John Hadley reports the Blues are looking at trading EJ

[cprice12]

Oshie untouchable? You wouldn't trade him even up for Ovechkin? If you would, he ain't untouchable. Gretzky got traded in his prime.

I didn't say I wouldn't trade him, I said the organization wouldn't trade him because he is a cash cow.
I just don't want to see him leave because I like him, he is a good/impact player and he makes the team better.
If they did trade him, they'd have to be blown away with an offer.
Can you imagine the backlash from fans if Oshie was traded tomorrow? (and he won't bring Ovechkin in a trade, so that's pointless to discuss)
If you look realistically at what Oshie will bring in a trade, we're not trading him for that...no way. Not happening...therefore, untouchable.

If people are thinking Tarasenko will be the savior next year, think again. What are his stats in an inferior league this year? Then he comes here, no friends, language barrier, smaller ice surface, etc. It will take at least a year of adjustments. Look at the first couple years of most of the imports.

You mean like Ovechkin and Malkin? They had good first years.
I'm not saying Tarasenko put up those kinds of numbers right away, or at all, but we are hurting very badly on offense. I'm sure he's better than half of our forwards right now (how can he not be?). Therefore he is an improvement and will help the team...at least we hope...that is, if he makes the team out of camp.

[kodos]

I'm not saying Tarasenko put up those kinds of numbers right away, or at all, but we are hurting very badly on offense.

Not to poop in anyone's bowl of Rice Crispies... but the savior Tarasanko has 10 goals and 10 assists in 42 games in the KHL this year.

[Leedog]

So.....Gretzky wasn't a cash cow in Edmonton?

[WaukeeBlues]

I'm not saying Tarasenko put up those kinds of numbers right away, or at all, but we are hurting very badly on offense.

Not to poop in anyone's bowl of Rice Crispies... but the savior Tarasanko has 10 goals and 10 assists in 42 games in the KHL this year.

You didn't just poop in my Rice Krispies, you vomited in them too.

[cprice12]

So.....Gretzky wasn't a cash cow in Edmonton?

Gretzky was traded for essentially $15 million dollars in cash because Peter Pocklington's other business intrests went south and he needed money to bail them out. Pocklington sold Gretzky for immediate funds, something Gretzky's presence on the team couldn't really provide in the short term, even though I am sure they were selling out every game and had tremendous season ticket sales.

And don't forget, Edmonton won a cup after Gretzky left...they were still stacked.

[cprice12]

I'm not saying Tarasenko put up those kinds of numbers right away, or at all, but we are hurting very badly on offense.

Not to poop in anyone's bowl of Rice Crispies... but the savior Tarasanko has 10 goals and 10 assists in 42 games in the KHL this year.

I still want him here.
Chances are he'll be in Peoria next year anyway.

[kodos]

So.....Gretzky wasn't a cash cow in Edmonton?

Gretzky was traded for essentially $15 million dollars in cash because Peter Pocklington's other business intrests went south and he needed money to bail them out. Pocklington sold Gretzky for immediate funds, something Gretzky's presence on the team couldn't really provide in the short term, even though I am sure they were selling out every game and had tremendous season ticket sales.

And don't forget, Edmonton won a cup after Gretzky left...they were still stacked.

Gretzky was traded because we wouldn't even come to the table and negotiate a new deal and Pocklington assumed he was going to lose him for nothing so he acted when he could.

[joosforjihad]

I'm not saying Tarasenko put up those kinds of numbers right away, or at all, but we are hurting very badly on offense.

Not to poop in anyone's bowl of Rice Crispies... but the savior Tarasanko has 10 goals and 10 assists in 42 games in the KHL this year.

Which is pretty good for a teenager in the KHL. Just under what Malkin and Ovie produced after their draft years and what Tarasenko himself had last year. Plus that lockout year they were playing with Datsyuk, Markov, Elias, Gonchar, Afinogenov, and the offensive dynamo that is Lubos Bartecko. I think all the savior talk is overstating what his impact will be, but like someone said: he's got more talent than at least half our roster. I hope he's ready to go in training camp.

Also, Radulov's tearing up the KHL. We should shit in Nashville's bowl of Count Choculas and somehow get him...

[Oz-iz-God]

Not a lot of love for Parise, eh?

I'd consider trading EJ for Parise. He's still young, he's a dynamic offensive player and he's proven himself in pressure situations. He's the kind of guy that can be your captain for 10 years, IMO.

