They have been on the verge of something big the last two seasons, but this could be a year that sees them drop back at least a little.
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10 Comments
Great Video, as always
Do you think Parayko gets offer-sheeted? I know as a Toronto fan he would look pretty good in blue and white.
If anyone wants to read from a Blues fan's perspective:
Agree with a lot of what you said however I do want to clear a few things up for you from my perspective. Lehtera needs to come off the books somehow. Blues have 2 first round draft picks and although it's a weak draft they could use those to free up cap. Close to $5 mil in cap-hit for what looks like a career 30 point second line center. Barbashev slid into the 1st line role before the season ended, he could be ready to take off next season barring a "sophomore slump" (it's a lot to ask out of him but the tool-set is there). For the Blues to keep ahead next season they need a lot from their young guys, however from a fans perspective the team didn't start playing to it's potential until the Hitchcock firing. After assistant defensive coach Brad Shaw left, Hitchcock and company switched from a zone defense to a man-on-man. Spoiler alert this worked out horribly and almost ruined Jake Allen's career. I'm extremely excited to see what Mike Yeo can do with a full year. When it comes to the age portion where "they're in trouble" the Blues have a solid forward prospect pool to where a lot of those young guys will be coming into their own by the time the current core is out the door. Forwards like Sam Blais, Jordan Kyrou, Tage Thompson are a few in the AHL, possibly NHL, next season. A new defensive core looking similar to Pietrangelo, Parayko, Edmundson Schmaltz Dunn Walman. Obviously those youth guys aren't guaranteed to pan out but there is enough value in the future Blues that I'm not worried at the moment because they're on the right track. With all that said they NEED a true first line center that can play well with Tarasenko or there is no cup in STL with Tarasenko.
Also HockeyGuy love the videos, thank you!
Will trade jay bowaster
I'm excited to see how this team does under a full season of Mike Yeo. I think Yeo is a great coach and he really turned the Blues around in the last 20 games or so that he coached them.
We should have gotten rid of jori lehtera 2 seasons ago in my opinion
Looking for lots of trades from them. They may miss the playoffs, but not by much. They looked like they were going to miss out on the playoffs this season but they turned it around.
It might be worth doing a post expansion draft update as to how those picks hurt or helped the original teams. Cap space, depth and talent level. Some will be obvious, but there's always another way to look at it.
2018 playoffs are going to be a mess in the west seeing as most of the teams are good enough to compete for a playoff spot
they have 2 veterans in Ott and Jackman coming in to coach so I think they could help relieve the stress of some of the younger guys, especially the defense. I think it would be nice to see them get something out of Yak and Lehtera, but I doubt any other team will be biting on those 2.
I think the Blues with Mike Yeo is completely different than the team with Hitchcock, and they were in the top of all stats in those last 2.5 months of the regular season. They need to find a center for Tarasenko and they need to keep him and Schwartz off the same line. They also need to find somebody to fill the role of consistent net front presence that Brouwer and Backes brought them in 15-16. I watch every blues game and there is hardly anybody in front of the net except for Reaves and Berglund sometimes.
They also need to keep up with their game plans, the Blues are notorious for playing on their heels as soon as they get down, that was changing under Mike Yeo so thats room for optimism.
I think Allen and Hutton are great in net, especially under Yeo, they just need better defense from the forwards, its far too easy for their opponents to enter the offensive zone because their forwards don't hold the line. I believe there is room for improvement, its just a matter of if they have the heart enough to actually fill those gaps and keep them filled.
Watching this in 2024: pre-Binnington era is so wild!