Last night gave us a clear picture of how this team stacks up against a true contender. While the result of the game was not what the team needed (from a points perspective) there are reasons for optimism moving forward. After last night, I have cemented my stance on certain players and their futures within the organization. My thoughts on each player below: (from most important to off yourself)
18- looks as confident as ever, a true 1C in the league. contract looks to be very lucrative for the team.
63- one of the more memorable individual performances this year. He hits, goes to tough areas and creates odd man rushes. If the other young players (Bolduc/Snugg/Dvorsky/Dean) mature in a similar fashion to 63, we will be elite soon.
55/10- grouping these two aging beasts together. Some nights, their contracts seem like massive overpays but nights like last night, show they are worth every penny. Too often this year 10 tried to do too much, and production lapsed, but when he just plays his normal 2-way game, like yesterday, 6.5mm isn't a horrible overpay (at least for the next 2-3 years). I think 55 has actually had a strong year, been our best defensemen by far. 6.5mm is tolerable. Remember, these two know what it takes to win a cup.
89- not sure what to make of 89. obviously had a productive year, I'm not going to skewer him for the costly turnover last night but DA is going to have to give some thought to moving him this offseason simply because he will want an 8x8 contract before 25-26 season and that is a long contract for a player nearing the end of their prime. the last thing we need is another bad contract.
The 4th line of walker/sunny/torpo - loved their game last night.. reminiscent of prior years blues lines with upshall and otter running around hitting people but with production.
72- Tough game last night, brutal angle on makinnon that lead to first goal. We know his ceiling is high, he had an excellent 21-22 season but this year he has been a liability. Sporadic play, tough to justify his contract on any given night based on play this year alone.
47- this is going to cause some controversy. Yes, I know he is a defensive liability (brutal +/-), Yes, the contract is not ideal but even still, the guy produces. 4th on the team in points. I like his grit, Tough contract but he produces.
20/4- These guys have been my whipping boys in past years. I'll be honest I was really upset when we traded for Leddy in 2022, he's not a bad player but he's not THE player we needed to put with 55. He is a decent puck advancing dmen but ask yourself, is he any better in the dzone than scandella is? AAV isn't horrible but term and NTC make it a lot less palatable. 20 has actually had a good year imo. He is finding ways to produce from tough areas. I don't find his cap hit horrible. Neither of these players are bad, per se, but they are soft and don't really move the needle night in and night out. Perfect players for a re-tool I guess...
12- Man is he slow, but he's strong on the puck, but he doesn't really produce, but he's not a horrible cap hit? idk with hayes, I'm sure he's a good locker room guy but he's a 3c role, nothing more.
Pretty Steep Drop Off
6- would be surprised if he's here next year. unless he takes league minimum to play 7th dmen for us, let him walk.
42- he tries, but just doesn't produce. let him walk for the younger guys.
Even Steeper Drop Off
48- By this point we know what he is and what he isn't. I'm not downplaying his upside, but given 47/4's NTCs, there is no room for him on the team. We simply can't have him, krug and leddy as the three dmen on the left side. Nice going DA!
79- like his grit but he can walk if he wants
Too Early/Young
76/51 - young, but showing good signs. they will be important moving forward but i can't comment on play thus far, they are just too young. Kessel did have a really nice step up on a play in the neutral zone last night that thwarted a potential odd man rush for the avs. Good signs from a young player.
Your time has come to an end
25- I'm sure non-stl fans will disagree based on optics alone, but I am done with kyrou. Sure he's got the speed and some production (90th in the league in points) but he has no other redeeming qualities. He doesn't back check and loses every board battle. Plain and simple he is a wuss. For every stride RT made this year after signing the largest contract in team history, 25 backtracked. He doesn't have the excuse of immaturity anymore, he is 25, and been in the league long enough to know he has to play hard every night or he will be exposed. Unfortunately, the grit and desire just don't surface as often as they should. If I'm DA, I look to move kyrou immediately.
50 should be right next to 18 for importance to team. I think he's a top 5 goalie in the league, not his fault DA put one of the worst defensives in front of him possible
In total, good news is RT and 63 look to be elite players, some of our core players (10/55/72/20) have shown potential to play up to cap hit, our 4th line is rock solid and produces, and we are seeing solid play from young players (76/51). Bad news: a lot of NTCs, a lot of term left on some risky contracts, weak left side of defense and a mammoth contract to a weakling.
