WEBVTT
00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:06.639
Welcome back, blues fans! You know what time it is.
00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:08.640
We were actually early this year.
00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:10.080
We're starting earlier this year.
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:11.439
I'm so excited.
00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:18.879
A little bit of a different format this year for the preseason, and we add two extra games to the NHL season.
00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:23.359
So we have been talking about the blues all summer.
00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:25.039
Alexa and I have.
00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:34.159
And I cannot express to you how excited I am to start this new season and start season two of Two for Chirping.
00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.479
So as Alexa just said, let's do that hockey.
00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:44.399
From the Lou to the league, we've got you covered.
00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:46.000
This is Two for Chirping.
00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.880
Gals from the Lou watching all 32.
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:51.600
It's hockey talk with flavor.
00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:53.039
You're welcome.
00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:54.640
Alright, blues fans.
00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:56.719
Well, boy, do we have a lot to cover.
00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:03.520
We're going to structure this first episode as like everything anything blues off season.
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:17.439
And even we're going to go a little bit back and touch briefly on the trade deadline last year just to start kind of giving everyone the full scope and so that that you can understand how we got to where we are today.
00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:29.599
Because there of course were, of course, some huge changes that happened at the deadline last year that heavily influenced where we are right now, which I guess is all you could hope for based on what those changes were.
00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:49.519
So we will spend today talking about the blues, whether it's the trade deadline last year, um, draft day this summer, the new GM, um with Alexander Steen joining the group, all of the acquisitions, um, of course, said goodbye to a to a pretty serious blues player um this summer as well.
00:01:49.680 --> 00:02:04.319
So we will break all of that down um with hopefully some really great entertaining arguments from Alyssa and I because there are discussion questions that we have for these sections that we did not converse on before this podcast.
00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:11.439
So you will be getting real unfiltered conversation between several of these topics, which we know is what you came here for.
00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:12.960
So, all right.
00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:17.199
Um let's talk about let's talk about where we're at.
00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:18.479
I mean, welcome back.
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.639
It's season two of Two for Chirping.
00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.000
The blues first preseason game is less than a week from today.
00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.280
We're recording this on Sunday, 9.13.
00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:31.360
Um, first blues preseason game is Saturday.
00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:45.199
My first chirp of the day goes to the blues organization for not having team practices on weekends now, uh, because Alyssa and I love to go to the team preseason training camp practices, but now they are during the week.
00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.759
And Alyssa and I don't podcast for a living.
00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:49.280
Uh, so we won't be there.
00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:53.520
I wish we podcast for a living because I would be there.
00:02:53.759 --> 00:03:04.800
Unfortunately, we have to I have to teach the youth of America and you have to teach the adults of America in your role.
00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:14.000
Maybe I I do have my calendar blocked, but I will have to go by myself if I do that.
00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:15.199
Unfortunately.
00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:16.560
So I'm not sure.
00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:19.280
She's just gonna face FaceTime me from there.
00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:19.919
Yeah.
00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:22.319
And Alyssa's gonna have it on her smart board.
00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:23.919
Um, so anyway.
00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:34.319
Um that's chirp one, but um we have I feel like we we you know took the summer off for two for chirping because it's the summer.
00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:37.840
And all of you are probably like, WTF.
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:39.520
We missed a lot.
00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:42.479
Yeah, did you want to keep us in the loop on that?
00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:43.280
No, I guess not.
00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:43.759
Okay.
00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:45.919
Um, so don't worry though.
00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:49.280
We're here now, and we're gonna we're gonna walk through all of it.
00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:56.639
So we'll go from the trade deadline through the draft, we'll talk about who we moved, um, we'll talk about the GM, we'll talk about a bunch of different stuff.
00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:03.360
But let's flash back to the trade deadline for last season.
00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:12.319
So as a reminder to everyone, we lost Blues Captain Brayden Shen to the New York Islanders.
00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:17.120
I say this one was a tough one for me because I love Braden Shen.
00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:37.839
I thought that he truly embodied what it meant to be a blues player, and seeing him go was so hard, and then quite literally, so it had when the trade happened, the Islanders were staying at the same hotel that the blues were, and like he just like walked over to meet his new team.
00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:43.120
But then, quite literally, I think one of the first games back at home for the blues was against the islanders.
00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:47.439
So, talk about rubbing salt on the wound for a painful game.
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:49.519
That was a we went to that game together.
00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:50.800
We did that.
00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:56.800
And then like they had they had to like rush to get the um the tribute video together.
00:04:57.360 --> 00:04:59.920
I was like, oh, oh my, oh my.
00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:05.279
And it was not gonna lie, there was some tears in in my eyes watching it.
00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:06.879
There were tears in my eyes.
00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:09.199
Yeah, we've had Brain Shen for quite some time.
00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:12.959
He was part of that 2019 Stanley Cup team.
00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:17.279
So seeing him go was a was a hard move.
00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:26.399
And I was worried about how the locker room would respond to not having a captain at that time.
00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:28.720
But we seemed to play really well.
00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:42.319
I don't want to say we played really well, we seemed to keep up with how we were playing after Shen had been moved to the Islanders, and I feel as though a lot of people stepped up in that time, and we'll kind of talk about that here in a little bit.
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.759
But tell us who we got when we traded Brayden Shen.
00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:54.079
Alright, so we we had Jonathan Druin come over, which I thought he was like a pretty good filler through the end of the year.
00:05:54.240 --> 00:06:00.319
He didn't play a ton, um, but when he did play, he wasn't uh you know a flight risk.
00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:03.279
He we played pretty well, he did what he needed to do.
