Army ruined the Blues this year

[Bluesbacker]

Army made no mistakes this year other than poor asset management in regard to Colton Ellis. The team is just playing poorly. The Bolduc trade makes perfect sense. It just takes awhile for defenseman to season. Malloux will be fine. Suter and Bjugstad were smart decisions. No blame is deserved for anyone. The team looks out of sync. Hofer is terribly frustrated. He didn't just wake up terrible one day. The team just needs to keep working hard and play through this.

How is it poor management with Ellis? There was literally nothing they could do. He was of age and couldn't be sent down.

Do you really think Army could have traded him when other teams are trying to figure out where to put players. Or did you foresee him suddenly being better than Hofer...who some on here thought the Blue should trade Binnington and have Hofer be #1.

In hindshight, carrying three goalies maybe should have been considerd for a short while. Army had to know Ellis would be a target and we couldn't afford to lose him. I know it's not ideal but the position we are in right now isn't ideal either.

[Backesdraft]

Army made no mistakes this year other than poor asset management in regard to Colton Ellis. The team is just playing poorly. The Bolduc trade makes perfect sense. It just takes awhile for defenseman to season. Malloux will be fine. Suter and Bjugstad were smart decisions. No blame is deserved for anyone. The team looks out of sync. Hofer is terribly frustrated. He didn't just wake up terrible one day. The team just needs to keep working hard and play through this.

How is it poor management with Ellis? There was literally nothing they could do. He was of age and couldn't be sent down.

Do you really think Army could have traded him when other teams are trying to figure out where to put players. Or did you foresee him suddenly being better than Hofer...who some on here thought the Blue should trade Binnington and have Hofer be #1.

Fair enough. I believe Army could have traded either Hofer or Ellis. We all knew Ellis was coming off a great year. If he's a good asset manager, he can forecast with some reliability.

The one counter I’d say here is that multiple goalies got picked up via waivers right around the same time Ellis did. It was an issue for multiple teams and definitely not something specific to only Army or the Blues.

The other point here is are the Blues suddenly a .500 or above .500 team with Ellis in the minors? Of course not.

[billybaseball]

In hindsight

1. Should have traded Hofer in the offseason and let Ellis be the backup. Goalies are fickle creatures and Hofer's value was at it's peak this offseason.

2. Bolduc trade was unnecessary and hurt our strength of scoring depth on the wing. Bolduc was also developing a strong two-way physical game which is the type of player we need.

3.Not bringing Suter back or bringing in another vet Dman has been a glaring mistake.

4. Bjugstad has put up some points but he doesn't fit the high energy physical style that has been the identity of our bottom 6. His signing always seemed very unnecessary to me.

5. Monty has not coached this team well from training camp on. It's up to the players to perform but he is not putting them in a good spot to succeed. Playing Suter in between Holloway and Kyrou in the preseason and abandoning it although they showed great chemistry was idiotic. Not sending full lines to preseason games was idiotic. Dropping Snuggerud off of Thomas' line in the opening game was idiotic. IMO Monty has lost the team because of his poor decision making

[a smell of green grass]

Army made no mistakes this year other than poor asset management in regard to Colton Ellis. The team is just playing poorly. The Bolduc trade makes perfect sense. It just takes awhile for defenseman to season. Malloux will be fine. Suter and Bjugstad were smart decisions. No blame is deserved for anyone. The team looks out of sync. Hofer is terribly frustrated. He didn't just wake up terrible one day. The team just needs to keep working hard and play through this.

How is it poor management with Ellis? There was literally nothing they could do. He was of age and couldn't be sent down.

Do you really think Army could have traded him when other teams are trying to figure out where to put players. Or did you foresee him suddenly being better than Hofer...who some on here thought the Blue should trade Binnington and have Hofer be #1.

Fair enough. I believe Army could have traded either Hofer or Ellis. We all knew Ellis was coming off a great year. If he's a good asset manager, he can forecast with some reliability.

The one counter I’d say here is that multiple goalies got picked up via waivers right around the same time Ellis did. It was an issue for multiple teams and definitely not something specific to only Army or the Blues.

The other point here is are the Blues suddenly a .500 or above .500 team with Ellis in the minors? Of course not.

The problem with Army is player evaluation.

The Blues are in dire need of young talent and what has happened around us?
- The best Centers and the best RHDs are joining other rosters, not ours.
- The Blues cast-aways are playing key roles on other teams (Mikkola, and now Ellis?)
- Show me a Blues player with a long-term contract, and I'll show you an average talent.
- The 2023 and 2024 drafts were a complete failure, providing no gain on the competition.

[BalotelliMassive]

How is it poor management with Ellis?

He was a third round draft pick that developed into the top AHL goaltender for the Blues. They knew that he wasn't going to overtake Hofer because of his contract and that waivers were a huge risk. If you can't get at least a third in return then it's horrible management.

