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.
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Jimmy this Blues team being a contender is a pipe dream. Calgary is not going to fall apart. Nashville is getting better. Seattle is for real they have better D than us--so does Calgary. That leaves us anywhere from 9th to 12th place. I don't like to be realistic but sometimes I am forced to be! Holding onto ROR and Vladi then finishing in 11th place is foolish. -
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Given the age of the team, one of the oldest, and the number of big dollar contracts extending through the mid 30’s for many players, how concerned should we be on the structure of the team? Has this group passed the point where swapping a few pieces is just taping over structural problems? Neither RoR or Tarasenko appear to be in a contract drive given their play and both are over 30 looking for multi year deals. Four of the D are locked in for 3 more years as a group. Has the window closed?
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And sorry, I skipped the answer to the Rosen question. He has been very consistent compared to almost all of the others. But keep in mind, he hasn't been playing against No. 1 or No. 2 lines. In order to get consistently more minutes, he'd have to work his way into the top four. D-men. I think Mikkola is ahead of him as the next option in the top 4 - if (for example, Krug was dropped to the third pairing).
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Hey Jim, thanks for the great writing, which I enjoy so much. Listen, folks, the season is young, keep your cool. Opinions: 12F-6D is nice an neat, but the Blues are doing better with 7D. Calle Rosen should get all the icetime they can give him; he's going to be a big help. Also, I doubted the $ they gave Kyrou, but it's starting to look like him getting Thomas money could be a bargain. Your thoughts. Keep up the good work.
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I think we'll see more of 11-7, in part because Rosen has earned the right to be in the lineup. And also, it's about putting your best 18 skaters in the lineup. And right now, the Blues look like they're a forward short - lineup-wise.As for Kyrou, the Kyrou-haters apparently have been on vacation for a couple of weeks.It's always a risk when you extend young players that far into the future, but I could see why the Blues did it at the time. And if Kyrou and Thomas played anywhere near their potential, by midway through their contracts with the annual cap increases back to their pre-COVID levels, they might seem like bargains.
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I know consistency is a big problem for young players. Berube mentions that frequently. But this team has a lot of veterans - and a few Stanley Cup champions. How can even the veterans be so inconsistent from period-to-period? It's almost like a virus that spreads through the team.
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What would Tarasenko fetch in a trade? The Blues seem to have talent, but something is off. Is it a locker room issue? Would trading a Tarasenko potentially fix a locker room issue. Perhaps the cap space freed up allows a second trade where they can trade for a scorer by giving up younger talent. Complicated, but, if they could get another guy under control, it might make sense.
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I don't think it's a locker room issue. The sense I get is that Tarasenko is liked and respected in the locker room. As to what he would fetch, I'm not sure. If you're Armstrong, are you going more towards prospects and draft picks? Or trying to get someone who could help you now?
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If ROR and Vladi are traded for draft picks and young players we still have a nice veteran group to lead younger players. Buchy, Faulk, Krug, Saad, Schenn, Accari. Parayko. I was hoping we could actually improve the current team with a ROR and Vladi trade. Maybe the spark of youth?
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Great question. I'd have to think about this for a while. But off the top of my head - opposing teams only - I'd say MacKinnon, Makar, Fleury (circa 2017-18, 2018-19), McDavid (I know, that's a stock answer). These area all Western Conference guys, because I don't see the East that much (and didn't at all in 2020-21).One other thing, I'll say - and I'm not putting him in my top 5 - but watching Tage Thompson play live in Buffalo on Thanksgiving Eve. What a beast.Favorite Blues to watch often for reasons that have nothing to do with production, etc.: 1.) Perron; 2.) Binnington; 3.) Kyrou; 4.) O'Reilly.
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Hi Jim,
Thanks for all the great reporting. Most underrated Blues player to me is Brandon Saad. Quietly and consistently brings a complete 200-ft. game each night. Then before you know it, he's got a another 20 goals/season. Seems like this year, as he has struggled to stay healthy, there is a noticeable difference in team play when he is in or out of the lineup. What do you like about his game, and do you also notice O'Reilly struggles without him? Or is it a bigger domino effect when combined with the loss of Perron? -
Yeah, I think I've written that Saad is so low-key and inconspicuous, he's like a comfortable piece of furniture in the room. And then you look up at the end of the season and he has 20 goals.He's good in front of the net - and the Blues don't have many that fit that description nowadays. Underrated speed. Good defensively. Not much of a passer or assist man. Of course, the Blues are a better team with him in the lineup - I think they're 11-4-0 to be exact. The consistency and predictability of his game is something that meshes with O'Reilly. And you're right, it's more of a snowball effect for O'Reilly minus Saad and Perron.
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It's on pace to be the worst in Blues history, or at least since the NHL tracked PK efficiency - which I think started in '77-78. I think the Blues are too passive on the PK. They missed Bortuzzo while he was out injured. They miss Bozak. But it's surprising it's been this bad - at least since the first five or six games of the season.
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Jim,
Have you asked Berube why he hasn't gone back more to the "Russian troika" line of Buchnevich, Barbashev and Tarasendko that was so good from last year? Of course, he broke them up last year too. And everyone up and down the lineup wants Thomas as their centerman. But I thought the were unstoppable for a good chunk of last year. -
Yeah, but the Buchnevich-Thomas-Tarasenko was even better last year. It has been difficult for Berube to get three lines functioning this season, and I think the line configuration they used in practice Wednesday and are expected to go with Thursday against Carolina is an attempt to balance the lines:Saad-O'Reilly-LeivoBuchnevich-Thomas-TarasenkoBarbashev-Schenn-Kyrou
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In terms of day-to-day coverage, hockey coaches are much more accessible. But strange as it sounds, I got to know the football coaches better as far away from the "office."I really like covering Berube. He's even-keel, and much more easy-going than you'd think.My favorite two to cover: 1.) Martz; 2) (and an extremely close second) Vermeil.
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