00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:08.160
Um, and then Marcus Gidloff, I think he went straight down to the AHL.
00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:13.839
Um so he didn't play any NHL games, and then we got two picks.
00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:19.759
One, we'll talk about this number 29 first round pick in a bit and where that went.
00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:21.439
That was worth every penny.
00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:22.959
Sorry, Braden Shen.
00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:27.920
Um, and then a 2026 third round pick, which was number 76 as well.
00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:35.040
I think to the hardest part I think about seeing Shen go was that he was pretty honest that he didn't necessarily want to go.
00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.959
And so um that's that's always a tough pill to swallow.
00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.639
Or I I didn't think he was like rude about it, obviously.
00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:47.360
He was just like, No, you know, I I think he went through that phase where he's like, my team doesn't want me.
00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.199
And it's like we're not, it's not that we don't want you, it's that like it's just not the right fit.
00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.879
But he would have stayed if we hadn't asked him to go.
00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:57.360
And so like that's always hard, I think, as a fan.
00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:02.720
And the I mean, I we'll talk about this a lot probably in this episode.
00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:12.639
I know we've talked about it um in last season, but for those of you that may not have been here for that, something we talk about a lot here is that blues fans, one, we're blue-collar fans.
00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:14.639
Jim Montgomery says that all the time.
00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:19.839
But on top of that, we and I I say this of the Cardinals organization too here in St.
00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:20.480
Louis.
00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:22.560
We want players that want to be here.
00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.839
That is like you can be, you can have the worst.
00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:28.160
Think of Matt Carpenter, okay?
00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:34.399
You could have some of the worst years of your career offensively, defensively, does not matter.
00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:40.160
If you want to be here, the fans will give you that grace.
00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:50.959
And like so, when you see a player leave, like Braden Shen, who is so beloved, like that is just as a fan, that is so hard to see, even though it's just it's just how it is.
00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:52.959
Sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:56.399
So well, and he only has two years left on his contract.
00:07:56.560 --> 00:08:02.000
Sorry, I was just looking that up because he had signed an eight-year deal here when we first got him.
00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:07.040
So that led him, and so it'll expire after the 27-28 season.
00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:13.519
So he's getting two two and a half years in on the island if he chooses to stay there.
00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:25.680
I mean, he might choose to ask for a trade, but he was really honest with being traded to the islanders, how he was excited to work with Matthew Schaefer, who don't blame him.
00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:47.679
I mean, who wouldn't be that I love watching him if you if I'm gonna tell if you listen to any part of this podcast and you try to get anything out of it, looking at our young core that's coming up into the NHL right now, your Matthew Schaefer's, your Gavin McKinnas, we're after Celebrini.
00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:49.440
Yeah, Will Smith.
00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:55.360
We're entering into a new era of hockey that's different from your Crosbys and your Ovechkins.
00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:57.919
Now, granted, I still love my Crosby's and Ovechkins.
00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:02.159
That's to me, in my head, what shaped my loving of hockey.
00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:03.840
But what do you mean they're aging?
00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:04.639
They're not aging.
00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:06.960
No, Sidney Crosby's gonna play forever.
00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:08.399
Sydney Crosby's gonna play forever.
00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:10.960
I mean, have you seen their EI sports headshots?
00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:12.720
They're fine, they're young.
00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:15.039
They're they're just fine.
00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:15.600
Yeah.
00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.480
Stop talking about that because that's my chirp later.
00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:19.600
Leave EA.
00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:20.799
We're not talking about it anymore.
00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.120
I just want everyone to know that Sidney Crosby's not aging.
00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:24.559
Just sore clear.
00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:26.720
Um he's the same.
00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:27.840
He's not.
00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:30.159
Lost my train of thought there.
00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:32.399
Oops.
00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:47.600
Um, but seeing this new generation of hockey players and seeing I don't want to say aging because I mean I think Braden Shen is like 33 years old.
00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.600
Something along those lines.
00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:53.919
And um maybe 35.
00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:05.120
I know you're checking, I know you're checking me right now, but you're aging into that that air that area of getting older.
00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:10.240
And you know, essentially once you get past 30 in the NHL, you're at retirement age.
00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:21.679
So um the fact that he's getting to play with this new generation of players, I hope to see him thrive in that in that situation.
00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:22.879
More so.
00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:25.200
Uh totally.
00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:27.200
And I think I think he will do that.
00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:35.120
Uh, the Islanders are one that I feel like they probably could have done more the in the offseason, but when you have Matthew Matthew Ship.
00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:39.200
So I mean obviously.
00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:40.320
Braiden Shen?
00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:41.120
Yeah.
00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:41.919
Man.
00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:44.399
He'll always be 30 to me.
00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:45.120
I don't know.
00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:47.200
Like that's we can't.
00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:47.840
We got them right.
00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:50.240
What do you mean hockey players age?
00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:51.120
They don't age.
00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:52.159
They don't age.
00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:53.120
No.
00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:56.240
Except for when you look at uh yeah.
00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:59.120
So then going on aging.
00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:07.519
We also lose Justin Falk in the speaking of aging again.
00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:08.480
I think Justin Fulk.
00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:09.759
What a segue.
00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.639
I do think that Justin Falk, 34 years old.
00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:20.799
But in my head, I still think of Justin Falk as the Carolina Hurricanes Justin Falk.
00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:27.200
Anyway, so Justin Falk again at the deadline move.
00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:32.879
The blues and he goes to Detroit, and in that the blues receive Justin Hall.
00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:39.519
Dimitri.
00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.799
I need your pronunciations typed out again, Alexa.
00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:47.519
Yeah.