But ultimately I don't think he'd cost that much since the Devils have put themselves in cap hell.

Parise's a perfect target and a great fit for the organization. If it ultimately took EJ to get him, I'd strongly consider it.

[cardsfan04]

I'd love to have Parise, but not for Johnson. I'd be possibly willing to part with Cole and a few draft picks for him though. He'll be 27 this offseason, which isn't old, but he's most likely already peaked. And, he just had knee surgery. I don't want to trade a potential franchise player for somebody that may never be the same again.

[philco_3]

I'd love to have Parise, but not for Johnson. I'd be possibly willing to part with Cole and a few draft picks for him though. He'll be 27 this offseason, which isn't old, but he's most likely already peaked. And, he just had knee surgery. I don't want to trade a potential franchise player for somebody that may never be the same again.

Didn't Johnson just have his knee operated on too? I wouldn't trade Alex, would rather trade Erik. Why? Pie has more points and a better +/- than EJ.

[blues fan]

Parise will be fine and yes I would get rid of EJ for him, he is one player I would trade for! He gets in the dirty spots and can score,pass and defend, he could add 25+ goals per year for the blues and someone the rest will have to watch closely leaving others open and making them more of goal scorers overall.

[cardsfan04]

I'd love to have Parise, but not for Johnson. I'd be possibly willing to part with Cole and a few draft picks for him though. He'll be 27 this offseason, which isn't old, but he's most likely already peaked. And, he just had knee surgery. I don't want to trade a potential franchise player for somebody that may never be the same again.

Didn't Johnson just have his knee operated on too? I wouldn't trade Alex, would rather trade Erik. Why? Pie has more points and a better +/- than EJ.

I would trade EJ before Pietro too.

And, Parise hasn't played since November. He hasn't come back from the knee surgery yet, so it's still a question mark, whereas EJ has already returned seemingly healthy. I don't know much about Parise's injury, so don't doubt that he'll be fine if somebody says so. But, it's generally bad business to trade a healthy player for an injured player if the result of the trade will impact your franchise's future significantly over the course of a decade.

[fargoblues]

Parise was a UND Fighting Sioux. EJ? A Golden Goopher. Make the trade.

[ComradeT]

I'm not saying Tarasenko put up those kinds of numbers right away, or at all, but we are hurting very badly on offense.

Not to poop in anyone's bowl of Rice Crispies... but the savior Tarasanko has 10 goals and 10 assists in 42 games in the KHL this year.

Which is pretty good for a teenager in the KHL. Just under what Malkin and Ovie produced after their draft years and what Tarasenko himself had last year. Plus that lockout year they were playing with Datsyuk, Markov, Elias, Gonchar, Afinogenov, and the offensive dynamo that is Lubos Bartecko. I think all the savior talk is overstating what his impact will be, but like someone said: he's got more talent than at least half our roster. I hope he's ready to go in training camp.

Also, Radulov's tearing up the KHL. We should shit in Nashville's bowl of Count Choculas and somehow get him...

10+10 in 42 would approximately mean 20+20 over the NHL season. Not bad at all. Tarasenko also had a great game against Canada in junior world cup showing not only skill but leadership coming back with a croaked rib. Maybe he could teach Steen how to hit one-timers....

And you're right about Radulov, he was great during a hockey tourney in Europe.

[goon attack]

Pietrangelo is a natural. Soft hands, effortless skating... dude is going to be great. He's like the Roger Federer of hockey.

Sort of reminds me of MacInnis

[kodos]

I'm not saying Tarasenko put up those kinds of numbers right away, or at all, but we are hurting very badly on offense.

Not to poop in anyone's bowl of Rice Crispies... but the savior Tarasanko has 10 goals and 10 assists in 42 games in the KHL this year.

Which is pretty good for a teenager in the KHL. Just under what Malkin and Ovie produced after their draft years and what Tarasenko himself had last year. Plus that lockout year they were playing with Datsyuk, Markov, Elias, Gonchar, Afinogenov, and the offensive dynamo that is Lubos Bartecko. I think all the savior talk is overstating what his impact will be, but like someone said: he's got more talent than at least half our roster. I hope he's ready to go in training camp.

Also, Radulov's tearing up the KHL. We should shit in Nashville's bowl of Count Choculas and somehow get him...

