Mails shouldn’t be in the NHL right now

[Ziggy3]

I'll weigh in on Mailloux after another 150 NHL games haha

Texted my buddy from Montreal who is a huge Habs fan to ask how he thinks the trade is panning out - for what it's worth, his response:

"Mailloux will be great if he can figure it out - no guarantee though. Bolduc has show flashes but also clearly needs to develop. Pretty even at this point still I think."

Man....he nailed it....and coming from a Habs fan means something.

Meh... I have to respectfully disagree. Bolduc's going through another of his cold spells, but a sophomore slump is never surprising no matter how skilled the player. TBS, he's at least helped his team win some games.

Literally not one game can anyone say, "Ohhhh....baby, Logan "Mailed" us a victory on that night!"

Okay, actually, no one should ever say that.

I don't think there are any games where you can point to LM being the reason we won, but there were 2 games a month ago back to back where he looked really good. Very noticeable on both ends of the ice and it was actually impressive he didn't register a point because he was that good in the Ozone. He then went and had another terrible game the 3rd game and got the bench after it. I can only remember the game because Joey was singing his praises at the exact time I was like "o this guy is looking good." Then JR said something to Monty after and he applauded him as well. But it was almost automatic that he was going to have another -3 or whatever it was the next game.

Did he look exceptional, though? Or just competent? Not trying to pick on you, and I'm asking honestly, because I've watched most of the games and maybe I missed those, but I haven't seen anything exceptional yet. He has definitely improved in his competency, but IMO it is unusual to see so little in the way of flashes of exceptional play from a player with all the skillset and potential he's purported to have.

I'd do a little mental experiment; if you had no idea where he was drafted, or that he was an AHL all-star or anything, what would you honestly think of him? Just from the eye-test, would you guess at this point that he was a 1st round draft pick, or an AHL all-star? I wouldn't. I'd be more likely to wonder why this guy was playing over someone like Skinner, or even Kessel some nights. What stands out? His composure? Definitely not. His shot? I don't think I would know a thing about his shot if I didn't hear a dozen times from Vitale how he's got a "cannon." But so far I've mostly only heard about it. Maybe his skating would be the thing I'd notice, but only in the sense that he moves well for his size. I can't recall seeing a single Broberg-esque rush or outstanding play he's made to evade pressure with his feet.

He just hasn't made me sit forward in my seat at all yet. That's concerning to me. Yeah, he's in a bad situation, but where's the silver-lining to the almost literally league-worst stats? I don't even need whole games, just some shifts here and there that make me think, "ok, here's what we're hoping for." I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that right now.

all good points, to be honest, the couple things that pop out to me the most about him outside of just physical stature is he tends to make good plays on the boards especially when he utilizes his reach with the 1 arm poke/jam plays in the defensive zone. That seems to stand out a lot and it's clearly being coached because the whole defensive core does it to some degree. The other stand out attribute is he isn't afraid to muck it up. Outside of tucker, we don't really have that guy on defense doing that. And for a young guy who is learning and like you said, struggling at the moment, it's nice to see he has some bite to his game.

For the latter about kessel and or skinner? I can say with 100 percent certainty, any time I see kessel and tucker in the lineup together, it's a bit infuriating. That ship has sailed. They have both had multiple seasons (3) to prove their nhl capabilities. While they might one day have their mikkola turnaround, I just don't see it happening in a Blues uniform. I can get on board with 1 of them in the lineup. And they both have shown flashes. But it's very apparent when they both are in the lineup, its going to be a struggle bus. They absolutely cannot move the puck out of our own end. And we have the data to back that up.

My guys thru the farm system over the last 4-5 years that I have been waiting on and excited to watch wear the note. Bolduc (no longer with us) Snuggy and Lindstein. If LM doesn't make it, he doesn't make it.

All fair points, but just to be clear I'm not clamoring for guys like Kessel and Skinner to play; I was just making the point that if for all I knew they had equal pedigree to LM, I'd wonder why he was playing over them. I would guess that he was a similar prospect to them just judging by the eye-test.

[Ziggy3]

I'll weigh in on Mailloux after another 150 NHL games haha

Texted my buddy from Montreal who is a huge Habs fan to ask how he thinks the trade is panning out - for what it's worth, his response:

"Mailloux will be great if he can figure it out - no guarantee though. Bolduc has show flashes but also clearly needs to develop. Pretty even at this point still I think."

Man....he nailed it....and coming from a Habs fan means something.

Meh... I have to respectfully disagree. Bolduc's going through another of his cold spells, but a sophomore slump is never surprising no matter how skilled the player. TBS, he's at least helped his team win some games.

Literally not one game can anyone say, "Ohhhh....baby, Logan "Mailed" us a victory on that night!"

Okay, actually, no one should ever say that.