00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:49.440
Bushelnikov.
00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:50.399
Sure.
00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:52.480
That's what I got for today, guys.
00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:53.200
That's it.
00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:53.840
Yep.
00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.679
Um, and we also received two 2026 picks.
00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:02.559
So we a first round number 15, again, going to come in handy later.
00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:09.440
It really important for this draft, as well as a third round pick, number 73, which again is going to be important.
00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:16.720
So Justin moving Justin wasn't a big surprise to me.
00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.799
Um he was on the chopping block, in my opinion.
00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:29.759
Um defensively, I don't think besides Philip Roberg, there was it wasn't our best year defensively.
00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:30.799
I'll just say that.
00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:32.799
Besides Philip Roberg.
00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:41.279
Um so seeing him moved wasn't necessarily a surprise nor a bad thing.
00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:47.840
We get Justin Hall in this, but later on he he tends to not play as much as the year goes on.
00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:57.919
We bring up Theo Linstein, which we came to find out worked really well with Colton Kraiko in the latter half of the season.
00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:04.639
And that's a name that I think that we're going to be hearing more of in the next couple of years.
00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:11.519
But um, Justin Hall wasn't necessarily a, like you said, a flight risk coming in.
00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:17.279
Um but losing Folk, you also lost again a little bit of that leadership core.
00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:18.879
He was an assistant captain.
00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:39.200
And so again, you're losing that piece in the locker room that is your your guys that are going to help when we're going through that losing streak, or when you're on that winning streak to not um maybe get too ahead of yourself would be um yeah the thought process there.
00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:41.440
He had been here so long.
00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:46.879
So I mean Falk, I I know I think it's like pre-Stly Cup, post-Stanley Cup.
00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:49.600
It's like uh it's like how most people think.
00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:52.080
So he started right after.
00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:59.759
Yeah, because he was the only player when we raised the banner, like he was just like, I'm gonna just I'll just stand over here.
00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:04.399
I do remember and so do you remember who we traded to get Justin Falk?
00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:05.919
Joel Edmondson.
00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:07.120
Good job.
00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:10.240
Yeah, I unfortunately do vividly remember that.
00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.559
Yes, because I love Joel Edmondson.
00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:25.600
Um yeah, so uh you know, Justin Falk had been here for quite some time, and that blues team was largely the same after the cup except for Joel Edmondson.
00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:27.679
Um and maybe one other.
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:32.320
And so, you know, he's gonna be a little bit more than Maroon had Maroon had to call the cup.
00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:32.559
Yeah.
00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:33.200
Yep.
00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:51.679
So, you know, like uh it was it was just that weird, like you're coming into this locker room that just won a cup, and like that's great, obviously, but at the same time, like you feel like they just like went through the most, you know, insane team building exercise ever.
00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:56.960
Uh and so you know, he came in and he definitely had a really tough first year.
00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:05.600
Um, you alluded to this playing on um the East Coast is just or in the Eastern Conference, even is just different.
00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:14.799
Um, and so he struggled pretty hard that first year, and then he kind of bounced back and had some good years, but he was never really what he just was feel like.
00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.399
I was gonna say it just didn't feel like he reached his full potential here in St.
00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:26.639
Louis because I remember when we got him, my brother and I talked really heavily on it of like he did great work in Carolina.
00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:42.320
I mean, Carolina has been a team that they weren't great for that little bit, and then they were kind of just etching at being a playoff team, and then you know, now we just saw them make it all the way, yeah.
00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:43.039
Right.
00:15:43.279 --> 00:16:03.440
So he had a good leadership because leading a team when they're at their lowest is a lot different than leading a team when they're at their highest, and I think that Braden Shen was a good example of like where we were for the past couple of years of leading a team of we weren't great.
00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:05.039
Let's be honest, guys.
00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:07.200
We have not been great the past couple of years.
00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:29.200
We have been a bubble team probably for the last what three, four years, and it's hard to watch a team that you see the potential in, you see the talent that you have, but they just don't mesh well together, and that kind of was what I got from at least this last year's team.
00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:37.600
Like there was so many great pieces, but we were just missing something that was some kind of glue putting them together.
00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:38.320
Totally.
00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:48.320
It's like everyone could everyone knew what they were really good at, and they could go and they would do whatever they were good at, but it was like, but how like not everyone everyone has a role.
00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:57.759
So that's something that like goes back all the way to the Stanley Cup team and like my for the anyone that may be new here listening, I will say this ad nauseum.
00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:00.399
You will be so sick of it by the time this season is over.
00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:10.319
But like I believe that the best teams that are primed to win a cup or make the playoffs are those that every single person on the team knows their role.
00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:14.720
It doesn't matter if you're on the fourth line, the third D-pair, it does not matter.
00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:24.400
Every single person knows their role, every single person contributes, often even in points, even if it's just a point here or there, that is what matters.
00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.759
And but you have to be able to work in that system.
00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:31.200
Just because you know your role doesn't mean that you can use it.
00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:49.039
And so when you have someone like you have that line like Snuggerood and Holloway and Thomas, who are just on an absolute bender, and then everyone else is like, well, I'm still here, but like they're not scoring and they're not defending, and they're like, I don't know what my job is today.
00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:51.839
Am I supposed to be a center that blocks up the middle?
00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:54.400
Am I supposed to be someone that's shooting?
00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.720
Am I what am I what am I supposed to do?
00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:58.960
Um, that you I think you're totally right.
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:07.440
That was missing from a lot of different pieces, but I think that there were also, you know, when you like you said, you we brought up like a Theo Linstein.
00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:10.480
And so then in that case, what is Pereco's job?
