Hoefer, Snuggs and Neighbors need to be extended/signed.

[Ventomiglia]

Hello Guys,

Sorry the last month was tough as I lost my mother and have been focused on that and missed the draft.

I believe they are on the right course with the center selections and the youth movement. The salary cap and these signings are crazy.

I think we need to lock up Snuggs, Hoefer and Neighbors now before next season as the costs will still be going up.

What are your predictions?

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

[hornetfb52]

Very sorry to hear about your mother. Hope your family is doing well.

100% agree that Hofer and Snuggerud.
And I’m 90% in agreement on Neighbours. Like him a lot and want him to be a blue, but I would put him a tier below the other two. Still want to see more out of JN before giving a boatload of money.

[Ventomiglia]

Thanks for the kind words!

I know Snuggerud is not Roberson, but I see a 30 plus season on that line and I think getting him along the same as Holloway 7.5-7.9 sounds great. I know projections are higher.

Hoefer needs 6.8-7.9 Mil and the former is a 100% raise

Would also like to lock up the captain to a 5-6 mil deal for a 3-4 years. His scoring will come with the physical skills.

I am on the fence about McMichael and the three above are part of the core.

I like Nikushin and would love to incorporate for Fowler, and a pick, but they want us to take back a lessor Buch at 4.5 mil in the deal.

[St. Charles Bronson]

Yeah, I would like to see these guys extended because I don't think any of them are going to be cheaper than they are right now. All three are capable (and likely) of taking steps forward next season.

[Web7]

So sorry for your loss…I agree they need to sign these guys soon

[JR1]

Thanks for the kind words!

I know Snuggerud is not Roberson, but I see a 30 plus season on that line and I think getting him along the same as Holloway 7.5-7.9 sounds great. I know projections are higher.

Hoefer needs 6.8-7.9 Mil and the former is a 100% raise

Would also like to lock up the captain to a 5-6 mil deal for a 3-4 years. His scoring will come with the physical skills.

I am on the fence about McMichael and the three above are part of the core.

I like Nikushin and would love to incorporate for Fowler, and a pick, but they want us to take back a lessor Buch at 4.5 mil in the deal.

I might have missed it. Did the Blues name a captain?

[netboy65]

Conversely the players and their agents knows costs are going up so they might not be willing to do so.
In the case of Snuggy you have him under control for a while still so you just pay him what you have to.

[skilles]

Conversely the players and their agents knows costs are going up so they might not be willing to do so.
In the case of Snuggy you have him under control for a while still so you just pay him what you have to.

That is quickly becoming a very bad idea, We need to get Snuggy locked up for 8 years as soon as possible.

[netboy65]

Conversely the players and their agents knows costs are going up so they might not be willing to do so.
In the case of Snuggy you have him under control for a while still so you just pay him what you have to.

That is quickly becoming a very bad idea, We need to get Snuggy locked up for 8 years as soon as possible.

That’s my point. Why would he want to be locked up? Could Thomas not be making more right now if he didn’t choose to take the long deal?
I want to get them under wraps too, just saying guys might be so willing to buy out those years anymore.

[skilles]

Conversely the players and their agents knows costs are going up so they might not be willing to do so.
In the case of Snuggy you have him under control for a while still so you just pay him what you have to.

That is quickly becoming a very bad idea, We need to get Snuggy locked up for 8 years as soon as possible.

That’s my point. Why would he want to be locked up? Could Thomas not be making more right now if he didn’t choose to take the long deal?
I want to get them under wraps too, just saying guys might be so willing to buy out those years anymore.

Well for me if I'm him its about guaranteed "forever money" as soon as I cant get it. I'd take 8x8 in a heartbeat as 64 million guaranteed right now means a LOT more to me than maybe 100 million later.

[BleedingBleu]

Hello Guys,

Sorry the last month was tough as I lost my mother and have been focused on that and missed the draft.

I believe they are on the right course with the center selections and the youth movement. The salary cap and these signings are crazy.

I think we need to lock up Snuggs, Hoefer and Neighbors now before next season as the costs will still be going up.

What are your predictions?

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

Sorry for your loss.

I am curious about Joel Hofer in that he’s been very solid thus far, but his outings to this point have not really been high stress. Frankly, he’s really not been put into the pressure cooker, and we’ve not seen how he’ll respond when things are on the line.