I don't think there are any games where you can point to LM being the reason we won, but there were 2 games a month ago back to back where he looked really good. Very noticeable on both ends of the ice and it was actually impressive he didn't register a point because he was that good in the Ozone. He then went and had another terrible game the 3rd game and got the bench after it. I can only remember the game because Joey was singing his praises at the exact time I was like "o this guy is looking good." Then JR said something to Monty after and he applauded him as well. But it was almost automatic that he was going to have another -3 or whatever it was the next game.

Did he look exceptional, though? Or just competent? Not trying to pick on you, and I'm asking honestly, because I've watched most of the games and maybe I missed those, but I haven't seen anything exceptional yet. He has definitely improved in his competency, but IMO it is unusual to see so little in the way of flashes of exceptional play from a player with all the skillset and potential he's purported to have.

I'd do a little mental experiment; if you had no idea where he was drafted, or that he was an AHL all-star or anything, what would you honestly think of him? Just from the eye-test, would you guess at this point that he was a 1st round draft pick, or an AHL all-star? I wouldn't. I'd be more likely to wonder why this guy was playing over someone like Skinner, or even Kessel some nights. What stands out? His composure? Definitely not. His shot? I don't think I would know a thing about his shot if I didn't hear a dozen times from Vitale how he's got a "cannon." But so far I've mostly only heard about it. Maybe his skating would be the thing I'd notice, but only in the sense that he moves well for his size. I can't recall seeing a single Broberg-esque rush or outstanding play he's made to evade pressure with his feet.

He just hasn't made me sit forward in my seat at all yet. That's concerning to me. Yeah, he's in a bad situation, but where's the silver-lining to the almost literally league-worst stats? I don't even need whole games, just some shifts here and there that make me think, "ok, here's what we're hoping for." I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that right now.

100%. We are seeing the same thing. I keep seeing everyone say that he has shown flashes of "great" or of what his potential could be, but I frankly have not seen them. He has gotten better than complete liability like he was at first but no way I have seen him do anything I would really describe as "great". You put it perfectly. If we were seeing these flashes of offensive prowess he purportedly has, it would be a lot easier to stomach the undeniably putrid numbers.

Further up in thread people were saying that no one has been critical of Tucker and that LM is clearly better. I disagree on both. Tucker has not been good and plenty of people have pointed that out. But, though he has been bad, his numbers are much better than Mailloux's. From any objective basis, Tucker has been the better player this year and not by a small margin and Kessel has been better than both in his limited time.

Oh I've been critical of Tucker, and I'll do it again right now--he sucks.

He was way oversold coming off last season (including by the Blues own coaching staff, I have to presume). He had a decent playoffs until he got hurt, but I still contend no one would've thought so much of him had he not scored that nice, clutch one-timer goal (don't remember which game). As OK as he's played in stints here and there, his deficiencies have always been glaring, foremost being that he has the speed and agility of a garbage truck. I do like his toughness and grit, but he's not much of an imposing physical presence either.

He's a 7th Dman, and only a mediocre one at that, and the fact that they penciled him in as a regular with LM coming on board is just nuts to me.

[Bluesfan1978]

3rd period last game Mailbox made a couple quick transition plays that the other D aren't making. As far as offence i have no doubt they want him concentrating on his defence first. It also doesn't help when every second game you play the goalies struggle to make a save. He has looked better since his last scratch. If he can improve this much again by the end of his 1st full season he will probably be a regular.

[fish]

It’s kind of funny that people go on and on on here about how the Blues should get rid of the vets and just play the kids and then they complain when the youngsters play like youngsters

[dhsux]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

[callitwhatyouwant]

It’s kind of funny that people go on and on on here about how the Blues should get rid of the vets and just play the kids and then they complain when the youngsters play like youngsters

It's one of the most mystifying things on this board as well as the reddit forum. People will scream "tank tank tank" and then when young guys are playing they will be critical of young plays like you said. The even funnier thing is when someone is playing well like a Faulk, they say "trade him!" So they want the team to be bad, but when bad things happen they get so upset.

Also, what do people think a tank looks like? This team has been injury ridden all season and not just auxiliary players but core pieces. Neighbours/Thomas/Suter/Snuggy/Bjug/Walker/Joseph/Broberg/Kyrou I mean that list just keeps going. When there are that many people out of a lineup, it very much resembles what a tanking season looks like. This is what people want, yet they want more? If anything, an accidental tank where the team can rebound the next year because they can chalk it up to injury and bad luck is some of the best case scenario stuff you can get.

[skilles]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

I certainly didn't lack patience with any of those players. They are gone because of the choices of Armstrong.

There are no 2 ways about it, he grossly mismanaged this teams d

[Bacchk29]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

I certainly didn't lack patience with any of those players. They are gone because of the choices of Armstrong.

