If Krug could fetch a 2nd and a B prospect, the Blues would have done that already. And honestly, I don't want Sanheim, rather keep the 1st. Also don't think we need Hayes AND Laughton, would much prefer Laughton - but apparently they want too much for him, so Hayes half retained for free is fine. Anything less, I'd pass.

Glad we are on the same page for this stuff. Please don’t get Sanheim. It’s literally just making sure in 4 years we are in the same problem that we have currently with Krug.

Yeah, I'm really not sure what motivates a lot of Blues fans when it comes to the defense. And I can't understand why it's so hard to realize that Colt does not need a puck moving partner. He needs to be the puck moving partner who chases down puck carriers in the D zone with his wheels, reach and body positioning, and let someone else be the primary net front cop. His best hockey came with J-Bo, and pretty much all his best hockey since J-Bo and Petro departed has come with Scandella or Mikkola, who are not top pairing quality.

The best D pairings typically have one bad cop and one smooth criminal. Parayko is a smooth criminal, but everybody whines that he doesn;t play bad cop. Yeah... so get him a bad cop partner. Seems simple. We won the Cup because everyone had their role and they were suited for it, the pieces all fit together beautifully (and yes, because we stayed healthy). Now, too many people want to cram square pegs into round holes everywhere.

Flyers are trading him to Florida for that with Cap retained

How much?

Sanheim is a stay at home defenseman. I don’t know what you mean by a Puck Mover? I agree Parayko isn’t bad, but Sanheim basically supports what you just stated.

Probably 50% that’s 3.25 Million for the next 4 years or whatever a 2nd and B+ Prospect is good with that. I agree Blues would have if they could but he’s only worth that if He’s retained and Blues wouldn’t retain his contract.

Since when exactly? Sanheim is like a hybrid that leans sativa. He defends through his skating and stick. He's not a bad cop by any stretch.

Well, they might retain a reasonable amount, more like 1-1.5M. Either way, retaining 13M certainly costs more than a 25 2nd and a B prospect.

He doesn’t have to be bad cop, but he has better defending than any other defenseman Parayko has been paired with including Krug Scandella Leddy Mikkola Dunn

I’m not sure if doesnt but a B+ Prospect closer to the A- Range to me would be worth it if I’m Philadelphia. Heponiemi someone like that could really push the rebuilding process forward.

He's not.

Legitimate question here - Is everyone so sure that Hayes half-retained is free? Hayes just came off a season with 51 points, and having a capable Middle 6 Center @ at 3.5 Cap Hit has to be worth more than "free" to some teams?

Heponiemi isn't even a prospect anymore, and he's never been near A-/B+ anyway. Dude is an AHLer. Slow and 155 pounds is not an NHL combo. He's depth at best, and not the first depth you call on, either.

But like I said, I'm sure the Blues would retain 750K-1M and not need to take anything back. I sure would. If they throw us a 3rd or whatever, even better.

I honestly have no idea, I already asked what the value breakdown of the original deal would be and nobody would hazard a guess. But from everything the local guys have said, it sure seemed like Hayes half retained was a freebie and Sanheim would cost the late 1st. Perhaps it's not quite that, but I mean... can it be far off?

However he's priced, that's my line in the sand for him. I don;t actually want him at all, but it would be stupid to turn down a freebie half retained who can provide some supplemental offense and some shoulder bangin' in front of net.

He is

Perfectly reasonable question. I think the idea is Hayes is getting some cap off the books for Philadelphia to make some movement. You’ll see a draft pick and probably another player come back but it’s not like he’s making a 1st Round pick+Top Prospect so it’s not “free” but it definitely isn’t going to be as much as people make it out to be.

Except I'm not doing either of those things. I was about the first one who said Krug should go and Sanheim is a decent 2nd pairing guy if you have a bad cop with him. I'm not bashing Sanheim, he's just could well be the wrong guy to pair with Colt and I'm not eager to bet 8x6M and a 23 1st on it when there are cheaper, more suitable guys out there.

Out of curiosity, who do you think would make a solid partner for Parayko? A lot of people think someone like Graves would do the trick, but what do you think?

I think Graves is too similar to Colt. My first choice would have been Gavrikov, but that went out the door quickly. A shrewd offer sheet to Byram or Miller would certainly suffice. Or Lindgren if the Rangers somehow feel they need to move someone - he'd be the instant #1, I think. Hanifin would not be my first pick, but his price could drop because he wants out - I'm just worried about how much he wants to sign. Forsling would jump right to the top of the list if he told Florida he'll test UFA next summer. Orlov would be deluxe... but ONLY if we actually can make the moves required to go straight back to contention. If we cannot, he doesn't make sense. And honestly, I think Soucy might be outstanding as a J-Bo doppelganger... if we could get 20 minutes out of him instead of the 17 he's used to. Of course Mayfield might be amazing if he can play the left at the same level... but I do not know if that's something he does.

I want the right fit. If we have to settle for Graves or something like that, I'd rather just wait to find the right partner. Graves might be a decent partner for Faulk, but again I'd love Soucy there. Of course that;s means we need to move out Krug AND Leddy or Scandella. Easier said than done.

First, we need to find Krug's ticket out of town without doing something stupid and go from there. The sooner the better, though.