gpe13579 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 19:41 pm
This is a big year for Jake to define himself.
Is he a 25+ goal scorer that is an absolute nuisance to play again every single night or is he a sub 20 goal journeyman grinder type?
We'll see but to me, for him to be successful he has to be more noticeable every night. Not 2 out of 4 or 3 out of 5 or whatever. He HAS to be a guy everybody hates to deal night in and night out.
He needs to be close to 100 PIMS. Not because PIMS are important but if he is doing what he needs to do it results in those PIMs. He isn't skilled enough to rely on skill. His best skill has to be the in your face all the time skill.
Yep. Dead on. This year needs to be the season that JN becomes a core piece ... or he plays like a passenger who probably ends up getting moved.
With all these wing options he might get moved before many of us expect.
Bubble4427 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:42 pm.
Think about this….next season the Blues will have 20+ million dollars to sign Hofer, Snugs and Neighbors.
I'm not sure $20 mil would do it.
What do we think each of these three get?
Snuggreud - $10 mil minimum
Neighbours - $7 mil
Hofer - $7 mil
I’m not paying Neighbours near that. We will see on Snuggy, team still has control for a while. Hofer is about right but maybe a little high
Agree w/ this and UMR-Alum's thoughts.
It all depends on what type of seasons these guys have. I don't see Snuggy hitting near Thomas' AAV unless he pots 35+ goals or 75+ points.
For some reason Blues fans drastically underestimate Jake Neighbours mostly because he had an uneven season last year, injury, death to some one close to him, never really got it going. Hes going to rebound and get paid 9th best goal scorer in the '20 draft and he'll resume climbing that ladder
Agree 100%. Neighbours was on fire before he broke his ankle, and I think he was STILL leading the team in goals after being out for a month. Short of the hot streak from the top line to end the year, no one on this team looked very good offensively. I still think he's gonna be a 30-goal scorer and top 6 forward.
UMR-alum-05 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:58 pm
Neighbours might not be in the long range plan.
Hard to say. I'm sure they have a team of bean counters charting future cap growth, salaries and how to construct a roster salary wise.
So far they done a decent job of shedding long-term salaries on declining players - Buch and Fowler are the only two left - but at some point they won't be able to sign them all. It's why their amatuer scouting department is so critical. You can probably afford to pay the top two lines, two pairs and starting goalie the reasonable going rate. Then you need a blend of entry level contracts and savy short term veteran deals to round out a roster.
For sure they're going to have some hard decisions coming with players like Jake, Mailoux and Dvorsky unless the cap explodes.
Everything you said is true.
The Blues top 6 is now set.
Holloway Thomas Snuggerud
McMichael McTavish Buch
We could see a Buch trade maybe (seems unlikely) but otherwise that's the top 6 for the foreseeable future.
Neighbours is now potentially (on his next contract) a very expensive 3LW in an organization that has a lot of bottom 6 left wing options, including Stenberg, a recent 1st rounder. If Stenberg shows out this year, Neighbours could be on the outside looking in moving forward. We shall see
I would not dismiss Jake so easily.
And McMichael will have to actually earn that spot, imo.
Neighbours' goals have gone from 27 to 21 to 15 the last three years. Granted he missed a few games last year.
He's not trending the right direction.
Could he break out and put up 50 points this year? Sure he could. That's why I said let's see what happens.
If he puts up 15 goals and 35 points again, he ain't getting 7MM a season like someone suggested above.
Jake's 82 game avg is 21g, 18A
McMichael's is 17g, 21A.
I'd expect if we re-sign Jake it's to a similar deal. Be interesting who these two get to play with. I'd like McMichael with Dvorsky to get some more speed paired with Dvo than Jake brings.
UMR-alum-05 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:58 pm
Neighbours might not be in the long range plan.
Hard to say. I'm sure they have a team of bean counters charting future cap growth, salaries and how to construct a roster salary wise.
So far they done a decent job of shedding long-term salaries on declining players - Buch and Fowler are the only two left - but at some point they won't be able to sign them all. It's why their amatuer scouting department is so critical. You can probably afford to pay the top two lines, two pairs and starting goalie the reasonable going rate. Then you need a blend of entry level contracts and savy short term veteran deals to round out a roster.
For sure they're going to have some hard decisions coming with players like Jake, Mailoux and Dvorsky unless the cap explodes.
