Lead-up to the trade deadline thread

[gaijin]

OK, it's 3:00pm eastern. Please tell me the Blues made more moves than Stastny. His contract was up this year anyway. We need to move more of the dead weight that is still on the books.

[theohall]

Apparently, Schenn was shocked by the trade, because the Blues are still in the playoff hunt. Guess he missed the memo that just making the playoffs isn't good enough. When you can't beat the teams in your own division, something has to change.

[theohall]

Lightning got McDonagh from the Rangers. Don't know for what yet.

Tatar from Detroit to Vegas.

Vanek from Vancouver to Columbus for Tyler Motte and Jussi Jokinen

[theohall]

Lightning Rangers Trade
TB gets McDonagh
Rangers get Namestnikov, Libor Hajek, Brett Howden, 2018 1st, and conditional 2019 2nd. That 2nd round pick becomes a 1st if the Lighting win the Cup with McDonagh this year or next.

Hajek is a high end defensive prospect.

[WaukeeBlues]

Love the Stastny trade. Reminiscent of Shatty last season knowing we weren't going to re-sign him and we got a first and a prospect for him?! Color me pleased.

About the only thing that surprised me today was that McDonough was actually traded. He's only 28, I just don't get it. If anything I would've been more inclined to deal Zuccarello or Kreider. No idea what the market for those guys are but this must be a total tear down of this team.

I guess the only other surprise was Vegas being a buyer and acquiring Tatar. WAY overpaid for him and I'm surprised McPhee parted with draft picks to do it too. Why mess with that unreal chemistry? Doesn't seem smart to me.

[gaijin]

I like the return they got for Stastny.

What I don't like is that it the only thing they did. The Blues of tomorrow will look 95% the same as the Blues of yesterday.

[Robb_K]

The Blues could have gotten a decent return for Steen, too. I hoped they would trade Sobotka, too. The way they've been playing lately, and with so many games against Central teams, who are playing well, I wouldn't give them much of a shot to even win a wild card spot. I had hoped they'd gather as many draft choices together as possible, to move up in the draft to get a future "difference maker".

[gaijin]

The Blues could have gotten a decent return for Steen, too. I hoped they would trade Sobotka, too. The way they've been playing lately, and with so many games against Central teams, who are playing well, I wouldn't give them much of a shot to even win a wild card spot. I had hoped they'd gather as many draft choices together as possible, to move up in the draft to get a future "difference maker".

I was hoping that too. Or at least package the 1st we got for Stastny together with a couple of roster players for said different maker.

[glen a richter]

I give Armstrong a C-. I'm glad he got the process started, but if you look at what other teams did--in particular the Rangers, it seems like he was afraid of just going all in on the rebuild.

I'm happy about getting back into the 1st round this year, especially getting a 1st rounder for a two month rental. I'm worried that he'll try to bring Stastny back as a UFA when that's not the direction this team needs to go.

I'm unhappy about the lack of other movement--Berglund, Sobotka, Bouwmeester, Steen, even Pietrangelo who I'm realizing is a terrible leader. It's not like the opportunities weren't there either. Look at what Vegas gave Detroit for Tatar and then tell me we couldn't do something similar. Look at what Chicago got from Nashville for a rental... if we're trading with Winnipeg, why not Nashville too? Look at what the Rangers got for McDonagh and Miller. We couldn't do something similar with Tampa Bay... Pietrangelo and Steen or Pietrangelo and Sobotka? It's indicative of a half effort by Armstrong. Either you're fully in or you're fully out, you can't just BS your way through the deadline by making one move to say you made a move and then ignoring the big picture. We should have come away with at least one more 1st rounder, possibly 2. We could have also gotten a couple of good young players from Tampa Bay who would no doubt have been more willing to trade a similar package to the Western conference rather than helping their conference rivals.

Depending on what he does in the offseason and at the draft, that C- will probably go down to an F. This team needs to rebuild, it's as simple as that. They're too far away from being a legitimate contender. That ship sailed a few years ago when they were choking away 2-0 series leads, and even the year they went to the conference finals that was on the heels of a lot of luck in the prior series'. Getting to the 3rd round doesn't mean you necessarily deserved to. Some of the pieces are in the system but they're all being blocked by guys who frankly don't deserve more chances but are being enabled by an enabler of a head coach. That Stillman doesn't see this and isn't making huge changes from the very top is idiotic at best.

