Mails shouldn’t be in the NHL right now

[Pierre McGuire]

I thought he had a strong game last night. Kept it simple. There’s other D I much more concerned about. We’ll have a better idea what Mailloux will develop into next year after he’s had a full season under his belt.

I watched the football game and missed the first half of the game, but he looked fine to me in the period+ I watched. Keep in mind that the OP started this thread right after the third goal for Vegas……the one where Theodore went top shelf with Tucker screening Binnington. Mailloux was on the ice, but on the other side, and he had just shut down a rush from Marner. It was actually a very strong play by Mailloux. I’d almost think someone was trying to stir things up with the disgruntled masses.

People need to quit whining about Mailloux. He looks like a 22-year old defenseman in his first year…..on a terrible team where the forwards don’t play defense and the goaltending has been frequently horrible. So get over the trade and find something new to talk about. I admit I wasn’t crazy about the trade when it first happened, but I think Tim/Pierre is probably right……there is more than meets the eye to this deal. The guy we traded isn’t exactly tearing it up, so people need to quit acting like we traded the next coming of Brett Hull.

Spot on

[Bluesfan1978]

Everyone here does realize he’s not the only rookie defenseman in the league yea? Why don’t any of them have absolutely pitiful numbers too?

The learning curve is real but waving away how bad he’s been based only on that is just as uninformed as your high horse arguments, if not more.

I agree he needs to play so the Blues can see if they have anything in him, but acting like he’s been anything positive is just biased homerism. The stats are maybe a bit worse than the eye test but I still can’t remember a “signature” play he made this year at all where I said, “that’s why they loved him. That’s what we can build on”.

As I said in the GDT, there is no chance this is the guy they thought they were getting when they traded for him.

I would think part of the answer would be the Blues have had some of the worst goaltending in the league this year. The first several games he was with Tucker which wasn’t ideal. Ideally you would have paired Mailloux with a Suter type player. Either way not sure all the differences but I know the kid is showing improvement the last few games. Hope he keeps it up. Personally I think he will end up being the top 4 D that he was expected to be.

[TruBlueFan_1970]

Everyone here does realize he’s not the only rookie defenseman in the league yea? Why don’t any of them have absolutely pitiful numbers too?

The learning curve is real but waving away how bad he’s been based only on that is just as uninformed as your high horse arguments, if not more.

I agree he needs to play so the Blues can see if they have anything in him, but acting like he’s been anything positive is just biased homerism. The stats are maybe a bit worse than the eye test but I still can’t remember a “signature” play he made this year at all where I said, “that’s why they loved him. That’s what we can build on”.

As I said in the GDT, there is no chance this is the guy they thought they were getting when they traded for him.

I would think part of the answer would be the Blues have had some of the worst goaltending in the league this year. The first several games he was with Tucker which wasn’t ideal. Ideally you would have paired Mailloux with a Suter type player. Either way not sure all the differences but I know the kid is showing improvement the last few games. Hope he keeps it up. Personally I think he will end up being the top 4 D that he was expected to be.

And Fowler has sucked (donkey) this year. He was so weak in that game last night that I wanted to trade him during the game. He’s not a good partner for Mailloux. Put Fowler back with Parayko and see if he can be at least effective. Take your lumps and put Mailloux with Tucker. Let them both determine their own fate and learn on the fly

[MiamiLaw]

The Blues personnel that told us that Mailloux was ready when we traded for him should not be in the NHL.

Mailloux was not nearly an unknown to the hockey world. Even most Montreal fans could tell that he wasnt ready. Now most Blues fans say the same thing.

Congrats Blues fans. You know more than Army.

That’s why I don’t believe the story we were told on why they made the move. Our scouts don’t miss this bad. Something happened with Bolduc and they wanted him gone at all costs.

I hope so. Army claiming the Blues always wanted him since the draft kind of goes against that though.

Nah that’s just Army talk. No way the Blues were drafting this kid regardless. Remember he actually sent a memo to all teams pre draft asking them not to draft him because of the situation surrounding him.
The way he handled that entire situation tells me he’s a standup kid and has a good head on his shoulders. Man he was grilled from day one after Montreal drafted him and he stood there and answered all those questions and he had to do it multiple times too.
Bolduc isn’t anything special but i just don’t believe Blues scouts would have seen Mailloux as NHL ready. I feel like that was Army trying to cover up that they just traded a 20 goal guy and he had to have some sort of story as to why.