10+10 in 42 would approximately mean 20+20 over the NHL season. Not bad at all. Tarasenko also had a great game against Canada in junior world cup showing not only skill but leadership coming back with a croaked rib. Maybe he could teach Steen how to hit one-timers....

And you're right about Radulov, he was great during a hockey tourney in Europe.

Yeah, I know. They aren't bad numbers... but anyone expecting him to come over and score 30 or 40 goals or something is living in a fantasy land.

And let's be honest, while another 20 goal scorer on this team would be damn nice, it's not going to solve our problems.

[cprice12]

So.....Gretzky wasn't a cash cow in Edmonton?

Gretzky was traded for essentially $15 million dollars in cash because Peter Pocklington's other business intrests went south and he needed money to bail them out. Pocklington sold Gretzky for immediate funds, something Gretzky's presence on the team couldn't really provide in the short term, even though I am sure they were selling out every game and had tremendous season ticket sales.

And don't forget, Edmonton won a cup after Gretzky left...they were still stacked.

Gretzky was traded because we wouldn't even come to the table and negotiate a new deal and Pocklington assumed he was going to lose him for nothing so he acted when he could.

I don't think that's accurate. According to what I've read/heard/know...
Pocklington's other business interests were losing a lot of money, so he basically sold Gretzky for cash to bail out his other businesses...plus it is rumored that Pocklington soured on Gretzky, which is hard to believe. How are you sour on the greatest player who has ever played, who is winning you cups, and had JUST won you another one?
Gretzky didn't want to leave Edmonton. Part of the deal was that Gretzky had to publicly request a trade, so Pocklington wouldn't look as bad publicly for trading him.
If Pocklington was just concerned about losing him for nothing, you'd have to think he would have gotten better players in return. The centerpiece of the trade was $15 million from LA.
I think if Pocklington wasn't in financial trouble with his other businesses, Gretzky wouldn't have been traded to LA.

And when Gretzky was here, we had an offer on the table, but Keenan pulled it off the table when he publicly criticized Gretzky's play in the playoffs. Then we had another offer to Gretzky on the table. It was for 3 years at $15 million. He declined the offer and accepted the offer from New York for 2 years at $8 million. He took less money and less years to play in NY after playing a large role in screwing up the play that cost us the series. Again, a big fat FU to St. Louis from Gretzky...but him leaving was just as much Keenan's fault.

It's amazing the level of players that went the other way in the Gretzky trades. The Oilers didn't get much when they traded him (but again, it was all about cash in that trade)...and LA got crap from us. Vopat, Johnson, Tardiff, a 5th round pick in 96 and a 1st round pick in '97?
Johnson was...meh. And the other guys never really played in the NHL...and the two draft picks never played in the NHL either, I don't think.
Not impressed.

[kodos]

It was both things. Pocklington wanted the cash and Gretzky wouldn't sign a new contract.

He was worried he was just going to walk so Pocklington panicked and traded him.

[ComradeT]

I'm not saying Tarasenko put up those kinds of numbers right away, or at all, but we are hurting very badly on offense.

Not to poop in anyone's bowl of Rice Crispies... but the savior Tarasanko has 10 goals and 10 assists in 42 games in the KHL this year.

Which is pretty good for a teenager in the KHL. Just under what Malkin and Ovie produced after their draft years and what Tarasenko himself had last year. Plus that lockout year they were playing with Datsyuk, Markov, Elias, Gonchar, Afinogenov, and the offensive dynamo that is Lubos Bartecko. I think all the savior talk is overstating what his impact will be, but like someone said: he's got more talent than at least half our roster. I hope he's ready to go in training camp.

Also, Radulov's tearing up the KHL. We should shit in Nashville's bowl of Count Choculas and somehow get him...

10+10 in 42 would approximately mean 20+20 over the NHL season. Not bad at all. Tarasenko also had a great game against Canada in junior world cup showing not only skill but leadership coming back with a croaked rib. Maybe he could teach Steen how to hit one-timers....

And you're right about Radulov, he was great during a hockey tourney in Europe.

Yeah, I know. They aren't bad numbers... but anyone expecting him to come over and score 30 or 40 goals or something is living in a fantasy land.

And let's be honest, while another 20 goal scorer on this team would be damn nice, it's not going to solve our problems.

Well, depends on how you look at it. If every player on the first three lines is a 15-20 goal scorer, it just might solve them, no?