Is there a team better than us with more than 4 rookies on it?

[TAFKAP]

I agree 100%

I equate Parayko to Seth Jones in the sense that neither guy is capable of being your top d-man.
CP55 has proven that here and Jones was considered a disaster in Chicago as their #1.

However, if you surround them with at least 2 other very good d-men like Petro & J-Bo or Forsling & Ekblad, then all of the sudden they shine because they are slotted correctly and don't have to do it all.

That's why Parayko looked so good for Canada at 4N. He was surrounded by very good to excellent d-men.
Let's hope he duplicates that again next month. Army can then sell high.
By the time we have 2 or 3 other really good d-men again, Parayko will be on the 18th hole.
BTW: Jones is actually a better all around d-man than Parayko. Jones plays in all situations.

CP55 would be a great add for any of these teams to be their #2 or #3 and make their top 4 dynamite:
Dallas has Heiskanen, Harley, and Lindell (all lefties)
Carolina has Slavin, Nikishin, and Miller (all lefties)
Ottawa has Sanderson, Chabot, and Zub (Chabot needs a better partner)
Vegas has Theodore & Hanifin (would be ironic if he took Petro's spot)

Carolina and Ottawa have the assets and are in the wide open East.
The Sens are also sitting on 2 good RHD prospects. They could also use Kyrou.

Army also must cash in his ticket on Faulk as many have stated.
Don't get recency bias and hold on to him.
I think we can get a 1st rounder for him.
Same with Schenn. I love the guy, but the time has come to move on from him.
Army blew it in June with Kyrou.

This will be 3 of the last 4 years that we miss the playoffs with these guys.
Acquire younger talent and picks to supplement our soon to be new younger core.
Yes, our right side will be weak for a couple of years, but you have to think macro.

I was pushing for the Blues to trade Saad 2-3 years ago and most disagreed. How did that play out?
He would have fetched at least a 2nd rounder. Not much you say? Better than nothing especially for a non playoff team.
Same with Buchnevich. A handful of us wanted him gone 3 years ago at his market top.
Now he is a rusty anchor that can't be retracted.

It's simple asset management.
You have to move on from most guys that currently have good trade value but aren't going to be here when we are ready to compete for a Cup again.

Trade Buch 3 years ago. 2 years after he gets here, a year after he puts up 76 points? Fans slaughter Army for trading Barbie after he leaves and goes on to have 45 and 50 point seasons. What happens when Buch goes for 60+? This isn't a video game. It's easy to say what you'd do, there are no repercussions for being wrong. These are people with teams of advisors, and careers on the line.

We're 3 points out of a playoff spot.

You want to ditch Schenn, Faulk, Parayko, and Buch. For picks

We won't see another playoff game this decade. Just on the D side, the last time we had 2 rookies on D at the same time was 2016 with Eddie and CP55. The guys surrounding them were Shatty, Jaybow, and Petro. All 3 went on to win cups, 2 with other teams. 2 of those 3 are Triple Gold. You want to go one further and feature a D Corps with 3 rookies and surround them with Broberg, Fowler, Tucker, and Kessel. That is how you become Buffalo. No thanks.

[TAFKAP]

According to this a lot of teams have four rookies:

https://www.poolexpert.com/en/gstat.asp ... lid=1&sp=2

That's cool. So if you look, a lot of them were cups of coffee. The arrow down at the last spot shows whether the player stuck or not. They have the Blues with 6 rookies. I forgot Kaskamaki and Skinner. Good for Montreal though. My point was not very many successful teams have 4 rookies taking big minutes in the NHL. There are more than i thought though. Thanks for the resource.

[TAFKAP]

I know I’ve said this before but thinking that the Blues as an organization can’t move on from Colton Parayko is mind boggling.

What type of return do you pull the trigger on? The MINIMUM you'd take to move him.

A 1st round pick, organizations best prospect, plus 2nd round pick. Something along those lines. Would prefer a dman as the prospect but I want the best prospect possible.
Of course this depends on the organization we would deal with as well…noting that some organizations best prospect might be like a #3 prospect for another team.