Yea I remember that and he definitely did the right thing from a PR standpoint but it’s just another head scratcher as to why the Blues seemed to pay an apparent premium for a guy that was a question mark as far as nhl ability and even had outside baggage.

Army did seem to say that they would’ve drafted him outside of that letter requesting not to be drafted but yea could be revisionist to make him feel valued here.

I’m with you as I’ve said. There’s gotta be more to it

[Harry York 37]

Mailloux is a big chunk of coal, but he's gonna be a diamond, someday.

Mailloux's athleticism is top-notch. We have no one like him on D. The combination of raw speed, size, fearlessness, and following his instincts are beautiful to me. He is slowly becoming a force of nature.
Once he gets even a bit more comfortable, his offensive potential will emerge as the cherry on top.

This will be a regarded as a fantastic trade in the future if he stays healthy- he should, he is beast like in spurts.

If Broberg is out for any length of time, we will see him, better-aged, under an even stronger lens.

[MiamiLaw]

Everyone here does realize he’s not the only rookie defenseman in the league yea? Why don’t any of them have absolutely pitiful numbers too?

The learning curve is real but waving away how bad he’s been based only on that is just as uninformed as your high horse arguments, if not more.

I agree he needs to play so the Blues can see if they have anything in him, but acting like he’s been anything positive is just biased homerism. The stats are maybe a bit worse than the eye test but I still can’t remember a “signature” play he made this year at all where I said, “that’s why they loved him. That’s what we can build on”.

As I said in the GDT, there is no chance this is the guy they thought they were getting when they traded for him.

I would think part of the answer would be the Blues have had some of the worst goaltending in the league this year. The first several games he was with Tucker which wasn’t ideal. Ideally you would have paired Mailloux with a Suter type player. Either way not sure all the differences but I know the kid is showing improvement the last few games. Hope he keeps it up. Personally I think he will end up being the top 4 D that he was expected to be.

I hope so too. But even if the defense numbers have been affected by the goaltending/roster, and they undoubtedly have, it doesn’t explain the almost complete lack of offense he’s produced and that’s supposed to be his thing.

I partially agree with Harry York above that he does have obvious size and moves pretty well for that size, and I’ve even seen a bit of a mean side here and there, but those tools do nothing if he can’t harness them and I’m not seeing an underlying base for that. His instincts seem pretty bad on the whole. Experience will help a bit but it’s hard to completely replace it.

The Blues are going to give him every chance so I’m pulling for him. But in my opinion, it’s just blind optimism and hope to say he can be a top 4 at this point. I haven’t seen much that says it’s likely. He’s got some natural tools though for sure.

[dhsux]

Everyone here does realize he’s not the only rookie defenseman in the league yea? Why don’t any of them have absolutely pitiful numbers too?

The learning curve is real but waving away how bad he’s been based only on that is just as uninformed as your high horse arguments, if not more.

I agree he needs to play so the Blues can see if they have anything in him, but acting like he’s been anything positive is just biased homerism. The stats are maybe a bit worse than the eye test but I still can’t remember a “signature” play he made this year at all where I said, “that’s why they loved him. That’s what we can build on”.

As I said in the GDT, there is no chance this is the guy they thought they were getting when they traded for him.

Miami I see a lot of positive in his play...and more importantly progress since coming up.

He was a -12 in first 9 games and after a short stint in AHL a minus -8 in 22 games since. You can mock the curve but eye test is even more convincing than the minus stats above imo.

Where are you specifically seeing all this bad play, I'm seeing for more good than bad.

And this is a question excluding the other D veteran men play we have seen on the balance of the roster.

I agree with you on his lack of offensive contribution on the box score. It's been surprising but it is the least of my own concerns.

[MiamiLaw]

Everyone here does realize he’s not the only rookie defenseman in the league yea? Why don’t any of them have absolutely pitiful numbers too?

The learning curve is real but waving away how bad he’s been based only on that is just as uninformed as your high horse arguments, if not more.

I agree he needs to play so the Blues can see if they have anything in him, but acting like he’s been anything positive is just biased homerism. The stats are maybe a bit worse than the eye test but I still can’t remember a “signature” play he made this year at all where I said, “that’s why they loved him. That’s what we can build on”.

