2025 Bozak

[stlblues1979]

If I remember correctly, in Army's post season presser, he specifically mentioned just one need or one area of improvement & that being a 200 foot forward (might have said center.) We know center is definitely the need.

In a couple of recent posts here on the forum, Tyler Boak's name came up regarding the Blues & the need he filled by signing him in the 2018 off season. Seems to me he fits the bill of the 200 foot center. Hockey smart, defensively sound, good on face-offs, & enough offense, especially passing ability to compliment his wingers. (Who can forget his pass to Schwartz in game 5 of the Winnipeg series!) He was signed to be a #2C, as a safety measure because of the uncertainty of the O'Reilly deal. When we got ROR, Bozak dropped to the 3C. IMO, a 3C is our area of need.

I strongly believe this is Army's focus right now, so who would be candidates for the 2025 Bozak? What UFA centers & more likely those available by trade do you guys see as candidates to fill this need? A thread was started regarding Karlson. For those who know specific skills of players, is he a comparable player to Bozak? IMO, if Vegas moves him to free space for a star player, then he could be had cheaply. Not a terrible price & only two years remaining on his contract. Perfect timing maybe?

Other players come to mind?

[2forDiving]

One guy that I think checks a lot of boxes, but I don’t know how much it would cost is Shane Pinto from the Sens. He’s decent sized and can move up and down the lineup. Plays in all situations and fits in the age group Army has talked about. Plus, this is his last year under his current contract and Ottawa may be willing to move a center. Then if Dvorsky eventually gets the 2C slot, you have a pretty good 3C.

[BluesDom]

Shane Pinto is a Senator and is part of their plans.

[Army's Mom]

If I remember correctly, in Army's post season presser, he specifically mentioned just one need or one area of improvement & that being a 200 foot forward (might have said center.) We know center is definitely the need.

In a couple of recent posts here on the forum, Tyler Boak's name came up regarding the Blues & the need he filled by signing him in the 2018 off season. Seems to me he fits the bill of the 200 foot center. Hockey smart, defensively sound, good on face-offs, & enough offense, especially passing ability to compliment his wingers. (Who can forget his pass to Schwartz in game 5 of the Winnipeg series!) He was signed to be a #2C, as a safety measure because of the uncertainty of the O'Reilly deal. When we got ROR, Bozak dropped to the 3C. IMO, a 3C is our area of need.

I strongly believe this is Army's focus right now, so who would be candidates for the 2025 Bozak? What UFA centers & more likely those available by trade do you guys see as candidates to fill this need? A thread was started regarding Karlson. For those who know specific skills of players, is he a comparable player to Bozak? IMO, if Vegas moves him to free space for a star player, then he could be had cheaply. Not a terrible price & only two years remaining on his contract. Perfect timing maybe?

Other players come to mind?

I agree that a strong 3C might just be the smarter move, and agree that Bozak is exactly that. Christian Dvorak has the counting stats, age, and free agency to seem like a potential option, but I haven't seen too much of his play to actually judge.

[clemonsonroots]

Pageau would fit the bill in a trade. I would rather have O'Reilly but not sure they will deal him and they were asking for the moon at the deadline apparently when teams were calling. In free agency, Pius Suter is an excellent defensive center who can score a bit. He is not a good face off guy though. Monty is big on centers who are. Both Pageau and O'Reilly are excellent at face offs.

[skilles]

Basically we need the best center we can find without a huge long term commitment that can bridge the gap to Dvorsky, we have 6 wingers that are top 6 quality and to best take advantage of that we could use 3 top 6 centers. Sure if we can't find that a 3c would be better than nothing and might be something we have to settle for but ideally like I said we need the highest quality center we can come up with without handing out term that would handcuff us later.

Another option would be going long term on a young legit 2c and trading Dvorsky for an equal young RD or Dvorsky+ for a higher value young RD.

[TBone]

Shane Pinto is a Senator and is part of their plans.

Senators Should Make Long-Term Commitment to Shane Pinto

https://thehockeywriters.com/senators-s ... e_vignette

[TBone]

Pageau would fit the bill in a trade. I would rather have O'Reilly but not sure they will deal him and they were asking for the moon at the deadline apparently when teams were calling. In free agency, Pius Suter is an excellent defensive center who can score a bit. He is not a good face off guy though. Monty is big on centers who are. Both Pageau and O'Reilly are excellent at face offs.

New York Islanders

Roster Tier 2.0: Revisiting the Safety Each Islander & Who Could Go

Tier #4: Potential to be Traded/Coin Flips

F Jean-Gabriel Pageau, F Casey Cizikas, F Hudson Fasching, D Alexander Romanov, D Ryan Pulock, D Scott Mayfield, D Scott Perunovich, D Tony DeAngelo, D Mike Reilly

This is the biggest tier. It’s also not as cut-and-dry as it may look. For instance, the Islanders will not be trading both Casey Cizikas and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. They could trade one in a market deprived of centers for a premium return. It’s also quite possible the Islanders opt to keep both and have the potential to cash in on Pageau at the deadline if the team is out of a playoff position.

Ditto that first statement, but apply it to Scott Mayfield and Ryan Pulock. They’re both significantly safer than they were a month ago. Darche values both highly, and isn’t going to dump there just to do so. Mayfield fell out of favor with Head Coach Patrick Roy, so there’s potential for a trade there. With a low cap hit for what he brings, Mayfield would bring a decent haul.

Meanwhile, Darche named Ryan Pulock and Pageau in his core. Some of it is poker, but it shows how highly he values the leadership they bring. Pulock’s contract is onerous, and one that could be moved. However, Pulock holds a full no-trade clause, a potential hurdle to any possible deal.

https://nyihockeynow.com/new-york-islan ... e_vignette

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Islanders Rumors: 3 Potential Trade Destinations For Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Michael DeRosa
Sunday, June 08, 2025

New York Islanders forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau is creating plenty of chatter as a trade candidate heading into the 2025 NHL offseason. It is not surprising, as he generated interest at the trade deadline and is entering the final season of his contract.

Due to this, let's go over three teams who could look to acquire him this offseason.

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St. Louis Blues

The Blues are another team to keep an eye on when it comes to Pageau. It is no secret that they could use an upgrade at the third-line center spot, and a player like Pageau would provide them with just that. He would make their center depth noticeably stronger, which would be significant for a Blues club that is looking to take another step forward in 2025-26.

https://www.nhltraderumors.me/2025/06/i ... trade.html

[moose-and-squirrel]

Pageau would fit the bill in a trade. I would rather have O'Reilly but not sure they will deal him and they were asking for the moon at the deadline apparently when teams were calling. In free agency, Pius Suter is an excellent defensive center who can score a bit. He is not a good face off guy though. Monty is big on centers who are. Both Pageau and O'Reilly are excellent at face offs.

know who else is really good at FO's.. Faksa