Read the full transcript of our weekly Blues chat.
Matthew DeFranks: Good afternoon. The Blues are 38-30-4, on pace for 91 points. They are six points behind Vegas for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with 10 games to play.
Some news off the hop: Oskar Sundqvist is expected to miss tomorrow's game against Calgary, but Drew Bannister wasn't sure of his status after that.
Bretto: I find hockey minor leagues very confusing. How many levels are there and how long does it take a prospect to work through the many levels. Where are the Blues teams located. It seems hockey players come from colleges, so what age is a normal prospect expected to reach the NHL. If you have any salary estimates that would help also.
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, hockey players can take a lot of different paths to the NHL. The only affiliated minor leagues with the NHL are the AHL and the ECHL. The AHL is the primary feeder to the NHL, and the Blues' affiliate is in Springfield, Mass. The ECHL is a rung below that and generally doesn't produce many NHL regulars (outside of goalies). The Blues don't have an ECHL affiliate, but they stash some players with Orlando, which happens to be Tampa's ECHL affiliate.
Those are the professional leagues in North America that can feed into the NHL. Abroad, there's the KHL that's primarily based in Russia. There's Liiga in Finland. There's the SHL and Allsvenskan in Sweden.
Players that come from Europe tend to either jump right into the NHL or go to the AHL to get used to the North American style of game. For the Blues this season, that's what defenseman Leo Loof has done.
For amateur players, there are a few options in North America. There's college, as you mentioned, and the NCAA tends to skew a bit older than other non-professional leagues. There's major junior hockey, too. So that would be the OHL, QMJHL and the WHL in Canada, and the USHL in the United States.
There really is no set development path since every player is different. So there's not really a normal gestation period other that to say that prospects typically need at least one pro season to adjust to the men's game.
As far as salaries go, it depends. Players on a one-way contract get paid the same in the NHL as they do in the AHL. So that would be Jakub Vrana, who's getting paid $5.75M regardless of whether he's in the NHL or AHL.
For most minor-leaguers, though, they are on a two-way contract that pays differently in the NHL vs. the AHL. For younger players on entry-level contracts -- like Zack Bolduc and Zach Dean -- that's a big difference. Bolduc was making $80k a year in the AHL and $832,500 in the NHL. Dean was also making $80k in the minors, and now $800,000 in the NHL.
For older players, like a Matthew Peca, they tend to get a boost on their minor-league salaries because of their experience. He makes $325k in the AHL and would make $775k if he ever made it to St. Louis.
Paying minor-leaguers a livable wage is something that hockey got right somewhere along the way.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Happy Hump Day Matt. What do you make of DB's choice of using 11 forwards in Monday's game? Personally I don't have a problem with it, Kyrou was hot coming off the Minny game, it makes sense to use him more in the Vegas game. Who knew Kyrou would regress in the Vegas game? My bottom line is 11 forwards were not the reason we lost the game, we need a better roster of offensive talent without the use of roster placeholders (Hayes, Kapanen) and a bigger d-corp (like Vegas). What say you?
Matthew DeFranks: I don't think it was an issue. You can understand the reasoning by the coaching staff. They essentially went with 11 forwards down the stretch against Minnesota anyways. Scott Perunovich had to get his games. And they wanted some size in Marco Scandella against Vegas. So you arrive at 11/7.
It's not great that they were down to nine forwards or 10 forwards at certain points of the game, but that's not the reason they lost. And you can't plan every lineup decision around "what if two guys get hurt in the same game?"
The reasoning is fine. The deployment was basically what happens with 11/7: the top four D play a ton of minutes. And Blais, Bolduc or Dean weren't going to be the difference in a game like that. At least, to me.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, I do have a bone to pick with DB's roster choice for the Vegas game....why didn't he play Sammy Blais? Vegas in a HEAVY team and we could have used Sammy's forechecking prowess and big body. Is Sammy facing a long walk on a short pier once the season is over? Meaning his days as a Blue will be over?
Matthew DeFranks: I think we might have seen the last of Sammy Blais in a Blues sweater. He's been scratched in 16 of the last 17 games. He's a pending UFA. He's been passed up for ice time by young guys like Bolduc and Dean.
Blais does provide a physical presence. That's a certainty. He still leads the Blues in hits despite playing just 45 games!
But he has just one point since Drew Bannister arrived in mid-December, and there's not really any incentive to play Blais down the stretch.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, any word on the condition of Sunny's lower body injury? Did it look like a knee injury to you?
