Let's Go Blues

Well my Hawks have been active today. We sent Hjalmarrson to Arizona and then sent Panarin to Columbus and got Saad back. Both are huge moves. Apparently Panarin fell out of favor by not performing in playoffs and then saying he was tired - that didn't sit well with front office.

Nice trade by the Rangers. For some reason Rag fans don't like Stepan, and Rantti is plenty replaceable. They were angling to lose him to Vegas anyway so it worked out for them twice over. Smooth swinging #7 out of it, maybe Casey Mittelstadt will still be available there. They'll jump all over him if he is.

Kerfuffle wrote:Well my Hawks have been active today. We sent Hjalmarrson to Arizona and then sent Panarin to Columbus and got Saad back. Both are huge moves. Apparently Panarin fell out of favor by not performing in playoffs and then saying he was tired - that didn't sit well with front office.

Crazy week for chicago's winter sports teams. Jimmy butler dealt, panarin and hjalmarsson dealt, and hossa announces he is taking a year off.

Stan bowman has a history of being bold and decisive is remaking his roster and cap situation and usually his deals work out pretty well for the Hawks. Had heard a rumor that the Bus was trying to acquire panarin but didn't think it was real.

Oshie got an 8 year extension.

Blues trade Reaves to Penguins for Sundqvist and a pick.

Don't know much about Sundqvist- thoughts?

I'm actually shocked they traded Reaves.

gaijin wrote:Blues trade Reaves to Penguins for Sundqvist and a pick.

Don't know much about Sundqvist- thoughts?

I'm actually shocked they traded Reaves.

Glad we got back into the first round with that deal. Makes the Schenn trade look less crazy.

I am too. Maybe Armstrong knew that this kind of a deal was brewing so that's why he protected him; not because he actually wanted him.

Blues acquire Brayden Schenn from the Flyers for Jori Lehtera, the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft and a conditional draft choice in 2018.

gaijin wrote:Blues trade Reaves to Penguins for Sundqvist and a pick.

Don't know much about Sundqvist- thoughts?

I'm actually shocked they traded Reaves.

Sundqvist is considered a solid two-way center who has the ability to contribute on the score sheet. In other words - a classic Armstrong 3rd liner soon to be over-paid by the Blues, since he is currently a restricted free agent.

Getting Schenn, a 25 year old, 20 goals per season C, who was scoring 20 per season on a bad Flyers team, for Lehtera and 2 picks is a win. Yes, they are a 1st and a conditional 1st, one of which they already got back in the Penguins deal. Everyone talks about the difficulty of finding a C who can actually score. Blues got one and DUMPED LEHTERA!!!!!

This sums up today better than anything I've seen.. https://twitter.com/Palazzola_RTN/status/878436583615148037

Overall, I'm pleased with how the past 2 days worked out. All along, we've been crying about how badly we wanted Lehtera gone and now not only is he gone, but we got a worthwhile replacement for him who will produce more plus help Tarasenko produce more. That's worth the 1st rounder next season for sure, and it doesn't hurt that Schenn is only 25. If Army made a similar deal for a 35 year old, I'd have a lot more reservations about it. That trade is a win, in my books... especially since we got back into the 1st round by trading Reaves whom yeah, I like Reaves and all, but he doesn't fit the modern style. I'm excited about Sundqvist because it looks to me like Army is finally all about working on the bottom 6. The way it's shaping up, we should have a couple of kids in the lineup next season... maybe Tage Thompson and Adam Musil, or Thompson and Sam Blais. This isn't a bad thing at all, folks. Our bottom 6 sucked and the fact that two youngsters should provide at least as much offense, if not more, than previous versions of the 3rd and 4th line makes their rookie warts worth it. Once Army can commit to building a more skilled 4th line, we can talk deep playoff runs. Every move he made between yesterday and today in terms of who was drafted and who was traded was a step in the right direction. I can't slam him for anything that he did in the past 24 hours.

Not surprisingly, the Blues elect not to extend Yakupov a qualifying offer:

https://sports.yahoo.com/blues-decline- ... --nhl.html

I have been watching video of Brayden Schenn, and think the best comparables are Joe Pavelski, and Olli Jokinen. Other sites' advanced stats don't pair these players together, but I doubt they have included much spatial analysis and team play.

Schenn:
http://www.hockey-reference.com/players ... nbr01.html

Pavelski:
http://www.hockey-reference.com/players ... ljo01.html

Olli Jokinen:
http://www.hockey-reference.com/players ... ljo01.html

I don't have time to elaborate beyond a quick synopsis: These three are net front present centers who are undersized compared to net crashers like Tkachuk, Lucic, Benn. These guys station themselves between the crease and faceoff circles looking for redirections, quick one time pass snap shots, and loose rebounds. The game has evolved from skillful play in the 80s-early 90s, to clutch-grab hockey in late 90s-2010s, into a state of scrumming for the puck and lots of garbage dirty muck grinding goals. Schenn excels in placing his stick in a position which both welcomes the puck and threatens the net.