[a smell of green grass]

How is it poor management with Ellis?

He was a third round draft pick that developed into the top AHL goaltender for the Blues. They knew that he wasn't going to overtake Hofer because of his contract and that waivers were a huge risk. If you can't get at least a third in return then it's horrible management.

IMO
If Ellis is a better goalie than Hofer, the Blues failed in their most basic responsibility. The team with the strongest roster wins, not the one with the best contract management.

[dhsux]

In 2024, Army made some great moves securing Holloway and Broberg, but 2025 was a totally different situation.

1) He traded away Bolduc who was the #4 rookie scorer and a potential perennial 20-25 goal scorer for a project defenseman that is mistake prone and doesn’t seem to learn from his mistakes.

Yep, you nailed it. The reason the Blues are struggling is because our #6 defensemen is a rookie. Astute. Also, Bolduc had one solid 4 month span. Yes, I think he’s going to be good but let’s everyone pump the [fork]ing brakes already. Christ almighty. People acting like we traded away the 2nd coming of Ovie. For Christ sakes, Bolduc had 19 goals last year, not 50.

2) He signed Bjugstad who seems as slow as a glacier and for being 6’6’ plays very soft

He’s been better than we could have expected. He’s not the problem.

3) He let Leddy walk for nothing when we are in desperate need of D help.

Really? Nick Leddy is the answer? Really? Come on…guy could barely crack the top 6 last year.

4) Signs Hofer for $6.8M only to find he has trouble playing with that large of a wallet slowing him down.

Honest question - did you predict this sort of meltdown from Hofer? Of course you didn’t - nobody did. Easy to monday morning quarterback it now, but most people applauded the signing in the moment.

5) The one decent move was Suter as he look as expected as steady 3rd line center.

This may be a long year!

Knowing what you know right now, would you make the Bolduc move? He is second on the Habs in goals and second in hits. Mailloux is watching games from the press box. You can’t seriously thing that was a good trade.

Tucker and Mailloux only plus D men last night.

[The Original Nick]

The only real mistake I see was letting Faksa go. The WTF line is a line you go to war with and the real reason why the Blues went 7 games with the Jets. Once Army smelled that Dallas was back in the hunt he should've overpaid a little for Faksa.

[netboy65]

How is it poor management with Ellis?

He was a third round draft pick that developed into the top AHL goaltender for the Blues. They knew that he wasn't going to overtake Hofer because of his contract and that waivers were a huge risk. If you can't get at least a third in return then it's horrible management.

IMO
If Ellis is a better goalie than Hofer, the Blues failed in their most basic responsibility. The team with the strongest roster wins, not the one with the best contract management.

IF he’s the better goalie. We don’t know that yet, and nothing prior to this year gave that indication. What would you have done? Trade Ellis, what if he was the better goalie? Trade Hofer? What if Ellis then bombs and Hofer shines?
No matter how it worked out you get to complain.
This is just a bad stretch by Hofer, he will be fine.

[Corban84]

I hate saying this … cuz I hate him … but Suter was a real loss

Yeah hindsight 20/20, they miss that steady non flashy defensive play. Didn't notice him most nights which is a good thing.

[Corban84]

The only real mistake I see was letting Faksa go. The WTF line is a line you go to war with and the real reason why the Blues went 7 games with the Jets. Once Army smelled that Dallas was back in the hunt he should've overpaid a little for Faksa.

Do we know that didn't occur? Seemed like Faksa had his mind set to return to Dallas

[Frank Underwood]

The only real mistake I see was letting Faksa go. The WTF line is a line you go to war with and the real reason why the Blues went 7 games with the Jets. Once Army smelled that Dallas was back in the hunt he should've overpaid a little for Faksa.

Do we know that didn't occur? Seemed like Faksa had his mind set to return to Dallas

Yeah, I can’t blame Army for that one. The Blues wanted to keep him, but Dallas wanted him back. After 9 years in Dallas, that was home. When you have a wife and kids, that kind of stuff matters.

[Harry S Deals]

No GM would trade Hofer to keep Ellis, cmon man thats just dumb. Credit the Blues for drafting and developing well the franchise is going to lose some young players, it happens everywhere. Hofer had a .914 and a .904 save pct his two year, if he had a .904 save pct right now vs a .793 its probably equals two more Blues wins

[Harry S Deals]

In hindsight

1. Should have traded Hofer in the offseason and let Ellis be the backup. Goalies are fickle creatures and Hofer's value was at it's peak this offseason.
No, no one is doing that

2. Bolduc trade was unnecessary and hurt our strength of scoring depth on the wing. Bolduc was also developing a strong two-way physical game which is the type of player we need.
Bolduc has still struggled 5v5 he has a great PP shot, other than that hes a 3rd liner, Blues have that covered and need RHD