00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:14.960
Is it his job to really support him and stay back and be defensive?
00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:16.400
Is it his job to still shoot?
00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:18.160
Is it is it his job to do both?
00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:21.839
Is it is it, you know, what's Broger's job and you know, how does that work?
00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:28.160
And every single piece that you move in changes how everyone else has to fit around things.
00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:33.759
And I think there were just there were we weren't in a good place at the deadline anyway.
00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:40.160
So then how we finished out the year was like, let's just let's just throw a bunch of at a wall and see kind of what sticks.
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:44.559
We went through a a phase there where we were really, really good.
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:47.599
Um, and we felt like maybe there was a chance.
00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:49.359
So you're saying there's a chance.
00:18:49.519 --> 00:19:12.480
Um Well, and I think especially when we went on that win streak, I again, I feel as though the blues at post-Olympics or post uh four nations, whatever post-break that we have, usually you see this incline of like, oh, kind of like that desperation would be the best way to put it.
00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:16.640
And we always seem to hit it after the break.
00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:24.079
What I would like to see this year, and I think I'm hopeful with the pieces that we got that we're gonna see it the whole year.
00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:35.759
And kind of going back to your point of like everybody knowing their role, one of my favorite things that Rob Brindamore, coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, has always said is that he doesn't have lines one through four.
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:36.880
He has four lines.
00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:38.880
Seems to have finally worked for him.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:42.319
I know he has four lines that he would cycle through.
00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:48.640
And especially during uh the Stanley Cup final, you saw a lot of people being switched around.
00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:53.440
Seth Jarvis was a big police that went from second to first line back down to the third line.
00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.519
I mean, he jumped around, and it didn't matter where he was at, he was he was helping out.
00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:01.519
Same thing with uh like Svechnikov and Aho.
00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:10.319
They weren't producing, and you didn't hear Brenda Moore call them out and say, Well, they're not doing this, but you definitely heard it from the fans.
00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:26.240
And once they got that confidence in that that little piece, uh, that I mean that line exploded, and you got to see where they were at and how they got to work as four cohesive lines to win that Stanley Cup.
00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:32.319
So I'm hoping that the blues can kind of take notes from that and use that this year.
00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:33.039
Yeah.
00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:40.240
So I think like as we wrap up, we lose Falk and Shen, huge veteran pieces for the for the blues.
00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:47.759
The I liken it to like sending your kids off to college.
00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.599
Like, we're taking Shen and Falk out of the fold.
00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:56.720
We don't know who the next leader is of this team, if there is one.
00:20:56.880 --> 00:21:01.039
We talked a lot about that as we wrapped up the season on this podcast last year.
00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:09.759
Um, my take at the time was that you know, maybe we don't have a captain, uh, you know, whatever it is, we'll get into how that all shook out.
00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:15.279
But honestly, if you would have told me we wouldn't have had a captain this year, I wouldn't have been upset.
00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:18.079
I can think of one.
00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:18.799
Yep.
00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:24.319
And but I think, you know, they're like, all right, we're gonna shop Shen and Falk are gone.
00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:27.039
Let's see what these kids get up to.
00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:30.240
Um, you know, there were certainly still some veterans here.
00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:33.039
It's not like all of a sudden, you know, nobody was here.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:42.400
But um, you know, let's kind of let everyone find their own personality and their uh, you know, kind of their space, not just as a player, but maybe as a leader.
00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:47.920
Um, let them start building that camaraderie together and see kind of what happens.
00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:52.880
So, um, so to finish the year though, we had some strong and weak points.
00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:59.759
Um, you know, as we kind of wrapped up the the year, we finished fifth in the central, um, which feels way worse than I seem to recall.
00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:06.000
Uh so I must have felt somewhat decent about how we ended the year without worrying about the rank.
00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:07.440
Um yeah.
00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:11.759
You know, it's like you said, there was a pretty great win streak in there.
00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:17.279
So I think that always has a a way of covering where you actually end up.
00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:24.720
Um but finished the year 37, 33, and 12, so with 86 points, um, which was fifth in the central.
00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:33.440
You know, and I think a lot of what hurt the blues this year was those overtime losses or the shootout loss.
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:40.240
Um when you're going in and you're getting a point, yeah, that's great.
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:52.000
But as you can see, not getting those two points, especially against teams who you think we should get points against, and we'll kind of talk about that as well.
00:22:52.160 --> 00:23:01.200
But there was times where you know we would be losing, come back and get into an overtime position, and it was almost like we didn't show up in overtime.
00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:08.240
So I'm hoping that that was a big lesson that we learned this offseason and what we're gonna move towards for the next season.
00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:17.920
But a lot of those losses came from only having one point in the overtime slot.
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:19.599
Yeah, totally.
00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:28.720
Um, team leaders, uh Thomas, Thomas, Thomas, Thomas with 64 points, Thomas with 25 goals, Thomas with 39 assists.
00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:33.759
So um and it's plus minus at a plus 22, which is incredible.
00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:41.200
Cons considering the fact that he you don't really see him necessarily on the penalty kill as much.
00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:47.440
Um more so for the face-off aspect, but usually after the face-off he would get off, or if he was a little bit more.
00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:50.480
I wonder if we see more of him on the penalty kill this year.
00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:58.319
Possibly, but we also picked up a couple of key pieces that I think are gonna be used on the penalty kill a little bit more, so we'll talk about that.
00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:04.799
So you're saying we shouldn't pull a Craig Barube and have Austin Matthews play in every situation.
00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:06.720
You're saying we shouldn't do that with Robert Thomas?
00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:08.240
You don't think that's a good idea?