Everything you said is true.
The Blues top 6 is now set.
Holloway Thomas Snuggerud
McMichael McTavish Buch
We could see a Buch trade maybe (seems unlikely) but otherwise that's the top 6 for the foreseeable future.
Neighbours is now potentially (on his next contract) a very expensive 3LW in an organization that has a lot of bottom 6 left wing options, including Stenberg, a recent 1st rounder. If Stenberg shows out this year, Neighbours could be on the outside looking in moving forward. We shall see
I would not dismiss Jake so easily.
And McMichael will have to actually earn that spot, imo.
Neighbours' goals have gone from 27 to 21 to 15 the last three years. Granted he missed a few games last year.
He's not trending the right direction.
Could he break out and put up 50 points this year? Sure he could. That's why I said let's see what happens.
If he puts up 15 goals and 35 points again, he ain't getting 7MM a season like someone suggested above.
Jake's 82 game avg is 21g, 18A
McMichael's is 17g, 21A.
I'd expect if we re-sign Jake it's to a similar deal. Be interesting who these two get to play with. I'd like McMichael with Dvorsky to get some more speed paired with Dvo than Jake brings.
UMR-alum-05 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:58 pm
Neighbours might not be in the long range plan.
Hard to say. I'm sure they have a team of bean counters charting future cap growth, salaries and how to construct a roster salary wise.
So far they done a decent job of shedding long-term salaries on declining players - Buch and Fowler are the only two left - but at some point they won't be able to sign them all. It's why their amatuer scouting department is so critical. You can probably afford to pay the top two lines, two pairs and starting goalie the reasonable going rate. Then you need a blend of entry level contracts and savy short term veteran deals to round out a roster.
For sure they're going to have some hard decisions coming with players like Jake, Mailoux and Dvorsky unless the cap explodes.
Everything you said is true.
The Blues top 6 is now set.
Holloway Thomas Snuggerud
McMichael McTavish Buch
We could see a Buch trade maybe (seems unlikely) but otherwise that's the top 6 for the foreseeable future.
Neighbours is now potentially (on his next contract) a very expensive 3LW in an organization that has a lot of bottom 6 left wing options, including Stenberg, a recent 1st rounder. If Stenberg shows out this year, Neighbours could be on the outside looking in moving forward. We shall see
I would not dismiss Jake so easily.
And McMichael will have to actually earn that spot, imo.
Neighbours' goals have gone from 27 to 21 to 15 the last three years. Granted he missed a few games last year.
He's not trending the right direction.
Could he break out and put up 50 points this year? Sure he could. That's why I said let's see what happens.
If he puts up 15 goals and 35 points again, he ain't getting 7MM a season like someone suggested above.
If my aunt had balls.....
All I said was to not count him out.
I find the 2 players pretty comparable, including their up/down record.
UMR-alum-05 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:58 pm
Neighbours might not be in the long range plan.
Hard to say. I'm sure they have a team of bean counters charting future cap growth, salaries and how to construct a roster salary wise.
So far they done a decent job of shedding long-term salaries on declining players - Buch and Fowler are the only two left - but at some point they won't be able to sign them all. It's why their amatuer scouting department is so critical. You can probably afford to pay the top two lines, two pairs and starting goalie the reasonable going rate. Then you need a blend of entry level contracts and savy short term veteran deals to round out a roster.
For sure they're going to have some hard decisions coming with players like Jake, Mailoux and Dvorsky unless the cap explodes.
Everything you said is true.
The Blues top 6 is now set.
Holloway Thomas Snuggerud
McMichael McTavish Buch
We could see a Buch trade maybe (seems unlikely) but otherwise that's the top 6 for the foreseeable future.
Neighbours is now potentially (on his next contract) a very expensive 3LW in an organization that has a lot of bottom 6 left wing options, including Stenberg, a recent 1st rounder. If Stenberg shows out this year, Neighbours could be on the outside looking in moving forward. We shall see
I would not dismiss Jake so easily.
And McMichael will have to actually earn that spot, imo.
Neighbours' goals have gone from 27 to 21 to 15 the last three years. Granted he missed a few games last year.
He's not trending the right direction.
Could he break out and put up 50 points this year? Sure he could. That's why I said let's see what happens.
If he puts up 15 goals and 35 points again, he ain't getting 7MM a season like someone suggested above.
