Who would you keep?

[Oz-iz-God]

Forwards:

McDonald
Perron
Backes
Oshie
Steen
McRae
McClement
....Jesus, I have to pick eight?
D'Agostini, I guess. I absolutely refuse to include Berglund.

Defense:

EJ
Petro
Polak
Cole (Cola if I don't have to burn a pick on the part-time player)


Bottom line: We kinda suck.

[WaukeeBlues]

How does one "blow up" a team by keeping 12 of 18 dressed players?

Getting six new players in one offseason is a huge change.

Not if it's your bottom six it's not; unless its crap for quality or vice versa.

The Chicago Blackhawks bottom six after winning the cup? Well yea. OUR bottom six right now? That's two different universes. And that's not changing our basic problems of the fact we don't even have two lines at the top to really speak of anyway.

Blowing up a team doesn't mean getting rid of everyone.

I take it as a term of art meaning basically that.

[philco_3]

Defense
Polak
Pietrangelo
Colaiacovo
Johnson/Brewer (Right now I could either way)

Forwards
Backes
Perron
Oshie
Steen
D'Agostini
McClement
Sobotka
McDonald

[glen a richter]

I refuse to pick 8 forwards and 4 d-men. There's just not that many guys worthy.

Among those who were slated to be regulars this year (I'm not discounting guys like McRae or Reaves yet, because they shouldn't have been here this year, they don't count yet)

Forward:

Perron, Oshie, McDonald, Steen, Backes

Defense:

Polak, Pie, Cola and MAYBE EJ if he starts progressing the rest of the season instead of his current path. Otherwise, no. Trade him for immediate reinforcements at forward.

[Winning Unlimited]

8 Forwards: Perron, Oshie, Backes, Steen, McClement, McDonald, Sobotka, Berglund
4 Defensemen: EJohnson, Pietrangelo, Polak, Jackman
1 Goalie: Halak

[xbleed83bluex]

Keep: IN THIS ORDER.

1) Perron (He is the one who needs to be signed to a long term deal!)
2) Oshie
3) Steen (Awesome second line workhorse capable of 20 goals a season. I just hope he doesn't get more expensive)
4) Backes (He came through for us when we needed it most)
5) D'agostini (Definitely exceeded his expectations and is a steal for 500,000 a year. Definitely a solid 4-liner)
6) McDonald
7) Reaves

Everyone other forward I don't give a (Frank) about.

1) Petro (this guy just screams "core blue" to me. I would like to see him as our core defenseman for 10+ years down the road)
2) EJ - (First overalls are hard to come by, to give him up anytime soon would be stupid, unless we got Crosby or Ovechkin for him, then I'll talk)
3) Polak
4) Carlo (good offensive defenseman)

That's all.

[fargoblues]

F: Oshie, Backes, Steen, McClement, Perron, MacDonald, ', Crombeen
D: Polak, Pie, EJ, and Cola

[ohio BLUES]

Ryan Reaves is on a "keeper" list.

LOL

[JPonder94]

Ryan Reaves is on a "keeper" list.

LOL

I will say this- from a marketing standpoint, it may not be that bad of a decision. You give him a chance to steal Janssen's job, people here will love the kid (even though he isn't from St. Louis).

[cprice12]

How does one "blow up" a team by keeping 12 of 18 dressed players?

Getting six new players in one offseason is a huge change.

Not if it's your bottom six it's not; unless its crap for quality or vice versa.

Yes it is, if you replace the bottom six with "top six" type guys.
I thought it was implied that by trading or releasing some of the lesser forwards or underachieving guys we'd signing a couple 1st line type guys.
I had improvement in mind...not lateral moves.

The Chicago Blackhawks bottom six after winning the cup? Well yea. OUR bottom six right now? That's two different universes. And that's not changing our basic problems of the fact we don't even have two lines at the top to really speak of anyway.

Now you're getting it.
And we have 2nd line guys, just not any 1st line guys. And the other team's defense is matched up against our 1st line (which is made up of 2nd line players), and we struggle to score. Perron could be a 1st liner if he was healthy...maybe McDonald. But it's obvious we need to add one or two guys that are without a doubt 1st liners who can score 30+ a year. Adding a couple 1st liners would in turn result in better production from the 2nd and 3rd lines because of matchups on the ice. It's an easy thing to say...but it is realistic if the players are available because we have a lot of cap room. It can be done...it's just a question of will it be done...and the answer is probably not, since we have never signed an elite free agent in his prime.

[theohall]

... since we have never signed an elite free agent in his prime.

Scott Stevens - He was elite and in his prime. Then the Devils screwed the Blues because the Blues had to have Shanahan Dumbest RFA signing ever.

[WaukeeBlues]

How does one "blow up" a team by keeping 12 of 18 dressed players?

Getting six new players in one offseason is a huge change.

Not if it's your bottom six it's not; unless its crap for quality or vice versa.

Yes it is, if you replace the bottom six with "top six" type guys.
I thought it was implied that by trading or releasing some of the lesser forwards or underachieving guys we'd signing a couple 1st line type guys.
I had improvement in mind...not lateral moves.

The Chicago Blackhawks bottom six after winning the cup? Well yea. OUR bottom six right now? That's two different universes. And that's not changing our basic problems of the fact we don't even have two lines at the top to really speak of anyway.

Now you're getting it.
And we have 2nd line guys, just not any 1st line guys. And the other team's defense is matched up against our 1st line (which is made up of 2nd line players), and we struggle to score. Perron could be a 1st liner if he was healthy...maybe McDonald. But it's obvious we need to add one or two guys that are without a doubt 1st liners who can score 30+ a year. Adding a couple 1st liners would in turn result in better production from the 2nd and 3rd lines because of matchups on the ice. It's an easy thing to say...but it is realistic if the players are available because we have a lot of cap room. It can be done...it's just a question of will it be done...and the answer is probably not, since we have never signed an elite free agent in his prime.

