Live Chats

Join Blues beat writer Jim Thomas for his live chat at 1 p.m. Wednesday

Get your questions ready and join in at 1 p.m. Wednesday for our weekly Blues chat.

3rd & 7 37yd

Hello one and all. Up in D.C. visiting my middle son, who's stationed up here. Heading to Canton tomorrow for the Hall of Fame weekend for Dick Vermeil'ls induction..

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:08:42 PM
Hi Jimmy! It looks like Army has learned his lesson about no trade clauses. It doesn't look like Thomas got one in his new deal.

by Roy Hobbs 8/3/2022 6:10:29 PM
Not exactly. There's a no trade in Years 1 and 2 of the contract then a full no trade in years 3 through 7 and a modified no trade in year 8.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:11:26 PM
Do you see us making anymore trades or deals before season start. Krug isn't needed as perunovich is same player and scandella is not needed at all. Maybe provorov??? Or someone.. the roster got worse than get better.

by Evan 8/3/2022 6:11:44 PM
Possible. But not likely. I wouldn't say Perunovich is the same player.. At least not yet. And if it were easy to trade Scandella, he would've been goine by now.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:13:01 PM
Would have been nice to get Tkachuck. Not sure if it would have been worth it to get rid of Kyrou however. Calgary got 2 guys in their walk years to UFA status. Apparently Tarashenko did not want to go to Calgary and Army tried to move him to a team he would approve? NY Rangers. See what I mean about No trade clauses.

by Roy Hobbs 8/3/2022 6:13:33 PM
I said on my last chat - the week before last I believe - that I thought there was only a 30 percent that the Blues would get Tkachuk. Some of the readers acted surprised. I know the Blues cap issues and what Calgary seemed to be looking for in a trade would simply be too much. After the trade, Calgary GM Trelving said "it wasn't even close" in terms of other teams really in the mix for Tkachuk. Tkachuk said Flordai was at the top of the list of teams he would prefer to go to. So much for the narrative that he was dying to be in St. Louis. If he was dying to be in St. Louis, he would've told Treliving the only team he would sign a multiple year deal with was St. Louis.
I think a lot of the St. Louis media oversold the chances that Tkachuk would end up to St. Louis, almost playing to the audience. I try to deal with reality. And so does all of the Post-Dispatch hockey writers for the most part. For example, I think Tom Timmermann said on the NetFront podcast a few weeks ago that he didn't think Tkachuk would end up in St. Louis due to the cap/financial issues.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:21:47 PM
Any trade rumors floating out there for the blues?

by Jake 8/3/2022 6:22:22 PM
As far as I can tell pretty quite out there.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:23:04 PM
Has Stastny signed anywhere? If the Blues could unload a contract, he would be a nice third line center.

by gothunder 8/3/2022 6:25:52 PM
He's still out there. This isn't a bad thought IMO. Yeah, he's 36 but was still prodcutive last year. (21 G, 24 A in 71 games). You'd have to get him for under $3 million I would say and on a one-year deal. Again, the best way to do it would be to move Scandella.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:28:24 PM
Hi Jim. Would you agree that the trade market for Vladi is very narrow? Personally I love the guy and would like to see him re-up at a reasonable AAV, but I think he will end up being a trade deadline casualty this year. What are your thoughts? Thanks.

by Bill Morrow 8/3/2022 6:28:27 PM
Well, it sure looks like it. And I think the only way he's moved at the tradeline is if the Blues aren't really in contention

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:29:36 PM
Scandella and a 2022-23 3rd round pick to Seattle for their 2024-25 4th round pick? Does Seattle bite?

by timothy mark 8/3/2022 6:30:09 PM
Interesting. Might have to make it a 2024-25 fifth-rounder.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:31:04 PM
Any chance we can trade for Perron?

by Miniblind 8/3/2022 6:31:08 PM
I doubt it.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:31:23 PM
You're the GM for a week. What are the Blues biggest needs and how would you go about filling those?

by timothy mark 8/3/2022 6:34:50 PM
What do we make of Evan Rodrigues' 19-g0al season with Pittsburgh. Is he worth a look as a UFA as a possible 3rd-line center, right winger? Could you get him for $1.5 to $2 million. Again, Scandella would have to be the contract moved.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:37:57 PM
Do you think we will extend ROR?

by MV 8/3/2022 6:40:28 PM
Given the Blues cap issues after this coming season I'd put it at only 50-50. And if O'Reilly was re-signed, that would almost certainly mean Tarasenko is gone.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:41:24 PM
Do you believe if the blues are not in contention this year, that they will begin a rebuild considering Vladi will probably leave in free agency and cornerstone guys like O'Reilly are getting older?

by Steven 8/3/2022 6:42:13 PM
Depends on a couple of factors. If Thomas and Kyrou continue to progress and Neighbrous and Bolduc truly look like top prospects, then maybe Armstrong views the window to Cup contention still being open. Otherwise, I don't think you' see a total rebuild, but perhaps some retooling.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:44:32 PM
With the team currently as is, do you see this team competing deep in the playoffs? Seems like the blues have lost more than gained so far this offseason.

by Jake 8/3/2022 6:44:39 PM
Yeah, on paper the team certainly doesn't look as good. But I can still see them contending providing Binnington plays like he did in the playoffs and late in the season.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:46:00 PM
Do you have the type of relationship with Army whereby if you called or stopped by his office and said, "off the record, what's going on?'. Would he spill the beans to you?