If my aunt had balls.....
All I said was to not count him out.
I find the 2 players pretty comparable, including their up/down record.
Ok. I never counted him out. He's at the 3LW in every lineup I post.
I have speculated he could be trade bait for a right shot winger in various posts.
UMR-alum-05 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:58 pm
Neighbours might not be in the long range plan.
Hard to say. I'm sure they have a team of bean counters charting future cap growth, salaries and how to construct a roster salary wise.
So far they done a decent job of shedding long-term salaries on declining players - Buch and Fowler are the only two left - but at some point they won't be able to sign them all. It's why their amatuer scouting department is so critical. You can probably afford to pay the top two lines, two pairs and starting goalie the reasonable going rate. Then you need a blend of entry level contracts and savy short term veteran deals to round out a roster.
For sure they're going to have some hard decisions coming with players like Jake, Mailoux and Dvorsky unless the cap explodes.
Everything you said is true.
The Blues top 6 is now set.
Holloway Thomas Snuggerud
McMichael McTavish Buch
We could see a Buch trade maybe (seems unlikely) but otherwise that's the top 6 for the foreseeable future.
Neighbours is now potentially (on his next contract) a very expensive 3LW in an organization that has a lot of bottom 6 left wing options, including Stenberg, a recent 1st rounder. If Stenberg shows out this year, Neighbours could be on the outside looking in moving forward. We shall see
I would not dismiss Jake so easily.
And McMichael will have to actually earn that spot, imo.
Neighbours' goals have gone from 27 to 21 to 15 the last three years. Granted he missed a few games last year.
He's not trending the right direction.
Could he break out and put up 50 points this year? Sure he could. That's why I said let's see what happens.
If he puts up 15 goals and 35 points again, he ain't getting 7MM a season like someone suggested above.
Jake's 82 game avg is 21g, 18A
McMichael's is 17g, 21A.
I'd expect if we re-sign Jake it's to a similar deal. Be interesting who these two get to play with. I'd like McMichael with Dvorsky to get some more speed paired with Dvo than Jake brings.
McMichael has 57 points in a season.
Neighbours topped out at 46.
.52 ppg
versus
.58 ppg
Truth is both of these players need come back years and play.
IMO it would be foolish to move Jake anytime soon.
UMR-alum-05 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:58 pm
Neighbours might not be in the long range plan.
Hard to say. I'm sure they have a team of bean counters charting future cap growth, salaries and how to construct a roster salary wise.
So far they done a decent job of shedding long-term salaries on declining players - Buch and Fowler are the only two left - but at some point they won't be able to sign them all. It's why their amatuer scouting department is so critical. You can probably afford to pay the top two lines, two pairs and starting goalie the reasonable going rate. Then you need a blend of entry level contracts and savy short term veteran deals to round out a roster.
For sure they're going to have some hard decisions coming with players like Jake, Mailoux and Dvorsky unless the cap explodes.
Everything you said is true.
The Blues top 6 is now set.
Holloway Thomas Snuggerud
McMichael McTavish Buch
We could see a Buch trade maybe (seems unlikely) but otherwise that's the top 6 for the foreseeable future.
Neighbours is now potentially (on his next contract) a very expensive 3LW in an organization that has a lot of bottom 6 left wing options, including Stenberg, a recent 1st rounder. If Stenberg shows out this year, Neighbours could be on the outside looking in moving forward. We shall see
I would not dismiss Jake so easily.
And McMichael will have to actually earn that spot, imo.
Neighbours' goals have gone from 27 to 21 to 15 the last three years. Granted he missed a few games last year.
He's not trending the right direction.
Could he break out and put up 50 points this year? Sure he could. That's why I said let's see what happens.
If he puts up 15 goals and 35 points again, he ain't getting 7MM a season like someone suggested above.
Jake's 82 game avg is 21g, 18A
McMichael's is 17g, 21A.
I'd expect if we re-sign Jake it's to a similar deal. Be interesting who these two get to play with. I'd like McMichael with Dvorsky to get some more speed paired with Dvo than Jake brings.
McMichael has 57 points in a season.
Neighbours topped out at 46.
.52 ppg
versus
.58 ppg
Truth is both of these players need come back years and play.
IMO it would be foolish to move Jake anytime soon.
The entire team needs comeback years. Even Kyrou, who is no longer on the team.