00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:12.640
Just because you have the C on your chest doesn't mean that you do everything.
00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:14.000
You you really.
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:15.440
Really?
00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.480
I'm just gonna I'm just gonna point that out there.
00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:20.000
Wow.
00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:20.799
Who knew?
00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:21.839
I didn't know that.
00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:25.839
Neither did Austin Matthews, in case you're wondering.
00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:26.960
He didn't know that either.
00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:30.160
He thought he had to tear his ACL in order to be captain, so I don't know.
00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:31.359
Okay, hold on.
00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:33.200
He didn't tear his ACL.
00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:36.640
It was Renegudis who tore his ACL for him.
00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.599
Okay, well, he thought he had to take that one for the team.
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:41.359
That's what the C stands for, right?
00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:42.880
Right?
00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:43.920
Yeah.
00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:44.720
Sure.
00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:46.160
Sure.
00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:48.400
That's just the impression I got.
00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:53.839
Well, let's talk about some of these key players at the end of the season, what they end it with.
00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:55.519
You got Jimmy Snuggerood.
00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:56.960
He played a total of 70 games.
00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:02.960
Remember, he had wrist surgery pretty early in the season, if I remember, like a November-ish area.
00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:08.079
Um, but still ended the season with 21 goals, 30 assists, and 51 points.
00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:10.400
Went on an absolute heater at the end of the year.
00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:11.759
Insane behavior.
00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:13.039
Insane behavior.
00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:15.599
Finally, ESPM was talking about Jimmy Snuggerund.
00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:16.400
That's how good he was.
00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:18.160
That's saying a lot, you know.
00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:26.319
I will I will be interested to see because this will this year technically be his sophomore year, or did they consider last year his sophomore year?
00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:33.440
He only played the last couple years, uh, the through prior season, and then he played in the playoffs when we went and played winning.
00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:34.079
That's right.
00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:35.039
So that's right.
00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:36.400
His freshman year.
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:44.559
He was he was in the I mean, he wasn't gonna win rookie of the year, but he was in the top five in votes, I believe.
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:45.599
So oh yeah.
00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:55.359
So I guess um that's something that I guess that that we'd have to take a take a look at this year is if you're considering this his sophomore year, are we gonna see a sophomore slump?
00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:56.480
No.
00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:57.839
But I don't think so.
00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.759
Get that negative energy out of here.
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:01.039
Absolutely not.
00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:04.160
Jimmy Snugger doesn't have slumps.
00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:05.359
Listen.
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:09.039
I'm just stating facts.
00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:09.759
Okay.
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:13.920
Dylan Holloway, our next key player.
00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:16.400
He only played 59 games.
00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:20.160
And that was because he had knee injury, right?
00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.440
Ankle.
00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:22.400
Ankle.
00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:24.480
Lower body.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:28.799
It was ankle because he came back for like a game or two, and then they were like, and then he left.
00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:29.119
Yeah.
00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:29.359
Yeah.
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:30.160
Lower body.
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:37.920
But still ended the season with 22 goals and 29 points with or sorry, 29 assists with 51 points.
00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:45.599
So again, we see how that his his play is just incredible.
00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:47.599
I love watching his determination.
00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.920
He's one that's like, hey, look at me.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:50.640
I'm not sure what's going on.
00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:56.960
I know we've yeah, I mean, I know, like, this is it's the thing, but the I love that the whole league talks about it.
00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:00.079
I love that they still call Broberg and Holloway the Offer Sheet Boys.
00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:02.880
And they are the best.
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:10.720
I mean, Doug Armstrong made some legendary moves in his 16 years here, but like that one.
00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:12.160
Oh my god.
00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:21.279
Holy it that turned the this organization is in a completely different spot without those two.
00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:22.000
Without a doubt.
00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:24.240
Oh, 100%.
00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:30.480
Um, we also have Pavel Buchinevich, so he played 81 games.
00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:42.640
So remember, he sat out just one game in the season, and this was we he was kind of going through a rough patch, not producing, so um, he was a healthy scratch one game.
00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:47.359
Still ended the season with 20 goals, 28 assists with 48 points.
00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:54.079
I'll be honest with you, I didn't think his points were that high this year.
00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:56.079
Um, I'll be honest with you.
00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:59.519
I thought he might not be a blue when we recorded this episode.
00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.240
Like if you had asked me a few months ago.
00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:06.000
Yeah, no, I thought Pavel Bucinevich would be out of here.
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:11.440
Uh I don't think it's one that you potentially have to look at for the trade deadline.
00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:15.839
Yeah, well, and I let me be let me be honest.
00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:17.759
I I like Pavel Bucinevich.
00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:18.480
I really do.
00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.920
And I loved him when he first got here, except the headbutt.
00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:23.920
I was gonna say you loved that.
00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:29.119
I did not love that.
00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:31.839
However, no, that was my favorite thing about him.
00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:33.440
I'm not gonna love you.
00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:34.640
I know, yeah.
00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:38.480
I mean, I gotta I got a giggle, but then I was like, what's this dude doing?
00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:39.599
Is he insane?
00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:40.079
Yes.
00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:42.000
The answer is he is insane.
00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:45.519
However, I I really, really like Pavel Bushnevich.
00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:51.039
However, he's not playing very well here, and he hasn't for the last bit.
00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:53.599
Like the last again, I would even say two years.
00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:56.079
So to West Coast.
00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:56.640
Yes.
00:28:57.359 --> 00:28:58.720
Came from the Rangers, yeah.
00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:05.759
And so I just I but I let me tell you why I think that is the case.
00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:07.680
I don't think anyone's interested.
