Read the full transcript of our weekly Blues chat.
Editor's note: Today's chat will be slightly later than usual.
Matthew DeFranks: Good afternoon. An hour later than usual with the later morning skate (and later game) in Dallas tonight. Tonight is the season finale for the Blues as they'll miss the playoffs for the second straight season. Let's get to some questions.
Scubado: Which players on the current roster are not likely to be here next year?
Matthew DeFranks: We're coming out hot to start! I guess the UFAs are a good place to start. Don't really see situations in which Kasperi Kapanen, Sammy Blais or Marco Scandella are back. All three have been healthy scratches at points this season, and there seem to be alternatives within the organization.
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Gut feeling is Scott Perunovich and Nikita Alexandrov are back. They did a lot this season just to retain their rights, and it would be a little silly to just give up those in the summer as RFAs.
There's always reason to believe that Doug Armstrong will try to trade a defenseman. As we saw last year with Torey Krug, it's harder said than done, but the intent should probably still be there again this summer.
I could obviously see the Blues trying to move Kevin Hayes, but that would require either more salary retention, or a buy out. Not sure if that's what Armstrong wants to do unless he can do something with the cap space or roster spot.
There's always the caveat that Doug Armstrong can be unpredictable, but with potential young additions to the lineup in the fall (Bolduc, Dean, maybe Dvorsky), I wonder just how much the Blues look externally during the offseason. It might not be a ton?
GD: Hi, sad to see the season over after tonight. What are your thoughts on Blues coach returning next season or Blues get a seasoned NHL type coach?
Matthew DeFranks: I like Drew Bannister as a man and a person. He's put everything he has into this team because, well, he's been living away from his wife and kids for quite some time. I do think he's added the competitiveness and the accountability that Doug Armstrong asked for, so those are two positives for him. The record is good. And the power play improved.
Having said all that, I'm not sure if he returns. The 5v5 play didn't change much under him, and part of that is the curse of the interim coach when there's no practice time to overhaul systems. But the Blues under Bannister were a bottom-five possession team, around the likes of Chicago and San Jose. Say what you will about this roster, but it is not a bottom-five roster in the league.
Armstrong's history is that he always looks for NHL experience prior to hiring that coach. So until he proves that history wrong, I will be assuming that's the avenue he'll go down.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, thanks again for these chats. As this is the final chat for the season will you be holding chats during the playoffs and off-season? Tom Timmermann would remark during his off-season Blues chats he couldn't believe the interest of us fans during the summer. Army will most certainly give us reason to stay tuned to Blues News, tomorrow's press conference should us give plenty of "Blues Clues" concerning the fate of Bannister and the coaching staff.
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, we'll still do chats in the offseason, though the frequency might dip a little bit. It might not be every week because, well, things don't always change from week to week in the offseason. But around draft, free agency, development camp, we'll be pretty active.
Jacko ttacko: Any reason to expect the Blues to be a playoff team next year given little to no cap room and dead contracts for the aging defensemen?
Matthew DeFranks: As long as the goaltending remains among the best in the league, the Blues will be in the conversation for sure. This year, they'll finish like six points out of the playoffs? That's three more wins across the entire season, one more win every two months.
If you want to believe in hope, you can hope that the young kids take on bigger roles, and that players like Thomas and Kyrou build on this season. Bolduc has looked good. Neighbours has obviously been a pleasant surprise. Dvorsky is putting up insane numbers in the OHL. Those are young players that could impact the team positively next season, and is that worth three more wins over guys like Kapanen, Blais and, gulp, Jakub Vrana?
Eric: Hi Matthew! I guess I'll throw out the Kyrou question of the chat! At one time I was pretty certain he would be actively shopped during the offseason. But given his play in the last few weeks and the fact he will likely finish with around 70 points (in what most would consider a down year for him), the team seems pretty positive when it comes to him of late. Do you think he is still on the roster for the 24-25 season?
Matthew DeFranks: I've never really been of the thought that Jordan Kyrou's contract is a big issue. He scores goals and he creates offense. That's hard to do in the NHL, and guys that do it get paid. Would you like to see it more consistently? Absolutely. But he's about to lead the team in goals and be second in points during an off year.
