Top 5 Moves of the Army GM Era

[IsDurbanodoingtime]

A really solid deal that gets novlove partly due to the alleged petro ramifications is the eddie, Bokk and 7th for Faulk. Pretty solid contributiin by Faulk over his tenure at a notoriously difficult to fill rd position

[clemonsonroots]

5 best moves
1 ROR trade. No doubt, this got us the cup. If it wasn't for his leadership (and Binny's rise) when we were at our lowest point, we don't even make the playoffs let alone win the cup.
2 The offer sheets. This has completely changed our timeline. We would still be in the middle of a total tear down and rebuild without this.
3 Making the move to hire Berube midseason.
4 Trading for JBo. Such an overlooked defenseman. He was as good as it gets with his shutdown defensive play.
5 Drafting in the second half of the first round. This is kind of not a singular move, but more just a nod to how well he has done listening to scouts and drafting guys that far exceed their draft spot late in the first round.

honorable mentions- Schenn trade, not extending David Backes, trading Ryan Reaves for a first round pick, Faulk for a first and buchelnikov

5 worst moves
1 Letting Petro walk and subsequent signing of Krug. Really this is the only humdinger. It essentially closed our window and started a rough few years for the franchise.
2 Extending Jori Lehtera. Almost immediately this backfired. To his credit, he was able to offload him and the trade in which he did- Brayden Schenn- probably should make that top 5 list actually.
3 I am not sure if this rumor is true but if it is, choosing to trade Tage Thompson over Jordan Kyrou in the ROR deal.
4 Not bringing back ROR...I know at the time, he was seemingly trending down, but at 4.5 mil a year, he has been a steal the last three seasons for the Preds.
5 TJ Oshie trade- just the return...it was so meager.

[moose-and-squirrel]

5 best moves
1 ROR trade. No doubt, this got us the cup. If it wasn't for his leadership (and Binny's rise) when we were at our lowest point, we don't even make the playoffs let alone win the cup.
2 The offer sheets. This has completely changed our timeline. We would still be in the middle of a total tear down and rebuild without this.
3 Making the move to hire Berube midseason.
4 Trading for JBo. Such an overlooked defenseman. He was as good as it gets with his shutdown defensive play.
5 Drafting in the second half of the first round. This is kind of not a singular move, but more just a nod to how well he has done listening to scouts and drafting guys that far exceed their draft spot late in the first round.

honorable mentions- Schenn trade, not extending David Backes, trading Ryan Reaves for a first round pick, Faulk for a first and buchelnikov

5 worst moves
1 Letting Petro walk and subsequent signing of Krug. Really this is the only humdinger. It essentially closed our window and started a rough few years for the franchise.
2 Extending Jori Lehtera. Almost immediately this backfired. To his credit, he was able to offload him and the trade in which he did- Brayden Schenn- probably should make that top 5 list actually.
3 I am not sure if this rumor is true but if it is, choosing to trade Tage Thompson over Jordan Kyrou in the ROR deal.
4 Not bringing back ROR...I know at the time, he was seemingly trending down, but at 4.5 mil a year, he has been a steal the last three seasons for the Preds.
5 TJ Oshie trade- just the return...it was so meager.

the Oshie trade seemed to be more of a culture shake up than anything. Dude needed to grow (and sober) up. that being said, there should have been more coming back

[Hockey Pete]

Right now, it’s all of the major decisions that led to the 2019 Cup:

1) ROR trade;
2) Bouwmeester trade;
3) Schenn trade;
4) Trading Rundblad for pick #16 (Tarasenko)
5) Chief hiring

The offer sheets are in its own category, but right now I have to put all of those major decisions in the top 5 because, in all likelihood, not making just one of those means no Cup.

This. And I'd add promoting Binny as a tie for 5th (as they were both internal moves that proved crucial).

JBo and Parayko was the best defensive 5v5 tandem in the NHL that season, and it wasn't even close. IMO only Pronger/MacInnis was a better pairing in Blues history (although Stevens/Brown for that 90-91 season is right there as well, shame they never got the chance to continue).

[Cahokanut]

His yearly ability to get a old defender and a back up goalie.

His ability to throw blame on everything but him every summer.

His ability to groom a fanbase in believing hits, wall play, and zone time, is what wins.

His ability to brainwash the uneducated.

His ability to get the mega derps to believe he has done five good things.

[DawgDad]

On Pietrangelo . . . The Blues posted a 109 point season AFTER he left.

[The Average Gatsby]

His yearly ability to get a old defender and a back up goalie.

His ability to throw blame on everything but him every summer.

His ability to groom a fanbase in believing hits, wall play, and zone time, is what wins.

His ability to brainwash the uneducated.

His ability to get the mega derps to believe he has done five good things.

He’s the only Cup winning GM in team history. Pretending he doesn’t have five good things on his resume is idiotic.

[UMR-alum-05]

On Pietrangelo . . . The Blues posted a 109 point season AFTER he left.

If that's directed at me, I acknowledged the fact that they got some good years out of Faulk and Krug. More so Faulk than Krug.