As I said in the GDT, there is no chance this is the guy they thought they were getting when they traded for him.

Miami I see a lot of positive in his play...and more importantly progress since coming up.

He was a -12 in first 9 games and after a short stint in AHL a minus -8 in 22 games since. You can mock the curve but eye test is even more convincing than the minus stats above imo.

Where are you specifically seeing all this bad play, I'm seeing for more good than bad.

And this is a question excluding the other D veteran men play we have seen on the balance of the roster.

I agree with you on his lack of offensive contribution on the box score. It's been surprising but it is the least of my own concerns.

That’s the glass is half full look and I’m fine with it. He’s been better since the trainwreck of October for sure.

I’m just commenting on the persistent argument that he’s a rookie and therefore commenting on his play is premature. There’s something to that but people seem to think it’s a mic drop.

The stats are not kind to him and that’s the only objective way to judge him against his peers. It’s the other side of the coin. Subjectively, opinions will vary widely, whether from league experts or fans like us.

[StLouis-4Life2]

Honestly thought he had a great game. Saw several times where he held onto the puck instead of playing hot potato... started to gain confidence and realize he can play at this level. Decision making getting better... keep playing him and play him more this year since it's a wasted year anyways and get him solid for next year

[Old_Goat]

Always has that stupid look too. Or maybe he’s just sad/confused

Finally something that you have firsthand experience with and are qualified to recognize.

[Old_Goat]

Honestly thought he had a great game. Saw several times where he held onto the puck instead of playing hot potato... started to gain confidence and realize he can play at this level. Decision making getting better... keep playing him and play him more this year since it's a wasted year anyways and get him solid for next year

Exactly, the panic with and around the puck has subsided dramatically in his game.

[blackinkbiz]

The Blues personnel that told us that Mailloux was ready when we traded for him should not be in the NHL.

Mailloux was not nearly an unknown to the hockey world. Even most Montreal fans could tell that he wasnt ready. Now most Blues fans say the same thing.

Congrats Blues fans. You know more than Army.

That’s why I don’t believe the story we were told on why they made the move. Our scouts don’t miss this bad. Something happened with Bolduc and they wanted him gone at all costs.

I hope so. Army claiming the Blues always wanted him since the draft kind of goes against that though.

Nah that’s just Army talk. No way the Blues were drafting this kid regardless. Remember he actually sent a memo to all teams pre draft asking them not to draft him because of the situation surrounding him.
The way he handled that entire situation tells me he’s a standup kid and has a good head on his shoulders. Man he was grilled from day one after Montreal drafted him and he stood there and answered all those questions and he had to do it multiple times too.
Bolduc isn’t anything special but i just don’t believe Blues scouts would have seen Mailloux as NHL ready. I feel like that was Army trying to cover up that they just traded a 20 goal guy and he had to have some sort of story as to why.

Yea I remember that and he definitely did the right thing from a PR standpoint but it’s just another head scratcher as to why the Blues seemed to pay an apparent premium for a guy that was a question mark as far as nhl ability and even had outside baggage.

Army did seem to say that they would’ve drafted him outside of that letter requesting not to be drafted but yea could be revisionist to make him feel valued here.

I’m with you as I’ve said. There’s gotta be more to it

I know nothing about his "pre-draft situation" and any letters he sent or anything about that entire situation. Can anyone provide a link and/or synopsis of wth you guys are talking about?

[Pierre McGuire]

The Blues personnel that told us that Mailloux was ready when we traded for him should not be in the NHL.

Mailloux was not nearly an unknown to the hockey world. Even most Montreal fans could tell that he wasnt ready. Now most Blues fans say the same thing.

Congrats Blues fans. You know more than Army.

That’s why I don’t believe the story we were told on why they made the move. Our scouts don’t miss this bad. Something happened with Bolduc and they wanted him gone at all costs.

I hope so. Army claiming the Blues always wanted him since the draft kind of goes against that though.