If you're Doug Armstrong and teams are interested in Kyrou, there's no reason not to listen. Even with his deficiencies away from the puck, he's a valuable commodity that can change a game in an instant. So you'd like to know his value around the league, right? Just in case that is the best way to set up your franchise to receive a haul. Now, I don't think that is likely. Having Thomas and Kyrou signed long-term during their prime years is one of the reasons why the Blues are "retooling" and not "rebuilding." They want to build around these players.
Short answer: I do expect him back next year.
Fan since the 70's.: How much of Justin Faulk's regression would you attribute to his injuries versus his natural regression due to age? Did he seem healthy at all in 2024?
Matthew DeFranks: Injuries surely took a bite out of his last half of the season, beginning late in 2023 vs. Colorado, when he appeared to injure his ankle. Then he got hurt again before the All-Star break and again when he got in the fight a couple weeks ago.
So that matters, but it wasn't like he was lighting it up when he was healthy in the first half of the season. His goal-scoring was way, way down, and he seemed to get beat a lot more defensively than he did in the past.
A year ago, you could argue that he was the team's best defenseman in 2022-23, but clearly wasn't the case this season.
Angie: Will you return to your Stars history and root for them in the playoffs? On a Blues note, what key pieces do the Blues need next season to get back into the playoffs?
Matthew DeFranks: I'll probably watch a lot of Dallas playoff games just because they're a fun team to watch, but I just want to see good hockey. Obviously, I know a lot of people in Dallas, but it's more about entertainment in the playoffs for me rather than rooting for one team or another.
I don't want to sound sarcastic in this answer because I know it's tough to acquire, but the Blues need a No. 1 defenseman. They have a lot of serviceable 2-4 guys, and that includes Colton Parayko. But they don't have that one guy who can impact the game in all sorts of ways, and just take over a game on the back end. So good luck to the Blues in that endevor.
Fan since the 70's.: Would you trade the Blues 2024 NHL Roster for the following teams 2024 NHL roster; Coyotes, Senators or Sabres?
Matthew DeFranks: NHL roster, I'm taking the Blues over all those teams. Organizational depth including prospects, I might lean Buffalo because of the depth on the blue line and in net.
I do believe Bill Armstrong is building something for the, um, Utah team. But that's still just a lot of hoping out there.
Matt L: I suspect that many people think the Blues ended up in the worst possible place this year - last team out of the playoffs. They don't make the playoffs and are likely to have a middling first round pick. I understand the thinking but don't agree. The Blues were never going to be bad enough to be in the conversation for a top 5 pick. They haven't pulled their roster apart like those teams have, and I don't want them to. You never know where you're going to go when you tank. The difference between picking 16th and picking 10th doesn't bother me when the team has a track record of getting good players in the middle of the first round like the Blues do. Most importantly, there's youngsters on this team who go a taste of a playoff hunt this year. Although it's intangible and unquantifiable, such experiences are invaluable.
Matthew DeFranks: I do think that people that wanted a full teardown like the idea of it, but may not like the reality of it when prospects don't pan out and the team doesn't return to relevance after 5, 6, 7 years. It's hard to do it correctly, and that's looking at examples like Buffalo, Detroit, New Jersey, Ottawa. Columbus, Anaheim, San Jose may soon find out. Same with Chicago.
The Blues probably did get a much more accurate read on their roster down the stretch this season than they did last year. In those two months of games that didn't mean anything, we saw Sammy Blais, Kasperi Kapanen and Jakub Vrana light it up. That ... did not translate.
This season did feel more like a normal one than last year, when the team was basically out of it at the All-Star break when it traded Vladimir Tarasenko to the Rangers. There was a week, maybe two in which it felt pointless. That feels so much different to the guys in the room.
Fan since the 70's.: Hays was a bad mistake, Doug had one job. Don't add term and he failed.
Matthew DeFranks: That's the same term they would have had to give out to a free-agent center last summer anyways. And it's not like a six or seven year deal. Hayes was always meant to be a stopgap to get you to the next group of Blues, and he just didn't provide that.