Imagine praising Schenn and Krug and Kessel, and then saying you're done with Kyrou and Parayko...
Where are you getting any of that? Said Parayko was our best dmen all year hah. and Kessel was too young to comment on but like what i have seen so far. Krug produces but has a brutal contract and +/-. Yes. i will die on the hill of kyrou is rubbish
Where are you getting any of that? Said Parayko was our best dmen all year hah. and Kessel was too young to comment on but like what i have seen so far. Krug produces but has a brutal contract and +/-. Yes. i will die on the hill of kyrou is rubbish
Kyrou does backcheck. His defensive game in that regard has actually been impressive this year. His mistakes however, aren't great. He seems to be snakebitten and is not handling the puck well this year. He hasn't looked near as dynamic as he did last year, but his defensive game/effort has vastly improved from last year. The trick is going to be how does he play more responsible and be dynamic at the same time, that's the line he's going to teeter and hopefully leap over.
I'm not sure you can really classify Neighbors as an elite player. I really like where his game is at right now, and I love how adaptable of a player he is. I wouldn't even really consider moving him. He's just not an elite talent.
I think it's really really hard to evaluate most of our players. Let's look at a few things:
Schenn: Has been fantastic as of late, why? Well he's no longer burdened with players who go invisible and he has a real play driver in Thomas on his line. What's the bad with him? Well when he wasn't moved to the wing with Thomas his production was as inconsistent as it comes. Multiple stretches of 10+ Games without scoring a goal.
Buchnevich: He hasn't been good as of late, why? He was moved to the 2C spot where Schenn was at with wingers who are extremely inconsistent. He's scored at a higher clip in that situation than Schenn did, and ultimately he's a better player than Schenn. But what this equates to which I think is the real root of our teams issues and why you see alot of peaks and valleys with this team. We have 0 play drivers/possession players and extremely inconsistent players littered throughout our middle 6:
Saad - Extremely inconsistent. Probably the most extremely inconsistent, consistent player i've ever seen. He gets the same stat line year after year. But he's either an absolute ghost when he's playing or he's contributing getting 1 and 1. He's not a play driver whatsoever, but he does some things well. It's just when he isn't scoring he doesn't impact much and isn't a possession player at all.
Neighbors - He has had a very good player versus expectations coming into this year. Most of his production has come from being a net front staple on the powerplay though (which he has been admirably good at). He's not really a play driver, which is fine, because his skillset and willingness to play in the dirty areas is perfect for a complimentary player.
Kapanen - Fairly responsible player effort wise, scoring is extremely inconsistent though. Make prone at times with the puck as well.
Hayes: Also fairly inconsistent in point production. Great possession player, questionable defensive player. Slowest player i've ever seen get the highest percentage of breakaways on a team. He cheats alot in the d zone. However, I don't think he's an issue, I think he's just an average 3C. I would say in terms of a play driver he's probably our 4th best one.
Bolduc: It's too early to really put a tab on him. His effort as been fantastic. Still learning the league, not sure what to expect. Not confident enough to be a play driver currently, could come with time possesses the skills to do so.
Kyrou: Hasn't been dynamic with the puck much this year. Also, not really a player that controls the game with the puck. He's a rush player.
We're stuck inbetween being a rush team and being a team that's trying to play responsible. We lack the personnel to be a possession team outside of 2 guys, that includes on defense. I think Krug is the only defenseman on our team who can control possession, but he doesn't have the physical tools to do it for a long period of time.
When things work for us and guys are skating you can see that glimpse of the team being a really hard to play against rush team, but it's just not consistent.
Schenn: Has been fantastic as of late, why? Well he's no longer burdened with players who go invisible and he has a real play driver in Thomas on his line. What's the bad with him? Well when he wasn't moved to the wing with Thomas his production was as inconsistent as it comes. Multiple stretches of 10+ Games without scoring a goal.
Schenn has picked up the offense recently after an 11-game point drought (which should be f'ing unheard of for him, but he actually had a 16-game drought over the holidays), but he still destroys so much of our play on a nightly basis it's staggering. He can't catch soft passes. He loves his damn no look drop pass at our blue line and will not stop doing it. He mishandles out of thin air to end great chances and rushes regularly, sometimes 2-3 times a game. He makes so many mistakes it's mind blowing. And this is two seasons running now. Yes, he makes some good plays, but those plays are getting outnumbered. It's our second biggest problem as a team, both today and moving forward, in my book.