Ok, at that point I 100% agree. If that's the LEAST we get. I honestly don't believe a 30 something point 32 year old Dman brings that. That's why I say i'm against trading hm. CP55 is worth more than a late first and a JAG. Others talk like this is the offer we pull the trigger on. Nope. Let him retire a Blue if it's not a gross overpayment.

People know who Parayko is. He’s a large, good skating, shutdown defender who can PK, close out games and eat 22+ minutes. He is durable and has playoff/big game experience.

Lots of value in that.

Oh I agree, but do those intangibles get you,

"A 1st round pick, organizations best prospect, plus 2nd round pick. Something along those lines. Would prefer a dman as the prospect but I want the best prospect possible."

If so, jump on it. Again, anything less, he retires a Blue in my eyes.

[theograce]

I know I’ve said this before but thinking that the Blues as an organization can’t move on from Colton Parayko is mind boggling.

What type of return do you pull the trigger on? The MINIMUM you'd take to move him.

A 1st round pick, organizations best prospect, plus 2nd round pick. Something along those lines. Would prefer a dman as the prospect but I want the best prospect possible.
Of course this depends on the organization we would deal with as well…noting that some organizations best prospect might be like a #3 prospect for another team.

Ok, at that point I 100% agree. If that's the LEAST we get. I honestly don't believe a 30 something point 32 year old Dman brings that. That's why I say i'm against trading hm. CP55 is worth more than a late first and a JAG. Others talk like this is the offer we pull the trigger on. Nope. Let him retire a Blue if it's not a gross overpayment.

People know who Parayko is. He’s a large, good skating, shutdown defender who can PK, close out games and eat 22+ minutes. He is durable and has playoff/big game experience.

Lots of value in that.

Oh I agree, but do those intangibles get you,

"A 1st round pick, organizations best prospect, plus 2nd round pick. Something along those lines. Would prefer a dman as the prospect but I want the best prospect possible."

If so, jump on it. Again, anything less, he retires a Blue in my eyes.

I think that’s a little much. I’d look elsewhere if I was a contender. He’s 33 but still has some good years probably

See how he does in the Olympics

[aslord]

I'm never trading Parayko. He retires a Blue if I'm the GM. Half a season of poor performance isn't going to sway that. Especially if something else is going on with him that people aren't aware of. In a few weeks he will be a gold medallist and a SC winner.

[juan good eye]

I agree 100%

I equate Parayko to Seth Jones in the sense that neither guy is capable of being your top d-man.
CP55 has proven that here and Jones was considered a disaster in Chicago as their #1.

However, if you surround them with at least 2 other very good d-men like Petro & J-Bo or Forsling & Ekblad, then all of the sudden they shine because they are slotted correctly and don't have to do it all.

That's why Parayko looked so good for Canada at 4N. He was surrounded by very good to excellent d-men.
Let's hope he duplicates that again next month. Army can then sell high.
By the time we have 2 or 3 other really good d-men again, Parayko will be on the 18th hole.
BTW: Jones is actually a better all around d-man than Parayko. Jones plays in all situations.

CP55 would be a great add for any of these teams to be their #2 or #3 and make their top 4 dynamite:
Dallas has Heiskanen, Harley, and Lindell (all lefties)
Carolina has Slavin, Nikishin, and Miller (all lefties)
Ottawa has Sanderson, Chabot, and Zub (Chabot needs a better partner)
Vegas has Theodore & Hanifin (would be ironic if he took Petro's spot)

Carolina and Ottawa have the assets and are in the wide open East.
The Sens are also sitting on 2 good RHD prospects. They could also use Kyrou.

Army also must cash in his ticket on Faulk as many have stated.
Don't get recency bias and hold on to him.
I think we can get a 1st rounder for him.
Same with Schenn. I love the guy, but the time has come to move on from him.
Army blew it in June with Kyrou.

This will be 3 of the last 4 years that we miss the playoffs with these guys.
Acquire younger talent and picks to supplement our soon to be new younger core.
Yes, our right side will be weak for a couple of years, but you have to think macro.

I was pushing for the Blues to trade Saad 2-3 years ago and most disagreed. How did that play out?
He would have fetched at least a 2nd rounder. Not much you say? Better than nothing especially for a non playoff team.
Same with Buchnevich. A handful of us wanted him gone 3 years ago at his market top.
Now he is a rusty anchor that can't be retracted.