Fan since the 70's.: I would like to see a bigger commitment to the fore-check. Coach does not seem to prioritize the down-low game.
Matthew DeFranks: I don't think this is a coaching staff issue. The coaches know that they need a better forecheck. Both Bannister and Berube knew that the Blues played best when they had an active forecheck able to spend time in the offensive zone. But it just didn't show up at all this season. The Blues were almost a rush-only team in terms of generating offense, and that's no way to get through a full season.
Here's a bit from Drew Bannister yesterday about what he would do differently in the fall if he were back for training camp.
Jacko ttacko: Bolduc was impressive... so I expect him to make the squad next year. I didn't see enough of Dean to think he's a shoe in to make the big club. I haven't heard Dvorsky's name as being a legit contender to make the big squad next year... are you hearing he's got a legit chance to make it to St. Louis next year?
Matthew DeFranks: I believe that Dalibor Dvorsky will receive every opportunity to make the team. The Blues will see so much more of him now that he's in North America. He'll be at development camp, play in the prospect tournament, be at training camp. I also believe he's eligible to go to the AHL next year. There's nothing left for him to prove at the junior level.
His numbers in the OHL are better than both Thomas and Kyrou at the same age. He looks ready to make the jump, but it's about whether the Blues want to put him in a situation that is so much more different than when Thomas arrived as a teenager in 2018-19.
Scott Stewart: Does Mr. Stillman ever talk to the media? This team does not seem to have a serious plan to get back into contention other than play out the bad no trade contracts and see what happens. You are not going to get an elite scorer or a #1 defenseman in the mushy middle, more 3rd line players incoming....
Matthew DeFranks: I spoke to Tom Stillman before the season began, and we'll see again if we can make it happen over the summer. The Blues' plan has remained the same since basically the trade deadline last season: develop the young players, and compete for a playoff spot in the NHL as that is going on in juniors, minors and Europe. I get that it's vague, and "purge the roster of bad contracts" isn't exactly going to be communicated by the team that way. But they knew they were too good to truly tank, and they weren't good enough to be a top team. So bide time, wait for the kids and try to sneak into the playoffs in the meantime.
You're right, there is a bunch of top defenseman taken in the top 10 of a draft (Heiskanen, Makar, Hughes, Hedman, etc.) But there are players still there beyond 10, and that includes Dobson, McAvoy, Faber, Josi, Fox.
theMIck: Hi Matt, How about St. Louisan Paddy Maroon who got big kudos from the Bruins after his first game? I'm still unclear why Army let him go after the 2019 season and kept career underachiever Zack Sanford, who is back in the AHL, for more money. If memory serves, he was the only player not re-signed from the Cup team and went on to win two Cups and go to the finals over the next three years with the Lightning. Along with Alex Steen, he was the main glue guy on that miraculous team. What say you?
Matthew DeFranks: I wasn't around for that 2019 run to truly understand the group dynamics in play there, and I'm sure that his personality helped around the room. But I don't think losing Maroon was the move that put the Blues in this position.
Jacko ttacko: More of a comment than a question... As much as I loved Berube, the Blues did seem stale and lacked energy this year under his leadership. I had given up following them, as the effort didn't seem to be there under Berube. Under Bannister, the effort seemed to improve considerably, aside from a few off nights. Is inconsistent effort common across the NHL? I don't expect the Blues to make the playoffs ever year, but I'll continue to be a fanboy if the effort is consistently strong.
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, I will say that it does wane across the league. But that's when depth comes in. When one player or group of players slumps, the depth picks up the slack and the overall results don't dip. The Blues just don't have that depth in the bottom-six to be able to withstand slumps.
We saw Thomas, Kyrou, Buchnevich, Schenn all go through extended slumps. Even Saad and Neighbours. I know the Blue have a bunch of guys with 25 goals, but the dropoff after that is real.
Under Bannister, I think the goaltending also allowed them to stay in more game, and come back more often. As much as it was about pushing back within games, it was also about the score being in a place where they could do so.