[tjk002]

I give Armstrong a C-. I'm glad he got the process started, but if you look at what other teams did--in particular the Rangers, it seems like he was afraid of just going all in on the rebuild.

I'm happy about getting back into the 1st round this year, especially getting a 1st rounder for a two month rental. I'm worried that he'll try to bring Stastny back as a UFA when that's not the direction this team needs to go.

I'm unhappy about the lack of other movement--Berglund, Sobotka, Bouwmeester, Steen, even Pietrangelo who I'm realizing is a terrible leader. It's not like the opportunities weren't there either. Look at what Vegas gave Detroit for Tatar and then tell me we couldn't do something similar. Look at what Chicago got from Nashville for a rental... if we're trading with Winnipeg, why not Nashville too? Look at what the Rangers got for McDonagh and Miller. We couldn't do something similar with Tampa Bay... Pietrangelo and Steen or Pietrangelo and Sobotka? It's indicative of a half effort by Armstrong. Either you're fully in or you're fully out, you can't just BS your way through the deadline by making one move to say you made a move and then ignoring the big picture. We should have come away with at least one more 1st rounder, possibly 2. We could have also gotten a couple of good young players from Tampa Bay who would no doubt have been more willing to trade a similar package to the Western conference rather than helping their conference rivals.

Depending on what he does in the offseason and at the draft, that C- will probably go down to an F. This team needs to rebuild, it's as simple as that. They're too far away from being a legitimate contender. That ship sailed a few years ago when they were choking away 2-0 series leads, and even the year they went to the conference finals that was on the heels of a lot of luck in the prior series'. Getting to the 3rd round doesn't mean you necessarily deserved to. Some of the pieces are in the system but they're all being blocked by guys who frankly don't deserve more chances but are being enabled by an enabler of a head coach. That Stillman doesn't see this and isn't making huge changes from the very top is idiotic at best.

Where is the like button for this post?

[theohall]

I give Armstrong a C-. I'm glad he got the process started, but if you look at what other teams did--in particular the Rangers, it seems like he was afraid of just going all in on the rebuild.

I'm happy about getting back into the 1st round this year, especially getting a 1st rounder for a two month rental. I'm worried that he'll try to bring Stastny back as a UFA when that's not the direction this team needs to go.

I'm unhappy about the lack of other movement--Berglund, Sobotka, Bouwmeester, Steen, even Pietrangelo who I'm realizing is a terrible leader. It's not like the opportunities weren't there either. Look at what Vegas gave Detroit for Tatar and then tell me we couldn't do something similar. Look at what Chicago got from Nashville for a rental... if we're trading with Winnipeg, why not Nashville too? Look at what the Rangers got for McDonagh and Miller. We couldn't do something similar with Tampa Bay... Pietrangelo and Steen or Pietrangelo and Sobotka? It's indicative of a half effort by Armstrong. Either you're fully in or you're fully out, you can't just BS your way through the deadline by making one move to say you made a move and then ignoring the big picture. We should have come away with at least one more 1st rounder, possibly 2. We could have also gotten a couple of good young players from Tampa Bay who would no doubt have been more willing to trade a similar package to the Western conference rather than helping their conference rivals.

Depending on what he does in the offseason and at the draft, that C- will probably go down to an F. This team needs to rebuild, it's as simple as that. They're too far away from being a legitimate contender. That ship sailed a few years ago when they were choking away 2-0 series leads, and even the year they went to the conference finals that was on the heels of a lot of luck in the prior series'. Getting to the 3rd round doesn't mean you necessarily deserved to. Some of the pieces are in the system but they're all being blocked by guys who frankly don't deserve more chances but are being enabled by an enabler of a head coach. That Stillman doesn't see this and isn't making huge changes from the very top is idiotic at best.

Where is the like button for this post?

++

[theohall]

Love the Stastny trade. Reminiscent of Shatty last season knowing we weren't going to re-sign him and we got a first and a prospect for him?! Color me pleased.