Dude is killing us constantly. And this is how he reacts to being handed the C (when it's clearly already Thomas' team). I'm also wondering if he's actually good in the room or if he's causing more problems than he soothes. It's just too much. And fantastic is too much, as well. He's been mitigating his negatives better with timely offense, that's as far as I'll go.
Kyrou does backcheck. His defensive game in that regard has actually been impressive this year. His mistakes however, aren't great. He seems to be snakebitten and is not handling the puck well this year. He hasn't looked near as dynamic as he did last year, but his defensive game/effort has vastly improved from last year. The trick is going to be how does he play more responsible and be dynamic at the same time, that's the line he's going to teeter and hopefully leap over.
I'm not sure you can really classify Neighbors as an elite player. I really like where his game is at right now, and I love how adaptable of a player he is. I wouldn't even really consider moving him. He's just not an elite talent.
I think it's really really hard to evaluate most of our players. Let's look at a few things:
Schenn: Has been fantastic as of late, why? Well he's no longer burdened with players who go invisible and he has a real play driver in Thomas on his line. What's the bad with him? Well when he wasn't moved to the wing with Thomas his production was as inconsistent as it comes. Multiple stretches of 10+ Games without scoring a goal.
Buchnevich: He hasn't been good as of late, why? He was moved to the 2C spot where Schenn was at with wingers who are extremely inconsistent. He's scored at a higher clip in that situation than Schenn did, and ultimately he's a better player than Schenn. But what this equates to which I think is the real root of our teams issues and why you see alot of peaks and valleys with this team. We have 0 play drivers/possession players and extremely inconsistent players littered throughout our middle 6:
Saad - Extremely inconsistent. Probably the most extremely inconsistent, consistent player i've ever seen. He gets the same stat line year after year. But he's either an absolute ghost when he's playing or he's contributing getting 1 and 1. He's not a play driver whatsoever, but he does some things well. It's just when he isn't scoring he doesn't impact much and isn't a possession player at all.
Neighbors - He has had a very good player versus expectations coming into this year. Most of his production has come from being a net front staple on the powerplay though (which he has been admirably good at). He's not really a play driver, which is fine, because his skillset and willingness to play in the dirty areas is perfect for a complimentary player.
Kapanen - Fairly responsible player effort wise, scoring is extremely inconsistent though. Make prone at times with the puck as well.
Hayes: Also fairly inconsistent in point production. Great possession player, questionable defensive player. Slowest player i've ever seen get the highest percentage of breakaways on a team. He cheats alot in the d zone. However, I don't think he's an issue, I think he's just an average 3C. I would say in terms of a play driver he's probably our 4th best one.
Bolduc: It's too early to really put a tab on him. His effort as been fantastic. Still learning the league, not sure what to expect. Not confident enough to be a play driver currently, could come with time possesses the skills to do so.
Kyrou: Hasn't been dynamic with the puck much this year. Also, not really a player that controls the game with the puck. He's a rush player.
We're stuck inbetween being a rush team and being a team that's trying to play responsible. We lack the personnel to be a possession team outside of 2 guys, that includes on defense. I think Krug is the only defenseman on our team who can control possession, but he doesn't have the physical tools to do it for a long period of time.
When things work for us and guys are skating you can see that glimpse of the team being a really hard to play against rush team, but it's just not consistent.
Agree with a lot of this. Nailed it on the middle 6 production, or lack thereof, which translates to this team's inconsistency. It's a strange assortment of players, Hayes, Kapnen, bolduc, saad, etc. no real game breakers. Interesting point regarding production with the Schenn/Buch flip. its clear RT is the engine for this team as those who play with him produce. I just don't want to pay everyone just based off production when playing with him.
Schenn has picked up the offense recently after an 11-game point drought (which should be f'ing unheard of for him, but he actually had a 16-game drought over the holidays), but he still destroys so much of our play on a nightly basis it's staggering. He can't catch soft passes. He loves his damn no look drop pass at our blue line and will not stop doing it. He mishandles out of thin air to end great chances and rushes regularly, sometimes 2-3 times a game. He makes so many mistakes it's mind blowing. And this is two seasons running now. Yes, he makes some good plays, but those plays are getting outnumbered. It's our second biggest problem as a team, both today and moving forward, in my book.
