Defense rumors

[glen a richter]

What is this bullshit Rutherford is peddling? Zdeno Chara is absolutely not a need for this team.

I do like the idea of prying Scotty Mayfield away from the Islanders though, that would fill a need for sure.

[gaijin]

The Blues defense definitely did not impress me last season, but at the same time, the top 4 is already pretty expensive: Parayko (3.35 mil), Faulk (9 mil), Scandella (2.7 mil), Krug (4 mil).

So I don't know. Would Chara even make the Blues' defense better at his age? What would he cost? Would he pull a Kariya/Selanne and take $1 mil to play with Krug again?

[WaukeeBlues]

What is this bullshit Rutherford is peddling? Zdeno Chara is absolutely not a need for this team.

I do like the idea of prying Scotty Mayfield away from the Islanders though, that would fill a need for sure.

Yea Chara has already said if he's coming back it's on the East Coast to be closer to his family so that's not going to happen.

Islanders fans went ballistic in the comments on The Athletic at the mere suggestion that Mayfield could be in play. True fans don't know everything but that kind of raw, visceral reaction tells me he's pretty highly valued by the Islanders.

[theohall]

Mayfield is like Ian Cole in his prime with the Penguins. When he's on your team, you see what he provides that doesn't always show up on stats sheets. The Blues haven't really had a comparable defenseman over the past 6-8 years except maybe Edmundson or Bortuzzo, but to me Mayfield is actually better defensively than both. Were that trade to happen, which isn't likely, Bortuzzo would become the odd-man out on the right side, while Berube would wind up struggling to get Mayfield enough ice time behind Faulk and Parayko (assuming Parayko returns to form). Mayfield easily slots in as a 2nd pairing d-man - like Edmundson was, but on the opposite side - as the defensive defenseman. He would temporarily solve the Right-Handed defensive depth situation while creating an ice time conundrum.

The bigger issue for the Islanders, they don't have someone ready to step into that 2nd pairing RD role.

[goon attack]

at least Chara has a pair, unlike 80% of this team