What are we hoping to accomplish in the Playoffs?

[Harry S Deals]

I still don't see the big picture argument here, look at the draft results from each year. Scoring by draft position is not a constant number its more or less across the board there are all sorts of examples as we know. Kaprizoz was taken #135 in '15 as another example. Half of the Top 10 in points that year were drafted outside of the top 10.

Its simply not worth "tanking" on purpose with the goal of getting another Ovechkin.

If you can successfully target the kids that fit your overall philosophy and invest in their player development you can still build a contender as we've seen. How many dmen from the '12 draft would you rather have right now over CP (#86)? On and on.

The Blues are going to field a top 9 next years thats loaded with talent regardless of draft position and at some point they will determine which guys they want to build around and Army will trade a nice prospect or two to land what the Blues deem as a need.

[BluesDom]

I still don't see the big picture argument here, look at the draft results from each year. Scoring by draft position is not a constant number its more or less across the board there are all sorts of examples as we know. Kaprizoz was taken #135 in '15 as another example. Half of the Top 10 in points that year were drafted outside of the top 10.

Its simply not worth "tanking" on purpose with the goal of getting another Ovechkin.

If you can successfully target the kids that fit your overall philosophy and invest in their player development you can still build a contender as we've seen. How many dmen from the '12 draft would you rather have right now over CP (#86)? On and on.

The Blues are going to field a top 9 next years thats loaded with talent regardless of draft position and at some point they will determine which guys they want to build around and Army will trade a nice prospect or two to land what the Blues deem as a need.

This is right on.
The purpose of the Blues going forward is winning culture. Holding players accountable, developing the right habits, and making sure they put the team first. This playoff run will help in the development of the young Blues.

[a smell of green grass]

I've seen a number of posters express that they want the younger players to get playoff exposure and learn what it takes.

Oddly, it seems that our cornerstone players have more to learn than the younger players. They seem to be making the most and the biggest errors.

Possibly the veterans have a larger responsibility, and that is why their failures are more noticeable. Or possibly the veterans just happen to be injured.

I don't think that anyone anticipated this circumstance. If this trend continues, then what? Per contract, Buchnevich will be with us many more years. Are we going to be talking about his errors for 5 more years?

[Aesa]

I've seen a number of posters express that they want the younger players to get playoff exposure and learn what it takes.

Oddly, it seems that our cornerstone players have more to learn than the younger players. They seem to be making the most and the biggest errors.

Possibly the veterans have a larger responsibility, and that is why their failures are more noticeable. Or possibly the veterans just happen to be injured.

I don't think that anyone anticipated this circumstance. If this trend continues, then what? Per contract, Buchnevich will be with us many more years. Are we going to be talking about his errors for 5 more years?

Who is this "we" you are referring to? You got a mouse in your pocket?

[a smell of green grass]

I've seen a number of posters express that they want the younger players to get playoff exposure and learn what it takes.

Oddly, it seems that our cornerstone players have more to learn than the younger players. They seem to be making the most and the biggest errors.

Possibly the veterans have a larger responsibility, and that is why their failures are more noticeable. Or possibly the veterans just happen to be injured.

I don't think that anyone anticipated this circumstance. If this trend continues, then what? Per contract, Buchnevich will be with us many more years. Are we going to be talking about his errors for 5 more years?

Who is this "we" you are referring to? You got a mouse in your pocket?

I was directing that question to the hockey men on this forum, not the female pom pom squad.

Best that you reapply your lipstick and dance over to the easier threads.

[Aesa]

I've seen a number of posters express that they want the younger players to get playoff exposure and learn what it takes.

Oddly, it seems that our cornerstone players have more to learn than the younger players. They seem to be making the most and the biggest errors.

Possibly the veterans have a larger responsibility, and that is why their failures are more noticeable. Or possibly the veterans just happen to be injured.

I don't think that anyone anticipated this circumstance. If this trend continues, then what? Per contract, Buchnevich will be with us many more years. Are we going to be talking about his errors for 5 more years?

Who is this "we" you are referring to? You got a mouse in your pocket?

I was directing that question to the hockey men on this forum, not the female pom pom squad.

Best that you reapply your lipstick and dance over to the easier threads.

Whatever you say, Karen.

[a smell of green grass]

I've seen a number of posters express that they want the younger players to get playoff exposure and learn what it takes.

Oddly, it seems that our cornerstone players have more to learn than the younger players. They seem to be making the most and the biggest errors.

Possibly the veterans have a larger responsibility, and that is why their failures are more noticeable. Or possibly the veterans just happen to be injured.

I don't think that anyone anticipated this circumstance. If this trend continues, then what? Per contract, Buchnevich will be with us many more years. Are we going to be talking about his errors for 5 more years?

Who is this "we" you are referring to? You got a mouse in your pocket?

I was directing that question to the hockey men on this forum, not the female pom pom squad.

Best that you reapply your lipstick and dance over to the easier threads.

Whatever you say, Karen.

The hockey men on this forum are seeing issues with Buchnevich. Do a search for the words "zero goals", and you'll find the comments.

[a smell of green grass]

It's time to put the bow on our playoff package. What did we accomplish and learn?