Dude is killing us constantly. And this is how he reacts to being handed the C (when it's clearly already Thomas' team). I'm also wondering if he's actually good in the room or if he's causing more problems than he soothes. It's just too much. And fantastic is too much, as well. He's been mitigating his negatives better with timely offense, that's as far as I'll go.
Could definitely agree with the last statement. I just personally think that while he's not a solution, we have bigger issues in terms of consistency. Personally, I think when he was handed the C he was the right choice. After about 20 games this season though it was evidently clear that this is Thomas' team. It's why I wouldn't be shocked to see Schenn moved, or at least Thomas given the captaincy this offseason.
Could definitely agree with the last statement. I just personally think that while he's not a solution, we have bigger issues in terms of consistency. Personally, I think when he was handed the C he was the right choice. After about 20 games this season though it was evidently clear that this is Thomas' team. It's why I wouldn't be shocked to see Schenn moved, or at least Thomas given the captaincy this offseason.
If it seems like the wrong choice in 6 weeks, it wasn't the right choice at the time. I keep hoping his focus will return, but a captain's steadiness should not be all over the map. I really wonder if this isn't a sizable issue within the group.
If it seems like the wrong choice in 6 weeks, it wasn't the right choice at the time. I keep hoping his focus will return, but a captain's steadiness should not be all over the map. I really wonder if this isn't a sizable issue within the group.
I loved Thomas’ game last season. But he wasn’t being tasked with what he’s currently tasked with. I don’t think you could feasibly see this type of growth from last year to this year. I could’ve seen the argument for Thomas then. But I also agreed with making Schenn the captain at that time, because it was very unclear of if Thomas’ complete game and compete level game over game would reach this or when it would.
I loved Thomas’ game last season. But he wasn’t being tasked with what he’s currently tasked with. I don’t think you could feasibly see this type of growth from last year to this year. I could’ve seen the argument for Thomas then. But I also agreed with making Schenn the captain at that time, because it was very unclear of if Thomas’ complete game and compete level game over game would reach this or when it would.
I think it should have been obvious that Thomas was not that far away from ready. Compete level has hardly been an issue with Thomas. He mostly needed to tidy up some puck decisions, realize it was better to stay I their end the whole shift without a shot than to force risky plays. He was kinda already doing that toward the end of last season. And every time he stumbles a little or plateaus for a spell, he roars back to a new level. We waited a couple months without a captain, we could have waited a couple more. Now we're stuck with this issue, perhaps for four more years. It was always a rash decision. And one I still do not get.
I agree with just about every point. Neighbours is playing like a true Blue, he has a great future ahead of him. Wouldn’t mind testing Bolduc-Thomas-Snug next year at some point. Doug has to make trading Leddy priority #1 and putting Kyrou on the block #2. There’s no excuse for this constant lack of effort attitude anymore, you’re almost 26 with a big boy contract now. WAKE UP JORDAN. I would like to think Scotty P is sticking around next year, he has to play a certain number of games for STL to retain his RFA rights. That’s the only reason he’s likely playing every game the rest of the year. Scandella, Kappy, Blais, and Alexandrov are as good as gone.
I agree with just about every point. Neighbours is playing like a true Blue, he has a great future ahead of him. Wouldn’t mind testing Bolduc-Thomas-Snug next year at some point. Doug has to make trading Leddy priority #1 and putting Kyrou on the block #2. There’s no excuse for this constant lack of effort attitude anymore, you’re almost 26 with a big boy contract now. WAKE UP JORDAN. I would like to think Scotty P is sticking around next year, he has to play a certain number of games for STL to retain his RFA rights. That’s the only reason he’s likely playing every game the rest of the year. Scandella, Kappy, Blais, and Alexandrov are as good as gone.
I wouldn't mind seeing that line at some point this year. Idk how far away Snugg is from being an impact player, probably two years? Again, no clue. Big picture assuming no major roster changes on the forward front, but id imagine the future to look something like,.. 89/18/25 + 63/76/Snugg + 10/12/20 + current 4th line. Thats a lot of youth, but id take that group over this years. Again, a lot rides of snugg. Agreed, parting with leddy needs to be priority. 55 deserves a lockdown partner. 47/72 + a new dmen w 55 and then id be fine with 48/51 assuming we splurged for a true dmen. that d core would be tolerable. that lineup would be formidable.
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