The 2015-2016 Blues Discussion Thread - Part IV

[Dbrownss]

Pääjärvi adds a ton of speed, has been good on the forcheck and wins puck battles... why not try it? Also can our offense get any worse? Unless Tarasenko shoots it hard enough to bounce back in our net, the answer is no

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Paajarvi on the top line today. Kill me now.

Hitch really has absolutely no clue how to get this team going, doesn't he?

If Paajarvi is making it to our top line with Tarasenko, it's time to make a trade. Sure, Paajarvi has been playing better, but he's being rewarded for checking-line play: something that shouldn't get you on the top line no matter what the team philosophy is. Apparently we're not looking into an offensive coordinator, so get Hitch some help on offense, Army!

It's so obvious that management is going to go all-in this year, again, and we're going to end up trading our 1st, prospects, roster players, or all three to get help at the TDL - so why are we pretending like 4 years of failure will somehow magically fix itself because now we have Brouwer and Paajarvi? If Parayko hadn't been as amazing as he was, there's just no way any of us would be feeling like this year could be our year.

I do think that we could win it all this year - but it will take a major change (top 6 forward with high skill, or a huge shift in offensive strategy; maybe both), but wasting time trying out Paajarvi on the top line is sending a message of "play a banging game with no offense and you'll be rewarded" and "we have no ****ing clue what we're doing". How can it be so obvious for years that our offense is the problem, and then we go out and get Brouwer, Miller, Ott, Gunnarsson, Michalek, Jokinnen, etc. and NEVER acquire someone that has offensive upside? No one has a ****ing clue.

 

[ManyIdeas]

I finally like the lined. Tarasenko is going to produce regardless of his linemates if he comes to play, what harm is there in adding speed?

Steen and Backes work, we know that. Brouwer exists so he goes on that line.

Fabbri is fast and good and worked well with Jaskin with Gomez centering, so throwing in Lehtera on that line isn't going to be bad.

 

[MissouriMook]

I'd like to see Steen and Backes permanently re-united. Also particularly interested in seeing Fabbri get moved up to the Tarasenko line.

I will co-sign on both of these. In my mind (which is admittedly a dark, scary place) I think we need to do the following:

1. Separate Steen and Tarasenko. I think both have chemistry with Stastny, but I don't see any with each other. Re-uniting Steen and Backes makes the most sense. Like you, I would like to see Fabbri get a crack at that LW spot next to 26-91. Not sure who I'd like to see on the wing with 20-42. Maybe move Steen to RW and have Lehtera on LW when Gomez is in the lineup, or Brouwer on RW when Gomez sits. When Bergy returns, he should take LW with those two. Same with Schwartz when he gets back.

2. Separate Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester, at least at ES. I still feel like they are our two best defenders, but I fear that the combination of the two is less than the sum of the parts. I'd like to get an extended look at JBo and Shatty. I frankly don't care whether it is Gunnar or Lindbohm that gets paired with Petro because I think he will look 100% better either way. For some strange reason JBo and Petro have been like oil and water this year, except on the PK.

 

[Klank Loves You]

Well boys, time to blow it up. God forbid we give a player who has exceeded expectations a chance to show what he has when we are injured. It's clear that Steen can't play to his full potential when he is on the ice with Tarasenko, so who else are you going to put up there? Jaskin is in the dog house, and Lehtera has shown that he cant keep up with top level competition. It's clear that Backes - Fabbri have something going more than most combinations right now, so why force a rookie to play on his off-wing on the top line?

It's clear to everyone that our offense is MIA, so why not try something new? Maybe Steen will wake up and realise it's not the offseason, as he gets passed by a guy who started in the AHL.

Everyone is *****ing about Hitch, but he isn't our captain who has been MIA all year, or our supposed #1 center who deserves the name Casper, or our supposed top 10 LW who forgot that Tarasenko isn't the only one who can score.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

Well boys, time to blow it up. God forbid we give a player who has exceeded expectations a chance to show what he has when we are injured. It's clear that Steen can't play to his full potential when he is on the ice with Tarasenko, so who else are you going to put up there? Jaskin is in the dog house, and Lehtera has shown that he cant keep up with top level competition. It's clear that Backes - Fabbri have something going more than most combinations right now, so why force a rookie to play on his off-wing on the top line?