Matthew DeFranks: He did not practice today, and is out for tomorrow against Calgary, but Drew Bannister did not project beyond that. I'm not a doctor, so I can't say for sure what it is. But a reporter from 590 saw Sundqvist in a knee brace the other night.
BluesFan87: Does Scott Perunovich have a future with this organization? He’s very skilled offensively - that’s evident - but will his other shortcomings allow him to be a reliable defenseman? If he goes somewhere else, I guarantee he’ll put up 50 points.
Matthew DeFranks: The Blues have been burned so much recently by young defensemen that shine somewhere else -- Dunn, Walman -- that I can understand why you're already planning on his breakout on another team.
What the Blues do with Perunovich will be interesting. Do they re-sign him to another contract around the league-minimum? Do they trade his rights elsewhere, and try to reclaim ... a fifth-round pick or something? Do they even qualify him? I still think they qualify him in the summer, especially after ensuring that he reaches his 74-game mark.
His strengths are well known. He's creative. He's shifty. He sees the ice well. His weaknesses are also well known. He's small. He avoids contact sometimes. He isn't strong defensively. He doesn't shoot the puck enough.
Now, do those strengths outweigh his weaknesses? If not, can he get to that point? The Blues have to try to figure that out.
Sctdog: Army publicly set out a goal of top of the bottom third, or above the gooey middle or something equivalent. I’m sure in private, where selling tickets to the fans and to a lesser extent encouraging the team was relevant he was saying they would likely just miss or maybe stick around the race for a while. The Blues have accomplished keeping close and giving younger players a feel for the game ramping up in intensity, job well done. Can they now start playing the kids and losing so we get some better picks in a D heavy draft?
Matthew DeFranks: I think we're probably still about a week away from full-on "play the kids" mode. However unlikely a playoff spot is from the outside, the coaches will still ice a lineup with that goal in mind.
On the whole, I think you're right, though. This season has been about what we've expected from them. Best case? They were the Winnipeg Jets and finished third in the division. Worst case? Ottawa or Buffalo. And they will finish somewhere between those scenarios.
Sctdog: Kessel and Perunovich are they third pair or second pair defensive D in the future on a good team? I was expecting more from offensive Perunwho remains w/o a goal.
Matthew DeFranks: I would probably lean third-pair guys on a good team. They have their roles, but not sure their games are well-rounded enough to take on, say, 22-24 minutes and give you good minutes.
Harrison: I understand the Blues' next golden boy is Jimmy Snuggerud. I believe if he doesn't join us after the Frozen Four that he'll for sure have a roster spot on the Blues next season seeing as we are already playing Bolduc regularly and called up Dean. I'm curious what your opinion is on Dalibor Dvorsky though. Personally, I'm slightly more excited to see him play compared to Snuggs. How do you compare the two, and when do you see them both cracking the lineup?
Matthew DeFranks: It depends on who you ask or which publication you read, whether Dvorksy is the top prospect or Snuggerud is No. 1 for St. Louis. I'm more of a Dvorsky guy based on a few things. One, he plays center and can impact the game more there. Two, his numbers in his post-draft year are insane in the OHL. Prospect camps aren't the end-all for evaluation, but he was also the best player on the ice last summer by far.
The Blues will have many more chances to watch Dvorsky now that he's in North America. After his OHL season ends, he is eligible to go to Springfield (or St. Louis). In the summer, he'll be at prospect camp. He'll play in the prospect tournament vs. Chicago and Minnesota. He'll be at training camp in the fall.
I would not be shocked to see both Snuggerud and Dvorsky make the team out of training camp. But that's a long way away and we still have to get through the draft and free agency.
Patrick B.: Bear with me on this question, but with the coaching search ongoing combined with the fact that it's been discussed that the Blues may not be in a financial situation to fully tank, if Doug Armstrong is considering Joel Quenneville, does Chris Zimmerman step in and explain the financial fallout of that decision to Tom Stillman? If Quenneville is hired, going on conversations I've had with other fans, there would be a very very upset segment of the fanbase. Some would not mind, but the ones that would, would to a very high degree. Do you think that's being considered?
Matthew DeFranks: Before I get to this question, quick Oskar Sundqvist update: he tore his ACL and will undergo surgery. He's done for the season, and the Blues put a six-month timeline on his recovery.