There are no 2 ways about it, he grossly mismanaged this teams d

Absolutely! It was Army’s choice to not protect Dunn and protect Sundqvist in the Seattle draft. Walman or Mikkola have bounced around before they stuck with a team.

[theograce]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

I certainly didn't lack patience with any of those players. They are gone because of the choices of Armstrong.

There are no 2 ways about it, he grossly mismanaged this teams d

Absolutely! It was Army’s choice to not protect Dunn and protect Sundqvist in the Seattle draft. Walman or Mikkola have bounced around before they stuck with a team.

Terrible decisions on Faulk/Krug as well. 90 mil lol

[blackinkbiz]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

I certainly didn't lack patience with any of those players. They are gone because of the choices of Armstrong.

There are no 2 ways about it, he grossly mismanaged this teams d

Absolutely! It was Army’s choice to not protect Dunn and protect Sundqvist in the Seattle draft. Walman or Mikkola have bounced around before they stuck with a team.

Terrible decisions on Faulk/Krug as well. 90 mil lol

Ugg, Vince Dunn, basically the poor man's version of Makar, and I mean that in a very good way. He would have likely led this team's D core in scoring over the last 5 years but the Blues said they wanted size back then... and then they got Krug.

Alright this thread's getting depressing.

Might be time to Mail it in.

[Ziggy3]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

I certainly didn't lack patience with any of those players. They are gone because of the choices of Armstrong.

There are no 2 ways about it, he grossly mismanaged this teams d

What's more, I can remember immediately seeing the plus attributes of all of those guys, even while they certainly had growing pains. Mikkola was big and had some nasty, and he was impressively poised and patient with the puck for a rookie. Walman stood out with his straightline speed and heavy shot, and his willingness to use it. And Dunn was at times so offensively dynamic that I remember wishing they would convert him to a winger, especially when he was making all kinds of defensive mistakes.

Just some contrast to compare to what I don't feel like I've seen (yet) with LM.

[somni]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

I certainly didn't lack patience with any of those players. They are gone because of the choices of Armstrong.

There are no 2 ways about it, he grossly mismanaged this teams d

Absolutely! It was Army’s choice to not protect Dunn and protect Sundqvist in the Seattle draft. Walman or Mikkola have bounced around before they stuck with a team.

You couldn't swap out Dunn with Sundqvist. The rules were teams could protect eight skaters and a goaltender, or seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goaltender. Who else are you going to take off the list than just Sundqvist?

[blues2112]

It’s kind of funny that people go on and on on here about how the Blues should get rid of the vets and just play the kids and then they complain when the youngsters play like youngsters

Bank!!!!

As for Mailloux, he's played less than half of a season. Give him a chance.

To illustrate, if he has a 500-game career, he's played less than 8 percent of it.

[MiamiLaw]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

I certainly didn't lack patience with any of those players. They are gone because of the choices of Armstrong.

There are no 2 ways about it, he grossly mismanaged this teams d

Absolutely! It was Army’s choice to not protect Dunn and protect Sundqvist in the Seattle draft. Walman or Mikkola have bounced around before they stuck with a team.

You couldn't swap out Dunn with Sundqvist. The rules were teams could protect eight skaters and a goaltender, or seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goaltender. Who else are you going to take off the list than just Sundqvist?

Krug should have been exposed. Army had some beef going on with Dunn's agent and I really think it clouded his judgment on Dunn.

[MiamiLaw]

It’s kind of funny that people go on and on on here about how the Blues should get rid of the vets and just play the kids and then they complain when the youngsters play like youngsters

Very few are complaining that Mailloux is getting playing time in and of itself. But there clearly seem to be very differing views on how he has looked to date and how that compares to past players and his peers at this same stage.

[skilles]

Tucker should be better than Mailloux right now, as should Kessel.

It's not the point but it actually proves the point.

Is Mailloux progressing or not? Can he continue, game to game week to week? In time...an appropriate period of time....will his dominating attributes come to fruition...or not.

Step one.....he is definitely progressing with his game. I've recently seen enough Blue defenders get trashed here and become mainstay players elsewhere because of a total lack of patience....Mikkola, Dunn, Walman and ALL given far more time and were still disregarded on this board by the impatient.

To say nothing of 39 games.

I certainly didn't lack patience with any of those players. They are gone because of the choices of Armstrong.

There are no 2 ways about it, he grossly mismanaged this teams d

Absolutely! It was Army’s choice to not protect Dunn and protect Sundqvist in the Seattle draft. Walman or Mikkola have bounced around before they stuck with a team.

You couldn't swap out Dunn with Sundqvist. The rules were teams could protect eight skaters and a goaltender, or seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goaltender. Who else are you going to take off the list than just Sundqvist?

Krug should have been exposed. Army had some beef going on with Dunn's agent and I really think it clouded his judgment on Dunn.

Krug should have never been here in the first place.