When the Blues win puck battles in the offensive zone, the puck is often shuffled back to the defenseman at the point, or cycled again behind the net. This gives the Blues entertaining options in the offensive zone. We can all see 2016-17 Schwartz outskating reaching defenseman, outmuscling them for pucks, and cycling behind the net to Stastny, or chipping to Edmondson, with Tarasenko trying to find open ice on the far side. I expect we will see more forced passes to the front of the net and quick shots with Schenn as an option. It should be a fun season!

gaijin wrote:Not surprisingly, the Blues elect not to extend Yakupov a qualifying offer:

https://sports.yahoo.com/blues-decline- ... --nhl.html

Yeah he's a bust - reminds me of Rostislav Olesz. Russian players - so risky and so many fail. I can see why teams shy away from them. Obviously Tank, Malkin, Ovechkin are exceptions but overall not a fan of the Russian system and what comes out there - it just doesn't work in the NHL in most cases.

Kerfuffle wrote:

gaijin wrote:Not surprisingly, the Blues elect not to extend Yakupov a qualifying offer:

https://sports.yahoo.com/blues-decline- ... --nhl.html

Yeah he's a bust - reminds me of Rostislav Olesz. Russian players - so risky and so many fail. I can see why teams shy away from them. Obviously Tank, Malkin, Ovechkin are exceptions but overall not a fan of the Russian system and what comes out there - it just doesn't work in the NHL in most cases.

This is why I think the Toropchenko pick will work. He plays more like an NHLer. Big body, get in front of the net, and work that area for goals - not the good shot, good puck-handler, fast skater, needs space to score kind of player like so many Russians. Not to say he can't skate or pass, because he can do both well as evidenced in the USA-Russia game from the 2017 U18 World Championships, but that's not how he generates goals, usually.

theohall wrote:Getting Schenn, a 25 year old, 20 goals per season C, who was scoring 20 per season on a bad Flyers team, for Lehtera and 2 picks is a win. Yes, they are a 1st and a conditional 1st, one of which they already got back in the Penguins deal. Everyone talks about the difficulty of finding a C who can actually score. Blues got one and DUMPED LEHTERA!!!!!

Ultimately that's where I'm at. At the end of the day it ultimately only cost us approximately one first rounder (and a 2ndish) for a SOLID 2nd line center that this team really needed and rid ourselves of 2 years of a contract.

The fleecing that Armstrong put on the Penguins from the Reaves deal saved this trade. Standing alone it doesn't look nearly so good.

Kerfuffle wrote:

gaijin wrote:Not surprisingly, the Blues elect not to extend Yakupov a qualifying offer:

https://sports.yahoo.com/blues-decline- ... --nhl.html

Yeah he's a bust - reminds me of Rostislav Olesz. Russian players - so risky and so many fail. I can see why teams shy away from them. Obviously Tank, Malkin, Ovechkin are exceptions but overall not a fan of the Russian system and what comes out there - it just doesn't work in the NHL in most cases.

He's got to be up there as one of the biggest #1 overall busts of all time.

Daigle looks like a dang all star compared to Yakupov.

Yak is the biggest bust? Really?

With the crazy amount of hype and the quick paycheck, Daigle beats out Yak seven days a week.

What about The Wick? One 50 point season doesn't make him one of the biggest busts?

Yak, plugged in to a playmaking Center, is absolutely dangerous. He'll find a place, probably Vancouver and I expect him to return to being a 30-35 point winger, if not more. His issue sadly is IQ and I have no idea how you'd teach a guy that. If he had that, he'd be up there with McDavid; he has all the other tools to be a success. It's really sad.

The Blues coaching, sans Brodeur, was absolute trash last year, so I didn't expect Yak to improve on a team who has a serious ongoing problem with generating offense. I'm surprised others are on Yak for doing something that we as a team still can't figure out.

Beau Bennett, seriously?? Why? What's the point? Yet another 4th line forward who barely scores?? He's no Troy Brouwer even if he is a right shooting RW.

Thorburn is the completely unnecessary "Reaves replacement" and he's getting paid 900K per season to do what?

Sure glad Yeo is going to have these veteran bottom 6 forwards to play over younger, more talented players, which he will.

Oaklandblue wrote:Yak is the biggest bust? Really?

With the crazy amount of hype and the quick paycheck, Daigle beats out Yak seven days a week.

What about The Wick? One 50 point season doesn't make him one of the biggest busts?

Yak, plugged in to a playmaking Center, is absolutely dangerous. He'll find a place, probably Vancouver and I expect him to return to being a 30-35 point winger, if not more. His issue sadly is IQ and I have no idea how you'd teach a guy that. If he had that, he'd be up there with McDavid; he has all the other tools to be a success. It's really sad.

The Blues coaching, sans Brodeur, was absolute trash last year, so I didn't expect Yak to improve on a team who has a serious ongoing problem with generating offense. I'm surprised others are on Yak for doing something that we as a team still can't figure out.

I think you answered your own question about why Yakupov is a bust. He was a first overall pick and we are talking about him returning to 30-35 point production. If hoping that he turns into a serviceable 3rd liner isn't the definition of a major bust, i don't know what is.