Halak to the Blues

[DaDitka]

. But, DaDitka, remember...you heard it here FIRST!!

Will do

[glen a richter]

This is going to be a very very active offseason. Armstrong is going to put his mark on the team and I'm expecting big things next year. Don't let me down again, guys.

[cprice12]

Pleau was GM for 13 years and he failed to land "the goalie" to take us to the next level.

Armstrong takes over and immediately gets a deal done that lands what could be our franchise goalie...and all we had to give up was a mid-level prospect and a throw in.

If this pans out...

[glen a richter]

Pleau was GM for 13 years and he failed to land "the goalie" to take us to the next level.

Armstrong takes over and immediately gets a deal done that lands what could be our franchise goalie...and all we had to give up was a mid-level prospect and a throw in.

If this pans out...

There's no way he's done yet either. I can't wait to see what happens on draft day, and then on July 1st.

[northwest dave]

Pleau was GM for 13 years and he failed to land "the goalie" to take us to the next level.

Armstrong takes over and immediately gets a deal done that lands what could be our franchise goalie...and all we had to give up was a mid-level prospect and a throw in.

If this pans out...

Before you anoint Armstrong the savior, remember Pleau brought in just about every goaltender he could. Barrasso, Osgood, Lalime, Turek, etc....and these guys were either Cup experienced or acclaimed to be good. And Pleau had a deal for Hasek until owner interference came in. Hell, Halak could be the next Jim Carrey for all we know.

[glen a richter]

I will jump to the defense of Turek again. He got this team further in the playoffs than they had been in years. Was it partly because we had a kick ass defense? Sure. But there was no way in the world he was going to get past Roy in the conference finals. PR stood on his goddam head. Turek was a good goalie who was reviled by fans because he was expected to have a 0.00 GAA.

[WaukeeBlues]

I will jump to the defense of Turek again. He got this team further in the playoffs than they had been in years. Was it partly because we had a kick ass defense? Sure. But there was no way in the world he was going to get past Roy in the conference finals. PR stood on his goddam head. Turek was a good goalie who was reviled by fans because he was expected to have a 0.00 GAA.

Nobody was going to stop the Avalanche that year. And nobody did.

Pleau was GM for 13 years and he failed to land "the goalie" to take us to the next level.

Armstrong takes over and immediately gets a deal done that lands what could be our franchise goalie...and all we had to give up was a mid-level prospect and a throw in.

If this pans out...

There's no way he's done yet either. I can't wait to see what happens on draft day, and then on July 1st.

I agree. And it makes me happy. The Blues have to make some moves, that much is obvious, and I'm glad our GM seems to know that.

[Krigloch the Furious]

I dont know about you guys, but im getting excited. Im at half mast.

[section319]

I dont know about you guys, but im getting excited. Im at half mast.

I'm a step ahead of you there.

[F Keenan]

[youtube][/youtube]

HAAAAAAALLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!!!!

[section319]

[youtube][/youtube]

HAAAAAAALLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!!!!

Haha, (Frank) them. He's ours now, bitches.

[JWatt (formerly PMS)]

I will jump to the defense of Turek again. He got this team further in the playoffs than they had been in years. Was it partly because we had a kick ass defense? Sure. But there was no way in the world he was going to get past Roy in the conference finals. PR stood on his goddam head. Turek was a good goalie who was reviled by fans because he was expected to have a 0.00 GAA.

What the hell!?! Why would you defend Turek. If he wasn't as sucky as we claim, then why did he fail in Calgary after 2 seasons as starter and then get banished to the Czech league to never be heard from again. There is a reason he was out of the league quickly after leaving the Blues, because he stunk. Here are his career NHL numbers: 2.33 GAA (playing for two of the best defensive teams in the league in the worst scoring era in the NHL) and a .907 GAA (mediocre). Turek was NEVER a legitimate #1 goaltender.

As for the trade, I like getting Halak, but I think this is a case of poor asset management. I mean, we are buying at the top of the market, and Halak is still a free agent, albeit restricted. We also only hold his rights for potentially 2 more years until he is a UFA. We also had to trade our only legitimate top 6 forward prospect to get him. We couldn't score any goals. How is that going to improve. We have NOTHING in the minors that looks to be sure-fire top 6 material. What's our best forward prospect? Phillip McRae? What is his ceiling? A 2nd/3rd line center? Now I don't have any hope that there is any scoring help on the horizon. We're not getting Kovy, Marleau would certainly flop here, and no one else really excites me. In my opinion, I would have probably rather have kept Mason another 2 years and kept Eller while waiting for Allen to develop. I think we also took ourselves from a top 5 farm system to middle of the pack, and probably bottom 10 once Pietrangelo graduates.

Am I glad we have Halak? Yes. Do I think he's an upgrade over Mason? Yes. Am I happy we had to give up Eller to get him? No. I think this move reeks of desperation to make the playoffs now and possibly sacrifice the future to do so. The "build from within" plan seems to have changed to "get in the playoffs and break even" plan.

[abc789987]

Should we buy this guys fan support?

[cprice12]

Before you anoint Armstrong the savior, remember Pleau brought in just about every goaltender he could. Barrasso, Osgood, Lalime, Turek, etc....and these guys were either Cup experienced or acclaimed to be good. And Pleau had a deal for Hasek until owner interference came in. Hell, Halak could be the next Jim Carrey for all we know.

Turek was supposed to be "they guy" as well. I'll give you that. He was hyped pretty good. However, he was still the backup to Turco in Dallas, even though he had very good numbers.