Jacko ttacko: The Blues lacked toughness this year in my view. Guys like Sammy Blais didn't seem to be very physical and I miss that element in the Blues. Does Army recognize that as a weakness that needs to be addressed... or am I naive, or too old school to expect the Blues to be tougher, heavier and edgier?
Matthew DeFranks: I don't think the issue with Sammy Blais was that he wasn't physical enough. He will lead the team in hits despite sitting as a healthy scratch for a lot of the season.
I do think that there was a lack of push back throughout the season, though. Early on, it was about pushing back in games. There weren't many net-front scrums after a team got into Jordan Binnington. Other teams like Minnesota and Vegas had to pull that out of the Blues. We've talked about the forecheck not being there.
Fan since the 70's.: Thanks for answering that crazy question.
Matthew DeFranks: Last game of the season, can't hold anything back.
Hekawi: Matt...I'd love to see the Blues bring in a legit big time dman and I get that it wouldn't be that easy because we're still overloaded with some tough contracts on our blueline. Just for fun, if Doug Armstrong wanted to try and pry Rasmus Dahlin loose from Buffalo (on the theory that they're somewhat offensively challenged and overloaded with young first pair dmen and there are only so many first pair d minutes to go around) how much more than Kyrou would it probably cost us?
Matthew DeFranks: It's a good theory and one that we've talked about a few times here. But Buffalo has him signed for eight more years after this one. He hasn't even started his extension. He's a recent No. 1 pick that has sort of lived up to his pick slot. So Kyrou plus plus plus, honestly.
Fan since the 70's.: I know he is a good guy but, he it not be a contract we were thinking of buying out if it was a good idea.
Matthew DeFranks: I'm not saying it was a good move. I'm just saying it was about what they were going to get last summer. Like Lars Eller, Nick Bjugstad, etc.
Fan since the 70's.: Rush-only teams rarely win the cup. Avs are the most recent exception. I would take the heavy teams Dallas, Vegas, Florida and Carolina this year over the field.
Matthew DeFranks: Teams that can beat you anyway you want to play are the dangerous ones. Rush, forecheck, skilled game, hard-nosed, special teams, even strength.
Even teams like Colorado and Tampa Bay could grind you if it got to that point.
Fan since the 70's.: Dean flashed a bit more in the two games this weekend. I saw a few battles on the boards that made his comparisons to a young Barbashev seem like less of a stretch.
Matthew DeFranks: Zach Dean has certainly shown less than Zack Bolduc has. I wonder if we would think of his NHL appearances differently if he'd scored against Carolina a few games ago.
theMIck: I would welcome Bannister's return. But if he is relieved of coaching duties, who might Army target? For NHL experience and past success, is there any coach who can compete with Joel Quennville's resume? I think fans would embrace his return to The Lou.
Matthew DeFranks: Quenneville is the obvious big fish out there, with obvious drawbacks. Top of that list is that he's not currently eligible to coach in the NHL. His ties to the city are apparent, but so is the impact to the club's image. He clearly wants to coach again, so I guess we'll see.
Gallant, McLellan, Woodcroft, even Evason are out there with previous experience. Those teams played to those coaches' identities.
Fan since the 70's.: Been following closely, his production has fallen off pace in the playoffs. Is this due to him playing the defensive game vs the other team's top lines or just bad luck.
Matthew DeFranks: I haven't watched any of his playoff games, so I couldn't tell you one way or the other.
Andrew: Season ticket holder this year, not too upset by the product on the ice. However, in game entertainment to me feels so corny. The two hosts don't seem to have much grasp on the audience, the overuse of country roads (might be done?), the buzz kill of a guitar player just before the team takes the ice, and so much more. I will give them that people around the league like the look-a-likes, my own worst enemy, and a few other things. What are your thoughts or have you heard anything from other fans?
Matthew DeFranks: I haven't heard directly from fans, but I see them tweet at me about "Country Roads." Still, everyone in the arena sings to it. I get that people want it to be in the past, but if people in the arena still vibe to it, then it's still serving a purpose?
I do think some of the skits are painful. The guitar player shreds, but didn't get the crowd going at all. The "Are you ready for the Blues" song wasn't a pump-up song. The Blues tried to lean into the musical history of the franchise, and it just didn't create an atmosphere.
