We don't "need" to do anything right now Mr. Man.

[Blues Dave]

Just thought it was time to throw in another do not have to trade, offer sheet, or go after an outsider not already in the Blues organization. Because mainly, who is positive it would help or hurt. I believe we already have what it takes to possibly win another cup. I'm gonna be happy with whatever works. Including working from the inside. JMO

[MiamiLaw]

I know the mood is optimistic around the team now but really they barely made the playoffs and lost in the first round. There are definitely improvements to be made

[b-a-a-a-rclay]

It's true that they don't have to. The thing is that DA said they are looking for, or at least open to adding, a 200 ft player to provide offense. So, we will see.

[theograce]

I know the mood is optimistic around the team now but really they barely made the playoffs and lost in the first round. There are definitely improvements to be made

The Jets aren’t the Oilers or Panthers either

[a smell of green grass]

Over in the ongoing playoffs, the Big Dogs on Lines 1 and 2 are chewing up every Little Dog in sight. That's what TOP5 picks do.

Here in St Louis, the 4th WTF line are our Big Dogs and Identity, and the "F" may be gone by August, but no fear. The plane is definitely lined up for landing.

[MiamiLaw]

I know the mood is optimistic around the team now but really they barely made the playoffs and lost in the first round. There are definitely improvements to be made

The Jets aren’t the Oilers or Panthers either

Yea. I do expect - for the first time in a few years - that the Blues will probably be better next year than last, but they’re not in any kind of realistic cup contender discussion with the current roster

[theograce]

People forget other teams are always looking to improve and many do through various means

[dhsux]

So many here wrong about this years team so ready to proclaim about next years team.

[MiamiLaw]

So many here wrong about this years team so ready to proclaim about next years team.

I mean almost everyone said they were a bubble team and that’s exactly what they were. It took a franchise long winning streak to even make it on a tiebreaker

[DawgDad]

So many here wrong about this years team so ready to proclaim about next years team.

I mean almost everyone said they were a bubble team and that’s exactly what they were. It took a franchise long winning streak to even make it on a tiebreaker

The Blues played and won all the games they won. Those games in the streak count just the same as games before New Year's. They were a better team at the end than they were early, by a wide margin. Ask the Jets about that. They were a team trending strongly upward until they coughed up Game 7; even so they were a very tough out in OT.

So many good things happened. Fueling the uptrend was the talent infusion of Broberg, Holloway, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Tucker, and Fowler, 5 of the 6 emerging young players. Those young players figure to have a lot more room for growth in their games.

The team also fixed their even strength game, turning ES into a solid advantage, and improved their previously dismal power play.

Thomas established himself as a 95-point level 200' center, a true #1. Schenn actually had a solid 2C season, compare his stats and leadership contributions to Bennett for perspective. Kyrou became a solid plus player.

The 4th line rose up late and carried their solid game into the playoffs. If Faksa moves on they will miss his work, particularly in the faceoff dot, but the Blues have internal options to keep the line viable. Don't conflate their solid physical contributions in limited minutes for the top-6 skill guys who burn the majority of the minutes and fuel the offense. The team needs all of them to get in and go deeper.

There is a LOT here to like.The Blues as-is should be a 100-point team (minimally), and if things break well on the development front they should be fighting for home ice advantage.

[MiamiLaw]

So many here wrong about this years team so ready to proclaim about next years team.

I mean almost everyone said they were a bubble team and that’s exactly what they were. It took a franchise long winning streak to even make it on a tiebreaker

The Blues played and won all the games they won. Those games in the streak count just the same as games before New Year's. They were a better team at the end than they were early, by a wide margin. Ask the Jets about that. They were a team trending strongly upward until they coughed up Game 7; even so they were a very tough out in OT.

So many good things happened. Fueling the uptrend was the talent infusion of Broberg, Holloway, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Tucker, and Fowler, 5 of the 6 emerging young players. Those young players figure to have a lot more room for growth in their games.

The team also fixed their even strength game, turning ES into a solid advantage, and improved their previously dismal power play.

Thomas established himself as a 95-point level 200' center, a true #1. Schenn actually had a solid 2C season, compare his stats and leadership contributions to Bennett for perspective. Kyrou became a solid plus player.

The 4th line rose up late and carried their solid game into the playoffs. If Faksa moves on they will miss his work, particularly in the faceoff dot, but the Blues have internal options to keep the line viable. Don't conflate their solid physical contributions in limited minutes for the top-6 skill guys who burn the majority of the minutes and fuel the offense. The team needs all of them to get in and go deeper.

There is a LOT here to like.The Blues as-is should be a 100-point team (minimally), and if things break well on the development front they should be fighting for home ice advantage.

That’s the glass half full view for sure and no real argument. But I do think they’re missing the top talent that tends to be necessary to be threats. The premise of the thread being that no changes are really needed, and I don’t agree with that. But that doesn’t mean there’s not anything to like. Bolduc took a huge step. Snug looks legit. Holloway is a very intriguing player. These are all new developments that bring optimism

[DawgDad]

So many here wrong about this years team so ready to proclaim about next years team.

