What is Toronto going to do?

[Backesdraft]

Is anyone else fascinated by what is happening? Hate the Leafs or love ‘em but they’re going to be a very interesting team to watch come trade deadline. Have lost 6 in a row; 2nd worst winning % in the East, tied for 2nd worst in points. They’re the only team in my estimation who is leaving through as disappointing a season as the Blues.

Be really interesting to see what sort of moves they may or may not make once everyone is back from the Olympics.

[TruBlueFan_1970]

For once, they may do nothing. Big hill to climb. I said in another thread that the East is wide open with the likes of the Leafs, Caps and Panthers looking like long shots to make the show. Those three teams scare people.

[BalotelliMassive]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

[Backesdraft]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

He reminds me of Brett Hull a little bit. Huge numbers but really beat served when he’s surrounded by good supporting players as opposed to having to be the man. Hull couldn’t win until he went to Dallas and Detroit where he was playing 2nd line minutes in some instances and wasn’t so heavily relied upon to do it all himself.

Not that I’m saying Toronto should or would trade Matthews…

[callitwhatyouwant]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

He reminds me of Brett Hull a little bit. Huge numbers but really beat served when he’s surrounded by good supporting players as opposed to having to be the man. Hull couldn’t win until he went to Dallas and Detroit where he was playing 2nd line minutes in some instances and wasn’t so heavily relied upon to do it all himself.

Not that I’m saying Toronto should or would trade Matthews…

Hull not winning had very little to do with Hull. He was a PPG and above player for most of his playoffs with the Blues. I didn't get to witness the early days, but those late 90s Blues teams had bad luck with Goalie stuff. And the infamous Gretzky play. Not to mention some goofy roster moves when the team was entering their prime. Hully got caught in a whirlwind of bad luck. Could you imagine what it would have looked like if we wouldn't have had Keenan? Pronger and big Al come in. Demitra on roster. The Blues would have been cooking in 98-99. They should have been cooking in 94-95 from what I'm told.

[BluesDom]

They need Nylander back or they are toast.

[Harry S Deals]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

He reminds me of Brett Hull a little bit. Huge numbers but really beat served when he’s surrounded by good supporting players as opposed to having to be the man. Hull couldn’t win until he went to Dallas and Detroit where he was playing 2nd line minutes in some instances and wasn’t so heavily relied upon to do it all himself.

Not that I’m saying Toronto should or would trade Matthews…

Hull not winning had very little to do with Hull. He was a PPG and above player for most of his playoffs with the Blues. I didn't get to witness the early days, but those late 90s Blues teams had bad luck with Goalie stuff. And the infamous Gretzky play. Not to mention some goofy roster moves when the team was entering their prime. Hully got caught in a whirlwind of bad luck. Could you imagine what it would have looked like if we wouldn't have had Keenan? Pronger and big Al come in. Demitra on roster. The Blues would have been cooking in 98-99. They should have been cooking in 94-95 from what I'm told.

Yep, bad goalie play and a lot of injuries a lot odd rosters too

[Younghopp1991]

It woukd be funny if toronto finished top 10 this year and kept their pick.
Then next season be worse and boston get a top 5-10 pick next year. That Toronto pick from Boston would be a great lottery pick if you are confident Toronto finishes bottom 10.

[Backesdraft]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

He reminds me of Brett Hull a little bit. Huge numbers but really beat served when he’s surrounded by good supporting players as opposed to having to be the man. Hull couldn’t win until he went to Dallas and Detroit where he was playing 2nd line minutes in some instances and wasn’t so heavily relied upon to do it all himself.

Not that I’m saying Toronto should or would trade Matthews…

Hull not winning had very little to do with Hull. He was a PPG and above player for most of his playoffs with the Blues. I didn't get to witness the early days, but those late 90s Blues teams had bad luck with Goalie stuff. And the infamous Gretzky play. Not to mention some goofy roster moves when the team was entering their prime. Hully got caught in a whirlwind of bad luck. Could you imagine what it would have looked like if we wouldn't have had Keenan? Pronger and big Al come in. Demitra on roster. The Blues would have been cooking in 98-99. They should have been cooking in 94-95 from what I'm told.