Looking at his whole body of work, he’s got one decent playoff run in the AHL (2021/22), a great showing in the WC20 for Canada, and a couple WC appearances for Team Canada. However, so did Ville Husso. Again, those are all nice but I’d like to see how Joel handles a meaningful NHL Regular season game and a Playoff Game before I start really placing my chips on the table.

He became the #1 on a team whose expectations started to align more with Top 3 Pick than Wildcard. Even Armstrong lamented that Teams weren’t taking them seriously after the Olympic break. Just like how Snuggy will have a challenging year because he’s now a marked man, Joel will also be in the crosshairs.

[netboy65]

Conversely the players and their agents knows costs are going up so they might not be willing to do so.
In the case of Snuggy you have him under control for a while still so you just pay him what you have to.

That is quickly becoming a very bad idea, We need to get Snuggy locked up for 8 years as soon as possible.

That’s my point. Why would he want to be locked up? Could Thomas not be making more right now if he didn’t choose to take the long deal?
I want to get them under wraps too, just saying guys might be so willing to buy out those years anymore.

Well for me if I'm him its about guaranteed "forever money" as soon as I cant get it. I'd take 8x8 in a heartbeat as 64 million guaranteed right now means a LOT more to me than maybe 100 million later.

You and I of course take the bird in the hand, but athletes (especially when agents are whispering in their ear) maybe not so much.
Not saying it’s gonna happen, just that it could.

[skilles]

Conversely the players and their agents knows costs are going up so they might not be willing to do so.
In the case of Snuggy you have him under control for a while still so you just pay him what you have to.

That is quickly becoming a very bad idea, We need to get Snuggy locked up for 8 years as soon as possible.

That’s my point. Why would he want to be locked up? Could Thomas not be making more right now if he didn’t choose to take the long deal?
I want to get them under wraps too, just saying guys might be so willing to buy out those years anymore.

Well for me if I'm him its about guaranteed "forever money" as soon as I cant get it. I'd take 8x8 in a heartbeat as 64 million guaranteed right now means a LOT more to me than maybe 100 million later.

You and I of course take the bird in the hand, but athletes (especially when agents are whispering in their ear) maybe not so much.
Not saying it’s gonna happen, just that it could.

I would think agents would also want the same. I think its probably mostly the teams that are reluctant to do that.

Same with McMichael, I'm sure that is what he is doing right now. Trying t secure that "forever money" contract.

[dhsux]

Sorry to hear of your Moms passing Vent...Moms are great!

[Bluesfan1978]

For the most part any of the players that wanted to stay in St Louis have signed reasonable contracts well ahead of becoming free agents. I’m sure the Blues are on guard since their successful offer sheets. I think seeing how aggressive other GMs are now you pretty much need to lock any main players into a contract prior to starting their last season under contract. The team’s leverage is they can trade them anywhere that year since NTC or NMC’s wouldn’t be a factor yet. Anaheim doesn’t really benefit from 4 20-32 first round picks in comparison to losing a star.

[zamadoo]

For the most part any of the players that wanted to stay in St Louis have signed reasonable contracts well ahead of becoming free agents. I’m sure the Blues are on guard since their successful offer sheets. I think seeing how aggressive other GMs are now you pretty much need to lock any main players into a contract prior to starting their last season under contract. The team’s leverage is they can trade them anywhere that year since NTC or NMC’s wouldn’t be a factor yet. Anaheim doesn’t really benefit from 4 20-32 first round picks in comparison to losing a star.

I bet any GMs who locked in players recently are breathing a sigh of relief right now. A McTavish contract looks pretty good at the moment. Thomas' contract looks genius, and the offloading of Kyrou helps make Buch's contract less painful. Buch has an opportunity to prove his value as well. He snuck in 20 goals last season in his worst yet as a Blue. I would say his contract is justified with 60-70pt seasons. 50 something points and strong playoff performance with this inflating market is fine value for a team not strapped for cap space.

Along with the OP, I value Hofer, Snuggs, and Neighbours. I'd prefer to prioritize them over McMichael, who now has justification for an exceedingly high contract, which I've heard he was already asking for from Washington (hence the trade for established Kyrou). I'm just wondering if they can really fit in all these forwards now, plus Hofer, in the long term, and if they'll need to adjust their plan, or if the $18M offer sheet for the 0.96PPG 21 y/o Center is already priced into the market from their technical analysis and included in their plans.