It's simple asset management.
You have to move on from most guys that currently have good trade value but aren't going to be here when we are ready to compete for a Cup again.

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

[Bacchk29]

I just don't know that I'm ready to sell on Faulk, I'm ready to turn it over to youth but man we gotta have something on d that gives these kids a chance to develop and succeed and we just don't have anything close on d.

Not only is it time to turn the page on Faulk, but its time to turn the page on Parayko as well. I’d rather hold onto Faulk for another year and get something of value for Parayko while we still can. Several guys need to go though.

I completely disagree, its time to move on from forwards but moving those d pieces just puts us in a giant hole that could take a decade to dig out of IMO.

Eventually Parayko will hold no value and the Blues will still be in the same boat. Why on earth would you want that? The biggest mistake a GM can make is holding on to depreciating asset too long which is what Parayko is at this point. You can set your future up so much better by moving him.
We are 7 years past our Cup run. We don’t need him anymore, he’s much more valuable to a team that’s close to a cup and willing to overpay for him.

Yup. Blues are going nowhere any time soon

You see no sense in waiting until someone is ready to replace him? I normally view your posts as level-headed and hockey-knowledgeable but this fails to sell me on the rationale. Right now a team should have to overwhelm the Blues with young top talent to poach Parayko and his very favorable contract.

He’s not as valuable and his contract never was favorable. 32 yr old D who has 0 goals in 42 games. It’s time to move on if he agrees to it.

[TAFKAP]

I just don't know that I'm ready to sell on Faulk, I'm ready to turn it over to youth but man we gotta have something on d that gives these kids a chance to develop and succeed and we just don't have anything close on d.

Not only is it time to turn the page on Faulk, but its time to turn the page on Parayko as well. I’d rather hold onto Faulk for another year and get something of value for Parayko while we still can. Several guys need to go though.

I completely disagree, its time to move on from forwards but moving those d pieces just puts us in a giant hole that could take a decade to dig out of IMO.

Eventually Parayko will hold no value and the Blues will still be in the same boat. Why on earth would you want that? The biggest mistake a GM can make is holding on to depreciating asset too long which is what Parayko is at this point. You can set your future up so much better by moving him.
We are 7 years past our Cup run. We don’t need him anymore, he’s much more valuable to a team that’s close to a cup and willing to overpay for him.

Yup. Blues are going nowhere any time soon

You see no sense in waiting until someone is ready to replace him? I normally view your posts as level-headed and hockey-knowledgeable but this fails to sell me on the rationale. Right now a team should have to overwhelm the Blues with young top talent to poach Parayko and his very favorable contract.

He’s not as valuable and his contract never was favorable. 32 yr old D who has 0 goals in 42 games. It’s time to move on if he agrees to it.

You do realize that Defensemen play Defense, yes? Let me guess, you want to blow it up, even at this point.

Buffalo just won 10 in a row! That's what we need!

They also won 10 in a row in 2018, they didn't make the playoffs that year either.

2011

[TheHighHat]

I agree 100%

I equate Parayko to Seth Jones in the sense that neither guy is capable of being your top d-man.
CP55 has proven that here and Jones was considered a disaster in Chicago as their #1.

However, if you surround them with at least 2 other very good d-men like Petro & J-Bo or Forsling & Ekblad, then all of the sudden they shine because they are slotted correctly and don't have to do it all.

That's why Parayko looked so good for Canada at 4N. He was surrounded by very good to excellent d-men.
Let's hope he duplicates that again next month. Army can then sell high.
By the time we have 2 or 3 other really good d-men again, Parayko will be on the 18th hole.
BTW: Jones is actually a better all around d-man than Parayko. Jones plays in all situations.

CP55 would be a great add for any of these teams to be their #2 or #3 and make their top 4 dynamite:
Dallas has Heiskanen, Harley, and Lindell (all lefties)
Carolina has Slavin, Nikishin, and Miller (all lefties)
Ottawa has Sanderson, Chabot, and Zub (Chabot needs a better partner)
Vegas has Theodore & Hanifin (would be ironic if he took Petro's spot)

Carolina and Ottawa have the assets and are in the wide open East.
The Sens are also sitting on 2 good RHD prospects. They could also use Kyrou.