Doesn't mean letting Petro walk was a good thing.

He was an excellent player for four-five more seasons. That was a dumb move overall.

Even still, the Faulk move was a good move. A pretty (bleep) good trade. The Krug signing was terrible by and large.

What hurt the team the most however in that short window after the cup was the JBO heart issues and the struggles to replace him, the letting Pat Maroon walk.

[DawgDad]

On Pietrangelo . . . The Blues posted a 109 point season AFTER he left.

If that's directed at me, I acknowledged the fact that they got some good years out of Faulk and Krug. More so Faulk than Krug.

Doesn't mean letting Petro walk was a good thing.

He was an excellent player for four-five more seasons. That was a dumb move overall.

Even still, the Faulk move was a good move. A pretty (drat) good trade. The Krug signing was terrible by and large.

What hurt the team the most however in that short window after the cup was the JBO heart issues and the struggles to replace him, the letting Pat Maroon walk.

Teams have to find their own way, connection, synergy, destiny. Putting up a 109 point season doesn't scream weakness or lack of heart, it ran into the Avs and Kadri.

St. Louis went through this with Pujols, there are parallels. The 'old Dodger way' used to be trade a player a year too ealy, not a year too late. Pietrangelo walked away because he got a better deal with a ton of guaranteed bonus money, a line the Blues weren't willing to cross (in a time of great uncertainty). I'd put that squarely on the 'Best Moves' list but not in the top-5.

[SpacemanSpiff]

On Pietrangelo . . . The Blues posted a 109 point season AFTER he left.

If that's directed at me, I acknowledged the fact that they got some good years out of Faulk and Krug. More so Faulk than Krug.

Doesn't mean letting Petro walk was a good thing.

He was an excellent player for four-five more seasons. That was a dumb move overall.

Even still, the Faulk move was a good move. A pretty (drat) good trade. The Krug signing was terrible by and large.

What hurt the team the most however in that short window after the cup was the JBO heart issues and the struggles to replace him, the letting Pat Maroon walk.

I agree, along with most, that Pietrangelo should have signed here to retire here. Backes even called him and told him to do just that, as Backes realized his mistake two years into his time in Boston.

Pietrangelo's dream was to play in Toronto for the Leafs. When COVID hit and shut everything down, he painted himself into a corner that he wasn't going to back out of, and ended up leaving.

Keep in mind, it's a two way street - and in the end, as a UFA, he choose to leave.

I 1000% percent agree with your Bouwmeester remark - he was a bigger loss than Pietrangelo was.

[HighStick]

Army got us our only Cup. Dudes a god in my world.
Got us Tarasenko. Got us Petro. Found Parayko in round 3 of the draft. JBo, ROR, brought up Binny out of nowhere. ..Maroon! Put Chief in charge. Holloway/Broberg OS. During Army's run they've had seasons with the top ranked goalie dou's, top ranked defense, the only Blues team with nine 20g scorers.They made the PO's most of those years. The list goes on and on. I also think Lawrence is going to be better than expected. Army did good.

[HighStick]

Didn't Petro choose Vegas because of the weird contract he signed. $31m signing bonus guaranteed? The Blues couldn't match that.

[Old_Goat]

Army got us our only Cup. Dudes a god in my world.
Got us Tarasenko. Got us Petro. Found Parayko in round 3 of the draft. JBo, ROR, brought up Binny out of nowhere. ..Maroon! Put Chief in charge. Holloway/Broberg OS. During Army's run they've had seasons with the top ranked goalie dou's, top ranked defense, the only Blues team with nine 20g scorers.They made the PO's most of those years. The list goes on and on. I also think Lawrence is going to be better than expected. Army did good.

+1

[Old_Goat]

Didn't Petro choose Vegas because of the weird contract he signed. $31m signing bonus guaranteed? The Blues couldn't match that.

I believe that you are correct.
It is a business. Business is tough. Working capital is important. Difficult decisions have to be made. Depth and balance is critical for franchises in this particular business.
Looking forward is essential.

[netboy65]

Not finding the space to keep Pat Maroon cost the Blues another cup.

Maroon leaving cost the Blues another Cup? Pat Maroon?

In fairness, he probably was worth the 1 million he got elsewhere, but maybe he had no interest in returning?

Maroon was seeking a multi year deal and had no takers around the league, eventually settling for a one year deal in Tampa. Blues weren’t going to commit to that as they had Kyrou coming up.
Miller deal didn’t work out but I applaud the team going for it.

[Bluesfan1978]

On Pietrangelo . . . The Blues posted a 109 point season AFTER he left.

If that's directed at me, I acknowledged the fact that they got some good years out of Faulk and Krug. More so Faulk than Krug.

Doesn't mean letting Petro walk was a good thing.

He was an excellent player for four-five more seasons. That was a dumb move overall.

Even still, the Faulk move was a good move. A pretty (drat) good trade. The Krug signing was terrible by and large.

What hurt the team the most however in that short window after the cup was the JBO heart issues and the struggles to replace him, the letting Pat Maroon walk.

What also hurt the team was they misjudged Parayko taking the steps forward they thought he would.