing well again
From JR's most recent article where he delves into who he believes is untouchable, unlikely, and more likely to be dealt in the offseason. The news on Allen is interesting.
My athletic subscription has really soured me on JR. He seems to give his opinion more than he used to and I find his opinion is usually fairly uninformed.
His statement, "it’s believed the Blues only gave him the net to help improve his stock for a potential trade." doesn't really make much sense and he doesn't indicate that he has a source to back it up. The Blues went back to Allen when Hutton got injured. Hutton was literally slated to start his 3rd straight game when he was hurt during the morning skate. Yeo literally said that he was surprised Hutton couldn't go when he got to the rink that evening. Hutton only skated twice in the next 2 weeks and didn't get cleared to play until almost 3 weeks after the injury. Is he suggesting that the Blues intentionally injured Hutton or fabricated a neck issue in order to increase Allen's trade value? Because by the time Hutton returned, Allen had already 'turned it around' during his absence.
What do people think about something centering around Allen for Craig Anderson? Supplement and even out however you want, but we get one year less term on a shaky asset, and more defined timeline and path for Husso, and they get a lottery ticket that might matter for them when it counts.