Okay, now on to coaching. I don't know if the Blues are considering Quenneville or not. I do know that he's not been cleared by the NHL to return to coaching, and that would have to obviously happen first.
The public messaging with hiring Quenneville would be pretty bad, but I'm not sure just how big the impact on the bottom line would be. Winning cures a lot of things, and winning would probably allow different people to buy those seats that were given up if Quenneville is hired.
Now, I do wonder about sponsors in this hypothetical scenario. That would absolutely impact the bottom line.
Craig: Matt - During Blues broadcasts these days, up to five players are listed as healthy scratches. Do roster sizes expand after the trade deadline? I thought they were limited to 23 players.
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, there's no roster limit after the trade deadline. As long as you can fit them under the salary cap, they can be on the roster.
Hekawi: Hi Matt...a couple of unrelated questions. I haven't had a chance to sit in on one of these in a while and this has probably been discussed, but earlier this year many including you seemed to think Jake Neighbors was likely a 3rd line or at best 2nd line guy. Is he now considered a legit 1st liner?
Matthew DeFranks: You remember well! I did say earlier that I thought Jake Neighbours projected as a bottom-six player because I didn't see many offensive skills that stood out. He's gone out there and made me look stupid. I can also see that his biggest offensive skill is going to the hard areas and being productive there. Many, many players had made a career of knowing where to stand. Joe Pavelski is the biggest one that comes to mind.
Now, he'll have another chance to prove me wrong. I still don't think of him as a top-line player on a Cup contender. He may be there with the Blues right now, but if Neighbours is on the second line pumping 25 goals to complement stars, then you're building depth on your roster.
I normally am a believer in shooting percentage-related regression, but I think Neighbours is not in line for a steep dropoff next season. He shoots a high percentage because his goal are from high-percentage areas.
Playing devil's advocate with myself here: I'm not sure people forecasted Zach Hyman as a top-line player either. But he knows where to go.
Hekawi: Matt...hit the wrong key so sent my previous comment before I was finished. My other question regards Rasmus Dahlin. Every time I've watched him this year I think he looks like Ray Bourque with more phyicality/edge. Since Buffalo recently acquired Bowen Byram they now have two #1 overall and a #4 overall in their d corps. Won't that get really expensive? I know Dahlin just signed an 8 year deal last offseason but any chance Buffalo might deal him now. What would it likely cost? I'd give up a lot for a guy like that.
Matthew DeFranks: I am so freaking fascinated to see what Buffalo does with its defense. Dahlin is signed through 2032. Power is there through 2031. Byram is an RFA in 2025.
The Sabres will actually be in a decent spot cap-wise, I think, since they've already signed Dahlin and Power to long-term deals. They will have fit those guys under the cap. They won't need to re-visit those for almost a decade, and when the cap goes up, Buffalo will be fine.
The bigger issue to me is finding ice time for them all. Last time I checked, there's only two minutes on the power play normally. And only two units.
Something to keep in mind: Dahlin's NMC begins the summer of 2025. Power doesn't have any trade protection until a five-team no-trade list in 2029.
Anaheim, New Jersey, Detroit, Columbus are also other teams with multiple young D. Not sure how many will be available, though.
Also, Nail Yakupov was the most recent No. 1 pick to be traded. So it's been some time.
Matt L: Are we still expecting to see Snugerrud’s debut before the end of the season? Remind me, we would burn a year on his ELC by doing so, correct? If so, why not wait till the fall? What’s the rush?
Matthew DeFranks: I would think it more likely than not. He would use a year of his entry-level contract, even though he's 19 years old. Since he will be 20 by Sept. 15 in this calendar year, the NHL classifies him as a 20 year old signing a contract even though he's still just 19
I don't think using a year on the ELC is a huge deal, though it is noteworthy. If a player reaches RFA a year early, before he puts up big numbers, is that second contract smaller?
Say Snuggerud burns a year this spring and becomes an RFA in 2026. The alternative is he becomes an RFA in 2027 if he doesn't burn a year now. His counting stats might be lower after year two because of his pro adjustment, his role, his ice time, etc. But after year three, you'd expect the numbers to perk up, and so would the contract.
Matt L: Do you think Krug has had a good enough season where the Blues could potentially move him without eating salary or being forced to send assets with him? Same Q re Leddy.
