Main Tweaks to Roster that NEED to be Done

[esp31]

Suter was great but I don't see a need for him next year. He really started to show his age during the playoffs. No reason why Lindstein couldn't get some minutes on the backend next year. Tucker has hopefully earned a job. Fowler has one year left and will most likely be extended. Time to move on from Suter for sure and possibly Leddy or Faulk although probably hard to move on from Faulk.

I think Faulk would be easier to move than you think.
The cap is going up, the off season free agent pool is very weak..and the position he plays is a tough one to fill.
Most teams have LHD....there seems to be a leaguewide lack of RHD depth.

Thats my whole point on moving him....we don't have a serviceable RHD to replace him with. I don't believe Kessel in the answer....not for top 4 anyway

Bingo. We have lefthanded shot guys playing the right side already. As bad as many of you feel Faulk is, I think you would feel his absence. I don't see Kessel able to play those minutes. You'd have to get another RH D. Army rebuilt the whole left side. Perhaps he could do it, but Faulk has NTC, so you have that to contend with.

For those saying I hope Kyrou has played his last game, he is the only pure goal scorer on this team until proven otherwise. Yes, you'd love him to be tougher, but some guys are who they are, and who he is, is a pencil him in for 30-35 goals every season, and this year, a plus player.

I would still try to move Schenn like Army did at the deadline. He doesn't drive play, and has two skills: scoring off the rush, and hitting come playoff time. He's ok on faceoffs, poor in his end, poor passer, can't one-time shots, coasts in coverage. I really like him as a person, and it seems he's been a good captain, but we need some speed down the middle. Sunny and Faksa are bottom 25 in the league in terms of skating forwards. Schenn, while not that slow, is not a burner. Dvorsky's Edge stats have him slower than Faksa and Sunny. Admittedly it's a small sample size but tracked with what I saw watching him play every game this season in the AHL.

One of Joseph and Texier need to be moved. We paid over 5 million for that two-headed monster for a grand total of 10 goals.

Curious if Army would dangle Hofer and wonder if he has any value. Ellis has done all he can do in the AHL. Obviously, that would be a gamble. We do have a lot of young assets of middling ability to sweeten a deal for a proven player.

[Tabasco Flowers]

Biggest tweak? Bottom pair D. Our strenght has been rolling four O lines. We need to roll 3 D pairs.

[dtkblueshockey]

Suter was great but I don't see a need for him next year. He really started to show his age during the playoffs. No reason why Lindstein couldn't get some minutes on the backend next year. Tucker has hopefully earned a job. Fowler has one year left and will most likely be extended. Time to move on from Suter for sure and possibly Leddy or Faulk although probably hard to move on from Faulk.

I think Faulk would be easier to move than you think.
The cap is going up, the off season free agent pool is very weak..and the position he plays is a tough one to fill.
Most teams have LHD....there seems to be a leaguewide lack of RHD depth.

Thats my whole point on moving him....we don't have a serviceable RHD to replace him with. I don't believe Kessel in the answer....not for top 4 anyway

Bingo. We have lefthanded shot guys playing the right side already. As bad as many of you feel Faulk is, I think you would feel his absence. I don't see Kessel able to play those minutes. You'd have to get another RH D. Army rebuilt the whole left side. Perhaps he could do it, but Faulk has NTC, so you have that to contend with.

For those saying I hope Kyrou has played his last game, he is the only pure goal scorer on this team until proven otherwise. Yes, you'd love him to be tougher, but some guys are who they are, and who he is, is a pencil him in for 30-35 goals every season, and this year, a plus player.

I would still try to move Schenn like Army did at the deadline. He doesn't drive play, and has two skills: scoring off the rush, and hitting come playoff time. He's ok on faceoffs, poor in his end, poor passer, can't one-time shots, coasts in coverage. I really like him as a person, and it seems he's been a good captain, but we need some speed down the middle. Sunny and Faksa are bottom 25 in the league in terms of skating forwards. Schenn, while not that slow, is not a burner. Dvorsky's Edge stats have him slower than Faksa and Sunny. Admittedly it's a small sample size but tracked with what I saw watching him play every game this season in the AHL.