I'm expecting ~100pts from Thomas. 50+ pts from everyone else in the top-6, with some into the 60s and 70s. Dvorsky 40+. More than 0 goals from Parayko. Goalies who can stop something the first half of the season.
UMR-alum-05 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:58 pm
Neighbours might not be in the long range plan.
Hard to say. I'm sure they have a team of bean counters charting future cap growth, salaries and how to construct a roster salary wise.
So far they done a decent job of shedding long-term salaries on declining players - Buch and Fowler are the only two left - but at some point they won't be able to sign them all. It's why their amatuer scouting department is so critical. You can probably afford to pay the top two lines, two pairs and starting goalie the reasonable going rate. Then you need a blend of entry level contracts and savy short term veteran deals to round out a roster.
For sure they're going to have some hard decisions coming with players like Jake, Mailoux and Dvorsky unless the cap explodes.
Everything you said is true.
The Blues top 6 is now set.
Holloway Thomas Snuggerud
McMichael McTavish Buch
We could see a Buch trade maybe (seems unlikely) but otherwise that's the top 6 for the foreseeable future.
Neighbours is now potentially (on his next contract) a very expensive 3LW in an organization that has a lot of bottom 6 left wing options, including Stenberg, a recent 1st rounder. If Stenberg shows out this year, Neighbours could be on the outside looking in moving forward. We shall see
I would not dismiss Jake so easily.
And McMichael will have to actually earn that spot, imo.
Neighbours' goals have gone from 27 to 21 to 15 the last three years. Granted he missed a few games last year.
He's not trending the right direction.
Could he break out and put up 50 points this year? Sure he could. That's why I said let's see what happens.
If he puts up 15 goals and 35 points again, he ain't getting 7MM a season like someone suggested above.
Jake's 82 game avg is 21g, 18A
McMichael's is 17g, 21A.
I'd expect if we re-sign Jake it's to a similar deal. Be interesting who these two get to play with. I'd like McMichael with Dvorsky to get some more speed paired with Dvo than Jake brings.
McMichael has 57 points in a season.
Neighbours topped out at 46.
.52 ppg
versus
.58 ppg
Truth is both of these players need come back years and play.
IMO it would be foolish to move Jake anytime soon.
And I believe the team sees Neighbours similarly as you.
I really am hoping that we settle our lines early in the season (barring injuries), stick with them. I think the consistency and familiarity with line-mates is key to increasing the chance for bounce backs. We have more depth, allowing for better balance. Loosen the reins and let them run.
Bubble4427 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:42 pm.
Think about this….next season the Blues will have 20+ million dollars to sign Hofer, Snugs and Neighbors.
I'm not sure $20 mil would do it.
What do we think each of these three get?
Snuggreud - $10 mil minimum
Neighbours - $7 mil
Hofer - $7 mil
I’m not paying Neighbours near that. We will see on Snuggy, team still has control for a while. Hofer is about right but maybe a little high
Agree w/ this and UMR-Alum's thoughts.
It all depends on what type of seasons these guys have. I don't see Snuggy hitting near Thomas' AAV unless he pots 35+ goals or 75+ points.
For some reason Blues fans drastically underestimate Jake Neighbours mostly because he had an uneven season last year, injury, death to some one close to him, never really got it going. Hes going to rebound and get paid 9th best goal scorer in the '20 draft and he'll resume climbing that ladder
27, 21, 15 goals. That's his goal totals.
It's a downward trend. I'm not underestimating him. The dude had 36 points last season. That's just reality. It's more a case of some people having Red Hudler syndrome than some people underestimating him far as I'm concerned.
If he rebounds and has a nice year, ok, let's talk about his future in the context of his performance and the rest of the team.
If he has 30 something points again, he ain't getting 7MM bucks. Id consider keeping him as the 3LW for a lot less than 7MM. But he ain't getting 7MM if he's a back to back 30 point player.
Like I said he had an uneven year last season i dont recall the details it wont matter much because with better center depth this year and better overall talent hes going to score goals thast a given.
Oct-Jan last year he had 13 goals (25 goal per 82 game pace) then he missed a ton of Feb and only scored twice in his last 27 games. Thats not really a downward pace for me its an unfortunate injury unsure of how the injury felt after returning. Had he remained healthy he would have made a run at most goals scored by a Blue last year, Thomas had 25....
