Let's Go Blues

It was talked about in the FA thread, but since it's Blues related, I will make a separate thread. Dude is finally coming over. He was Tarasenko's C in the KHL.

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Seems like we have been trying to get him here for a few years now. I think this will turn into one of those under the radar deals that works really well for us as long as he stays healthy.

Definitely will have a different look at center this season. It can only be good. How good is the only question...

Blues did very well in the draft (or so it seems right now)...and we hit a grand slam today.

I wonder if the anti-Army folks still want him gone?

cprice12 wrote:Blues did very well in the draft (or so it seems right now)...and we hit a grand slam today.

I wonder if the anti-Army folks still want him gone?

Hmph. Well at least you didn't use the sophomoric term "hater".

I still reserve the right to criticize him, especially if he gives away any more promising kids for nothing. I hope that's ok...

ViPeRx007 wrote:Definitely will have a different look at center this season. It can only be good. How good is the only question...

Lehtera is a total wild card. And at $2.750 not necessarily an inexpensive one.

We're down to $6.7 in cap space with Schwartz to re-sign. Oh and Tarasenko RFA next season... I don't know. I didn't think we'd be pushing the lid on the salary cap ceiling this offseason but apparently we are.

I think we signed Lehtera to be able to afford Tarasenko and Schwartz. Next year, Jax and Leopold are off the books. That's north of $5m. Paajarvi is another mill plus.

I like this signing. 1 he wants to be here, 2 he's put up good numbers at a high level and 3 he's played with Vova so there's some chemistry there. I'll bet he puts up minimum 50 points this season.

ecbm wrote:

cprice12 wrote:Blues did very well in the draft (or so it seems right now)...and we hit a grand slam today.

I wonder if the anti-Army folks still want him gone?

Hmph. Well at least you didn't use the sophomoric term "hater".

I still reserve the right to criticize him, especially if he gives away any more promising kids for nothing. I hope that's ok...

Every deal can't be a winner. And feel free to criticize all you like. Contrary to what some folks believe, we're allowed to disagree in here.

But overall Army has done a fantastic job since being named GM. Yesterday just reinforced that in my mind. After we were eliminated, he said he was going to go out and get some things done, and he did exactly that in bringing home the top FA prize which was one we desperately needed, plus bringing over Lehtera...and without subtracting a single thing from the organization (promising kids as you put it)...AND to do it at less than market value without getting locked into a long term deal? Forgetaboutit. That's awesome.
A lot of folks are calling the Blues the winner in the Polak Gunnarsson trade Polak regressed last year, was left off the Czech olympic team for a reason, etc. But I'm not as educated on Gunnersson as some others, so I want to see him in action before I start to judge that deal. It may be more of a lateral deal than anything, but we did get a pick out of the deal as well.

I think if you are going to criticize Armstrong for "giving away promising kids for nothing", he needs credit for bringing in top notch talent without giving up any promising kids.

I've been critical of this organization for their lack of significant UFA signings throughout their history...as they had never signed a single top notch UFA in his prime...ever. But I can no longer say that because they went out and did that yesterday...finally. It only took 47 years.

cprice12 wrote:

ecbm wrote:

cprice12 wrote:Blues did very well in the draft (or so it seems right now)...and we hit a grand slam today.

I wonder if the anti-Army folks still want him gone?

Hmph. Well at least you didn't use the sophomoric term "hater".

I still reserve the right to criticize him, especially if he gives away any more promising kids for nothing. I hope that's ok...

Every deal can't be a winner. And feel free to criticize all you like. Contrary to what some folks believe, we're allowed to disagree in here.

But overall Army has done a fantastic job since being named GM. Yesterday just reinforced that in my mind. After we were eliminated, he said he was going to go out and get some things done, and he did exactly that in bringing home the top FA prize which was one we desperately needed, plus bringing over Lehtera...and without subtracting a single thing from the organization (promising kids as you put it)...AND to do it at less than market value without getting locked into a long term deal? Forgetaboutit. That's awesome.
A lot of folks are calling the Blues the winner in the Polak Gunnarsson trade Polak regressed last year, was left off the Czech olympic team for a reason, etc. But I'm not as educated on Gunnersson as some others, so I want to see him in action before I start to judge that deal. It may be more of a lateral deal than anything, but we did get a pick out of the deal as well.