00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:21.359
And I think that when Steen and Armstrong go out, I know at the trade deadline, when they went out and looked for suitors for Bucnevich, they determined they weren't gonna get enough for him.
00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:28.640
And that is one thing about having someone for as long as we've had Bucnevich, you see what he's capable of.
00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:35.839
So when someone's not willing to give you what you want for him, you're like, well, he could, he could be better.
00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:40.079
And we do know what he did, what he looked like when he was really good.
00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:47.200
And so there's not as much, I don't want to say there's not as much risk, but there it I think it's how you look at it differently.
00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:55.440
Um, and so you know, I don't expect I I mean Pavlovnevich, I look at this lineup that we have with the acquisitions that we've had this offseason.
00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:57.519
He's gonna be in the bottom two lines.
00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:00.960
I go back he's and he's gonna have to be better.
00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:03.839
Whereas he was your second line.
00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:09.359
I mean, and they were pushing him into a center position, which that's not his natural position.
00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:12.720
Um he's not good at it.
00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:14.240
Have you seen that man?
00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:17.759
He is trying so hard, and I love him for that.
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:20.000
But he is he can't take a face off.
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.039
He looks like a baby deer.
00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:27.119
He can't he's like, what do I do with this thing?
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:28.480
What do I do with this?
00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:30.400
To be fair, it's like he has an extra limb.
00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:32.799
It's hard to take a face off.
00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:34.240
I I I'll give it to him.
00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:35.119
It's hard to take a face off.
00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:45.599
Of course, of course, but yeah, it I think a lot of putting Bucnevich in at center was kind of that desperation mode for our team.
00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:48.640
So he said he'd try really hard, which he did.
00:30:48.880 --> 00:31:00.160
He did, he did, but uh again, being a center also means that you play defense, and I I love Pavel, but he's not that defensive mindset guy.
00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:00.799
Oh no.
00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:03.200
He's just not, and I love him to death.
00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:03.599
I do.
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:09.039
Pavel Buznevich has my heart, and I just He is really funny.
00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:10.559
He's a great locker room guy.
00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:22.400
He is a great locker room guy, so I do think that that's something that we could see the help, especially with the amount of guys that we got and the age range of the guys that we got.
00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:24.799
So, and we'll talk about that later too.
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:31.039
Um I wanna there's two two more key players that I wanted to kind of hone in on real quick.
00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:41.039
Uh, Jordan Cairo, and again we'll get to him here in a second, but played 72 games, 18 goals, 28 assists, and 46 points.
00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:44.160
This was definitely a low season for Jordan Cairou.
00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:53.759
Um and I think it was hard as a blues fan to watch this of him.
00:31:54.640 --> 00:31:58.720
Um because again, we know what he's capable of.
00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:01.119
We've seen what he can do.
00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:15.039
Um I think that he was kind of at a turning point of either I'm going to stay here and I'm gonna be a life, lifelong person.
00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:17.680
Again, he had signed that eight-year contract.
00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:19.920
Um was it last year?
00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:25.279
And again, the the blues got him for a steal of a deal, him and Thomas.
00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:28.480
Uh it was an eight-year deal, right?
00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:29.440
Eight by eight.
00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:30.880
He has five years remaining.
00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:36.960
I think seeing that was was very hard for uh blues fans this year.
00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:45.839
And what we saw, what we're gonna talk about next, I think won't come as a surprise, but it might have been a surprise for some.
00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:49.200
Um but just real quick, Jakey Neighbors.
00:32:49.359 --> 00:32:50.480
I love Jake Neighbors.
00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:53.759
Jake we'll talk about that on this podcast every single day.
00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:58.720
Jake neighbors is he's he's it.
00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:00.319
He's he's he's the guy.
00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:11.039
He's baby shenanigans a fire in him that can't be matched by a lot of people.
00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:13.359
He's the perfect blues player.
00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:14.079
Uh yeah.
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:14.640
He fits.
00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:19.440
It's like Doug Armstrong went to the draft that year and was like, you.
00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:21.119
You I know you.
00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:22.559
You're the one.
00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:24.480
And then you you brought him back to St.
00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:26.079
Louis and we were like, oh.
00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:27.440
And we missed a lot.
00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:35.440
And then you moved him in with Brayden Shen and you were like, here, we're just gonna polish this one off just a little bit, and then we'll be good.
00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:35.920
Yeah.
00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:42.720
And you know, I I huge shout out to Jake Neighbors for for what he was able to accomplish last year.
00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:45.279
Talk about someone who went through a lot last year.
00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:55.680
Um, he lost one of his best friends um to a fatal car accident before the year started and had to miss part of training camp um to go to that funeral.
00:33:55.759 --> 00:34:00.400
Um, and then immediately came back and jumped right into camp, jumped right into the season.
00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:02.319
Definitely didn't have his best year.
00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:07.920
You could see the frustration on his face the majority of this year.
00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:14.159
Only 69 games played, 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points.
00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:19.679
That's that's not so that's not the Jake Neighbors that we I think are used to.
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:26.800
It it's not, and I think there was it's toward the end of the year-ish, not all the way at the end.
00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:43.840
We were reading um from all the reporters like Jeremy Rutherford at the Athletic, um, and others that you know are at practice every day that Jake Neighbors would just be I mean, he's the first one on the ice, he's the last one off the ice, he's always working with someone, he's always trying to get better.
00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:45.920
You can just tell he's so frustrated.
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:54.000
We had the monkey off the back moment finally a couple years or a couple weeks before the season ended, um, and had a couple good games there.
00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:56.719
But yeah, a t a tough year from here for him.