Turek came here and had one great season in 99-00 when we won the President's trophy, but he failed in the playoffs that year.
In 00-01 he had a great playoffs until the Colorado series, where he was ok...he allowed some bad goals though. We outplayed Colorado in that series but Roy was the difference.

The problem with Turek is that he was lazy and had a terrible work ethic...which is why he didn't last in the NHL.
Turek was a one hit wonder...a flash in the pan. THAT is why people soured on him. Plus, he was getting outplayed by the backup, Brent Johnson for stretches of time.

From what I hear about Halak, his work ethic is tremendous. So he has that going for him, and Blues fans will eat that up. I doubt he'll have the same problems as Turek.

Yeah, we had a deal for Hasek in place that Hasek wouldn't agree to because we weren't telling him who we were giving up to get him. I don't count that deal as "being done" because it didn't get done. Whoever's fault it was, I don't care...it didn't get done. So fail.

I was optimistic about Lalime as well, but a rule change banned a piece of equipment he relied on heavily. The offseason that we acquired him, there was a rule change that banned inner blades on goalie skates which allowed them to dig in and move side to side easier when on their knees. Lalime was one of the few goalies that used those blades and was never the same after they were banned. There was also a rumor about him having lasik surgery that offseason...and there were complications. Whatever the reason was for his failure, I dunno...but it didn't work out. He had a knock for failing in the playoffs in Ottawa anyway...if I remember correctly.

And I'm not saying Halak is the savior or Armstrong is a God. What I'm saying is, IF Halak is the goalie we hope he can be, Armstrong just pulled off something in a few days that Pleau couldn't pull off in 13 years. And I'll admit, Pleau did bring in a lot of goalies and the effort was there, but after all was said and done, we never got to the cup finals and we never had "the goalie" to get us there...so you have to chalk it up as a failure.
Let's just say I'm cautiously very optimistic about Halak. I'm a Blues fan, so as far as goalies go, I'm a little gun-shy on getting too excited about a new goalie, no matter what the hype. I'm just excited to see what he can do here.

Barasso? Osgood?
Barasso was a tool. And Osgood, while I supported the move and thought it was a decent one at the time, never worked out. I never thought he was "the guy" anyway, but he might have been the best option at the time.

[strocklen083]

Pleau was GM for 13 years and he failed to land "the goalie" to take us to the next level.

Armstrong takes over and immediately gets a deal done that lands what could be our franchise goalie...and all we had to give up was a mid-level prospect and a throw in.

If this pans out...

1.) I admit he's a polarizing figure. But Larry did a great job of building this team in to a contender when he had the budget. Was his scouting operation sh*t? Sure was. And that's why we tanked when the well ran dry. But guy made numerous attempts at solidifying our situation in goal. Circumstances dictate the outcome and for what ever reason he was dealt a poor set of circumstances on multiple occasions.

That being said, I still don't think he'll ever been given a fair wrap by the fans. But blaming him for the multiple failed attempts in net is unjust. The guy did what he could a just came up snake eyes every time.

2.) As for Armstrong...this is only his first deal so let's hold the horses on eternal praise. I know he's got a good track record and this is one hell of a coming out party for sure. But Halak isn't even signed to a contract yet. Until he puts pen to paper, I'm not going to get too excited. We may have just given up Eller & Schultz for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick.

Am I excited about the "Army" era? Yup. I'm just not ready to shower him with gifts just yet. Plenty of off-season left to go.

[WaukeeBlues]

Pleau was GM for 13 years and he failed to land "the goalie" to take us to the next level.

Armstrong takes over and immediately gets a deal done that lands what could be our franchise goalie...and all we had to give up was a mid-level prospect and a throw in.

If this pans out...

1.) I admit he's a polarizing figure. But Larry did a great job of building this team in to a contender when he had the budget.

Sillinger for Shishkanov

Janssen for Salvador

I rest my case.

[cprice12]

I think Pleau did a solid job as GM, except when it came to getting us a goaltender.
Goofy circumstances or not, he never got "the guy" for us in goal.
Did he try? Yes.
Did he succeed? No.
Was he solely to blame? I would guess not...but who knows for sure?

I still think he should have gotten more for Pronger. He was duped into thinking Brewer was better than he was. We all were. He should have at least gotten a #1 pick included in the deal.

Again, I'm not saying Halak is definitely "the guy" either, we don't know yet, but let's just say I'm excited about the possibility.

And giving up Eller is no huge loss. Will the guy succeed in the NHL? Probably. But can you really see him being any more than a 2nd line center?
You have to give to get.

Players like Eller (mid-level forwards) are easily replaceable via a trade or free agency, or even the draft. But getting an elite goaltender is an opportunity that doesn't come around often. You don't have the opportunity to acquire elite goalies very often at all. So the Blues were right to jump at the chance. No question.

I would have liked to have seen what Eller could have done up here full time, but taking a shot at solidifying the goaltending position with an elite goaltender is a much better move.

[fargoblues]

Better Eller than Perron.

[JWatt (formerly PMS)]

Turek came here and had one great season in 99-00 when we won the President's trophy, but he failed in the playoffs that year.
In 00-01 he had a great playoffs until the Colorado series, where he was ok...he allowed some bad goals though. We outplayed Colorado in that series but Roy was the difference.

Turek was so bad against Colorado, Brent Johnson was our starter by the end of the series.

[cprice12]

Turek came here and had one great season in 99-00 when we won the President's trophy, but he failed in the playoffs that year.
In 00-01 he had a great playoffs until the Colorado series, where he was ok...he allowed some bad goals though. We outplayed Colorado in that series but Roy was the difference.

Turek was so bad against Colorado, Brent Johnson was our starter by the end of the series.

I was being nice.