Matthew DeFranks: I think Leddy could be moved without a sweetener. His $4M cap hit is tied for 85th among defensemen, which would estimate that he's paid as a No. 3 defenseman, roughly. He's capable of filling a second-pair role on a good team, and his skating may allow him to age well. Leddy's had a good bounce-back season.
Krug, I'm still not certain. I think his season -- plus another year off his contract -- has allowed his value to go up. But three more years at $6.5M is still a lot for a player that has broken 40 points just once with the Blues.
I don't think he's at the same point last year where a first-rounder is somewhere in the conversation. But I'm not sure the contract is a positive asset for an acquiring team yet.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, here is my take on Perunivich: if I were the GM I would trade his rights for a draft pick. Army basically has two of the same type of player in Perunovich and Krug and you can't get rid of Krug. Army needs to sign a top four d-man and then use Krug as a PP specialist from the turd pairing (my French accent pronounces third as "turd"....sorry if kids are on the chat).
Matthew DeFranks: To me, the Calen Addison trade earlier this season is the best comp for Scott Perunovich. Undersized, mid-20s, offensive defenseman. The Wild got a 2026 fifth and a minor-league forward.
Matt L: I’m sure the Blues have said nothing, but have you heard any names floated for potential new HCs? Nothing against Bannister, but the team’s record after the change is mostly a reflection of the improved PP in my opinion, and I very much doubt that he had all that much to do with that. Assuming it is going to be hard to make wholesale roster changes this offseason (again), I think this group could use a new message from the coaching staff.
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, I don't think Drew Bannister has done enough to earn the full-time job, which is a bit ironic since the team looks more competitive (coming back in game) and he's tried to hold them accountable. And those are the two things that Doug Armstrong said he wanted.
I don't have any names internally, but I still think Jay Woodcroft makes sense. I've heard good things about Todd McLellan's intellect, but that's a completely different way to play hockey with his 1-3-1.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, will the Minnesota Golden Gofers be playing in the tournament in STL?
Matthew DeFranks: No, they are in Sioux Falls and will play Omaha on Thursday.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Do you believe DB has done enough to be the permanent head coach of the Blues?
Matthew DeFranks: I don't think so. As Matt mentioned earlier, a lot of power play success and out-of-this-world goaltending has led to the improved record.
Bryan C: I have the BLUES because the Cardinals did not sign Jordan Montgomery for the 25 million he signed for with Arizona last night.
Matthew DeFranks: I love that $25M in baseball is a steal, and that would be twice as much as Connor McDavid makes. Different worlds, man.
Bluesfan05: What ur thoughts on the Buch situation do we resign or sell him off at end of season? Wouldn’t think he really wants to sign a long contract and never win a cup … which he won’t win here for awhile!
Matthew DeFranks: He's still got one more year left on his contract, so it's not like the Blues have to make a deal this summer. But if there's one thing we've learned about Doug Armstrong, it's that you want to be signed before that last year begins. If not -- Pietrangelo, Perron, O'Reilly -- it doesn't look good for returning.
Patrick B.: Is Dvorsky eligible to go to Springfield (AHL) full time next season? I wasn't sure how that age 20 rule for OHL players affected him since he joined the OHL just now after playing overseas first. Does that mean he's exempt from that rule? Is it for OHL drafted players only?
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, he was actually eligible to play in the AHL this season since he was drafted in the first round out of Sweden. The SHL has an agreement with the NHL that any player drafted in the first-round can be assigned to the AHL.
Yes, as you mentioned, since he was not drafted out of the OHL, the 20-year-old rule in the AHL doesn't apply to him.
Kerry: Matt do you know if Sunny’s injury is to the same knee he had surgery on previously?
Matthew DeFranks: In 2021, it was his left knee. It's his right knee right now.
Big Daddy: What is Krug's +/- this season? Seems like whenever we give up a big goal late he's on the ice getting pushed off the puck on boards (ie Vegas OT winner) or boxed out in front. Do they track by period? If so what's his 3rd period and OT show?
Matthew DeFranks: I can't say I've ever seen plus-minus broken down by period. It would be all sorts of wonky because of empty-net goals, that's for sure. I'm not a big plus-minus guy for a number of reasons, but Krug is at minus-26 this season.
At 5v5, the Blues have been outscored 54-37 with Krug on the ice, and that's despite him having some of the best possession numbers among STL defensemen this season.
