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
stlhooked wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:00 pm
Seems expensive, I was thinking 4mil per year.
That just seems really expensive for a guy that’s kinda milk toast with smart hockey sense.
4M?!
There are bottom six guys who have gotten that much this year. 6M would have been a steal at current prices. 6.75 for six years is a bit higher than I wanted, but under what I expected he would be asking for.
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.
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.
noted wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:42 pm
Only has a 3 team no trade clause in the last 4 years. Can be trade to the other 28 teams. I like the Steen contracts
Wow that moves the contract from pretty good to really good for me. I’d gladly pay a little more against the cap to maintain the extra trade flexibility. At least in the position we’re in right now.
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
stlhooked wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 16:00 pm
Seems expensive, I was thinking 4mil per year.
That just seems really expensive for a guy that’s kinda milk toast with smart hockey sense.
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
He is trending downward. He needs to produce this season. Not sure why he gets a pass while Kyrou is/was a whipping boy. He is at current an overpayment for what he brings to the table.
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.
Good contract.
This team is getting better and you can sense a better "identity" developing too. These players and a few whom will need contracts soon as well as some good looking young prospects are going to feel more confidence that they are part of something that can achieve. The depth of competition from below helps.
Old_Goat wrote: ↑16 Jul 2026 19:31 pm
Good contract.
This team is getting better and you can sense a better "identity" developing too. These players and a few whom will need contracts soon as well as some good looking young prospects are going to feel more confidence that they are part of something that can achieve. The depth of competition from below helps.
I think having a mercurial Kyrou gone and hopefully a mentally tough ready to reprove himself McTavish here just changes the whole outlook of the team. Both McM and McT will throw their weight around and play a team game.
Having a defense that's pretty much set to go from the jump will change things dramatically from last year.
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.