Oh I wasn’t blaming Hull at all, just to be clear. Just pointing out what I see as a similarity or two.

[Old_Goat]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

He reminds me of Brett Hull a little bit. Huge numbers but really beat served when he’s surrounded by good supporting players as opposed to having to be the man. Hull couldn’t win until he went to Dallas and Detroit where he was playing 2nd line minutes in some instances and wasn’t so heavily relied upon to do it all himself.

Not that I’m saying Toronto should or would trade Matthews…

Hull not winning had very little to do with Hull. He was a PPG and above player for most of his playoffs with the Blues. I didn't get to witness the early days, but those late 90s Blues teams had bad luck with Goalie stuff. And the infamous Gretzky play. Not to mention some goofy roster moves when the team was entering their prime. Hully got caught in a whirlwind of bad luck. Could you imagine what it would have looked like if we wouldn't have had Keenan? Pronger and big Al come in. Demitra on roster. The Blues would have been cooking in 98-99. They should have been cooking in 94-95 from what I'm told.

For Toronto, I have no idea what they will do.
But for the Blues, it all goes way back to the Mike Shanahanegins' tampering with Stevens followed by doing so with Brendan Shanahan, trading Oates, hiring Keenan. All of that and without a 1st-Round draft pick for 5 straight years leaves you chasing your tail for a long time. It's practically miraculous that the Blues won the President's Trophy in 2000. But the organization still was churning underneath.
By the way, after Craig Janney, if you don't count two months of Gretzky, the only elite Center we have had since then is Pierre Turgeon.

[TheJackBurton]

It woukd be funny if toronto finished top 10 this year and kept their pick.
Then next season be worse and boston get a top 5-10 pick next year. That Toronto pick from Boston would be a great lottery pick if you are confident Toronto finishes bottom 10.

If they should finish in a position to draft a top 10 this year you have to keep it.

I know you weren't saying it, but no way you expect to finish that low again next year. If you do, you do, but you certainly don't let a top 10 pick go this year because of something that might or might not happen.

[TheJackBurton]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

He reminds me of Brett Hull a little bit. Huge numbers but really beat served when he’s surrounded by good supporting players as opposed to having to be the man. Hull couldn’t win until he went to Dallas and Detroit where he was playing 2nd line minutes in some instances and wasn’t so heavily relied upon to do it all himself.

Not that I’m saying Toronto should or would trade Matthews…

Hull not winning had very little to do with Hull. He was a PPG and above player for most of his playoffs with the Blues. I didn't get to witness the early days, but those late 90s Blues teams had bad luck with Goalie stuff. And the infamous Gretzky play. Not to mention some goofy roster moves when the team was entering their prime. Hully got caught in a whirlwind of bad luck. Could you imagine what it would have looked like if we wouldn't have had Keenan? Pronger and big Al come in. Demitra on roster. The Blues would have been cooking in 98-99. They should have been cooking in 94-95 from what I'm told.

For Toronto, I have no idea what they will do.
But for the Blues, it all goes way back to the Mike Shanahanegins' tampering with Stevens followed by doing so with Brendan Shanahan, trading Oates, hiring Keenan. All of that and without a 1st-Round draft pick for 5 straight years leaves you chasing your tail for a long time. It's practically miraculous that the Blues won the President's Trophy in 2000. But the organization still was churning underneath.
By the way, after Craig Janney, if you don't count two months of Gretzky, the only elite Center we have had since then is Pierre Turgeon.

Going after Stevens was in fact the correct move, going after Shanahan without insuring you had the proper compensation was the wrong move.

Oates forced his way out because of his constant contract demands and crying like a (buzz) about his pay.

Yep you are correct about our center situation however. Doug Weight should have been that but his hip injury prevented him being for us what he was in Edmonton.

[Old_Goat]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

He reminds me of Brett Hull a little bit. Huge numbers but really beat served when he’s surrounded by good supporting players as opposed to having to be the man. Hull couldn’t win until he went to Dallas and Detroit where he was playing 2nd line minutes in some instances and wasn’t so heavily relied upon to do it all himself.