3.Not bringing Suter back or bringing in another vet Dman has been a glaring mistake.
Blues have said they are going younger Tucker has played well, Suter faded out by the playoffs. I have even seen some now saying they should have kept, wait for it...Nick Leddy! Fans ran Leddy out of town

4. Bjugstad has put up some points but he doesn't fit the high energy physical style that has been the identity of our bottom 6. His signing always seemed very unnecessary to me. Blues have no one internally to play in the bottom six Bjugstad is fine, hes a piece Faksa was decent too he doesnt move the needle enough to worry about now

5. Monty has not coached this team well from training camp on. It's up to the players to perform but he is not putting them in a good spot to succeed. Playing Suter in between Holloway and Kyrou in the preseason and abandoning it although they showed great chemistry was idiotic. Not sending full lines to preseason games was idiotic. Dropping Snuggerud off of Thomas' line in the opening game was idiotic. IMO Monty has lost the team because of his poor decision making

Heres the one thing i saw last night that i thought was poor management, crucial PP, no Kyrou, it was Suter with Texier.... Huh? Kyrou got in about 45 seconds.

[Bubble4427]

In 2024, Army made some great moves securing Holloway and Broberg, but 2025 was a totally different situation.

1) He traded away Bolduc who was the #4 rookie scorer and a potential perennial 20-25 goal scorer for a project defenseman that is mistake prone and doesn’t seem to learn from his mistakes.

Yep, you nailed it. The reason the Blues are struggling is because our #6 defensemen is a rookie. Astute. Also, Bolduc had one solid 4 month span. Yes, I think he’s going to be good but let’s everyone pump the [fork]ing brakes already. Christ almighty. People acting like we traded away the 2nd coming of Ovie. For Christ sakes, Bolduc had 19 goals last year, not 50.

2) He signed Bjugstad who seems as slow as a glacier and for being 6’6’ plays very soft

He’s been better than we could have expected. He’s not the problem.

3) He let Leddy walk for nothing when we are in desperate need of D help.

Really? Nick Leddy is the answer? Really? Come on…guy could barely crack the top 6 last year.

4) Signs Hofer for $6.8M only to find he has trouble playing with that large of a wallet slowing him down.

Honest question - did you predict this sort of meltdown from Hofer? Of course you didn’t - nobody did. Easy to monday morning quarterback it now, but most people applauded the signing in the moment.

5) The one decent move was Suter as he look as expected as steady 3rd line center.

This may be a long year!

Knowing what you know right now, would you make the Bolduc move? He is second on the Habs in goals and second in hits. Mailloux is watching games from the press box. You can’t seriously thing that was a good trade.

I would make it every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
The fact you are judging a trade after 10 games is comical.
The fact you are judging Mailoux after he has played just 20 NHL games is also comical.
How would you pay Bolduc the 5-6 million dollars he would command at the end of the year?

I think you are just trying to be funny and can't possibly be serious.
Whatever club you are performing at this weekend...is there a 2 drink minimum?

[Harry S Deals]

In 2024, Army made some great moves securing Holloway and Broberg, but 2025 was a totally different situation.

1) He traded away Bolduc who was the #4 rookie scorer and a potential perennial 20-25 goal scorer for a project defenseman that is mistake prone and doesn’t seem to learn from his mistakes.

Yep, you nailed it. The reason the Blues are struggling is because our #6 defensemen is a rookie. Astute. Also, Bolduc had one solid 4 month span. Yes, I think he’s going to be good but let’s everyone pump the [fork]ing brakes already. Christ almighty. People acting like we traded away the 2nd coming of Ovie. For Christ sakes, Bolduc had 19 goals last year, not 50.

2) He signed Bjugstad who seems as slow as a glacier and for being 6’6’ plays very soft

He’s been better than we could have expected. He’s not the problem.

3) He let Leddy walk for nothing when we are in desperate need of D help.

Really? Nick Leddy is the answer? Really? Come on…guy could barely crack the top 6 last year.

4) Signs Hofer for $6.8M only to find he has trouble playing with that large of a wallet slowing him down.

Honest question - did you predict this sort of meltdown from Hofer? Of course you didn’t - nobody did. Easy to monday morning quarterback it now, but most people applauded the signing in the moment.

5) The one decent move was Suter as he look as expected as steady 3rd line center.

This may be a long year!

Knowing what you know right now, would you make the Bolduc move? He is second on the Habs in goals and second in hits. Mailloux is watching games from the press box. You can’t seriously thing that was a good trade.

I would make it every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
The fact you are judging a trade after 10 games is comical.
The fact you are judging Mailoux after he has played just 20 NHL games is also comical.
How would you pay Bolduc the 5-6 million dollars he would command at the end of the year?

I think you are just trying to be funny and can't possibly be serious.
Whatever club you are performing at this weekend...is there a 2 drink minimum?

There is a decent chance we are going to look back at this, next year, this year idk when and it will be a steal by the Blues