It's clear to everyone that our offense is MIA, so why not try something new? Maybe Steen will wake up and realise it's not the offseason, as he gets passed by a guy who started in the AHL.

Everyone is *****ing about Hitch, but he isn't our captain who has been MIA all year, or our supposed #1 center who deserves the name Casper, or our supposed top 10 LW who forgot that Tarasenko isn't the only one who can score.

Fabbri isn't even with Backes, and he's already on his "off" wing with Lehtera and Jaskin. If anybody should have been bumped up, it's Fabbri. He actually has the skills and smarts to keep up with Tarasenko.

Furthermore, even with his recent drought, Steen is still on pace for 27 goals and over 65 points. I'm not sure why you're lumping him in with supposed underperforming players.

 

[Thallis]

Hitch really has absolutely no clue how to get this team going, doesn't he?

If Paajarvi is making it to our top line with Tarasenko, it's time to make a trade. Sure, Paajarvi has been playing better, but he's being rewarded for checking-line play: something that shouldn't get you on the top line no matter what the team philosophy is. Apparently we're not looking into an offensive coordinator, so get Hitch some help on offense, Army!

It's so obvious that management is going to go all-in this year, again, and we're going to end up trading our 1st, prospects, roster players, or all three to get help at the TDL - so why are pretending like 4 years of failure will somehow magically fix itself because now we have Brouwer and Paajarvi? If Parayko hadn't been as amazing as he was, there's just no way any of us would be feeling like this year could be our year.

I do think that we could win it all this year - but it will take a major change (top 6 forward with high skill, or a huge shift in offensive strategy; maybe both), but wasting time trying out Paajarvi on the top line is sending a message of "play a banging game with no offense and you'll be rewarded" and "we have no ****ing clue what we're doing". How can it be so obvious for years that our offense is the problem, and then we go out and get Brouwer, Miller, Ott, Gunnarsson, Michalek, Jokinnen, etc. and NEVER acquire someone that has offensive upside? No one has a ****ing clue.

To be honest, I don't think there's a single lineup with the guys we have no that makes any kind of cohesive sense. Steen is too north-south to be effective with Tarasenko, but then on the top line's wing, there's a hole. You can say Fabbri is the guy most suited for that role in terms of skillset, but he can't handle the kind of minutes and defensive matchups they'll face just yet. Steen makes the most sense with Backes, but with Jaskin being dead weight there's nobody that really makes sense on the right wing, either. Brouwer is terrible there; he and Backes are completely redundant together. You can put Upshall there, I guess, but he's not going to get you going offensively, and we're not built to be able to win with 1 line scoring goals. The third line is too slow and unskilled to score consistently, but too shakey defensively to have anything other than sheltered minutes. Gomez falling off has really hurt. Paajarvi has been better than before, but he's still not a threat to score at all. Jaskin has been a no show. I just for the life of me can't figure a decent looking lineup with the guys we have. That issue is on Army, not Hitch.

???? - Stastny - Tarasenko
Steen - Backes - ????
???? - Lehtera - Brouwer
Upshall/Paajarvi - Brodziak - Upshall/Reaves

 

[bleedblue1223]

Clear that Steen can't play to his potential with Tarasenko? The dude is on pace for 27 goals and 67 points, that's exactly what he should be producing.

 

[Klank Loves You]

Fabbri isn't even with Backes, and he's already on his "off" wing with Lehtera and Jaskin. If anybody should have been bumped up, it's Fabbri. He actually has the skills and smarts to keep up with Tarasenko.

Furthermore, even with his recent drought, Steen is still on pace for 27 goals and over 65 points. I'm not sure why you're lumping him in with supposed underperforming players.

My mistake. I was under the assumption that Steen - Backes - Fabbri would be our 2nd line, which makes the most sense to me with Shwartz back, unless you're worried about being too top heavy.