Hank Bassen: I've been an Armstrong supporter but he's made some lousy personnel decisions the last few years. Do you think he regrets losing Pietrangelo over his unwillingness to bend on length of contract? And do you think Krug has turned out to be the level of defensemen Armstrong believed he was getting? Blues lack an on-ice leader -- one whose performance does the talking. Like Ryan O'Reilly. Would've cost more than Kevin Hayes but the Blues would be in the playoffs with him. And lastly Armstrong seems to get attached to chronic underperformers like Sammy Blais. Appreciate your thoughts>
Matthew DeFranks: I don't think that Doug Armstrong would actually admit that he would make a different decision on Alex Pietrangelo. The idea was that Parayko could become that guy, and we know that he's not. Parayko is very good at what he does and that's transition the puck, take on tough matchups and be strong defensively. He won't ever be transcendent offensively, nor dynamic on the power play. It's just what it is now, and that wasn't a true projection.
Krug, the Blues would have needed more offensive production. You can live with the turnovers and such as long as it's outweighed on the other end. Krug hasn't made that so, and their attempt to trade him last summer kind of seals that they weren't happy with his role.
Blais was a low-risk, one-year signing for a familiar player that was just coming back after a tough knee injury. I can understand that, but I think tonight is his last game in a Blues sweater.
Matt L: Do you think Armstrong will consider a buyout of either Krug or Faulk? I would have considered Leddy in this discussion before the start of the year, but now I think, with only two years left on his deal at a lower AAV, his contract is more movable than Krug or Faulk. This defense needs to get younger quickly. I do not think the Blues can sit around and wait for those contracts to run. By the time that happens, the young forwards will already be only a year or two away from needing big contracts (assuming they pan out, which if they don't this is all a useless thought exercise). The defense needs to get younger, more in line with where Thomas and Kyrou are now.
Matthew DeFranks: This is a good point. The teams that construct deep, cap-compliant teams are usually (Vegas aside) the ones that get big contributions from players on entry-level contracts. Think Carolina with Seth Jarvis, Dallas with Wyatt Johnston. That allows a lot of cap space to spend on veterans elsewhere in the lineup.
The main follow-up I would have is this: What do you do with the cap space and the open roster spot? There's no point in taking on cap penalties in the future if you're not going to do something with it right now. When Nashville got rid of Johansen (retained salary) and Duchene (buyout), they brought in O'Reilly, Nyquist and Schenn.
When Armstrong fired Berube, he mentioned that he would be open to all ways to change the roster, but I will not believe he buys someone out until he actually does.
Matt L: The Blues need to look for a deal like the one that brought Buchnevich but involving a defenseman. Someone who is ready to take on a bigger role but perhaps blocked at their current team or who the team won't be able to afford as they gain arb status or getting closer to FA. Does anyone come to mind who fits this profile? I know Dahlin's name was thrown around in a previous chat. He's not going anywhere but maybe someone else on the Sabres' back line?
Matthew DeFranks: Power and Byram are both back there. I guess I wonder how you feel about Filip Hronek, or is his play inflated by playing with Quinn Hughes? Devon Toews seemed like that sort of player before he re-signed in Colorado. Detroit may have too many defensemen soon with Walman, Seider, Evdinsson and possibly Sandin-Pelikka down the line.
Lennie: Speaking of Maroon, we have not had anyone like him since. I know the days of the goons is mostly gone, but other than Schenn, we have no one to protect people like Kyrou. It's not fair for Schenn to have to fill so many roles. Someone like Maroon is very valuable. We are way too soft.
Matthew DeFranks: I think the role of protector is overrated. Having someone on the ice to fight Tyler Tucker did not, and will not stop him from leveling Connor Bedard any chance he gets.
Those types of players reflect an attitude about a team, though, and that's a hard-to-play-against team. Minnesota made every game into a shoving match and I'm sure that was not fun for opposing teams.
Those guys just need to be able to play, too. Back to that "hard skill" conversation from earlier.