One of Joseph and Texier need to be moved. We paid over 5 million for that two-headed monster for a grand total of 10 goals.

Curious if Army would dangle Hofer and wonder if he has any value. Ellis has done all he can do in the AHL. Obviously, that would be a gamble. We do have a lot of young assets of middling ability to sweeten a deal for a proven player.

Faulk has a 15 team no-trade list starting July 1. He will be much easier to move once the clause changes over. The Blues need to get better and they have no internal options (as it stands now) that will be better than Faulk. They either can continue to move forward with Faulk and hope he continues to get better with more age or they can deal him and try to strike gold with other options like they did with Broberg offer sheet.

[Tabasco Flowers]

I see all of these "Faulk Sucks", comments, and how much people want to move him.

My question is; who do you replace him with? He's a RHD, something we are way short on.

To blame him for losing to Jets is laughable, but I guess everyone needs a scapegoat.

[Blues Dave]

Suter was great but I don't see a need for him next year. He really started to show his age during the playoffs. No reason why Lindstein couldn't get some minutes on the backend next year. Tucker has hopefully earned a job. Fowler has one year left and will most likely be extended. Time to move on from Suter for sure and possibly Leddy or Faulk although probably hard to move on from Faulk.

Well said Tim. Although I wouldn't be too upset if we kept Suter around for another year, I agree, it's not necessary. There'd be a few teams around that could use Suters knowledge and experience, and he "can" still play the game. I believe your take is more likely to happen. And I wholeheartedly agree with you about Tucker.

[Sophisticated Shoes]

Responsible two way #2 center for depth and possibly to start next year until DD is ready. Someone who can also play wing in time.

[Tabasco Flowers]

Responsible two way #2 center for depth and possibly to start next year until DD is ready. Someone who can also play wing in time.

All of our centers were responsible. A faster, responsible center I can get on board with.

[dtkblueshockey]

I see all of these "Faulk Sucks", comments, and how much people want to move him.

My question is; who do you replace him with? He's a RHD, something we are way short on.

To blame him for losing to Jets is laughable, but I guess everyone needs a scapegoat.

I think the people who are solely blaming him for the loss need their heads checked. It's moreso people like to go through the exercise of seeing where it makes sense to improve the roster. After seeing the impact of Fowler and Broberg, it's natural to look at guy like Faulk who is aging and analyze how he's played the past season or so and want to slot someone else there that isn't him.

[skilles]

I see all of these "Faulk Sucks", comments, and how much people want to move him.

My question is; who do you replace him with? He's a RHD, something we are way short on.

To blame him for losing to Jets is laughable, but I guess everyone needs a scapegoat.

I think the people who are solely blaming him for the loss need their heads checked. It's moreso people like to go through the exercise of seeing where it makes sense to improve the roster. After seeing the impact of Fowler and Broberg, it's natural to look at guy like Faulk who is aging and analyze how he's played the past season or so and want to slot someone else there that isn't him.

Sure but thats is that whats going on or is it just a bunch of "get rid of Faulk"?

[callitwhatyouwant]

I see all of these "Faulk Sucks", comments, and how much people want to move him.

My question is; who do you replace him with? He's a RHD, something we are way short on.

To blame him for losing to Jets is laughable, but I guess everyone needs a scapegoat.

I think the people who are solely blaming him for the loss need their heads checked. It's moreso people like to go through the exercise of seeing where it makes sense to improve the roster. After seeing the impact of Fowler and Broberg, it's natural to look at guy like Faulk who is aging and analyze how he's played the past season or so and want to slot someone else there that isn't him.

This is how I feel about Faulk. You got 2 years left with him. He and Broberg had something decent going. Give him the same pairing for the whole year and see how it goes. If he doesn't have a bounce back season where he's playing closer to a couple years ago Faulk, you look to shop him and eat some salary for that last year. Until then, you don't even have guys capable of filling the role in the system. You aren't rushed to move someone that the team apparently likes. When he was paired with Broberg things went great this year. When Broberg went down or CP55 went down, things got a little tougher, even tho he filled in pretty admirably there too.

It's kind of hard to get your chain yanked because the people around you keep getting hurt. changes a lot.

