Get your questions ready and join in at 1 p.m. Wednesday for our weekly Blues chat.
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Transcript
Matthew DeFranks: Good afternoon. The 4 Nations break is almost over. The Blues are back to practice, and will play again on Saturday. Let's get to your questions.
Tylerg: Matty D, hope you've been checking out the 4Nations action. The NHL hit a grand slam with this idea; absolute 10/10 event. My question is this: if Canada beats the US in the final, is Binnington the goalie going into the Olympics next year? Assuming the Blues miss the playoffs, does Binnington play in the WCH tourney this summer (he was shaky last year) and try to go triple gold by this time next year after the Olympics? Think about it, Binnington has a shot at a 4Nations win, WCH gold, Olympic gold in one calendar year, assuming he keeps winning. Pretty cool, but also the US, Sweden and Czech are stacked. Having said that, go team USA! Thanks for doing this per usual bro, we appreciate your opinion
Matthew DeFranks: It's a great question and a good thing to think about. I think we all see where the Blues are headed this year, so Binnington will likely be available for the World Championships. I think a lot of players particiapted in the Worlds last year because of the 4 Nations and Olympic evaluation process, and I imagine this summer will bring along something similar.
Matthew DeFranks: I looked it up, and somehow there's not a goalie that's part of the Triple Gold Club. You would think Brodeur would be there, but he's got two silvers at Worlds. Luongo and Price don't have a Cup. Roy never played at the Worlds.
Matthew DeFranks: So I would imagine Binnington is interested in at least chasing that if he can, and while he can. International management staffs appreciate when players go play at the World Championship, and Binnington might need every bit of goodwill he can wrangle if he finishes this tournament below .900.
Matthew DeFranks: This will be a fun trivia answer one day, but the last member of the Triple Gold Club right now is Valtteri Filppula. Snuck in there by winning Olympic gold with Finland in 2022 when no NHL players were there.
Easy Ed - fan since 1967: Matt, happy there is coverage of 4Nations in the P-D. Knowing that Montgomery likes forward pairs, if the Blues bring up Dvorsky at the end of the year, might they also bring up his winger, Kaskimaki? I think that would benefit both players--and the team. If so, would it be after the trade deadline, which is when again? Keep up the good work.
Matthew DeFranks: The trade deadline is March 7 at 2 p.m. CT. The Blues will be in Anaheim that day.
Matthew DeFranks: As for a potential Dvorsky recall, I would look for it more towards the end of the season when the Blues are closer to playoff elimination. The last two years, they have played the young guys, but not until it was way, way, way out of reach to still chase a playoff spot. We're not at that point yet.
Matthew DeFranks: Aleksanteri Kaskimaki has played well in Springfield this season, so it's not like a recall would be out of nowhere, but it could also be another player when you're already looking at potentially welcoming Snuggerud and Dvorsky. So I guess we'll see.
Jim Lang: The Blues may get a fairly high draft choice. If they were simply drafting for need, what position would they be looking at?
Matthew DeFranks: Purely for need, it would have to be defense. They addressed part of it last season with Jiricek, Ralph and Fischer, but it's still somewhat thin compared to the forwards the Blues have in the pipeline. Now, it's not advisable for teams to draft for need, especially when they're picking in the top 10, which the Blues would be projected to do right now.
Jim Lang: I've been following sports for 60 years. Of all sports, my view is Hockey players seem to be the most well adjusted, well behaved and polite. Do you agree? If yes, why do you think that is?
Matthew DeFranks: I haven't covered the NFL or NBA in a regular capacity, so tough for me to speak on that. But my one guess? Hockey players make less money than the other sports. Could also be something to hockey being such a team sport that that can bleed into personal lives, the community aspect of a sport. Who knows?
JWise2727: What time do the Blues practice today? Any changes you see coming to the line combinations or will they stick with something similar to the last game before the break against Chicago?
Matthew DeFranks: The Blues practiced at 10:30 today. They only had 11 forwards, so a couple lines were rotating a bit. But it looked like Neighbours-Thomas-Buchnevich, Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou, Toropchenko-Faksa-Walker and then Sundqvist and Joseph together. Would imagine that's where either Texier or Bolduc goes when one of them returns to practice.
Matthew DeFranks: On D, there was obviously no Parayko. But Broberg with Faulk, Suter with Tucker and Leddy with Fowler.
Roy Hobbs 3.0: Enjoyed your Otto Stenberg piece and the bonus Hugh McGing coverage within it.:)
Matthew DeFranks: Got to always look out for the St. Hugh-natics.
Matthew DeFranks: If anyone missed the interview with Steve Konowalchuk on Otto Stenberg, he talked about how much he enjoyed getting Stenberg early and being able to get his hands on the former first-rounder. Talked about how many different areas of the game that Stenberg can touch, and his adjustment to North American hockey.
