Let's Go Blues

Balls. I know we have a log jam, but I thought Cracknell would be the one put on waivers. I hope no one claims Porter, but he's a good solid 4th liner, he'll get picked up somewhere.

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BIG mistake...

Well hitchcock said it wouldnt be a hard choice. Definitely not who I thought though, I wouldnt be susprised if we drop down cracknell later down the road after we evaluate jaskins play in chicago. It should be easier to pass porter though here at the begining when everyone else is going to start doing the same thing, and maybe push cracknell down later as I feel he is less likely to be picked up than poter would be. All speculations but anyway trust in hitch.

Honestly I just don't see this guy as a NHL player. Yeah he had a stretch where he was a good 4th line player. But a 4th line player to me is just a AHL player almost.

STLADOGG wrote:But a 4th line player to me is just a AHL player almost.

Ill agree to that with some teams their 4th line is full of players just like that, some have their 4th line full of goons, bullies and bruisers (though we are see alot less of that now), But the way we have our 4th line set-up now I dont think they are AHL guys, morrow if healthy can be that 3rd line guy same with sobotka and Lapierre. Paajarvi is comming off a shit team with shit coaching he will hopefully blossom and Reaves is solid and fun to watch. I don't see too much AHL there.

Any of those guys could very well be on our 4th line starting the season I don't think that is at all a bad set of guys and if some of these guys move up to 3rd or 2nd lines guess who moves down solid 2nd and 3rd liners. Bearing injuries I would have liked to see Porter play over Cracknell but honestly Im fine with Cracknell moving down too so Jaskin can get some time in. Hitch said it was a easy choice, if your not playing great then your out we saw that last year with Elliot and the year before with Stewart, so who knows we may see Porter latter on if he dosn't get picked up on waivers.

I'm kinda apathetic to this. I like Porter. He brought some excitement last year which was nice to see. But, if the choice was between Porter and Cracknell, I don't think either one really adds anything significant over the other. They both peak somewhere below top 6 forwards, probably much closer to 4th line.

This is rather indicative of how far we've come though. 5-6 years ago we were struggling to find enough NHL-caliber players to fill a roster. Now, we're debating which NHL-caliber players to put in the AHL.

FYI Porter has cleared waviers now

I'm really happy Porter made it through.

I get that he's a 4th liner/AHL-er. But every time Porter has been called up in his career, he makes an impact. For me, he stands out on the ice because he's always finishing checks, is solid in the defensive end, and can chip in a goal here or there. He's just a nice guy to have and he's given everything he's got to this organization. You can tell from his style of play that he knows he's not the most gifted hockey player, so he gets by on grit and his balls-to-the-wall play. And you need those guys.

I think people get a little too worked up over the Chris Porters and the Adam Cracknells of this team.

Yes, they played well at times...and I like them...but over the long haul, they are a dime a dozen and we can always acquire a player like that for a 5th round pick...if we need one.

And this year with the new CBA

Re-entry waivers have been eliminated, meaning players with one-way contracts no longer need to pass through the other 29 teams twice to travel between the NHL and American Hockey League. Teams, often fearful of losing players on a call-up, left them in the minors rather than risk losing them.

I like the decision of Cracknell over Porter.. Cracknell has the hands and ability to score goals when that's what's expected of him (see his pre-NHL career stats http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Cracknell) . The remarkable thing is how well he plays the grinder role when called up. That, to me, shows that he's a team-first guy, waiting for his turn. I think he's getting his turn this year.

I love Porter too, but I think Cracknell contributes more towards

APOD wrote:And this year with the new CBA

Re-entry waivers have been eliminated, meaning players with one-way contracts no longer need to pass through the other 29 teams twice to travel between the NHL and American Hockey League. Teams, often fearful of losing players on a call-up, left them in the minors rather than risk losing them.

I didn't know that. How convenient

cprice12 wrote:I think people get a little too worked up over the Chris Porters and the Adam Cracknells of this team.

Yes, they played well at times...and I like them...but over the long haul, they are a dime a dozen and we can always acquire a player like that for a 5th round pick...if we need one.

This. They're average or slightly above average players. There's a cornucopia of them. I don't really understand the anxiety about this from a skill perspective. I get that people like him. I like him too, but he's not going to make or break the team.