00:34:56.960 --> 00:35:10.400
So I hope he was able to spend the offseason working on some things that maybe he felt like he just I I think with Jake Neighbors, there are some players that are that rely more on con are fueled by confidence more than others.
00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:14.000
Um I would put Jordan Cairo and Jake Neighbors both in that camp.
00:35:14.159 --> 00:35:19.199
I think they both require a heck of a lot of self-confidence in order to produce their best work.
00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:25.280
And when you have a stat line like that for the year, that's not Jake Neighbors hockey.
00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:34.239
Um, and so I have no doubt that he just needed to probably spend some time working on some things and getting himself a little bit more confident in his game.
00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:37.840
Um so I'm excited to see what the year has in store for him.
00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:38.960
He's always a fun one to watch.
00:35:39.039 --> 00:35:40.000
He's one of my faves.
00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:46.000
So yeah, now the the dungeon.
00:35:47.199 --> 00:36:03.519
I don't want to say the dreaded conversation, but um I will say this wasn't a surprise, but it also I guess there's still a bit of shock factor within, you know, because of how long we've had Jordan Cairo.
00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:09.920
So for those of you who don't know, on June 23rd, Jordan Cairo was traded to the Washington Capitals.
00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:16.639
I will say when this trade happened, again, I'm not surprised that the trade happened.
00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:21.280
However, was also a bit surprised that it happened with Washington.
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:31.519
Um I think that there was other teams that were thrown around in the conversation, especially at the trade deadline.
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:38.880
Um and that seeing Washington was a bit of a surprise.
00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:51.199
So, like we said earlier, Jordan Cairo has five years remaining on his contract at 8.125 million average, which is dirt cheap, uh we think.
00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:59.920
I mean considering it was dirt cheap when he signed it, and now uh signed him for 19 years.
00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:00.800
Yeah.
00:37:01.119 --> 00:37:06.000
So I I mean, based on his numbers for last year, people are probably like, please, it's not a deal.
00:37:06.159 --> 00:37:07.840
I'm like, it is a deal.
00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:13.280
Because I've said this, I've said this uh since probably a year ago.
00:37:13.440 --> 00:37:18.320
Oh I said this uh when we start talking about maybe Cairo's gonna leave a year ago.
00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:20.400
Uh I here's the deal.
00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:24.639
Jordan Cairou, I will say this with my whole chest.
00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:26.880
He's gonna be great wherever he goes.
00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:30.159
And I bet he's gonna be stellar in Washington.
00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:34.960
So he's gonna be worth every penny of that 8.125.
00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:48.880
Now, what I do know is as soon as this happened, I have a friend who's a Caps fan, a former colleague, who immediately texted me and the anger at with with which I was met for taking her favorite player, Connor McMichael.
00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:57.840
Um, so I I mean as a from a Washington perspective, they feel like they gave up a lot for Kairu.
00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:04.559
So that like for us, we had just determined Kairu wasn't gonna be the thing here.
00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:11.039
And so I think it this is a much more I mean this is a huge win as a blues fan, in my opinion.
00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:14.960
Oh, I think that this is a this is worth this is worth all of it.
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:16.719
There is no, did we do that?
00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:18.320
No, I am not doubting this.
00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:21.440
I don't I don't question a single piece of this trade.
00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:24.639
This is a great move for the blues organization.
00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:26.639
And best of luck to Kairu.
00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:28.320
I was a huge Cairo fan.
00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:35.440
I was one of many that like when he went through his phase with Barube and he went, I'm like, just give him a break.
00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:38.639
Like, I just he took so much grief here.
00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:43.039
He's a great player, he's gonna be an incredible player somewhere else.
00:38:43.360 --> 00:38:46.320
And I think Washington could be a great fit for him.
00:38:46.559 --> 00:38:51.119
But yeah, McMichael, we he shall not be underestimated here.
00:38:51.440 --> 00:39:04.800
And I think from a Washington perspective, if I'm their management team, their fans are looking to compare the two, and they are expecting because McMichael is not at his ceiling, not even close.
00:39:05.119 --> 00:39:06.159
He is so young.
00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:07.840
So you pulled the stats on them.
00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:14.880
Kairu and McMichael actually had almost the same amount of points last year, if you compare them side by side, right?
00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:22.320
So McMichael um signed a six-year deal here once we got him here.
00:39:22.559 --> 00:39:27.199
Um, so this isn't, like you said, a temporary replacement for Kairu.
00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:32.079
Like they are expecting him to kind of be here in the long run.
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:40.480
So for his 25-26 stats, he had 14 goals and 32 assists for a total of 46 points.
00:39:41.119 --> 00:39:45.599
What I said for and he so he played 78 games.
00:39:45.840 --> 00:39:52.960
Jordan Cairo, who played 72 games, had 18 goals and 28 assists for 46 points.
00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:55.360
So we're seeing similar numbers.
00:39:55.440 --> 00:40:00.719
I I think he oh yeah, in in parentheses, didn't realize they had the same amount of points.
00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:09.280
Yeah, well, and the crazy thing here though is McMichael though is so he's younger than Kairu, is he not?
00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:13.119
Yeah, he I we had we had ages written down here.
00:40:13.599 --> 00:40:15.760
Uh give me a second.
00:40:16.400 --> 00:40:22.000
So, you know, like it's just one of those things in Kairu's 27.
00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:25.440
Give me a second.
00:40:26.239 --> 00:40:28.159
Um I always struggle.
00:40:28.239 --> 00:40:29.519
He's a year older than Thomas.
00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:31.119
He's a year old, he's 28.
00:40:31.519 --> 00:40:32.159
He's 28.