[dhsux]

Schenn is a warrior but I STILL question whether he is quick enough to be a viable 2C on a contender. DD isn't ready for 2C, so the braintrust has some pivotal decisions to make around this spot. Again.

Blues are at a point where they have to decide whether to tweak this roster for a push or stay invested in the development of younger players. It's easy to see this team taking a step back to serve more of their youth, or trading futures then coming up short hoping for a big push. Right now they appear to be playing catchup with the Jets and Stars, probably about even with the Avs, with the "Hockey Club" hot on their tail. A lot depends on how they rate young players like Neighbours, Bolduc, Tucker, and Hofer, and prospects like Stenberg.

Neighbours is a solid hockey player but he isn't moving the needle much offensively. Bolduc flashes a lot of solid talent but can't seem to get out of the doghouse. Hofer only matters if they view him as The Successor, and even then you have to question the timeline. Tucker seems to have warmed the Coach's heart but how good is he really?

I don't believe the team can remain competitive in the short term overloading on young players, but they can and probably should opt to use the first half of next season for development and evaluation, if the veterans buy in and if DD is ready.

So, I would make some tweaks, probably not a big splash move, BUT I think the Blues are in a position where Army has acted boldly in the past.

Assuming they stand pat:
Let Faksa decide if he wants to come back.
Let Suter go
Move Texier and Hofer
Add a gritty depth player at RD
Add a gritty forward to back up Joseph and the 4th line
Keep the Cap powder dry

I'm hanging on to Kyrou, Neighbours, et al until the trade deadline. See where the young players like Snuggerud, Bolduc, and Dvorsky are in their development and what the team needs. In the meantime, keep eyes open for another Fowler-like opportunity.

If they make a splash trade over the summer I would target RD. Unless of course, they come up with something bigger and better. I would NOT trade a basket of picks and prospects for a winger.

Good post.

However I do think DA has a third option (your last point?) for a blockbuster type trade for D using up a couple of prospects in the course of that. I'm sure they have their in house ranking and can maybe more some from the lower tier.

Also, I think they sign Joel if he plays ball.

[netboy65]

Schenn is a warrior but I STILL question whether he is quick enough to be a viable 2C on a contender. DD isn't ready for 2C, so the braintrust has some pivotal decisions to make around this spot. Again.

Blues are at a point where they have to decide whether to tweak this roster for a push or stay invested in the development of younger players. It's easy to see this team taking a step back to serve more of their youth, or trading futures then coming up short hoping for a big push. Right now they appear to be playing catchup with the Jets and Stars, probably about even with the Avs, with the "Hockey Club" hot on their tail. A lot depends on how they rate young players like Neighbours, Bolduc, Tucker, and Hofer, and prospects like Stenberg.

Neighbours is a solid hockey player but he isn't moving the needle much offensively. Bolduc flashes a lot of solid talent but can't seem to get out of the doghouse. Hofer only matters if they view him as The Successor, and even then you have to question the timeline. Tucker seems to have warmed the Coach's heart but how good is he really?

I don't believe the team can remain competitive in the short term overloading on young players, but they can and probably should opt to use the first half of next season for development and evaluation, if the veterans buy in and if DD is ready.

So, I would make some tweaks, probably not a big splash move, BUT I think the Blues are in a position where Army has acted boldly in the past.

Assuming they stand pat:
Let Faksa decide if he wants to come back.
Let Suter go
Move Texier and Hofer
Add a gritty depth player at RD
Add a gritty forward to back up Joseph and the 4th line
Keep the Cap powder dry

I'm hanging on to Kyrou, Neighbours, et al until the trade deadline. See where the young players like Snuggerud, Bolduc, and Dvorsky are in their development and what the team needs. In the meantime, keep eyes open for another Fowler-like opportunity.

If they make a splash trade over the summer I would target RD. Unless of course, they come up with something bigger and better. I would NOT trade a basket of picks and prospects for a winger.