I think if you are going to criticize Armstrong for "giving away promising kids for nothing", he needs credit for bringing in top notch talent without giving up any promising kids.

I've been critical of this organization for their lack of significant UFA signings throughout their history...as they had never signed a single top notch UFA in his prime...ever. But I can no longer say that because they went out and did that yesterday...finally. It only took 47 years.

Call me crazy, but I'm still skeptical. Not about Army, but about Stastny being THE fix for this team. Yes, I'm incredibly glad we signed him. Yes, I'm glad we signed a high-profile UFA away from one of our division rivals. But it seems like I'm the only one who was hoping (if we could only get one of the two) for Spezza over Stastny.

Why? Because our biggest need was scoring, and Spezza has the better numbers. He is a 3-time 34 goal scorer, whereas Stastny's best is 28 goals, one time (averages about 20-25 goals). Does that sound like a "top-notch" UFA? Again, not dogging on Stastny at all, and I certainly recognize not everything is about numbers- certain players fit better with better organizations. And as we all know, it's better to have the right players than the best players.

Maybe Stastny will top 30 goals with the Blues. Maybe he will take our wingers to new heights. We can only wait and see. I'm just concerned that we've fallen into the same old same old, when what we really needed was the best offensive talent available. I saw that as Spezza, not Stastny.

Not saying we did the wrong thing, just skeptical. Flame away.

Call me insane but looking at what Lehtera did over in the khl and knowing his history with Tarasenko I think he might end up being the bigger signing in terms of how much he'll produce plus how much better Tarasenko and Schwartz will both be because of him. He's no rookie. Dudes 26 and experienced professionally.

I think you are picking on Stastny for not scoring goals... but he's a center who distributes the puck. His assists are what's important. The Blues signed a playmaking center to elevate their young wings. Teh Dug Waitz didn't score a ton of goals either... does that make him not as good as Spezza?

Also, realize that Stastny plays a strong two way game... something that you can't say about Spezza.

Do I think it's "the" answer...no. But it's a giant leap forward and a significant signing.

not_a_wings_fan wrote:I think you are picking on Stastny for not scoring goals... but he's a center who distributes the puck. His assists are what's important. The Blues signed a playmaking center to elevate their young wings. Teh Dug Waitz didn't score a ton of goals either... does that make him not as good as Spezza?

Also, realize that Stastny plays a strong two way game... something that you can't say about Spezza.

Do I think it's "the" answer...no. But it's a giant leap forward and a significant signing.

Also, let's not forget that Stastny's production decline is correlated to his placement on the third line, away from the PP and with increased emphasis on the PK. Hard to rack up points when you're not given time in the offensive zone. Whether his form precipitated the change or the change caused the decline in form remains to be seen but one might hope that given the time on scoring line and on the PP unit, he will bring the stats back up.

ComradeT wrote:

not_a_wings_fan wrote:I think you are picking on Stastny for not scoring goals... but he's a center who distributes the puck. His assists are what's important. The Blues signed a playmaking center to elevate their young wings. Teh Dug Waitz didn't score a ton of goals either... does that make him not as good as Spezza?

Also, realize that Stastny plays a strong two way game... something that you can't say about Spezza.

Do I think it's "the" answer...no. But it's a giant leap forward and a significant signing.

Also, let's not forget that Stastny's production decline is correlated to his placement on the third line, away from the PP and with increased emphasis on the PK. Hard to rack up points when you're not given time in the offensive zone. Whether his form precipitated the change or the change caused the decline in form remains to be seen but one might hope that given the time on scoring line and on the PP unit, he will bring the stats back up.