STCBluesFan: MD Thanks as always for the chat. Sit next to a group of 4 STH who revealed to me that thy have found out that they are getting hit with big time price increase in for their seats. Emailed by ticket rep and they confirmed that some packages were going to go up "considerably". Mr. Stillman and crew better be doing a lot of explaining and kissing up to have STL fans swallow a close to 50% increase in their tickets (full season ticket holders). Pretty bold move considering the last 2 seasons and having your GM come out and say "yea we made some mistakes". Your thoughts?
Matthew DeFranks: Oof, that's rough. That's not really defensible except to throw your hands up and go "inflation, eh?" That's a massive increase for a team that's likely to miss the playoffs in two straight seasons.
Matt L: As a riff on the question involving the Sabres (I have family in Buffalo and can tell you they’d have a fan revolt on their hands if they traded Dahlin no matter what the Blues sent in return), I wonder if Buchnevich for Byram was ever brought up by either the Blues or Avs. Would you do that trade one for one? Do you think he would work as a puck moving partner for Parayko? Sort of out of the Bouwmeister mold, no?
Matthew DeFranks: It would be an interesting trade for sure. Feel like the Blues would need a little something extra coming back to make it worth it. (Ask yourself if Buchnevich for Mittelstadt is a fair trade.)
I don't know this for a fact, but I don't know if Doug Armstrong would do a deal like that within his own division. The last substantial in-division trade he did was the Paul Stastny one to Winnipeg, and that was a rental situation.
Patrick B.: Trying to find names the Blues might be interested in that are also realistic. Zach Werenski? Does the new CBJ GM try to move him. 4 years left, he will be 30 at the end of the deal. Could the trade be a structure similar to the potential Sanheim deal that fell through? Werenski has ranging opinions around the league, what's yours?
Matthew DeFranks: That's a name I hadn't thought about. It's a great idea. A couple hurdles: Werenski seems to miss some time every season due to injury. He has a NMC.
Werenski makes a bad Columbus team a decent one, and that's a good compliment. Is he worth $9.5M? Probably not.
DDMN: If the Blues had a more potent offense this season, do you think they would have made the playoffs? There are some exciting prospects coming but they won't be ready next season. Would depth scoring be something the Blues might look at this offseason?
Matthew DeFranks: The only reason we look towards the offense is because the goaltending has covered up any deficiencies on defense. Sure, they could have used more goals. But the Blues' 5v5 game overall needs a lot of work. They need to not be in the same conversation as Chicago and San Jose at 5v5.
Robert: Matthew: As a follow up to the comments about Buffalo’s young defensemen - fans should know that Minnesota traded one player (Kevin Fiala) to LA for now-Calder candidate D Brock Faber AND a first round pick. I believe Doug Armstrong will address the defense dilemma proactively and definitively in the offseason. And, he has proven that he is able to pull off deals (and steals) that no one expects. So I expect him to do something like the LA-Minnesota deal to boost the team’s defense corps. This is not that far fetched, is it?
Matthew DeFranks: The Flyers-Ducks deal was another young defenseman that got traded. They're not easy deals to pull off. As touched on a little earlier, Anaheim (Mintyukov, Zellweger), New Jersey (Hughes, Nemec), Detroit (Edvinsson, Sandin-Pelikka), Columbus (Jiricek) all have young defensemen. But not sure those guys are available.
Jimfla: Hi Matt. Thx for your time today. So we’re talked alot about the Blues need for a top young defenseman. Who do you think might be available? And what would the Blues have to give?
Matthew DeFranks: I know you submitted this a while back now, but I hope we've talked about few possibilities now.
If we use the Gauthier-Drysdale deal as a comp, the price for a young defenseman is still very high.
pugger: Hey Mat!! Good afternoon sir... You know the Stars team well.. How has that team been so amazing and drafting and developing players (quickly) to get to and shine in the NHL... Kind of unreal how many players are really on the come for them.. Maybe some luck involved? I mean, Robertson is just a stud, and I guess if they 'knew' he'd be a stud, they'd have picked him in round 1, not 2... But still, they picked him.. Blues need that kind of drafting, desperately.. Thanks Matt!
Matthew DeFranks: The Stars have layered their franchise really well to have just finished their Benn/Seguin window, entered the Robertson/Heiskanen window, with the Johnston/Stankoven window coming up next.
To me, Dallas has done a really good job of finding and evaluating hockey sense. Robertson couldn't skate, but they saw his IQ. Stankoven is undersized, but they saw his IQ. Johnston didn't even play the year before his draft, but they saw his IQ.