Jacko ttacko: Safe to say Binner is untouchable with regards to trade bait going into next year? He was team MVP in my opinion... and by a large margin. Unless we can get a young #1 stud defensemen and a good draft pick, I think he has to stay until we have backups ready to replace him without much drop off in performance.
Matthew DeFranks: If you can live with Hofer's presumed growing pains for a year or two as he takes on 40, 50, 60 starts, and the defensemen coming back to St. Louis matches that timeline, then you can begin to think about it. But, to me, there's not much of a point in overhauling your roster to contend without a viable guy in net. Currently, we can look at Colorado, New Jersey, Toronto for that lesson.
The flip side is an easy argument: Adin Hill.
Sctdog: We we look back at this season where the youngsters learned to play in a playoff atmosphere or as a missed opportunity to grab a highly rated D?
Matthew DeFranks: I guess we'll find out after the draft. But probably missing out on a player. There will still be more lessons once those young players actually do qualify for the playoffs.
Sctdog: from various comments by media members there seems to be a theme t he at the Blues need to make the playoffs next year, “can’t go three years w/o playoff revenue/resukts” is the general thread. If that’s truely the case vs early team marketing efforts, Army has to spend on UFA’s and swing a trade or two truncating the rebuild. What direction, build or rush do you think they take next season?
Matthew DeFranks: Next year might be the year that they actually feel financial effects of their play. Last year was a surprise. This year, I know some season-ticket holders reached out to me about being locked in with multi-year deals. Also, I believe 40 of the 41 home games were sold out.
Next year, we're far away from the surprise of 2023. I still don't think the Blues make hockey decisions based on short-term financial effects. If the hockey side is done correctly, then they'll make money on the back end. So I still think they stick to building, and not rushing.
Matt L: A trade scenario for you: Stars get: Kyrou, Buchnevich (50% retained), Parayko and two firsts; Blues get Heiskanen and a short term salary dump to make the cap work - Does that even tempt the Stars?
Matthew DeFranks: In order to make the salary work, the Blues would have to take back ... Tyler Seguin? But no. The Stars have one of the best defenseman in the league signed to one of the best contracts in the NHL. And I don't think the Stars and Blues have made a deal in decades. Literally since 2004.
If you were going to target a Stars defenseman, Thomas Harley might be the most realistic option, even in this made-up situation.
Sctdog: it’s surprising that all the big money over 30 year old D except Faulk had nearly completely healthy seasons, even Krug is near 80 games. The D was also better than expected this year. Your guess, next year is it a similar year or something more like the previous year in terms of health and production?
Matthew DeFranks: I'll go with the hot take that the goaltending was the biggest difference from this year to last year. The advanced numbers (shot attempts, shots, expected goals, etc) are all about the same as 2022-23, if not worse. But the goaltending masked so much of that. Anecdotally, I feel like there were fewer backdoor tap-ins this season. But that's also why analytics exist, to root out personal blind spots or biases.
So I'll say the defense gets worse next season with another year on their tires.
Sctdog: Do you think the Flyers have any regrets on trading Hayes? I think they may have regretted trading Sanhiem as well.
Matthew DeFranks: I think the Flyers have zero regrets about trading Kevin Hayes. If they didn't, they would be getting this production for twice the price tag. Philadelphia wasn't even supposed to be contending this season. Even being around the chase had to have been gravy for them.
IdiotSavant: Though I know the first comment from scribes would be "Why would Ottawa ever trade thim?", I still want to think about freeing Brady Tkachuk from the Sens. My hope would be that Kyrou, Binnington, Dean, our 1st (16th overall?) and a conditional 2027 pick (that could, with lots of Blues playoff success, get up to a top-10 protected 1st) for Brady, a back-up goalie and Ottawa's 1st (6th overall?). Draft a HUGE d-man with the Sens pick. Use Brady's acquisition to convince Snuggerud to leave the Gophers. Brady/Thomas/Snuggy, Buch/Schenn/Bolduc, Saad/Hayes/Neighbors. Send Dvorsky to Springfield, and let him replace Hayes at the trade deadline. Solves most of our problems beyond the bad contracts on D, though clearly at a risk if Hofer is not truly ready.
