2016 NHL Offseason Thread

[MMXcalibur]

In this thread, we pay homage to our Pittsburgh Penguins overlords...

.....and I suppose we can talk about the Draft, free-agent signings, trades, and how much of a clunker this World Cup of Hockey is going to end up being.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Spent the day in the car, only to learn we've lost Backes and Brouwer to FA. Add in the Elliott deal, and the lack of a Shattenkirk trade and this is the offseason from hell.

I really don't have an issue with letting 42/36 walk - it would be crazy to offer them term and $$$. It's the stupid ****ing contracts (19, Lehtera, Stastny) that don't allow us to replace those guys.

Here are our centers: Lehtera, Stastny, Sobotka and Brodziak.

RW: Tarasenko, Reaves, Jaskin.

If that gets you excited, call 314-622-BLUE for season tickets.

[DJ's left nut]

The Stastny contract was a necessary evil.

Bouwmeester and Lehtera, OTOH, were not.

Yeah, this is looking like a 7th/8th place squad.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

The Stastny contract was a necessary evil.

Bouwmeester and Lehtera, OTOH, were not.

Yeah, this is looking like a 7th/8th place squad.

True. And in fairness to 26, he's shown flashes of being worthy of that contract.

Bouwmeester and Lehtera? Not even close.

I would have felt a lot better had we been able to get Hall from Edmonton, but 22 being unwilling to sign long term killed that chance. Army has zero leverage because it seems like Shatty's only willing to sign in NY or Boston.

Or, we'll let him walk for nothing this time next year...

[Jerm]

Doug Armstrong is the worst......

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yeah, I'm a little confused by the Perron hate.

I don't love the guy; he was never someone I was sorry to see leave. But we got good value for him (our best forward prospect in Barbashev) and he brings speed that I felt was sorely lacking.

Yes, this team needs another top 6 forward to compete. Army can put on a brave face and say that we'll roll with Shattenkirk but if they go into this season with him instead of the forward we need to replace our defections (it ain't Sobotka), we'll be in trouble.

But as you said - sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. Brouwer's deal doesn't seem unreasonable, to be honest. But at the same time, the guy was a rich man's Andrew Shaw. He's just another of those guys that will take as many stupid goddamn penalties as he delivers clean hits. Jaskin could be a better player as soon as next year if he takes the step forward we've expected of him for years (and while Jaskin's slow as shit, he's not any slower than Brouwer).

I'm disappointed we didn't get Boedker; loved the speed he could bring. At the same time, there's a good chance he'll shut it down when he gets paid...and he wasn't exactly lighting things up to begin with.

This is the reality of a cap league; make a push and re-load. Those that don't deal with those waves are the guys with legitimate superstars and/or outstanding head coaches. Well we don't have an outstanding head coach and Backes/Oshie/Steen aren't that kind of player either.

The hope is that Tarasenko/Schwartz/Fabbri are (because Yeo isn't an elite coach either).

I wouldn't say the future is bright...but has the future ever been bright for the Blues? We're probably in the same boat we've always been; bit players in some other team's championship video...

I'm fine with Perron being back, but the return on him was absolute garbage. Paajarvi + Edmonton's 2nd was and still is a terrible return for him given the situation (a mid forward in his mid 20s under contract who is at least a .5 PPG player). He's an upgrade over Brouwer.

Brouwer's contract is fair, I just don't know how to feel if he put up the same production for 4 years. I don't think we'd be feeling this way if he didn't go HAM in the POs, though.

Blues dodged a bullet with Backes, but it hurts so much right now.

I don't have an issue with Army right now(I need to see how Shattenkirk plays out as well as the entire season) aside from not just saying the team's retooling, not a SC Final contender right now but should be a playoff contender. Hitch returning for a swan song and Backes leaving makes this whole dynamic ****ed up.

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Spent the day in the car, only to learn we've lost Backes and Brouwer to FA. Add in the Elliott deal, and the lack of a Shattenkirk trade and this is the offseason from hell.

I really don't have an issue with letting 42/36 walk - it would be crazy to offer them term and $$$. It's the stupid ****ing contracts (19, Lehtera, Stastny) that don't allow us to replace those guys.

Here are our centers: Lehtera, Stastny, Sobotka and Brodziak.

RW: Tarasenko, Reaves, Jaskin.

If that gets you excited, call 314-622-BLUE for season tickets.

No. Offseason from hell would be signing Backes to a terrible deal and trading Shattenkirk for the shit the Blues gave the Flames for Bouwmeester.

Elliott trade is good value. I get the skepticism with Allen, but Elliott wasn't going to re-sign here.

Not much Army can do with Shattenkirk. He's a good defenseman who should return something valuable, but if he won't extend to the team he's traded to, he's better off being in St. Louis for a year than getting a shit return.

Right now, the worst contract on the Blues is Lehtera(way over ****ing paid) followed by Bouwmeester(still a top 4 defenseman, groin injury ****ed up him playing like a top pairing one, though). Stastny's worth his contract, IMO.

Honestly, I'm OK with how today played out. I wouldn't feel good if they overpaid Eriksson, Lucic, Backes, or Brouwer for 4+ years. The only forward I'd hope they'd get into was Okposo.

[Otter]

This would be one of the best seasons in memory to be a elite goaltender. Between the draft and free agency this has to be the shallowest talent pools I can recall. If James Reimer has a half of brain in his head he's he's going into next season with FU money.

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by Otter

This would be one of the best seasons in memory to be a elite goaltender. Between the draft and free agency this has to be the shallowest talent pools I can recall. If James Reimer has a half of brain in his head he's he's going into next season with FU money.

Reimer signed with the Panthers for $3.4 mil. average cap hit for 5 years.

[bricks]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

Reimer signed with the Panthers for $3.4 mil. average cap hit for 5 years.

Lol at them.

3.5 mil for a backup goalie that's been injury prone his whole career and never played a full season.

The economic of sports are insane and a joke.

[Predarat]

This was shocking, and still hard to believe. Maybe after this season, or during it but now???

https://www.nhl.com/news/patrick-roy...ch/c-281317648

[C3HIEF3S]

Not surprised, it's Patrick Roy.

Still a legend, though.

[RockChalk]

That 2013 season was such a fluke. His coaching decisions, specifically in-game, have always reminded me of some mid 20's stoner playing NHL on his PS4.

Roy will get another shot, likely by some GM/Owner who doesn't believe '13 was a fluke.

[DaFace]

I'm not unhappy that he's quitting, but I'm unhappy that he took until August to do it.

[Predarat]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm not unhappy that he's quitting, but I'm unhappy that he took until August to do it.

He really put them in a tough situation. Not sure if there are any good Head Coaches out there. They may have to promote an assistant to interim until some dominoes start falling. I wonder how Torchetti might do, but he was recently hired as an Assistant for Detroit.

[OnTheWarpath15]

For those of you (like me) who have never been to a Winter Classic, here is the pricing - and I've been told the "fees" are around $40 per ticket on top of the listed price.

So yeah, up to $500 a pop for an outdoor hockey game where you likely can't even track the puck.

http://blues.nhl.com/v2/ext/files/20...ingDiagram.pdf

[ChiefsCountry]

Best seats for the Cardinals game, cheapest seats for the Blues game at Busch.

Damn those prices though.