Robert: Hello Matthew: Doug Armstrong suggested recently that the Blues' core might need re-evaluation and possibly a shake up. If you were to guess, what are the odds that DA makes a move to trade off a current core member like Thomas, Kyrou, Buchnevich, Parayko, or Binnington? There are rumors of other teams interest in Schenn, so moving him would only be a surprise
Matthew DeFranks: I think that the Blues need to listen on everyone, regardless of whether they're interested in actually trading them. It's the front office's job to understand the market value of the players on their roster, and you'll only find that out by talking to other teams. I would find it hard to see the Blues trade pieces like Kyrou or Thomas, but if they were even entertaining that, it would have to probably be before their no-trade clauses kick in this summer. Buchnevich would be tough because of his contract, performance and his no-trade clause that was added to this season.
Matthew DeFranks: I do think that Doug's comments about the core don't just come out of nowhere. If order for someone like him to say that out loud, it's something that he's thought of multiple times before. At this point in the re-whatever, the Blues have to be open to any options out there. But I am of the opinion that the core pieces themselves are fine, there just aren't enough of them. There's not much support behind the Thomas and Kyrou-level pieces, especially when Thomas and Buchnevich are struggling.
Robert: ...because of his no trade clause and contract.
Matthew DeFranks: Right, this is another consideration for Schenn. I feel that the Blues value him more than other teams because of his captaincy, his ability to play with heart, and the fact that he centered their best line for a good chunk of the season. From the outside, you have a 33-year-old, 45-point forward with two more years at $6.5M. Even with the cap going up in the future, the $6.5M can still be a sticking point for some teams this season. It just seems like a misalignment of value that makes a trade difficult.
Hocko in Colorado: If I'm recalling correctly, Stenberg is a natural center, but playing on wing now. Why not keep him at center, knowing the lack the depth there and the possibility of Schenn leaving?
Matthew DeFranks: Most guys are natural centers, but end up moving to wing because of a variety of reasons: lack of skating, lack of defensive details, losing faceoffs. So it's not surprising that Stenberg was drafted as a center. And he's played wing for basically all of the last two seasons in the SHL, Allsvenskan, Swedish World Juniors team and in the AHL.
Robert: Matt: I don't know about you and other Blues fans, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Colton Parayko's beat down of JT Miller in the first US /Canada game. Safe to say no other NHL players are going to be instigating with Colt55, don't you think?
Matthew DeFranks: It will still happen at the net-front, I'm sure, just because that's what happens at the net-front. Parayko doesn't show it often, but that is in him. I remember the fight with Klim Kostin last year in San Jose and even the one with Brett Ritchie six years ago in Dallas, when Jim Montgomery was the coach of the Stars.
Matthew DeFranks: Parayko's got the one thing you can't teach in a fight: size. And that will almost always be on his side in the NHL, outside of the true heavyweights like Reaves or a newer big guy like Rempe.
GD: I know that 4-Nations and Olympics are for national pride but these players are at a risk of serious injury and impacting their teams playoff chances once tourney is over. Who is responsible for salaries, medical insurance etc. when this happens?
Matthew DeFranks: I know that for the Olympics, the IIHF and IOC are responsible for insurance. But with the 4 Nations being an NHL event, I would have to imagine it's the league. Not sure how it breaks down from the league to the teams. It's a good question and I don't have a good answer.
Sctfog: Any guess at the trade value of a few of the Blues? For example what could they get for Schenn, would they have to eat a bad co tractor to move Faulk, could they get more than a 3rd for Binnington? Maybe more interesting, if you are trading for a top 4 D or top 6 forward prison t would you have to include a valuable piece like Neighbours? Seems like the Blues are in a tough spot w this year bring a high pick and not a lot of picks following.
Matthew DeFranks: I haven't been very good historically at accurately gauging trade value, but it feels like the Blues are in a spot that taking back bad contracts or paying an extra asset shouldn't be on the table. They should be looking at accumulating more draft capital because, as you said, they're pretty light on that this year. If the Blues want to remove a player from the roster, they have other avenues, whether waivers, buyout, retained salary, etc. But we have seen the Blues use capital to dump Kevin Hayes, and Armstrong has never bought out a player. Not sure we're going to see that in his last summer as Blues GM.
Sctfog: The PK is supposed to be in the 80's, PP in the 29's for a good team, yet they have struggled for three years w on or the other. The PK is particularly confusing as that's normally not a talent issue but more of a system and will issue. Fix the PK and they have a few more wins.