I definitely hear you, but yea it's just really difficult to do in the modern NHL. Teams are basically either drafting those 1st line scorers you need or they are overpaying for them in the offseason.

At this point, I wouldn't even mind overpaying. Granted we don't have the ownership foundation to DO that, but that's what I would like to see.

The brass took a gamble last offseason that the team would "step it up" and score more. They haven't and they can't. As you said: We don't have 1st line players on this team other than Perron. And I'm not as nice, I think McDonald is a 2nd liner on any normal team.

And sorry, the only way we are going to get improvement is if we are willing to part with some of our underachieving 2nd liners (Berglund, Boyes off the top of my head). It's obviously not realistic that teams are going to drool at the prospect of getting Winchester, Sobotka, et al for the likes of a 1st or 2nd liner. It's not going to happen unless you package it with a higher pick which I'm still hesitant about.

My opinion: The Blues need to pick a strategy: Either retain a few of the top young guys, blow the rest up and try this thing again, going for a top 2 draft pick, or start aggresively going into the trade market to get someone here. But Army's gotta pick one at this point. The status quo isn't working.

[joosforjihad]

... since we have never signed an elite free agent in his prime.

Scott Stevens - He was elite and in his prime. Then the Devils screwed the Blues because the Blues had to have Shanahan Dumbest RFA signing ever.

But, but... he gotted us teh Criss Progner, who gotted us teh Ewic Brewers, who everyone (in the media/people with GW jersey fetishes) is telling me is having a great year! 8 goalz!!!11!!111!1!!!! What a gamechanger! MVP!!!

[cprice12]

... since we have never signed an elite free agent in his prime.

Scott Stevens - He was elite and in his prime. Then the Devils screwed the Blues because the Blues had to have Shanahan Dumbest RFA signing ever.

I was referring to UFA's...they have never signed an elite UFA (that wasn't a resign of someone already on our team) in his prime.
My point is, they have never signed an elite player where it hasn't just cost us cash...even when they were spending money like crazy back in the 90's. When we do get a kick ass player, we've had to give up talent in return.

[kodos]

The closest we've gotten is Paul Kariya. He definitely wasn't in his prime, but he wasn't exactly a complete has-been when we got him.

[WaukeeBlues]

The closest we've gotten is Paul Kariya. He definitely wasn't in his prime, but he wasn't exactly a complete has-been when we got him.

He was a surprising bust. Just about nobody thought he would disappear like that out of nowhere. Did very well for himself in Nashville, nothing to indicate that he was slacking up. And then the bluenote goes on...

Still was one of the joys of my hockey life to see him in the bluenote though. He had his moments, but they were just that: moments.

[xbleed83bluex]

Ryan Reaves is on a "keeper" list.

LOL

The question of the post was "who would you keep?" The fact that I included Reeves in that list says more about what I think of the team than what I think of Reeves.

That aside, I think Reeves has a lot of potential. The guy can fight and he already has more goals than Janssen and only played a few games. This guy can be our next Shanahan. One thing the Blues have always done (especially the 90s) is throw away their draft picks for already proven players.

[cprice12]

The closest we've gotten is Paul Kariya. He definitely wasn't in his prime, but he wasn't exactly a complete has-been when we got him.

He was a surprising bust. Just about nobody thought he would disappear like that out of nowhere. Did very well for himself in Nashville, nothing to indicate that he was slacking up. And then the bluenote goes on...

Still was one of the joys of my hockey life to see him in the bluenote though. He had his moments, but they were just that: moments.

His numbers in Nashville weren't quite what they were in Anaheim and he was a few years past his prime when Nashville got him.

Kariya's best years were between '95 and 2000...but he still put up good numbers (mostly) all the way through '05-'06.
He was past his prime when we signed him though.
I think Kariya is one of those cases where it was just bad timing on our end. His numbers in his last year in Nashville should have been a sign that he wasn't what he once was. I know the Nashville fans were happy to see him go...that should have been a tip off that something was wrong.

[cardsfan04]

... since we have never signed an elite free agent in his prime.

Scott Stevens - He was elite and in his prime. Then the Devils screwed the Blues because the Blues had to have Shanahan Dumbest RFA signing ever.

But, but... he gotted us teh Criss Progner, who gotted us teh Ewic Brewers, who everyone (in the media/people with GW jersey fetishes) is telling me is having a great year! 8 goalz!!!11!!111!1!!!! What a gamechanger! MVP!!!

You think he's having a bad year? He's far from untouchable. And, if we don't quickly turn things around, I'd love for us to get some value out of him at the trade deadline. But, the reason we can't get value from him is because he's having a very good year.

And, since when is the primary measure of a defenseman how many goals they score? If he puts up 15G, that's a big plus (MacInnis averaged ~17G/year), but he's doing other things really well too.

For one, he's +5 on a team that has allowed 16 more goals than it has scored this year, and he's been going up against the top line more than most of our defensemen. I don't have any stats to back that up, but I'm fairly certain it is true.

[evil roy]

I'd keep the 8 players making the least amount of money (preferably with two-way contracts) and send them all to the franking minors. I don't think that if you literally selected 23 players at random from the NHL they would be appreciably worse than the current team.

But in the spirit of the question I would keep Oshie, Petro, Polak, Coliaccavo, Halak, Backes, Sobotka, and Steen. Don't ask me why, though . . .