About the only thing that surprised me today was that McDonough was actually traded. He's only 28, I just don't get it. If anything I would've been more inclined to deal Zuccarello or Kreider. No idea what the market for those guys are but this must be a total tear down of this team.

I guess the only other surprise was Vegas being a buyer and acquiring Tatar. WAY overpaid for him and I'm surprised McPhee parted with draft picks to do it too. Why mess with that unreal chemistry? Doesn't seem smart to me.

The Rangers said in January when it was clear they wouldn't make the playoffs, they were going to make changes to build for the future. Tampa needed quality defensive depth. They got it and paid for it with a quality prospect in Hajek along with potentially 2 1st round draft picks. At a minimum, it's a 1st and a 2nd.

Vegas giving up picks for Tatar is due to Tatar being under contract through the 20-21 season. The last pick isn't even until Tatar has become a UFA. A 3rd round pick in 2021? So what? Is a 20+ goal scorer worth a 1st and 2nd round pick? Yes. Is a 20+ goal scorer under contract for the next 3 seasons with a low cap hit worth one more pick? For Vegas, the answer was yes. And Tatar has been consistently doing this on a sub-par Detroit team. So was it too much? Juries out, IMO, considering more drafted players don't make the NHL than are successful in reaching the NHL. Vegas is contending this season and has beaten Nashville twice, Winnipeg twice and Tampa twice. A chance to win a Cup is a chance to win a Cup and Vegas is there right now. Vegas is ahead of the Blues as a team actually contending for a Cup, not just making the playoffs.

As to the Blues, I wish there would have been more of the over-paid veteran dead weight moved - Sobotka, Berglund, Steen, etc. Those guys just aren't performing. Well, Sobotka is having is typical NHL season after a strong start.

[Oaklandblue]

Love the Stastny trade. Reminiscent of Shatty last season knowing we weren't going to re-sign him and we got a first and a prospect for him?! Color me pleased.

About the only thing that surprised me today was that McDonough was actually traded. He's only 28, I just don't get it. If anything I would've been more inclined to deal Zuccarello or Kreider. No idea what the market for those guys are but this must be a total tear down of this team.

I guess the only other surprise was Vegas being a buyer and acquiring Tatar. WAY overpaid for him and I'm surprised McPhee parted with draft picks to do it too. Why mess with that unreal chemistry? Doesn't seem smart to me.

The Rangers said in January when it was clear they wouldn't make the playoffs, they were going to make changes to build for the future. Tampa needed quality defensive depth. They got it and paid for it with a quality prospect in Hajek along with potentially 2 1st round draft picks. At a minimum, it's a 1st and a 2nd.

Vegas giving up picks for Tatar is due to Tatar being under contract through the 20-21 season. The last pick isn't even until Tatar has become a UFA. A 3rd round pick in 2021? So what? Is a 20+ goal scorer worth a 1st and 2nd round pick? Yes. Is a 20+ goal scorer under contract for the next 3 seasons with a low cap hit worth one more pick? For Vegas, the answer was yes. And Tatar has been consistently doing this on a sub-par Detroit team. So was it too much? Juries out, IMO, considering more drafted players don't make the NHL than are successful in reaching the NHL. Vegas is contending this season and has beaten Nashville twice, Winnipeg twice and Tampa twice. A chance to win a Cup is a chance to win a Cup and Vegas is there right now. Vegas is ahead of the Blues as a team actually contending for a Cup, not just making the playoffs.

As to the Blues, I wish there would have been more of the over-paid veteran dead weight moved - Sobotka, Berglund, Steen, etc. Those guys just aren't performing. Well, Sobotka is having is typical NHL season after a strong start.

Agreed. I'd rather had seen the Blues do what the Rangers did and then bring up the prospects who are ready to go. With this draft coming up, I would have shipped off Boat, Bergy and Steen, brought up all the ready-to-go prospects and see how it went. The picks next year would help build the team moreso than having those three.

On a side note, Flames claimed Chris Stewart. For a one dimensional guy, he really is carving himself out a pretty decent NHL career.

[gaijin]

The lack of moves by the Blues at the trade deadline has me wondering if our problem is we overvalue our players.

Well, let me clarify- I already KNOW the front office overvalues the players (look at the production we get compared to the contracts we pay). Even with that, I think I personally may have underestimated just HOW MUCH we overvalue these guys.