Army also must cash in his ticket on Faulk as many have stated.
Don't get recency bias and hold on to him.
I think we can get a 1st rounder for him.
Same with Schenn. I love the guy, but the time has come to move on from him.
Army blew it in June with Kyrou.

This will be 3 of the last 4 years that we miss the playoffs with these guys.
Acquire younger talent and picks to supplement our soon to be new younger core.
Yes, our right side will be weak for a couple of years, but you have to think macro.

I was pushing for the Blues to trade Saad 2-3 years ago and most disagreed. How did that play out?
He would have fetched at least a 2nd rounder. Not much you say? Better than nothing especially for a non playoff team.
Same with Buchnevich. A handful of us wanted him gone 3 years ago at his market top.
Now he is a rusty anchor that can't be retracted.

It's simple asset management.
You have to move on from most guys that currently have good trade value but aren't going to be here when we are ready to compete for a Cup again.

Trade Buch 3 years ago. 2 years after he gets here, a year after he puts up 76 points? Fans slaughter Army for trading Barbie after he leaves and goes on to have 45 and 50 point seasons. What happens when Buch goes for 60+? This isn't a video game. It's easy to say what you'd do, there are no repercussions for being wrong. These are people with teams of advisors, and careers on the line.

Some of us recognized he was a dog back then even when he was actually productive.
I started a thread about him and was vilified then.
Theo & Miami were 2 posters that also shared my view at the time.
I'm wrong about a lot of things, but wasn't about Buch.

We're 3 points out of a playoff spot.

Yes, we still might make the playoffs, but I want to win the Cup again.
We're so far away.


You want to ditch Schenn, Faulk, Parayko, and Buch. For picks

LOL. The irony is that the 4 rookies you mentioned in the OP were all 1st round picks.
Stenberg was taken with the pick we got for ROR.

I want one of those RHD prospects from Ottawa plus a 1st for Parayko. I realize it won't happen though.
I would gladly take a first for Faulk and also Schenn. You would pass that up at their ages?
I mentioned that Buch is untradeable.


We won't see another playoff game this decade. Just on the D side, the last time we had 2 rookies on D at the same time was 2016 with Eddie and CP55. The guys surrounding them were Shatty, Jaybow, and Petro. All 3 went on to win cups, 2 with other teams. 2 of those 3 are Triple Gold. You want to go one further and feature a D Corps with 3 rookies and surround them with Broberg, Fowler, Tucker, and Kessel. That is how you become Buffalo. No thanks.

You can always sign a cheaper veteran d-man in the summer to hold hands. We'll still have Fowler.
It will also be time for Broberg to raise his game another level and help with a younger RHD partner.
He'll be 25 next season with well over 200 games under his belt including Cup final experience.

We're going to go thru pain for the next 3 years regardless.
Do you want to expedite the rebuild or kid yourself about being "competitive" while watching guys retire as Blues?
We're boring bad now.

Everyone needs to stop with the Buffalo talk whenever ever a rebuilding scenario is brought up.
Is every ownership and management as inept as them?
Just because they have constantly made poor decisions doesn't mean every team will that goes thru a rebuild.

I'm not nostalgic regarding players retiring as Blues.
I would never let a player retire here. I would always flip them for something
We're you guys upset that Federko didn't retire as a Blue? Or, was Oates a decent return?

[callitwhatyouwant]

I just don't know that I'm ready to sell on Faulk, I'm ready to turn it over to youth but man we gotta have something on d that gives these kids a chance to develop and succeed and we just don't have anything close on d.

Not only is it time to turn the page on Faulk, but its time to turn the page on Parayko as well. I’d rather hold onto Faulk for another year and get something of value for Parayko while we still can. Several guys need to go though.

I completely disagree, its time to move on from forwards but moving those d pieces just puts us in a giant hole that could take a decade to dig out of IMO.