We have to get through next year first, but ideally for 26-27 our top 9 would be
Bolduc Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Dvorsky Kyrou
Neighbours Schenn Buch

Biggest problem with that is the team is not going to want to pay $8M for a 3rd line winger, so something will have to give

[Blue Sabbath]

Upgrade center ice (2c/3c). Schenn ideally transitions out of the top six and into 3c or 3rd line wing role (if he is not an offseason trade candidate). Sunny should be moved into 4th line center or winger depth or 13/14th forward status. Faksa should be extended as your 4c to keep the WTF line intact. They have a lot of avenues they could look to for this.

Upgrade defense. The Blues sorely need a 2nd pairing right-shot guy with size and skill to play with Broberg. A guy like Gavrikov or Dobson comes to mind. Fowler should be extended.

Find a way to move on from the following players:

Texier
Joseph
Faulk
Leddy

As always I'm always down to see them try to get Brady from Ottawa but it seems like the Tkachuk bros are destined to not play for their hometown.

Otherwise, they need to focus on finding good quality NHL depth for the entire roster and continue to bring along their youth and build upon what they accomplished after 4 nations.

I agree with your comments on the 2C / 3C Center and defense issues.
Concerning the players to move on from I would like to see us keep Texier.
I think our quality depth comes from our prospects that haven't arrived yet.

[dtkblueshockey]

Upgrade center ice (2c/3c). Schenn ideally transitions out of the top six and into 3c or 3rd line wing role (if he is not an offseason trade candidate). Sunny should be moved into 4th line center or winger depth or 13/14th forward status. Faksa should be extended as your 4c to keep the WTF line intact. They have a lot of avenues they could look to for this.

Upgrade defense. The Blues sorely need a 2nd pairing right-shot guy with size and skill to play with Broberg. A guy like Gavrikov or Dobson comes to mind. Fowler should be extended.

Find a way to move on from the following players:

Texier
Joseph
Faulk
Leddy

As always I'm always down to see them try to get Brady from Ottawa but it seems like the Tkachuk bros are destined to not play for their hometown.

Otherwise, they need to focus on finding good quality NHL depth for the entire roster and continue to bring along their youth and build upon what they accomplished after 4 nations.

I agree with your comments on the 2C / 3C Center and defense issues.
Concerning the players to move on from I would like to see us keep Texier.
I think our quality depth comes from our prospects that haven't arrived yet.

I like the idea of Texier and I think the Blues management does too, however, the fact remains that for more than 2/3 of the season he was injured in some form or fashion. On top of that, he appeared to have issues playing two-way hockey which landed him a spot on the bench for several games. Guys like Bolduc and Snuggy figured that out. Do we really want to continue to invest time and a roster spot into someone who can't crack the lineup and is eating 2.1 million in cap?

The coaching staff and management do not see eye to eye on the player.

Unless they are going to gut the coaching staff over Alexandre Texier, I think it would be better to just send him to another team to further his career.

I agree with your comments on the depth from prospects.

[callitwhatyouwant]

Schenn is a warrior but I STILL question whether he is quick enough to be a viable 2C on a contender. DD isn't ready for 2C, so the braintrust has some pivotal decisions to make around this spot. Again.

Blues are at a point where they have to decide whether to tweak this roster for a push or stay invested in the development of younger players. It's easy to see this team taking a step back to serve more of their youth, or trading futures then coming up short hoping for a big push. Right now they appear to be playing catchup with the Jets and Stars, probably about even with the Avs, with the "Hockey Club" hot on their tail. A lot depends on how they rate young players like Neighbours, Bolduc, Tucker, and Hofer, and prospects like Stenberg.

Neighbours is a solid hockey player but he isn't moving the needle much offensively. Bolduc flashes a lot of solid talent but can't seem to get out of the doghouse. Hofer only matters if they view him as The Successor, and even then you have to question the timeline. Tucker seems to have warmed the Coach's heart but how good is he really?

I don't believe the team can remain competitive in the short term overloading on young players, but they can and probably should opt to use the first half of next season for development and evaluation, if the veterans buy in and if DD is ready.

So, I would make some tweaks, probably not a big splash move, BUT I think the Blues are in a position where Army has acted boldly in the past.