Matthew DeFranks: It's been horrible this season, and particularly since Christmas. They are at 60% since Christmas, good for last in the league. 60! Overall, it's the worst PK in franchise history, and the last time they were this bad, Mike Van Ryn got fired. The Blues tried something different this break, with coaches scouting the Blues themselves. So that meant Mike Weber (who runs the PK) looked for holes in the Blues power play. Steve Ott (runs the PP) did the same for the PK. And then the Blues worked on the penalty kill today at practice.
Matthew DeFranks: We'll see how they finish the season, but it's an area that has clouded the positive steps the team has made at 5v5.
Sctfog: while I don't always see it w the eye test, the analytics look favorable fir Bolduc, yet ice time remains sparse. What am I missing, or what do the coaches want. Is he going to be a top 6 or even top 9 player?
Matthew DeFranks: It may be premature on my part, but I worry about Zack Bolduc. This season has felt very meh for him. When he's been good, it's been sort of just a one and done situation. He didn't really follow up that game in New York and the game against Florida recently was good. Usually, you see players make the jump from the AHL to the NHL when they are too good for the AHL. And Bolduc was never really at that point. He had eight goals and 25 points in 50 AHL games last season, which is low production when you look at what Dvorsky and Kaskimaki are doing as AHL rookies this season. So I worry if he's going to actually end up being a reliable producer in the top six, even if we've seen the numbers he put up in junior hockey.
Sctfog: Faulk losing his offense, though some analytics suggest the D is ok, is surprising. He's always been an O first player, and w Broberg he has a good partner. It seems like he's almost limiting Broberg rather than being assisted. Faulk diesnt seem to get up in the play as often if my memory is correct, yet Monty wants his D to move up ice.
Matthew DeFranks: It's been an issue since he basically went without a point for a month in October/November, and hasn't improved. I don't have the answer why there hasn't been more offense from him except that he's shooting the puck at a rate that's his lowest since his second year in the NHL. And for the first time in his Blues career, they are a worse team offensively with him on the ice vs. when he's off the ice.
Sctfog: The false promise of last spring, the analytics never supported the Blues as a playoff team, led to a mid round pick. Any chance the Blues look at this opportunity as their last great chance to get a top pick in an admittedly medium draft? Teams have traded away assets in the past just to improve their odds. It's not likely they are really going to be even tangentially in the hunt.
Matthew DeFranks: Right, the Blues were more closely aligned with a bottom-three or bottom-five team than a playoff team, analytically. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were saved by a top-five goalie tandem and a hot power play. This year is kind of the opposite where they're mid-pack analytically at worst, but have been stung by a poor PK and inconsistent goaltending. It hasn't been Armstrong's MO to give up early, so I'll believe it when I see it. But there is a good argument, especially since they need a ridiculous record the rest of the way to even become relevant in the playoff hunt.
GoThunder: The Blues simply aren't as talented as nearly every other team in the NHL, so I get where they're at, but what's your take on Nashville? That team looked like a rugged, veteran team with decent goaltending. Now they're in contention for the lottery.
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, they shouldn't be where they're at. Their underlying numbers are decent at 5v5, as a top-10 team in xG%. But they have the second-worst shooting percentage at 5v5, and Saros has been below average for the second straight season. Nyquist has taken a big step back this season. There would be optimism for regression overall next season if Josi, O'Reilly, Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei weren't another year older.
Robert: I appreciate everything that Brayden Schenn has brought to the Blues in his time on the team, and he will always be a hero for being a part of our Stanley Cup championship. Considering his contract and the team's current position in the standings, wouldn't it make sense to move him, even if the return is less than optimal? The Blues could pick up a draft choice, and give him a chance to make a difference on a contender, while opening up a spot for a younger forward. He is the captain and a leader and the team is has limited center depth, but the team really seems to be going nowhere, sad to say...
Matthew DeFranks: I get that point, but Doug Armstrong has done this before where he sets a price and basically dares teams to come meet it. The Blues aren't in a time crunch here. Honestly, it might make more sense as a summer deal anyway. Allows the cap to go up, and for Schenn's trade protection to lessen. And gives the Blues a chance to reassess what they do with the captaincy.
Dr. Girlfriend: I read that Monty has a say in roster construction. Does Steen have input as well or is he still in a shadowing phase? If he does, do the Blues have a committee system on roster decisions?
Matthew DeFranks: I would say Montgomery has a heavier say in roster deployment than roster construction, to be honest. But the Blues have been an organization that makes decisions together. It's like that with a lot of teams, really. But Doug Armstrong will talk with Tim Taylor, Ryan Miller, Alexander Steen, etc. about making decisions. Sometimes, that also includes guys like Al MacInnis, Peter Chiarelli and Scott Mellanby.
Matthew DeFranks: Queue is empty, so we'll call it there. Have a good day, and a good week everyone!
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