I'm with you, if you are looking to make "tweaks or adjustments" it has to happen to the forward group. That's where the talent is coming up the pipeline in the immediacy. We are going to have a ton of cap here depending on what gets settled with Hollywood and Broberg. Seems like Broberg is going to be the costly guy. But blowing up the D core would be a mistake. Let the contracts run their course. Faulks will be up after next year and you can choose what to do with it after. Parayko and Fowlers will expire just in time for Lindstein Mailloux and Jiricek to be 24-26 years old. Broberg will be the vet of that group at 27. There's real continuity there where they get to age up with Hofer.

The forward group has a chance to be enhanced thru trade/FA because we have the cap. Younger guys are going to be taking the places of some of the 1-2 year contracts we have.

I love this thread tho. The Blues are a very interesting team atm. The blues are the 9th youngest team at the moment. And it appears that will keep trending younger over the next 2 seasons. I think last year got everyone ahead of their skis. The Blues should be targeting next year to start growing as a playoff team. Anything they get out of this year is a bonus. And at the moment, the bonus is that youth is being forced to play. And play big minutes. Stenberg getting all this 2 way PK time is wild. He's everything they have billed over the last 2 camps.

[TAFKAP]

I agree 100%

I equate Parayko to Seth Jones in the sense that neither guy is capable of being your top d-man.
CP55 has proven that here and Jones was considered a disaster in Chicago as their #1.

However, if you surround them with at least 2 other very good d-men like Petro & J-Bo or Forsling & Ekblad, then all of the sudden they shine because they are slotted correctly and don't have to do it all.

That's why Parayko looked so good for Canada at 4N. He was surrounded by very good to excellent d-men.
Let's hope he duplicates that again next month. Army can then sell high.
By the time we have 2 or 3 other really good d-men again, Parayko will be on the 18th hole.
BTW: Jones is actually a better all around d-man than Parayko. Jones plays in all situations.

CP55 would be a great add for any of these teams to be their #2 or #3 and make their top 4 dynamite:
Dallas has Heiskanen, Harley, and Lindell (all lefties)
Carolina has Slavin, Nikishin, and Miller (all lefties)
Ottawa has Sanderson, Chabot, and Zub (Chabot needs a better partner)
Vegas has Theodore & Hanifin (would be ironic if he took Petro's spot)

Carolina and Ottawa have the assets and are in the wide open East.
The Sens are also sitting on 2 good RHD prospects. They could also use Kyrou.

Army also must cash in his ticket on Faulk as many have stated.
Don't get recency bias and hold on to him.
I think we can get a 1st rounder for him.
Same with Schenn. I love the guy, but the time has come to move on from him.
Army blew it in June with Kyrou.

This will be 3 of the last 4 years that we miss the playoffs with these guys.
Acquire younger talent and picks to supplement our soon to be new younger core.
Yes, our right side will be weak for a couple of years, but you have to think macro.

I was pushing for the Blues to trade Saad 2-3 years ago and most disagreed. How did that play out?
He would have fetched at least a 2nd rounder. Not much you say? Better than nothing especially for a non playoff team.
Same with Buchnevich. A handful of us wanted him gone 3 years ago at his market top.
Now he is a rusty anchor that can't be retracted.

It's simple asset management.
You have to move on from most guys that currently have good trade value but aren't going to be here when we are ready to compete for a Cup again.

Trade Buch 3 years ago. 2 years after he gets here, a year after he puts up 76 points? Fans slaughter Army for trading Barbie after he leaves and goes on to have 45 and 50 point seasons. What happens when Buch goes for 60+? This isn't a video game. It's easy to say what you'd do, there are no repercussions for being wrong. These are people with teams of advisors, and careers on the line.

Some of us recognized he was a dog back then even when he was actually productive.
I started a thread about him and was vilified then.
Theo & Miami were 2 posters that also shared my view at the time.
I'm wrong about a lot of things, but wasn't about Buch.

We're 3 points out of a playoff spot.

Yes, we still might make the playoffs, but I want to win the Cup again.
We're so far away.


You want to ditch Schenn, Faulk, Parayko, and Buch. For picks

LOL. The irony is that the 4 rookies you mentioned in the OP were all 1st round picks.
Stenberg was taken with the pick we got for ROR.

I want one of those RHD prospects from Ottawa plus a 1st for Parayko. I realize it won't happen though.
I would gladly take a first for Faulk and also Schenn. You would pass that up at their ages?
I mentioned that Buch is untradeable.