Not that I’m saying Toronto should or would trade Matthews…

Hull not winning had very little to do with Hull. He was a PPG and above player for most of his playoffs with the Blues. I didn't get to witness the early days, but those late 90s Blues teams had bad luck with Goalie stuff. And the infamous Gretzky play. Not to mention some goofy roster moves when the team was entering their prime. Hully got caught in a whirlwind of bad luck. Could you imagine what it would have looked like if we wouldn't have had Keenan? Pronger and big Al come in. Demitra on roster. The Blues would have been cooking in 98-99. They should have been cooking in 94-95 from what I'm told.

For Toronto, I have no idea what they will do.
But for the Blues, it all goes way back to the Mike Shanahanegins' tampering with Stevens followed by doing so with Brendan Shanahan, trading Oates, hiring Keenan. All of that and without a 1st-Round draft pick for 5 straight years leaves you chasing your tail for a long time. It's practically miraculous that the Blues won the President's Trophy in 2000. But the organization still was churning underneath.
By the way, after Craig Janney, if you don't count two months of Gretzky, the only elite Center we have had since then is Pierre Turgeon.

Going after Stevens was in fact the correct move, going after Shanahan without insuring you had the proper compensation was the wrong move.

Oates forced his way out because of his constant contract demands and crying like a (A female canine animal, especially a dog) about his pay.

Yep you are correct about our center situation however. Doug Weight should have been that but his hip injury prevented him being for us what he was in Edmonton.

Yes. Good point that you clarify. Stevens was an outstanding move, and it was within the boundaries of the rules. It was indeed the Shanahan signing situation that caused the league to punish us by forcing us to give Stevens to New Jersey.
And yes you are correct about the Oates situation. He signed a contract, that's life...his agent let him down, then kept Oates stirred up. It became a BIG, bad distraction. I was frustrated with Oates at the time and completely understood the unfair stance his agent and he were taking. It would have been a bad precedent for any team to cave on. And when we traded for Janney, that was a fantastic get...EXCEPT the chemistry with Hull wasn't there and the fan reaction was understandably bad too. Janney's stick-handling was almost on an Alexei Kovalev level, but Oates was a better skater. It was a tough situation. I'm still not sure how else the Blues could have resolved the issue with Oates and his agent. Intangibles can really be important and so hard to quantify.

[noted]

Is anyone else fascinated by what is happening? Hate the Leafs or love ‘em but they’re going to be a very interesting team to watch come trade deadline. Have lost 6 in a row; 2nd worst winning % in the East, tied for 2nd worst in points. They’re the only team in my estimation who is leaving through as disappointing a season as the Blues.

Be really interesting to see what sort of moves they may or may not make once everyone is back from the Olympics.

How will they be interesting? They have very little valuable pieces to trade.

[ManitobaBlues]

Goaltending and Defense has always been horrible for them, but Nylander and Tanev out does not help them. Love to see Matthews as a Blue

[somni]

I knew that team would never win anything with Matthews during his 70 goal season - he played hurt to hit that number and then missed games in the playoffs because he was too hurt to play.

He reminds me of Brett Hull a little bit. Huge numbers but really beat served when he’s surrounded by good supporting players as opposed to having to be the man. Hull couldn’t win until he went to Dallas and Detroit where he was playing 2nd line minutes in some instances and wasn’t so heavily relied upon to do it all himself.

Not that I’m saying Toronto should or would trade Matthews…

Hull not winning had very little to do with Hull. He was a PPG and above player for most of his playoffs with the Blues. I didn't get to witness the early days, but those late 90s Blues teams had bad luck with Goalie stuff. And the infamous Gretzky play. Not to mention some goofy roster moves when the team was entering their prime. Hully got caught in a whirlwind of bad luck. Could you imagine what it would have looked like if we wouldn't have had Keenan? Pronger and big Al come in. Demitra on roster. The Blues would have been cooking in 98-99. They should have been cooking in 94-95 from what I'm told.

As much as I despise the man, Pronger was a Blue because of Keenan. Not sure if Shanahan would've been traded being so popular. But fun to think how dynamic the Blues would've been with Shanny staying long term.