Assuming they stand pat:
Let Faksa decide if he wants to come back.
Let Suter go
Move Texier and Hofer
Add a gritty depth player at RD
Add a gritty forward to back up Joseph and the 4th line
Keep the Cap powder dry

I'm hanging on to Kyrou, Neighbours, et al until the trade deadline. See where the young players like Snuggerud, Bolduc, and Dvorsky are in their development and what the team needs. In the meantime, keep eyes open for another Fowler-like opportunity.

If they make a splash trade over the summer I would target RD. Unless of course, they come up with something bigger and better. I would NOT trade a basket of picks and prospects for a winger.

We have to get through next year first, but ideally for 26-27 our top 9 would be
Bolduc Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Dvorsky Kyrou
Neighbours Schenn Buch

Biggest problem with that is the team is not going to want to pay $8M for a 3rd line winger, so something will have to give

I don't think you are wrong. It's the scary part about next year with how close it was this year. but I don't think theres anything wrong with that 3rd line, if the other guys progress. because they will be asked to shutdown the top line and that's what you need out of a stanley cup team. That year also would have a 4th line of guys like stenberg, torpedo, dean. so those guys won't be going agianst top lines but trying to play with speed

[JB2011]

While the Blues are still the talk of the town/ 101 espn for the next day until whenever they do their yearly press conference, What do you guys think have to be the top changes to the roster within reason? We have 6m before Krugs LTIR money is applied and gets us to 12m. So working under the assumption he's still not a Blue, the Blues have 2 players that fall of the roster this year in Faksa and Hofer. Hofer is a RFA, so I imagine a deal gets done there. Faksa was on a 3.5m dollar contract. That's a lot of a 4th liner on a retooling team. Yes, it made sense for us this year when we were only paying half, but Faksa had quite the run at the end of the year. Did he bring his value back to 3m? Suter is the 3rd person on that list, but I don't even listen to that unless he is going 1m for 1 year. He did voice around Christmas time he wanted to move his family to STL and call it home if the Blues were interested in working something out. Sounded to me like he wanted to get 1 more year and then some kind of position with the front office.

Personally, I'm still in the camp that for this next year, we need to Schenn off of line 2. Schenn is a pros pro. Pretty much the perfect kind of captain for a younger team. Everyone on the team likes him, he's well respected, and he makes sure the vibes are high. But for him to get the most out of his play, he's a 2nd line winger or a 3rd line center. Well Hollywood proved he's a 2nd line winger at minimum. I have a feeling Snuggy will get the top line winger with Buch and Thomas.

Buchy/Thomas/Snuggy
Holloway/ xxxx/ Kyrou
Neighbours / Schenn/ Bolduc

Joseph/Sunny/Torps

extras - Walker Dvorsky.

There's a lot to digest in your post.

First, I would keep the WTF line together if at all possible. Walker has earned the right to play, period. And so has Toropchenko. Would Faksa be willing to take 2 years at $5 million? If not, I always thought in an ideal world Schenn would become the current version of 2019 Steen centering the 4th line between Torp and Walker. This would require the acquisition of a 2/3 center to play with Dvorsky as the other C.

IMO we have 4 defenseman I would like as part of the core moving forward: Parayko, Fowler, Broberg and Tucker. The immediate one I'd like to be rid of is Leddy. Faulk and Suter are serviceable in proper roles, but the goal would be to get someone better than either. Again, how to do it is where Armstrong will earn his money.

Interestingly, I was talking to one of my hockey pals this morning and he said Pronger was on a podcast recently and was asked if the Blues have a true No. 1 defenseman. He said no and that there are maybe ten of those in the entire league: players who are first pair in 5 on 5, can control the net front, first PP and first PK. He was asked about Parayko and said he would be ideal on the second pair. I have yet to hear the podcast but can't argue with what he said. Acquiring a 1st pair defenseman would come at a steep price, so it's probably undoable.

No matter what I hope Army proceeds with caution and trust he will since we're young and close.

What would I do to see Chris Pronger in his prime suit up with this team. Back in the day, I always thought that Scott Stevens was the man. Chris Pronger was an all around incredible hockey player and defenseman. He could take over and dominate a series. On my wish list is a number one defenseman. There aren't many of them, so i doubt that it happens.