We won't see another playoff game this decade. Just on the D side, the last time we had 2 rookies on D at the same time was 2016 with Eddie and CP55. The guys surrounding them were Shatty, Jaybow, and Petro. All 3 went on to win cups, 2 with other teams. 2 of those 3 are Triple Gold. You want to go one further and feature a D Corps with 3 rookies and surround them with Broberg, Fowler, Tucker, and Kessel. That is how you become Buffalo. No thanks.

You can always sign a cheaper veteran d-man in the summer to hold hands. We'll still have Fowler.
It will also be time for Broberg to raise his game another level and help with a younger RHD partner.
He'll be 25 next season with well over 200 games under his belt including Cup final experience.

We're going to go thru pain for the next 3 years regardless.
Do you want to expedite the rebuild or kid yourself about being "competitive" while watching guys retire as Blues?
We're boring bad now.

Everyone needs to stop with the Buffalo talk whenever ever a rebuilding scenario is brought up.
Is every ownership and management as inept as them?
Just because they have constantly made poor decisions doesn't mean every team will that goes thru a rebuild.

I'm not nostalgic regarding players retiring as Blues.
I would never let a player retire here. I would always flip them for something
We're you guys upset that Federko didn't retire as a Blue? Or, was Oates a decent return?

Federko retired before I knew who he was. I discovered the Blues my Junior/Senior year 1990-91. Oates didn't bother me because Janney became a 100 point center for Shanahan.

"I want one of those RHD prospects from Ottawa plus a 1st for Parayko. I realize it won't happen though." Does that mean you're not trading him for less?? I've already said I'd trade CP55 for a top prospect, 1st, and a 2nd. I've also said that won't happen so he retires a Blue. I'm against trading BOTH Faulk and CP55. If you can get a 1st and a QUALITY prospect for Faulk, I'd be ok with it. If you trade CP55 for an absolute haul, I'm less ok because we have nothing close to a #1 RHD, but, an absolute haul is not nothing. To compound it, trading the only other NHL quality RHD as well creates a MASSIVE hole, especially if there are injuries. It would make the "We don't want to block Dvorsky so we go 2C by committee" look like nothing.

I love the rookies, I love the prospects coming. I'm excited for the future. If the wheels fall off this year, I wouldn't be mad if we land a high pick. If we trade someone, ok. What I don't want to see is an evacuation of NHL caliber talent, leadership, and culture. It takes a decade to get it back. If the Canadiens make the playoffs this year, it will be, IMHO, the only team to tear it down and be successful in an appropriate time. Ducks 2017, Chicago 2018,Sharks 2019, Senators first appearance in 8 years last year. Montreal is an outlier, and it's still a long way until April.

[blues2112]

(The quotes re-quotes simply clog up the space.)

TAFKAP, agree with your assessments.

Stats can illustrate, but rarely educate. Canada picked him for Olympic team. Eye test, history, etc.

At 6.5 million as RHD, his contract is a bargain. And, if you move him, Faulk is 1RHD, Mailloux (?) is 2RHD, and XXXXX id 3RHD.

[TheHighHat]

I suppose it comes down to 2 opposing camps.
Macro: One camp is willing to hurt the current team to help the franchise long term.
Micro: The other camp is more worried about this year and next.

You just can't pass up a first rounder for a soon to be 34 year old #4 d-man.
Same goes for a degrading forward that will be 35 before the start of next season.
The question becomes: will they waive their right to be uprooted if approached?

The 26-27 season should be the year we usher in new younger leadership on (new captain) and off (Steen) the ice.

It will be interesting to watch if any teams (particularly in the East) step up early and acquire help before the TDL to try to get some separation in the jumbled standings.
It's amazing that only 11 points separate the 16 teams in the East at the half way point.

Most GM's will play it safe and wait to the TDL before deciding if they're buyers or sellers.
It's hard to gauge if any of the managers are on the hot seat.
Maybe Drury & Fitzgerald.
Yzerman must make a move, won't he?

Out West all eyes are on Craig Conroy.
Andersson & Kadri are his chips.

It might be a dud at the TDL because of the lack of sellers.
Low supply + high demand equals big price tag.