by timothy mark 8/3/2022 6:47:11 PM
We have a pretty good relationship, but he doesn't spill the beans to anybody.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:47:43 PM
I was looking at one of my old Hockey Digest magazines from 1986 I had saved as a kid and what struck me was how out of the 21 NHL teams, there were only 23 skaters in the entire league older than age 32. 8 teams had 0 players ( the Blues had 1, Rick Meagher at age 33). In a much faster league today, why are there so many players being signed to contracts well past that age? I feel a wiser approach would be to concentrate on signing players from their age 23-32 age(like the Blues have done with Thomas and Tarasenko) and let them walk like they did with Perron or Backes instead of becoming too sentimentally attached to them and having the contract weigh you down at the back end. I realize there are more teams and thus more players today but there had to be a reason teams didn't keep players that age back then. What is your opinion?

by George 8/3/2022 6:49:14 PM
I think the biggest factor might be the training and conditioning that players do nowadays is very advanced and extends careers. But the league has - as you mentioned - so many more teams than it did 35-40 years ago, so there are more jobs.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:53:40 PM
Good day Jim, hope you are well. In the case of Scandella, if he cannot be moved, can they send him down to the minors, which would take his contract of the books, or can they just let him go, or would they still be on the hook for his salary.
thanks

by Bob H 8/3/2022 6:54:23 PM
I believe under the scenarios you described, a team is still on the hok for the money.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 6:58:14 PM
Obviously, David Perron did not have equity with the Blues that he thought he had. Now that a little time has passed, it seems clear that he had NO equity. Do you think him being treated the way he was will dog Armstrong if the Blues have anything less than the season they had in 2021-22?

by 1968-69 Season Ticket Holder 8/3/2022 7:01:11 PM
The Blues only had enough momey to sign Leddy OR Perron. Armstrong chose to sign Leddy because he felt defense was a greater need. I'm not sure that falls into the realm of treating a player poorly.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 7:02:48 PM
Also, how do you think the other veterans will interpret the way Perron was flushed? Strictly business? Or will it affect the way they view Blues' management?

by 1968-69 Season Ticket Holder 8/3/2022 7:03:05 PM
It didn't seem to affect them when Backes left. Or when Pietrangelo left. We'll see.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 7:03:53 PM
Happy Wednesday Jim. Good to see you back on the chat.

Blues fans have to be loving the fact our old friend Nazem Kadri is still unemployed. It appears the music stopped and didn’t grab a chair. In fact there are several very good UFAs players still without contracts. Which teams today have the cap space to sign him? I think Buffalo is one of them and they should be a very good team this year. What say you, oh wise one?

by Barry - Blues Fanatic in Orlando 8/3/2022 7:06:26 PM
Hasn't there been some speculation about the Islanders with Kadri? But Buffalo has the cap room and appears to be an up and ocming team. Same with Detroit.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 7:07:30 PM
Seattle only has just over $1M in space according to capfriendly so that's not really an option. I think the fact that Scandella has 2 years left is making him tough to move. Teams that could absorb the money this year want flexibility next year. The best time to move him may be in camp or at the beginning of the season as players get injured on other teams and if Mikkola and Perunovich continue to show improvement.

by Hutch9 8/3/2022 7:08:19 PM
Nice catch on the cap space. I didn't think to check. And yeah, I'm sure having two years left on his deal may be complicating things.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 7:09:35 PM
Every time I look at Cap Friendly, I don't envy Armstrong next summer. We have 5 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 1 goalie signed past this year. Let's give Neighbours, Bolduc, and Hofer a spot next year and it's 7 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goalies.

Remaining cap space is about $21.5M. Assuming Kyrou gets $7M (which admittedly I have no clue what he'll sign for), we will have $14.5M in cap space to fill out 6 forward spots and 1 depth defenseman.

As disappointing of an offseason as it has been, do you agree that things will get even uglier next summer? How do you resign Tarasenko, O'Reilly, and Barbashev, with 4 other spots to fill with only $14.5M in cap space? Welcome to cap hell.

by amp 8/3/2022 7:10:19 PM
Yeah, I don't know how you make the money work for 2023-24. For that reason, there's a chance both Tarasenko and O'Reilly are no longer with the team after this coming season. And as you mention, not even that necessarily solves your cap issues.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 7:17:51 PM
Jim, you're right again! I just read on The Hockey News website the Isles are rumored to be trying to create cap space to sign our boy Kardi. If true it would be good to get him out of our conference. He is a good player, I give him that. As far as negotiating skills he seems to be one 'who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing'. I imagine he wanted too many years on his contract and failed to get a deal on the first days of free agency. Then the music stopped (to use again my analogy from my original post).

Jim, I hope you have a good visit with your middle son. Family and faith are everything.

by Barry - Blues Fan in Orlando 8/3/2022 7:25:34 PM
Thanks Barry. Yeah, it certainly looks like Kadri has misjudged the market. Waiting around usually isn''t the best move in free agency.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 7:26:53 PM
Which wingers have good one-timers that could replace Perron on the PP? Won't his departure get Saad much more PP time as he's always been successful even last year with limited time?

by Paul J 8/3/2022 7:27:16 PM
I think it's going to be either Kyrou or Saad on that first unit. And yeah, I think Saad gets more time. There were stretches last season when he wasn't even on the second unit.

by jthomas 8/3/2022 7:28:37 PM