The signing of MckeeMike is a typical blues move to prove they made a good trade. Everything last management did was self dealing, and loyal Steen isn't gonna bust up a good thing. He too wants to work here for years producing wins in May and golf shots in June. Theres a formula and it starts with local knowledge being what they are told rather then what they see.
UMR-alum-05 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:58 pm
Neighbours might not be in the long range plan.
Hard to say. I'm sure they have a team of bean counters charting future cap growth, salaries and how to construct a roster salary wise.
So far they done a decent job of shedding long-term salaries on declining players - Buch and Fowler are the only two left - but at some point they won't be able to sign them all. It's why their amatuer scouting department is so critical. You can probably afford to pay the top two lines, two pairs and starting goalie the reasonable going rate. Then you need a blend of entry level contracts and savy short term veteran deals to round out a roster.
For sure they're going to have some hard decisions coming with players like Jake, Mailoux and Dvorsky unless the cap explodes.
Everything you said is true.
The Blues top 6 is now set.
Holloway Thomas Snuggerud
McMichael McTavish Buch
We could see a Buch trade maybe (seems unlikely) but otherwise that's the top 6 for the foreseeable future.
Neighbours is now potentially (on his next contract) a very expensive 3LW in an organization that has a lot of bottom 6 left wing options, including Stenberg, a recent 1st rounder. If Stenberg shows out this year, Neighbours could be on the outside looking in moving forward. We shall see
I would not dismiss Jake so easily.
And McMichael will have to actually earn that spot, imo.
Neighbours' goals have gone from 27 to 21 to 15 the last three years. Granted he missed a few games last year.
He's not trending the right direction.
Could he break out and put up 50 points this year? Sure he could. That's why I said let's see what happens.
If he puts up 15 goals and 35 points again, he ain't getting 7MM a season like someone suggested above.
Jake's 82 game avg is 21g, 18A
McMichael's is 17g, 21A.
I'd expect if we re-sign Jake it's to a similar deal. Be interesting who these two get to play with. I'd like McMichael with Dvorsky to get some more speed paired with Dvo than Jake brings.
McMichael has 57 points in a season.
Neighbours topped out at 46.
.52 ppg
versus
.58 ppg
Truth is both of these players need come back years and play.
IMO it would be foolish to move Jake anytime soon.
And I believe the team sees Neighbours similarly as you.
I really am hoping that we settle our lines early in the season (barring injuries), stick with them. I think the consistency and familiarity with line-mates is key to increasing the chance for bounce backs. We have more depth, allowing for better balance. Loosen the reins and let them run.
I think more than anything switching to a 4 game training camp is going to be much bigger for this than anything else. I know only having 2 less games doesn't seem like a big deal, but that was 2 or 3 days of practice that they didn't have and it was also 2 more games of worry of your main guys getting injured so they sat. Now with only 4 and them essentially being in the same week, there will be way more focus on practice and establishing those lines, first 2 games focusing on eliminating the young guys who won't make the team, and the last 2 games preparing for the season.
I think it is going to be a huge improvement for teams all the way around.
blues2112 wrote: ↑17 Jul 2026 13:10 pm
Neighbours PPG the past three seasons
.49
.56
.52
Where's the "downward trend"?
People forget he's 23 and brings heart and grit, which are hard to quantify and Blues need more of.
Goals. Scored.
I never said get rid of Neighbours. I have however said he could be trade bait. And I've said he ain't getting some of contracts I see people throw around here. Someone just suggested 8x7 in another thread. No chance.
gpe13579 wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 19:41 pm
This is a big year for Jake to define himself.
Is he a 25+ goal scorer that is an absolute nuisance to play again every single night or is he a sub 20 goal journeyman grinder type?
We'll see but to me, for him to be successful he has to be more noticeable every night. Not 2 out of 4 or 3 out of 5 or whatever. He HAS to be a guy everybody hates to deal night in and night out.
He needs to be close to 100 PIMS. Not because PIMS are important but if he is doing what he needs to do it results in those PIMs. He isn't skilled enough to rely on skill. His best skill has to be the in your face all the time skill.
Why was Jake essentially removed as the net front presence on the power play? It was his bread and butter before last year.
And depending on how the Mic's assimilate in the rotation Jake could be two notches further down the PP pole again this year.