1. Army needs to resurface his task to dump the long-time players that are not making a difference, aka Kyrou. A player that doesn't make a difference in the regular season is even less likely to make a difference in the playoffs.
2. A new playoff albatross that will hang around St. Louis's neck for who knows how long
3. We learned that problems seen in the regular season (6 on 5) are likely to reappear in the playoffs at very very bad timing.
4. The regular season and the playoffs are 2 different things. So when you have guys magically star in a late 12-game win streak, assume that those stars are likely to completely disappear in the playoffs--JUST LIKE THEY DISAPPEARED EARLY IN THE SEASON. It's just what fake stars do.
5. Montgomery is a coach, not a savior.

[Hooking]

And if Buchnevich scores there he is a playoff hero and the Blues play on Wednesday.

High risk, high reward. I get that it was not 'the right thing to do' there and you can clearly see Monty after the play mutter "What was that!?" after the whistle.

However I don't hate that play. There were many more chances to clear / hold onto the pick along the boards longer that we can point at too in the final minutes. End of the day, the Blues blew it and hopefully learned from it. They were absolutely awful with the goalie pulled by the other team all season long. It's a culture thing that needs to change - not a one-off bad play by Buch.

[DawgDad]

It's time to put the bow on our playoff package. What did we accomplish and learn?

1. Army needs to resurface his task to dump the long-time players that are not making a difference, aka Kyrou. A player that doesn't make a difference in the regular season is even less likely to make a difference in the playoffs.
2. A new playoff albatross that will hang around St. Louis's neck for who knows how long
3. We learned that problems seen in the regular season (6 on 5) are likely to reappear in the playoffs at very very bad timing.
4. The regular season and the playoffs are 2 different things. So when you have guys magically star in a late 12-game win streak, assume that those stars are likely to completely disappear in the playoffs--JUST LIKE THEY DISAPPEARED EARLY IN THE SEASON. It's just what fake stars do.
5. Montgomery is a coach, not a savior.

Man, you are lost in the wilderness of your bewildered mind. Start with a horrendously careless use of "we". Stop with "bow", or should we take a poll on how many want to jump on your bandwagon?

Step back for a moment and consider the big picture. I'll give you a big picture thought to chew on. Before the playoffs I posted that when you can envision your team playing a scoreless OT period in the playoffs you have a contending team. Well, the Blues played a full scoreless period of OT in game 7 against the President's Trophy team. This team, while not yet acknowledged by Rick Bowness, is for real. You can cry in your soup forever about the way this ended or you can realize this team battled a superior team to the bitter end, took them as deep as possible without actually beating them. Did the Dallas Stars implode after a similar finish in 2019? No, they went to the Cup Finals the next season, and they've been to the Conference Finals twice since! Big picture. Lessons learned. Constantly looking forward, how do we get better, not back.

"Dump" is not what this team needs. This is only an albatross if you don't see past the scoresheet. Did any Blues fan really "learn" that this team isn't good defending 6-on-5? Nobody completely disappeared for the Blues, nobody. "Fake stars" comment is just nonsense, these are professional hockey players not Hollywood actors. Yes, Montgomery is a coach. He deserves a TON of credit for turning this team around. He absolutely saved this season, but as a Coach he works through his players. They deserve the credit in tandem. And they get it, from many if not most of us.

[a smell of green grass]

It's time to put the bow on our playoff package. What did we accomplish and learn?

1. Army needs to resurface his task to dump the long-time players that are not making a difference, aka Kyrou. A player that doesn't make a difference in the regular season is even less likely to make a difference in the playoffs.
2. A new playoff albatross that will hang around St. Louis's neck for who knows how long
3. We learned that problems seen in the regular season (6 on 5) are likely to reappear in the playoffs at very very bad timing.
4. The regular season and the playoffs are 2 different things. So when you have guys magically star in a late 12-game win streak, assume that those stars are likely to completely disappear in the playoffs--JUST LIKE THEY DISAPPEARED EARLY IN THE SEASON. It's just what fake stars do.
5. Montgomery is a coach, not a savior.

Man, you are lost in the wilderness of your bewildered mind. Start with a horrendously careless use of "we". Stop with "bow", or should we take a poll on how many want to jump on your bandwagon?

Step back for a moment and consider the big picture. I'll give you a big picture thought to chew on. Before the playoffs I posted that when you can envision your team playing a scoreless OT period in the playoffs you have a contending team. Well, the Blues played a full scoreless period of OT in game 7 against the President's Trophy team. This team, while not yet acknowledged by Rick Bowness, is for real. You can cry in your soup forever about the way this ended or you can realize this team battled a superior team to the bitter end, took them as deep as possible without actually beating them. Did the Dallas Stars implode after a similar finish in 2019? No, they went to the Cup Finals the next season, and they've been to the Conference Finals twice since! Big picture. Lessons learned. Constantly looking forward, how do we get better, not back.

"Dump" is not what this team needs. This is only an albatross if you don't see past the scoresheet. Did any Blues fan really "learn" that this team isn't good defending 6-on-5? Nobody completely disappeared for the Blues, nobody. "Fake stars" comment is just nonsense, these are professional hockey players not Hollywood actors. Yes, Montgomery is a coach. He deserves a TON of credit for turning this team around. He absolutely saved this season, but as a Coach he works through his players. They deserve the credit in tandem. And they get it, from many if not most of us.

No need to take a poll of my bandwagon. I'm smart enough to see my situation clearly. However, I don't care if you do take a poll. I'm not here to win a popularity contest. I'm hear to express my frustration with the team roster and the unaccountability of its GM.

All that I can say is that the grenades will continue until I see improvements in talent acquisition and the roster.