Steen is underperforming, because he differs to Tarasenko constantly. There are so many times when Steen gets the puck where it is clear his top priority is to get the puck to Vlady. Steen has shown that he the ability to the "alpha dog" on the ice, and i hope being back with Backes will get Steen back to where we want him.

 

[Thallis]

Clear that Steen can't play to his potential with Tarasenko? The dude is on pace for 27 goals and 67 points, that's exactly what he should be producing.

He's producing, but the line as a whole isn't getting the offensive zone time or chances that we need to see from them.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

If this season hasn't reinforced to me that this team really needs to develop some forwards who play with quickness, I don't know what will. Fabbri is still developing, but it's pretty clear to me that his speed and creativity have been a welcome addition.

My mistake. I was under the assumption that Steen - Backes - Fabbri would be our 2nd line, which makes the most sense to me with Shwartz back, unless you're worried about being too top heavy.

Steen is underperforming, because he differs to Tarasenko constantly. There are so many times when Steen gets the puck where it is clear his top priority is to get the puck to Vlady. Steen has shown that he the ability to the "alpha dog" on the ice, and i hope being back with Backes will get Steen back to where we want him.

I too want to see a top six of Schwartz-Stastny-Tarasenko and Steen-Backes-Fabbri when we get everyone back.

I think the "alpha-dog" mentality you mention about Steen is precisely why he plays well with Backes. We all know Backes makes his living in front of the net, and few on our team are capable of funneling pucks to the net like Steen.

 

[Oberyn]

Pääjärvi adds a ton of speed, has been good on the forcheck and wins puck battles... why not try it? Also can our offense get any worse? Unless Tarasenko shoots it hard enough to bounce back in our net, the answer is no

Paajarvi and winning puck battles don't belong in the same sentence. He had a good few games when he was first called up but now he's regressed to his old form. Paajarvi is weak for his stature and hardly wins any battles against the opposing defenders. He also lacks any sort of creativity in the offensive zone. Tarasenko is open in the slot? Expect Paajarvi to just cycle the puck in the corner because he doesn't pull his head up and look around.

Paajarvi on the top line is just stupid. I don't care that he adds speed like everyone here is raving about for some odd reason. When has he utilized to some benefit aside from beating some icing calls? The guy's head has been wired to just cycle the puck constantly, he poses no threat in the offensive zone.

I wish Berglund was back already because I think he would be an okay fit on that line. At least he knows how to utilize his size to win board battles and has enough hockey IQ to find an open man.

 

[bleedblue1223]

He's producing, but the line as a whole isn't getting the offensive zone time or chances that we need to see from them.

It's the only line doing anything.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

I'd really like to see a top 6 of:

Jaskin-Stasny-Tarasenko
Steen-Backes-Fabbri

Jaskin was great with Stasny last year and looked really solid in his few shifts with Tarasenko. Steen-Backes is a no brainer and Fabbri adds some nice speed/skill.

Make it happen!

 

[EastonBlues22]

I think Hitchcock is a good coach, and I think Armstrong is a decent GM, but I'd fire them both this offseason if I was in charge. The Blues don't necessarily need better guys to take the next step, but I think they do need different guys.

Hitchcock's inability to get the most out of his roster's talent in the transition game has been, and continues to be, arguably the team's biggest stumbling block to taking the next step. That's such an important part of today's game that I don't think that failure can be tolerated or ignored any longer. It's time for a new philosophy, and that would be the first question I ask during the interview process.

Armstrong "hitched" his wagon to his coach, and couldn't cut ties and move in a new direction when it was clear that was needed. Instead he brought in Brouwer, which I personally think was nearly a fireable offense in and of itself. He's the guy in charge. He should be collecting talent (and a coach) that fits his philosophy, but instead it often appears that he's attempting to cater to his coach's vision instead. That's led to some scatalogical roster management, which has ultimately produced limited results in spite of a significant asset investment. It think it's time to find a guy who is willing to lead from the top down that has a worthwhile vision to chase.

If I've misread the situation and the visions of Armstrong and Hitchcock are one and the same, then Armstrong needs to go for that reason. I think it's pretty clear this current vision of what the Blues should be isn't producing adequate results.