all quiet on the western (trade) front

[flyingnote38]

Blues should have a pretty quiet deadline. Unlike last season, they don't have coveted players on expiring contracts. The players coming up in rumors are all under contract for at least 1 more season and are playing well enough to provide value relative to their contracts so don't need to be moved.

Army should hold onto all picks and prospects. there's no point in using future assets to bolster the long shot chances of getting a couple playoff games worth of revenue this year.
Scandella for a mid or late round pick (I'd guess a 6th) should be attempted; beyond that he should probably stand pat unless he gets blown away.

Binnington and Parayko have played well enough that they have generated trade interest but both provide value that would be difficult to easily replace for similar money and term. If Army no longer believes that Parayko is worth that long term deal and gets a strong offer then move him. Binnington and Hofer are a reasonable tandem to keep the Blues competitive during the retool so again unless blown away, I'd keep Binnington.

Move Krug if you can, but you can't.

And Buch, he has the most trade value because he's providing the best value of anyone not on an ELC. We have no need to trade him now. We can try to extend after July 1 or trade him in the offseason or at next year's deadline. Again, unless blown away with an offer, I'd keep a hold of him and let him be the 'deadline addition'. Throw in the possibility of Snuggerrud deciding to turn pro after the NCAA season ends and the Blues should be competitive and entertaining enough to keep the ticket sales going.

[glen a richter]

I’d be looking to move Scandella and Kapanen for sure, neither of which will really net more than a mid round draft pick. I’d be ok moving Sunny, I’d even be ok moving Buchnevich knowing the haul he’d bring in would be pretty damn good.

I don’t have a problem with punting the season, this team ain’t winning a Cup. I don’t have a problem punting next season either if we see Bolduc and Snuggerud, at the very least, get a full years experience under their belts. Maybe Dvorsky too. I know Army is calling it a re-tool but I think we need to look 3-4 years down the road to be a Cup contender again.

[flyingnote38]

good call on Sunny. probably get more for him than scandella

doubt Kap has any value though

[glen a richter]

A ton of moves today, none involving the Blues but… our old friend Tarasenko was moved to the Panthers. As Florida’s been my eastern conference team since their inception I approve wholeheartedly and look forward to their impending championship in June.

[theohall]

interesting moves by the Avs...

In Sean Walker and Casey Middlestadt
Out Ryan Johansen (whose proved he doesn't deserve to be paid seeing as the Flyers immediately waived him) and Byram.

Really - essentially replacing Bowen Byram with Sean Walker? That seems short-sighted. Middlestadt might actually work as their #2 center, though. We'll see.

[theohall]

Was surprised to see Seattle essentially conceding making the playoffs by trading Wenberg.

Oilers getting Henrique definitely should solve their forward depth issue for the playoffs, but the question mark is still can they get by with essentially two really good defenseman (with different skills - Ekholm D, Bouchard O) and basically 4 bottom 3rd pairing defenseman. Nurse and Desharnais are going to need to improve dramatically for the Oilers to be a serious Cup contender unless their forwards can magically continue to cover for them when the competition ramps up.

I don't see Mantha solving anything for Vegas. Mantha has always been this touted acquisition who never really does anything after being acquired.

And completely agreed on Tarasenko and the Panthers. That's already a win for Vladi since he has a summer home in Fort Lauderdale - which is basically the same city as Sunrise where the Panthers play.

[JCShutout]

What am I missing on the tarasenko trade. He’s on pace for mid 20s goals and almost 60 points, at $5m. Just getting a 4th and 3rd? I know he’s an ufa and getting older, but that’s not worth a 2nd?

[glen a richter]

Full NTC he held all the cards and I'd imagine the only place he wanted to go was Florida so Ottawa's hands were tied and they got whatever they could rather than get nothing at all.

[JCShutout]

Ah, I forgot about the ntc. Yeah, that makes sense.

[JCShutout]

https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/sundqvis ... with-blues

Sunny resigned. 2 years, $1.5m per.

So he isn’t getting traded.

[glen a richter]

Blockbuster trade alert!

Subban to Columbus for future considerations

[JCShutout]

Ah well. I had hoped we could move at least scandella for a lottery ticket but oh well. I don’t blame DA for keeping the price high on buchy. You can always try again next year.

[theohall]

I just hope we don't wind up with another season of the Blues current defensive corps, but hopes aren't high given their current contracts.

[JCShutout]

I’ve long given up on moving a dman. Unless you include a pick to a team in tank mode looking to hit the cap floor, who would want them? Maybe in a couple years after the cap has gone up a bit and they are on the last year of their deals.

I think that’s when the blues need to target their next window. The year after Krug and Faulk are done. Gonna be a few years of middling, oof.

[theohall]

It's painful watching Krug get a) runover or b) flat out outreached when he slightly misplays a puck, and c) Faulk just being a step slow all the time. How much of that is actual issues with age or not giving a damn due to the current team situation or something else? I don't know.

Looking at Springfield and the ECHL, there is no one ready to step in right now.

Marc-Andre Gaudet is toiling away in the ECHL and he's struggling adjusting thus far, but that's normal for most juniors moving up to men's leagues. Biakubatuka actually looked better than Gaudet last Sunday, but it's still the ECHL.

Buchinger leads Guelph D-men in scoring, but it's slightly behind what he did last season. It's like he just stayed the same instead of showing the big improvement he should have shown being in his 3rd year in juniors.

Quinton Burns of Kingston Frontenac in the OHL leads their defenseman in scoring, also has 107 PIMs, and is -20. He's shown progression in his offensive stats playing on a really bad Kingston team. He'll get another year in juniors and wouldn't be surprised if he winds up traded to a better CHL team for next season.

The only guy I could see making the jump possibly next season is Lindstein with the way he stood out in the World Juniors.

[flyingnote38]

we have two more years of treading water while waiting for Armie's bad contract decisions to expire
subtracting scandella and Kap gives some flexibility this offseason as no one needs to get paid this offseason. even if we extend Buch, the new deal won't start til after next season

the first real relief (barring trades) is after 2025-26 when we subtract Hayes, Saad, and Leddy then the following offseason Faulk, Krug and Binnington

That lines up well with the probable timelines of our wave of prospects from last season's sell off

so we should be a team on the rise in 3 years but til then its going to be a lot like this season: not bad enough to get a really good pick but not good enough to make the playoffs

[glen a richter]

What about Arsemi Koromyslov? I know he’s not over on this side of the ocean yet and probably (definitely) needs some AHL time first but he should also be on the 3 year radar.

[theohall]

He's been playing in all 3 of the Russian leagues - KHL, MHL, and VHL - MHL is like juniors,
VHL is AHL equivalent, and we all know what the KHL is. Nothing stands out statistically, but he's only 20 and D always develops slowly.