Nah that’s just Army talk. No way the Blues were drafting this kid regardless. Remember he actually sent a memo to all teams pre draft asking them not to draft him because of the situation surrounding him.
The way he handled that entire situation tells me he’s a standup kid and has a good head on his shoulders. Man he was grilled from day one after Montreal drafted him and he stood there and answered all those questions and he had to do it multiple times too.
Bolduc isn’t anything special but i just don’t believe Blues scouts would have seen Mailloux as NHL ready. I feel like that was Army trying to cover up that they just traded a 20 goal guy and he had to have some sort of story as to why.

Yea I remember that and he definitely did the right thing from a PR standpoint but it’s just another head scratcher as to why the Blues seemed to pay an apparent premium for a guy that was a question mark as far as nhl ability and even had outside baggage.

Army did seem to say that they would’ve drafted him outside of that letter requesting not to be drafted but yea could be revisionist to make him feel valued here.

I’m with you as I’ve said. There’s gotta be more to it

I know nothing about his "pre-draft situation" and any letters he sent or anything about that entire situation. Can anyone provide a link and/or synopsis of wth you guys are talking about?

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/embatt ... 55019.html

[blackinkbiz]

The Blues personnel that told us that Mailloux was ready when we traded for him should not be in the NHL.

Mailloux was not nearly an unknown to the hockey world. Even most Montreal fans could tell that he wasnt ready. Now most Blues fans say the same thing.

Congrats Blues fans. You know more than Army.

That’s why I don’t believe the story we were told on why they made the move. Our scouts don’t miss this bad. Something happened with Bolduc and they wanted him gone at all costs.

I hope so. Army claiming the Blues always wanted him since the draft kind of goes against that though.

Nah that’s just Army talk. No way the Blues were drafting this kid regardless. Remember he actually sent a memo to all teams pre draft asking them not to draft him because of the situation surrounding him.
The way he handled that entire situation tells me he’s a standup kid and has a good head on his shoulders. Man he was grilled from day one after Montreal drafted him and he stood there and answered all those questions and he had to do it multiple times too.
Bolduc isn’t anything special but i just don’t believe Blues scouts would have seen Mailloux as NHL ready. I feel like that was Army trying to cover up that they just traded a 20 goal guy and he had to have some sort of story as to why.

Yea I remember that and he definitely did the right thing from a PR standpoint but it’s just another head scratcher as to why the Blues seemed to pay an apparent premium for a guy that was a question mark as far as nhl ability and even had outside baggage.

Army did seem to say that they would’ve drafted him outside of that letter requesting not to be drafted but yea could be revisionist to make him feel valued here.

I’m with you as I’ve said. There’s gotta be more to it

I know nothing about his "pre-draft situation" and any letters he sent or anything about that entire situation. Can anyone provide a link and/or synopsis of wth you guys are talking about?

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/embatt ... 55019.html

Thanks. Just checked his OHL and other minor league stats and wow did he have some unreal offensive seasons. Just as recent as 23 he averaged about 1 ppg throughout the regular season and playoffs. But, like almost every other player on the current Blues team, he now seems to have lost the fire to score goals.

Someone mentioned the other day that ever since Monty switched the defensive structure from zone to man2man, the entire team's transition game has suffered and that's a big reason they're no longer scoring like they did last season when they'd figured it out.

I haven't watched much as of late, at least not the last 3 games, because every time I turn it on, I see the oppo score or, like last night, down by 2 with 1 minute to go, these idiots literally passed the puck 10 times around the perimeter without putting a f'n SOG! So I have no idea if they're still trying this putrid man2man alignment.

I don't care if they lose every game the rest of the season. Defensive schemes can be taught. Offensive ability has to be nurtured. Just let them go down firing 50 shots a night and becoming the offensive threat they've all shown they're capable of in the past. Worry about the D next season.

Never happen but one can dream.

[Harry York 37]

I strive to be as honest and fair as I am able.

I, honestly, don't know Defensive strategies enough to have a POV.
If they switched the system, why do you suppose they did so?

If it is , indeed, a big reason why we are lost for offensive opportunities and/or hanging our, otherwise stellar goalies out to dry...why the devil don't they address it once again?

I appreciate all input other than bitter and high-stress troll bait.

[BalotelliMassive]

This season is lost - he should be playing 20+ minutes a game while being coached closely by a defensive mastermind like Al MacInnis in the AHL.

I don't care about offensive numbers - they obviously haven't transitioned to the NHL yet.