ViPeRx007 wrote:

cprice12 wrote:I think people get a little too worked up over the Chris Porters and the Adam Cracknells of this team.

Yes, they played well at times...and I like them...but over the long haul, they are a dime a dozen and we can always acquire a player like that for a 5th round pick...if we need one.

This. They're average or slightly above average players. There's a cornucopia of them. I don't really understand the anxiety about this from a skill perspective. I get that people like him. I like him too, but he's not going to make or break the team.

Give me Morrow over Porter any day of the week. No brainer if you ask me.

cprice12 wrote:

ViPeRx007 wrote:

cprice12 wrote:I think people get a little too worked up over the Chris Porters and the Adam Cracknells of this team.

Yes, they played well at times...and I like them...but over the long haul, they are a dime a dozen and we can always acquire a player like that for a 5th round pick...if we need one.

This. They're average or slightly above average players. There's a cornucopia of them. I don't really understand the anxiety about this from a skill perspective. I get that people like him. I like him too, but he's not going to make or break the team.

Give me Morrow over Porter any day of the week. No brainer if you ask me.

I'm Pro-Porter, but obviously I'd take Morrow over Porter as well. I think a guy like Porter has some value to this organization. He's done everything they've asked. Yes, in terms of skills, there are tons of Porters out there. But it's a guy who's been shuttled from Peoria to St. Lou (and now Chicago to St. Lou) his entire career. Never once complained. When he signed his one way deal last year, my twitter feed was full of Blues and former Blues congratulating him. There's a character there that teams need. I'm not saying Morrow doesn't have character or some other 4th liner/AHL-er out there doesn't, but I pull for a guy like Porter who is still sticking it out after all these years.

APOD wrote:Well hitchcock said it wouldnt be a hard choice. Definitely not who I thought though, I wouldnt be susprised if we drop down cracknell later down the road after we evaluate jaskins play in chicago. It should be easier to pass porter though here at the begining when everyone else is going to start doing the same thing, and maybe push cracknell down later as I feel he is less likely to be picked up than poter would be. All speculations but anyway trust in hitch.

You may be right and I'm crossing my fingers. We were fairly last minute in signing Pietrangelo and then signing Morrow so I'm with you: Hope every other team has their roster figured out and don't pull the trigger.

With almost "Game on!" it'd be a bit of a mess for a team to claim him then shuffle guys around right before opening night anyway.

dmiles2186 wrote:

cprice12 wrote:

ViPeRx007 wrote:

cprice12 wrote:I think people get a little too worked up over the Chris Porters and the Adam Cracknells of this team.

Yes, they played well at times...and I like them...but over the long haul, they are a dime a dozen and we can always acquire a player like that for a 5th round pick...if we need one.

This. They're average or slightly above average players. There's a cornucopia of them. I don't really understand the anxiety about this from a skill perspective. I get that people like him. I like him too, but he's not going to make or break the team.

Give me Morrow over Porter any day of the week. No brainer if you ask me.

I'm Pro-Porter, but obviously I'd take Morrow over Porter as well. I think a guy like Porter has some value to this organization. He's done everything they've asked. Yes, in terms of skills, there are tons of Porters out there. But it's a guy who's been shuttled from Peoria to St. Lou (and now Chicago to St. Lou) his entire career. Never once complained. When he signed his one way deal last year, my twitter feed was full of Blues and former Blues congratulating him. There's a character there that teams need. I'm not saying Morrow doesn't have character or some other 4th liner/AHL-er out there doesn't, but I pull for a guy like Porter who is still sticking it out after all these years.

I like Porter as well. Hell, he scores goals against the Red Wings...so he's cool in my book.
And he seems likable...a nice guy who works hard, etc. And if he ends up back here at some point this year (I'm sure he'll be here to fill in for someone who gets hurt at some point), I hope he kicks some ass.
But in the end, we are simply a better team with Morrow in the lineup in lieu of Porter. So it's a move you have to make. And since Cracknell brings a little more offense to the table, it's also a no-brainer to keep him over Porter since we need all of the offense we can get.

just another pansy who won't fight. who cares