Thankfully not the same power play units that we were operating with in the Chicago debacle.

glen a richter wrote:Call me insane but looking at what Lehtera did over in the khl and knowing his history with Tarasenko I think he might end up being the bigger signing in terms of how much he'll produce plus how much better Tarasenko and Schwartz will both be because of him. He's no rookie. Dudes 26 and experienced professionally.

I agree. My initial reaction to the signing was, 'Oh, that guy. Guess he'll be riding the train between Chicago and St. Louis quite a bit.' But reading up on what he's done recently, knowing had and Army had a chat at the Olympics, sounds like he's ready to make an impact here. Could be an unheralded, but big signing for sure.

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dmiles2186 wrote:I will fix this when I'm not on my phone. Can't find the non-mobile link.

That was at an KHK All-Star game too. check this highlight reel

I seriously believe Lehtera is one of the missing pieces of our puzzle and having him will ignite Tank and maybe even Schwartz. I really love where the team is going and maybe, just maybe, all of this will inspire Bergy and we'll see him step up his game. I am seeing absolutely no downside to anything Army has done*


* I could bring up Miller but as of late I am beginning to wonder if Miller's problem wasn't our wonderful goalie coach trying to change up his game. Thoughts?

gaijin wrote:

cprice12 wrote:

ecbm wrote:

cprice12 wrote:Blues did very well in the draft (or so it seems right now)...and we hit a grand slam today.

I wonder if the anti-Army folks still want him gone?

Hmph. Well at least you didn't use the sophomoric term "hater".

I still reserve the right to criticize him, especially if he gives away any more promising kids for nothing. I hope that's ok...

Every deal can't be a winner. And feel free to criticize all you like. Contrary to what some folks believe, we're allowed to disagree in here.

But overall Army has done a fantastic job since being named GM. Yesterday just reinforced that in my mind. After we were eliminated, he said he was going to go out and get some things done, and he did exactly that in bringing home the top FA prize which was one we desperately needed, plus bringing over Lehtera...and without subtracting a single thing from the organization (promising kids as you put it)...AND to do it at less than market value without getting locked into a long term deal? Forgetaboutit. That's awesome.
A lot of folks are calling the Blues the winner in the Polak Gunnarsson trade Polak regressed last year, was left off the Czech olympic team for a reason, etc. But I'm not as educated on Gunnersson as some others, so I want to see him in action before I start to judge that deal. It may be more of a lateral deal than anything, but we did get a pick out of the deal as well.

I think if you are going to criticize Armstrong for "giving away promising kids for nothing", he needs credit for bringing in top notch talent without giving up any promising kids.

I've been critical of this organization for their lack of significant UFA signings throughout their history...as they had never signed a single top notch UFA in his prime...ever. But I can no longer say that because they went out and did that yesterday...finally. It only took 47 years.

Call me crazy, but I'm still skeptical. Not about Army, but about Stastny being THE fix for this team. Yes, I'm incredibly glad we signed him. Yes, I'm glad we signed a high-profile UFA away from one of our division rivals. But it seems like I'm the only one who was hoping (if we could only get one of the two) for Spezza over Stastny.

Why? Because our biggest need was scoring, and Spezza has the better numbers. He is a 3-time 34 goal scorer, whereas Stastny's best is 28 goals, one time (averages about 20-25 goals). Does that sound like a "top-notch" UFA? Again, not dogging on Stastny at all, and I certainly recognize not everything is about numbers- certain players fit better with better organizations. And as we all know, it's better to have the right players than the best players.

Maybe Stastny will top 30 goals with the Blues. Maybe he will take our wingers to new heights. We can only wait and see. I'm just concerned that we've fallen into the same old same old, when what we really needed was the best offensive talent available. I saw that as Spezza, not Stastny.

Not saying we did the wrong thing, just skeptical. Flame away.

Spezza played 26 games against the west last year. He had 24 points, 8 goals (3 on the PP) and 16 assists (3 on the PP) which is great but he was also a minus -11. He's going to have a harder time in the west. His back being so screwed up I bet he doesn't play but 60-65 games with how physical the west has become.

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