They've gotten a little bit lucky. They won the lottery to jump to No. 3 and pick Heiskanen. They built their franchise in 2017 with Heiskanen, Oettinger and Robertson. 2021 may be a similar thing for them.
But they also missed in 2015 (Gurianov), 2016 (Tufte) and 2018 (Dellandrea is fine, but he was No. 13).
To me, the Blues have also done a really, really good job drafting, particularly from the positions they've been. Dvorsky and Bolduc are the only players they've taken before pick 20 since Schwartz and Tarasenko.
It's such an impressive run to get Parayko at 86, Barbashev at 33, Dunn at 56, Thompson at 26, Kyrou at 35, Thomas at 20, Toropchenko at 113 and Neighbours at 26.
Sctdog: I often hear from some media outlets the need to gain cap relief by trading primarily a high dollar defenseman. It seems like the most optimistic timeline for the Bleus to be a real challenger in the playoffs is two years away, some young guys begin contributing while older veterans fade. If the Blues were to trade a $6.5 m D or even a $3.25 3C they are going to have to attach a first rounder and maybe more which would hinder the rebuild. The Krug deal made some sense because you were getting a younger and maybe also overpaid D asset. Also, there is little reason to turn the money around and buy a UFA when were at least two years away. What do you see as the best course?
Matthew DeFranks: I agree with you. If you clear cap space and bite some sort of bullet (whether it's sending a draft pick or buying out a contract), you better be using that cap space to make a difference on the roster. Even looking at the UFA class this season, it's underwhelming. Next year, though, that one is pumped with names.
Sctdog: In two years are we likely looking at a third line of Schenn and Hayes and a guy? Seems like they may have some assets to create an interesting top 6 in two years, Dvorski adn Snuggy with maybe Bolduc playing top 6 minutes, but depth does not seem to be apparent in the forward lines, maybe worse for D.
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, that's where you'd probably think externally. Obviously, not all the prospects will pan out, and then you fill the holes with veterans. On a contending team, Schenn could fit as a 3C.
Robert: Hi Matt: Does the league’s board of governors take action to address salary cap shenanigans by Vegas? How might they do it?
Matthew DeFranks: I don't think any GMs have an issue with Vegas. They are operating within the rules, and 31 teams would do the same exact thing.
It's hard to play without a player of Mark Stone's (or Nikita Kucherov's) caliber. I watched a Stars team in 2021 really struggle without Tyler Seguin and they missed the playoffs. Vegas is on the right side of the bubble, but on the bubble nonetheless right now. Teams don't want to lose these players.
It would make sense that the 20 players on the ice in the playoffs have to fit under the cap. That would be a way to keep rosters available (with black aces) and allow of competitive balance.
Sctdog: I asked a similar question earlier that maybe was worded poorly. Should the Blues even look at adding UFA's at this stage of the rebuild, something with some contract weight vs a Sunny type of move, or should they just play out their hand for another eyar or two to gain assets?
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, I get what you're saying. Don't commit to big-dollar, long-term deals that could hurt you more, especially when you're at a stage now when you wouldn't really reap the benefits of that deal.
I think they have to find a balance. You can't keep trying buy-low band-aids like Kapanen, Vrana, Blais and Hayes. But you're not in a contending position (assuming free cap space) to get a difference maker in UFA.
Matt L: Let’s put the offseason on hold for a moment. I know the chances are small, but if the Blues won 8 of 10 the rest of the way, Vegas would have to get at least 10 points out of their final 10 games to hold off the Blues. Vegas hasn’t been lighting the world on fire lately and the Blues have played pretty well and have a favorable schedule. Crazier things have happened… right?
Matthew DeFranks: Here's some optimism: Vegas has had 22 stretches of 10 games this season when they had a record below .500. Obviously, some of those overlapped with other other, but it has been done before for the Golden Knights.
Here's some pessimism: The Blues went 8-2-0 in one 10-game stretch this season, and that required three overtime wins.
I even think that losing two games might be too much for the Blues. To me, they can only lose once the rest of the season if they want to get in.
Robert: I hope Roy Hobbs is ok. I kinda miss him in Blues chats…
Matthew DeFranks: I hope so, too. I know he would want Jakub Vrana to be called up from the AHL.
Looks like the queue is empty now. It was a good session this week, thanks to everyone that stopped by either to read or to ask a question. Can't do a chat next week due to travel to Nashville, so see you in a couple weeks.
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