I mean almost everyone said they were a bubble team and that’s exactly what they were. It took a franchise long winning streak to even make it on a tiebreaker

The Blues played and won all the games they won. Those games in the streak count just the same as games before New Year's. They were a better team at the end than they were early, by a wide margin. Ask the Jets about that. They were a team trending strongly upward until they coughed up Game 7; even so they were a very tough out in OT.

So many good things happened. Fueling the uptrend was the talent infusion of Broberg, Holloway, Bolduc, Snuggerud, Tucker, and Fowler, 5 of the 6 emerging young players. Those young players figure to have a lot more room for growth in their games.

The team also fixed their even strength game, turning ES into a solid advantage, and improved their previously dismal power play.

Thomas established himself as a 95-point level 200' center, a true #1. Schenn actually had a solid 2C season, compare his stats and leadership contributions to Bennett for perspective. Kyrou became a solid plus player.

The 4th line rose up late and carried their solid game into the playoffs. If Faksa moves on they will miss his work, particularly in the faceoff dot, but the Blues have internal options to keep the line viable. Don't conflate their solid physical contributions in limited minutes for the top-6 skill guys who burn the majority of the minutes and fuel the offense. The team needs all of them to get in and go deeper.

There is a LOT here to like.The Blues as-is should be a 100-point team (minimally), and if things break well on the development front they should be fighting for home ice advantage.

That’s the glass half full view for sure and no real argument. But I do think they’re missing the top talent that tends to be necessary to be threats. The premise of the thread being that no changes are really needed, and I don’t agree with that. But that doesn’t mean there’s not anything to like. Bolduc took a huge step. Snug looks legit. Holloway is a very intriguing player. These are all new developments that bring optimism

We should expect the Blues to produce more points. They should have a very similar complete team coming out of camp, they should not be fumbling around until 2026 learning how to play together or wondering if the coach knows what he's doing, or looking for answers on the Power Play.

A good sign from the playoffs is they may be a real handful on their home ice.

There may be players who slump or get banged up, but looking at the roster barring injuries there should not be substantial drop-offs in performance.

Another factor is several of the Blues young prospects are getting closer. Like Snuggerud did, essentially backfilling for Holloway, holes are more likely to get plugged internally. Dvorsky may not be ready but later in the season he might be able to help. Kessel, Kaskimaki, Peterson could play.

I do agree Army should at least add depth players at RD and center. I took his comments to indicate he has sights set to add an offensive 200' player, and since the team is overstocked with capable wingers that sounds like a center. If Faksa walks I think he has to acquire a veteran to plug the hole.

[dhsux]

So many here wrong about this years team so ready to proclaim about next years team.

I mean almost everyone said they were a bubble team and that’s exactly what they were. It took a franchise long winning streak to even make it on a tiebreaker

There were very few who had them at 97 points.

"bubble team" can mean almost anything but this team was well beyond what it implies.

I agree with what Dawg has already said particularly so about the 2 halves of the season so won't go through it again......and to be clear I do agree with you that some moves should be made to improve their weak spots so no argument there.

The good news is I believe DA will indeed do what he can to shore up at center and at a minimum add some depth at the Blue line by addition and/or subtraction.

[TheJackBurton]

Monty was the huge signing last year.

He now has the second half of the season in the books with the Blues winning at a .520+ clip. Really much higher than that once he was able to have time to teach the boys his system.

He'll have an entire off season, and a training camp to solidify his methods, and those methods produce winning, a lot of winning in fact.

Now the biggest issue is the center position. Could Schenn occupy the "2nd line" center position again? I mean yeah he could, but it isn't ideal as his body has taken a lot of punishment, and his style of play, especially at his age, is far better suited for the wing and likely 2-3 minutes less a game.

We have to simply get a better center, preferably a 2nd line one, to really take that next step. If Thomas or Schenn get hurt next year for decent length of time, and we don't acquire anyone, we are very simply stated, screwed.

[STL fan in MN]

Just thought it was time to throw in another do not have to trade, offer sheet, or go after an outsider not already in the Blues organization. Because mainly, who is positive it would help or hurt. I believe we already have what it takes to possibly win another cup. I'm gonna be happy with whatever works. Including working from the inside. JMO

We don’t necessarily need to do anything but why wouldn’t we? And disagree we already have all the players needed to win the Cup. They took a good step this season but are still 2-3 pieces away IMO. And also need some continued internal growth.

But the Blues do have a good number of quality players and quality prospects. So they do have the assets needed to make the moves needed over the next couple years to hopefully get back to being a Cup caliber team.

The framework is there but there’s still work to do. There simply won’t be enough roster spots for all of the prospects we have that project to be likely NHLers so fans should probably start to accept that some of them will likely be traded for upgrades to the current roster. Some might work out well for the acquiring team like Tage Thompson and others might not, like Dominik Bokk.