Confirmed Trade: [STL/DET] Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski for Oskar Sundqvist, Jake Walman, and 2023 2nd

EastVillageBlues

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Feb 18, 2019
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Think Leddy’s issues in Detroit had more to do with his own attitude than system or teammates.

The time he got to play with Seider and still sucked ass kinda throws that reason out the window.

Yeah, I'm not sure what the deal with him in Detroit was, it seemed like a special set of circumstances converging or something.

I live in NYC, and NYI is the team I actually see in person the most, given that most of my colleagues at work are Isles fans. I have been following Leddy closely for years now. And he did not have issues on the Isles anywhere close to what he purported had in Det. Not to speculate too much, but maybe there are some serious coaching staff turmoils in that organization?

Anyways, I expected him to perform much better than during his Wings time, since I had pretty good confidence that he would return to form to be a reliable PMD that can play in a variety of situations when he was with NYI. There were some Blues fans that had angst over acquiring him over a bigger name, because of the information out of the Wings organization. I didn't lend much weight to what the Wings fans were reporting, since those were borderline incredulous given the player that I knew.

And so far, he has exceeded my expectations, and has been just the piece that we needed when Krug went down for weeks. He should really solidify our top-4, and given us more mobility and creativity on the back end, and improving things like zone entry, and cycling under pressure. Could not be happier so far, Armstrong has hit yet another hole in one on the cheap.
 
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Oddbob

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Jan 21, 2016
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Yeah, I'm not sure what the deal with him in Detroit was, it seemed like a special set of circumstances converging or something.

I live in NYC, and NYI is the team I actually see in person the most, given that most of my colleagues at work are Isles fans. I have been following Leddy closely for years now. And he did not have issues on the Isles anywhere close to what he purported had in Det. Not to speculate too much, but maybe there are some serious coaching staff turmoils in that organization?

Anyways, I expected him to perform much better than during his Wings time, since I had pretty good confidence that he would return to form to be a reliable PMD that can play in a variety of situations when he was with NYI. There were some Blues fans that had angst over acquiring him over a bigger name, because of the information out of the Wings organization. I didn't lend much weight to what the Wings fans were reporting, since those were borderline incredulous given the player that I knew.

And so far, he has exceeded my expectations, and has been just the piece that we needed when Krug went down for weeks. He should really solidify our top-4, and given us more mobility and creativity on the back end, and improving things like zone entry, and cycling under pressure. Could not be happier so far, Armstrong has hit yet another hole in one on the cheap.

His problem in Detroit, was that there was nowhere to hide him or use him better to his strengths. He also played bad, but more prime time 5 on 5 minutes with terrible linemates and it was a recipe for disaster. I knew once he returned to a good team, he would be decent again, as STL can use him where they need to, and aren't forced to play him more than they need to, because they have better talent and better depth. Ideally he is a second PP guy, who plays 4th-6th D level 5 on 5 minutes and lower PK time.
 
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saintunspecified

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Nov 30, 2017
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I live in NYC, and NYI is the team I actually see in person the most, given that most of my colleagues at work are Isles fans. I have been following Leddy closely for years now. And he did not have issues on the Isles anywhere close to what he purported had in Det. Not to speculate too much, but maybe there are some serious coaching staff turmoils in that organization?

Leddy is running #1 PP unit and playing over 21 minutes with us. Krug got hurt in Leddy's debut. Leddy is still the same player he was in New York, Detroit was just a terrible fit for him and how they used him.
Well, good luck to you. I hope someone comes back for the Blues' sake. He's got excellent qualities, and bad some bad ones. As a NYI fan, I can tell you that when Johnny Boychuk lost a step, Leddy absolutely did struggle in his own zone. When Toews came up + Pelech "got it" his play improved, because his reponsibilty decreased. He's reliable on the PP, but he tends to telegraph his passes. (If you don't know what I mean, you'll learn.)

He gaps up very well (note his play against Taylor Hall in the NYI v Bruins series), and takes excellent angles against rushing players, but he's poor along the boards, and tends to lose battles. Towards the end NYI tried very hard never to match him against some of the top cycling lines in the east (Crosby-Guentzel, Ovechkin-Backstrom, Marchand-Bergeron, etc.).

The other thing you'll more likely get if you keep his ice-time down is one of those famous end-to end rushes that results in a quick strike goal.
 

EastVillageBlues

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Feb 18, 2019
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Well, good luck to you. I hope someone comes back for the Blues' sake. He's got excellent qualities, and bad some bad ones. As a NYI fan, I can tell you that when Johnny Boychuk lost a step, Leddy absolutely did struggle in his own zone. When Toews came up + Pelech "got it" his play improved, because his reponsibilty decreased. He's reliable on the PP, but he tends to telegraph his passes. (If you don't know what I mean, you'll learn.)

He gaps up very well (note his play against Taylor Hall in the NYI v Bruins series), and takes excellent angles against rushing players, but he's poor along the boards, and tends to lose battles. Towards the end NYI tried very hard never to match him against some of the top cycling lines in the east (Crosby-Guentzel, Ovechkin-Backstrom, Marchand-Bergeron, etc.).

The other thing you'll more likely get if you keep his ice-time down is one of those famous end-to end rushes that results in a quick strike goal.

Yeah, no one here is saying that he is a defensive stalwart (i.e. the perfect Bowemeester replacement), which he definitely is not. He does tend to lose a notch or two in high pressure situations when pitted against the top opposition lines that can cycle well. He also at times do not react well to a heavy physical game in the offensive zone by the opposition.

He is what he is, a serviceable 2nd pairing PMD that while isn't great defensively, isn't going to give you heartburns either; basically someone who plays his part in the transition game, lubricating offense in the opposition zone, while not looking out of place in his own zone either. And that's the role he will play on the Blues, most likely paired with Parayko for the majority of the time, which he will be more than adequate to play.
 
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Mike Liut

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Feb 12, 2008
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Leddy is pretty good. Better than I thought. Sunny was one of my favorite Blues. Hopefully he gets fully healthy soon.
 

Frenzy31

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May 21, 2003
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I think both teams can be happy with the trade. Detroit got good value for a UFA robe. Blues dumpedsalary and added a good LHD to their team.

Both fans can be happy.
 
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