Detroit was able to move Tatar. Edmonton moved Maroon. NY moved JT Miller. These aren't blockbuster deals. The fact that Berglund, Sobotka, Steen, Bouwmeester, Jaskin, et al were not moved means that either we (1) asked too much in return (leading to no team being interested), or that (2) other teams think these guys suck so bad that they aren't even willing to spend a minimal amount to acquire them. Or maybe they did and Army turned it down because it wasn't enough in return (see point 1).

Either way, it is clear that management thinks these guys are worth WAY more than market value for their equivalent performance level. I think that view led to our lack of activity at the deadline, and the associated failure to improve the team for next year.

[Oaklandblue]

The lack of moves by the Blues at the trade deadline has me wondering if our problem is we overvalue our players.

Well, let me clarify- I already KNOW the front office overvalues the players (look at the production we get compared to the contracts we pay). Even with that, I think I personally may have underestimated just HOW MUCH we overvalue these guys.

Detroit was able to move Tatar. Edmonton moved Maroon. NY moved JT Miller. These aren't blockbuster deals. The fact that Berglund, Sobotka, Steen, Bouwmeester, Jaskin, et al were not moved means that either we (1) asked too much in return (leading to no team being interested), or that (2) other teams think these guys suck so bad that they aren't even willing to spend a minimal amount to acquire them. Or maybe they did and Army turned it down because it wasn't enough in return (see point 1).

Either way, it is clear that management thinks these guys are worth WAY more than market value for their equivalent performance level. I think that view led to our lack of activity at the deadline, and the associated failure to improve the team for next year.

Either we overvalued them or tried to package them together for someone like perhaps Brassard and got turned down.

It's as if the front office acts like it's desperate and thinks a bottom six player wanting to sign with the Blues is some sort of Godsend.

[glen a richter]

I don't know the status of our ability to get certain guys in right now based on their current college or juniors situation, but I do know that given the nature of this teams apocalyptic descent out of playoff contention I would far rather see them get all the top named prospects on the ice together now and see what kind of lines gel so that there's somewhere to start with come camp. I'm taking all the guys we've mentioned here before--Kostin, Thompson, Blais, Thomas, Kyrou, Kaspick, Stevens just listing the forwards who I'd rather see than the current entire 3rd and 4th lines.

At best, you get to see what the kids can do in planning for next season and they're on the cusp of being good but not good enough to win consistently which drops the team so far that we actually manage to get this years pick back from Philly.

At worst, you get pretty much the same as what you get in the "at best" situation except you don't drop enough and Philly gets to keep that pick.

[theohall]

Kostin, Thompson, Blais, Thomas, Kyrou, Kaspick, Stevens just listing the forwards who I'd rather see than the current entire 3rd and 4th lines.

We probably won't see Kostin, Thomas, Kyrou, or Kaspick this season. All, but Kostin, will likely be in the playoffs for their junior teams and won't be available until the Blues are playing golf. Kostin - why eat a year of his entry level contract in terms of keeping his rights longer? Being in the AHL, he's not eligible for that 10-game tryout thing.

Nolan Stevens is a possibility since he graduates this season. However, the Frozen Four isn't until April 5-7, so he might not even be available, if Northeastern continues winning the way they are now.

Next season, every one of them will be in camp. The only guy I question having a real shot at making the Blues is Kaspick, but he'd be an ideal replacement for Brodziak. I expect to see a majorly revamped roster which doesn't feature guys like Sobotka, Berglund, Jaskin, Sundqvist - and I'm throwing Soshnikov in here too. He's not all that in spite of the way Panger is praising him tonight.

If Sobotka and Berglund are still here, it better be as 4th liners.

[theohall]

Wow. Even being traded from Brandon to Victoria, Kaspick is better than a point per game this season and has 5 GWG in 17 games for Victoria. He's supposed to be a strong 2-way center also.

[gaijin]

Thorburn went unclaimed on waivers, so he remains the Blues' property.

[theohall]

Thorburn went unclaimed on waivers, so he remains the Blues' property.

Which allows the Blues to send him to the AHL. Can't believe they gave him a 2-year contract.