Matthew DeFranks: I'm still not sure that would get it done? I have no idea. Deals like this simply don't happen in the NHL. The 6th overall pick would be a heavy price, especially when a team like Ottawa still needs those types of players. That's a lot of what-ifs as well.
Oh, almost forgot.
Why would Ottawa ever trade him?
theMick: And rhetorically, how many times have those coaches had the Cup for a day?
Matthew DeFranks: Available coaches with a Stanley Cup: Joel Quenneville (three), Darryl Sutter (two), Mike Babcock (one), Craig Berube (one). That's the list, unless you want to count Randy Carlyle, Marc Crawford or Claude Julien.
DDMN: Are there any short term secondary scoring options available in free agency you could see the Blues going after? You mentioned how much scoring dropped off from their top 5. If they add a few goals from the bottom 6 that could make the difference in making the playoffs next season while they look to stick to their plan and not add long term contracts.
Matthew DeFranks: Not sure what kind of deal 33-year-old Jonathan Marchessault is looking for. Same with 33-year-old Matt Duchene. Those are likely too expensive, to be quite honest. Tyler Toffoli? Anthony Mantha? Jake DeBrusk?
Or ... David Perron?
To be real, Jordan Martinook would be an interesting name. Can hit, can forecheck, wouldn't be too expensive, is a character from what I've seen.
Andrew: Painful is an understatement! Agreed that the guitar player is great, just seems to me it needs to be something more than a solo that stops 10 seconds before they even step on the ice. Seven nation army is a great song that he did, but needs to add some other music with the guitar to add to the atmosphere
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, it never felt like a continuation or a build into the next thing. Video, guitar, organ, entrance. Just a few different things going on within a short time period.
Lennie: "Country Roads" is an embarrassment and so is the little power play gesture. I wish our fans would watch fans in other arenas like Tampa or Nashville and others to see what a "hockey" vibe looks like.
Matthew DeFranks: The first time Bridgestone Arena cheered throughout the whole television timeout, I was floored.
Now that I think about it, I am misremembering when the organ got played. Still, the whole thing wasn't cohesive for the pregame entrance.
Mike: Any thoughts on the Coyote move and how it could impact the division. Thanks for the chat!
Matthew DeFranks: I don't know anything about how the league would handle divisions, but Salt Lake City isn't drastically different geographically from Phoenix, so Central would seem to still be the most sense.
I'm excited to go there next season. Been to Utah once before, and it's beautiful out there. Didn't spend much time downtown, though.
Matt L: I would trade for a defenseman who is a year or two away from FA (think Buchnevich but defenseman and hopefully a couple of years younger) and sign him to an extension. But it is a good point that we probably don't need the cap space right now. Do you think the Blues will be a cap team next year? My gut says no.
Matthew DeFranks: Hadn't thought about it much because I mostly forgot teams didn't have to be cap teams. The flat cap basically made so many teams around the league into cap teams, and that could obviously change next season.
My gut is also no, but we'll just have to wait and see.
theMick: The Big Rig is more than a physical presence on the ice, ask John Cooper. During the Cup year, he was in charge of the locker room, doling out game pucks for the board on the wall. Plus he got us out of the second round and became a hometown hero.
Matthew DeFranks: His goal against Dallas will forever be etched into my memory because I honestly couldn't even see who scored it from the far end of the press box. What a moment.
theMick: Kessel looks like a keeper and Perunovich will gain needed experience if he can stay healthy. Could that make up for your perceived defensive regression? Also, where is Leo Loof in his development?
Matthew DeFranks: Maybe? I might be lower on Perunovich than the start of the season, honestly. Kessel's been a nice surprise with regular minutes. As for Loof, his weakness is always going to be his puck play and decisions in his own zone. Can play physically, but getting out of his own zone needs work.
theMick: Could Brady demand a trade as his older brother apparently did and quite successfully?
Matthew DeFranks: I guess in theory? But Matthew had the leverage there because he was going to walk to UFA. Brady has already signed a long-term deal in Ottawa.
That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by.
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