[BleedingBleu]

I just don't know that I'm ready to sell on Faulk, I'm ready to turn it over to youth but man we gotta have something on d that gives these kids a chance to develop and succeed and we just don't have anything close on d.

Not only is it time to turn the page on Faulk, but its time to turn the page on Parayko as well. I’d rather hold onto Faulk for another year and get something of value for Parayko while we still can. Several guys need to go though.

Parayko really frustrates me. Got the talent, got the howitzer shot, but rarely uses it. Reminds me a bit of TJ Oshie, who acknowledged that the trade to Washington woke him up, made him a better player, and made him realize that he wasn’t giving his all with the Blues.

Don’t know if it’s a similar “mental/compete” problem with Parayko, or if it’s physical and his back is giving him trouble again.

All that said, I really root for CP, because I think he is a great guy. (Maybe too nice?)

Regarding Faulk, he’s exactly who he is. Offensively minded defenseman who isn’t particularly good on defense. Heck, I often think he should be a right winger.

My guess is it has to be something physical with Colton. He really turned the corner these past 2 seasons and was finally looking like the guy we'd all hoped he'd become. He was a shell of himself when he played through the back injury. I'm sure he's doing the same thing now.

It's maddening that guys play through injury to the point they're so bad they're actually hurting their team and yet, they think being a gamer and playing through it is what haelps the team. Just makes you want to scream.

Yet, him injured is still better than his replacement.

This franchise is not loaded with Defensemen (yet). Their stocks are in college or OHL. Skinner & Kessel are serviceable as a 7th D-Man, but if you remove Parayko and shift the lines to align with the current depth chart, suddenly you have those guys AND Mailloux more exposed than they already are.

At that point, the strategy isn’t to win games, it’s to make it to the finish line.

Also, let’s not act like Parayko is the only one underperforming. I’m not so sure Cam Fowler doing any better than Colt55. I’m not sure what happened to him, but if we think Parayko is playing injured, then what’s Cam doing?

Personally, I’d rather keep a veteran Defenseman whose been here and won a Cup to guide the next gen over the veterans who haven’t.

[zamadoo]

(avoiding quote clogging) I agree with many of your points on this page of the thread.

When you put it together, macro, micro, Blues vs all NHL teams, it seems our best case scenario is some sort of in-season hockey trade. I think we got our Fowler-like additions in Berggren and Fabbri.

I don't think they will trade Schenn, at least not in-season. Does Steen not want him as Captain? Or would Army do him a favor and trade him before taking over?

Parayko and Faulk are veteran leaders playing a premium position. If you move them, you have to get someone to replace them in the top-4. Could be multiple moves over time between now and the start of next season.

With the standings the way they are and the history of this team, it's more likely we hold or make a hockey trade before the break than it is we sell veteran players at premium positions. Then, if we are looking dead after the break, Army will sell someone at the TDL with more willing takers and higher bidding.

But, if Parayko and Fowler pick up their game here, along with Binner getting hot and Hofer remaining solid, and overall team health, we could be looking to win. I'm reminded of the Stastny trade. Good Gravy...That is the same trade stem as Faulk (Bokk), so we might as well keep the train moving along here and try to do better than Bokk this time around

[Old_Goat]

I just don't know that I'm ready to sell on Faulk, I'm ready to turn it over to youth but man we gotta have something on d that gives these kids a chance to develop and succeed and we just don't have anything close on d.

Not only is it time to turn the page on Faulk, but its time to turn the page on Parayko as well. I’d rather hold onto Faulk for another year and get something of value for Parayko while we still can. Several guys need to go though.

I completely disagree, its time to move on from forwards but moving those d pieces just puts us in a giant hole that could take a decade to dig out of IMO.

Those are my thoughts as well.
But I will say -- and take into account that I have really not watched Lindstein, so I'm just going by reports that I have read here, etc. -- I would consider moving-on from Kessel and bringing up Lindstein. Play him every other game, or so with experienced D-man and watch from above to absorb & reinforce lessons as well as of the extra attention exposure in practices. If necessary, maybe Fowler could play the offhand RHD with him if that works better for the other two D-pairings and you want Tucker in lineup instead of Mailloux for that game?