He had 68 penalty minutes in 31 games with Detroit in 17-18. His average ice time that season was 6:53.
It's going to be hard to get him another chance this season because of the cap situation and because Toropchenko and, to a lesser extent, MacEachern, have secured spots. He could project as a fourth-line center next season, especially if the Blues are looking for low-cost forwards and probably won't have Bozak back and definitely won't have Sundqvist back and continue to think Brown isn't an option on the fourth line. When Joshua got sent down last time, Berube said it was because he wasn't moving the needle in his play. Joshua has played a lot more than I thought he would when the team got him.
No idea since we're not in the room, but almost all of these guys have been around the block a time or two, so they know what it's like at the trade deadline and accept it. And kicking the tires in this case could be as little as Armstrong saying to a team that needs a goalie, "Hey, we've got Binnington." But as I've said elsewhere, acquiring Binnington meant a team making an awfully big commitment, which was not going to happen under trade deadline situations. So I think everyone involved had to know that it wasn't a situation likely to go anywhere.
That's hard to say, but he had to pass tests to be able to play again, so probably not. His numbers started to slip on the New York trip, which predates the concussion. In fact, you can practically draw a direct line to that game. (You can also make the case his game started to drop off at Philadelphia on Feb. 22. His numbers last night against Washington were his best in more than a month. It takes more than one point to determine a trend, but it's a start.
If the Blues have seven healthy D, I would suspect he would get some time off now and then as the Blues rotate through some D on the back end. He plays the least minutes of anyone back there, so there are bigger concerns elsewhere on blue line.
One of the stranger situations I've seen in a while. They have an easy schedule to close out the season, so I wouldn't rule them out of a playoff spot just yet, but the Dadonov situation puts them in a bind for taking players off LTIR.
Leddy played first pairing minutes for most of his career, with the exception being the 19-20 season on the Island. Armstrong emphasized his experience after the trade, and said to look at his time in New York more than his time in Detroit. They liked the fact he had been in a lot of postseason games and high pressure games, and he could eat up minutes too. His ability to move the puck remains solid, so they obviously hope he'll help in getting the puck out of the zone, which has often been a problem this season. The Blues are hoping, like Scandella did a few years back, that they'll see a jump in his play being on a contender.
The Blues have been up and down a lot this season, so I wouldn't go all on him on them having turned corner. I think the Blues have been their best in whatever situation forces them to focus the most on every aspect of a game. That's why they've done better against good teams compared to bad teams. When they have to be ultra-focused on the details, that seems to work in their favor. That used to show up in how they did in the second games of back to backs, or in the third games of three-in-fours, but that hasn't' been the case this season. It's confusing, to say the least. Though at least it's not like the one season, I think under Yeo, where they would win one, lose one, win one, lose one. At least now, they string either wins or losses together.
It seems to me like college ADs do their job searching by looking at the NCAA bracket, finding a team that had an upset win in the first round and then go out and hire them.
I think Calgary has ample reason to try to keep Matthew Tkachuk. That team is playing very well. Unless the cap dictates otherwise, this is a prime time for them.
Well, they're 3-1 against the Stars, so I'd' probably start there.
I've always liked MacEachern, though I know many others don't share that opinion. Walker has over his career been a better finisher than MacEachern. He can compete in a fourth line spot, and with MacEachern a UFA after this season, who knows what his future holds. Walker has another year to go on his contract at the league minimum. Walker could be out of the lineup as early as Thursday, so it may not be much of a competition.
The NHL, I see, just cancelled the Dadonov trade for Vegas.
Parayko remains a bit of an enigma. Gets all the tough matchups, so the coaching staff has ultimate trust in him, but his numbers lag. The best pairing last night, if you go by Corsi percentage, was Krug and Parayko, though they were out there about a minute.
I didn't see the team giving up on him entirely, but the way things were going, a one-year, $2 or $3 million contract seemed like where we may be headed. Now, he's back in two-year range. Much has to do with proving the concussion wasn't stopping him.
I've got to run in a minute to record a podcast. So time for just a few more
I think they can win a first round series against whoever they get in the Central, provided they finish second or third. Don't know that I seem them getting past Colorado but, as we say, in a short series, anything is possible.
We'd probably see Scandella back with Faulk and Mikkola with Bortuzzo. They've done that at other points in the season.
Ok, Jim and Jeff are waiting in the podcast machine, so I've got to run. Thanks for the abundance of questions and the participation and see you next week.