00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:32.960
Okay, so yeah.
00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:38.559
I mean, you're looking at Big Michael, he is right in that in that window.
00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:44.000
He's right in it, I was gonna say, he's right in that window where when Kairou was kind of going through that slump.
00:40:44.639 --> 00:40:45.920
He's at that window.
00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:57.679
So one thing I do worry about, again, and I will say this until the day I die, going from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference is much different than going from the Western Conference.
00:40:57.840 --> 00:41:03.920
He's very so he was the one I think he had a hat trick against us when we played then this year.
00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:06.159
I think because I remember that name.
00:41:06.400 --> 00:41:08.079
Uh and I was like, who?
00:41:08.400 --> 00:41:13.360
Because I remember saying who if you can't beat him, join him, you know.
00:41:13.519 --> 00:41:14.159
Well, yeah.
00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:17.280
Someone was like, hey, we can't have that.
00:41:17.599 --> 00:41:23.199
We you know, maybe we should do the same thing and go get uh what's his name?
00:41:23.440 --> 00:41:25.280
Uh who's the other one?
00:41:25.679 --> 00:41:27.519
He played for Vancouver.
00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:29.360
Kiefer Sherwood.
00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:35.760
Let's think of other players that just kill the blues and let's go pick all of them up so they can't wreak havoc anymore.
00:41:36.079 --> 00:41:37.360
Correct correct.
00:41:37.920 --> 00:41:42.719
Um yeah, no, the one night when we played them this is two years ago.
00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:44.719
He had two goals against us.
00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:46.639
Um for a plus two.
00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:53.440
I mean, and then the 27th of 22, 27, 25, one goal, one assist.
00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:56.719
So I mean, he's a pretty consistent player.
00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:00.880
Um I don't know.
00:42:01.039 --> 00:42:08.880
I one of the questions that you had posed on here is do you think that we got enough for Kairu?
00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:12.559
And honestly, yeah, I do think that we got enough.
00:42:12.800 --> 00:42:29.360
I mean, we end up getting so the blues received in the trade Connor McMichael, Milton Gastron, which I think he already went down to the AHL, and the number 16 overall pick again, which we made a pick for.
00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:30.880
Yeah, yeah.
00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:45.440
So I think that while it's not Jordan Cairo, I feel as though the pieces that we got this offseason plus Connor McMichael, I think is going to help.
00:42:45.920 --> 00:42:50.880
I don't want to say replace because I don't like the word replace in situations like this.
00:42:51.039 --> 00:42:56.960
I think it's a different piece that's going to create a different team for us.
00:42:57.360 --> 00:43:02.400
Yeah, I think it will help fuel our offensive production, which is much needed.
00:43:02.639 --> 00:43:14.719
Um because I think that I I think that's the real problem is we had a player in Cairo who wasn't able to reach his offensive potential anymore here.
00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:17.039
And I don't think he was ever going to reach it here.
00:43:17.119 --> 00:43:19.440
I just think it his time was out.
00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:22.559
And I think that this will help.
00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:34.239
And I think the portion of him, what he went through with Barube really, I think sharp a cord and just the not producing throughout his the next year.
00:43:34.400 --> 00:43:40.559
I think, like you said, we kind of just hit that wall of like, hey, we've tried, we've done everything we can.
00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:41.840
We got you a new coach.
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:47.199
I don't want to say we got you a new coach, I mean we got the organization a new coach, you're not thriving under that new coach.
00:43:47.360 --> 00:43:57.519
Um and one thing that we didn't mention at the beginning, um, at the end of the season, we lose both of our assistant coaches and get two new assistant coaches.
00:43:58.079 --> 00:43:58.719
True.
00:43:59.199 --> 00:44:11.360
So Uh you're looking at uh I don't want to say a completely different team, but you're looking at a team that kind of different pieces and and re is I hate the word, but rebuild.
00:44:11.920 --> 00:44:13.920
There is a bit of a rebuild here with us.
00:44:14.159 --> 00:44:17.199
I'm not gonna use the Vancouver Canucks term of retool.
00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:18.400
Retool.
00:44:18.559 --> 00:44:18.960
But yeah.
00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:24.000
I mean, I hate that word, but like that feels a little bit more accurate in this case.
00:44:24.079 --> 00:44:32.719
So there's a question I have at the bottom of uh this at the bottom of our notes for today that is is this a rebuild?
00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:34.239
I don't know that that's wrong.
00:44:34.400 --> 00:44:40.159
Like I think that he did he moved some pieces out that weren't working anymore.
00:44:40.480 --> 00:44:49.119
And he moved some pieces in that are young and have really like great stats to start with.
00:44:49.199 --> 00:44:56.960
Like these aren't people that he brought in that were like, okay, so you think they're capable of this thing, but we don't know for sure.
00:44:57.119 --> 00:45:01.440
Like they're people that are well on their way to being where we need them to be.
00:45:01.679 --> 00:45:17.280
Um, and I think we needed to get rid of Kairu, and and we did, and we signed someone for six years at less than that, which is gonna be rare because everyone's getting paid more.
00:45:17.679 --> 00:45:21.840
So, you know, I'm not I'm not saying that Mick Michael is is Jordan Cairo.
00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:23.039
I'm gonna be really clear.
00:45:23.199 --> 00:45:24.480
That's not what I'm saying.
00:45:24.719 --> 00:45:41.599
Um, but we did need to move Cairo out, and we did need to pull in others, and um the other thing that is not in this gargantuan list of items that we're covering today is that the blues are out there shaking the trees on Nikishin.
00:45:42.239 --> 00:45:46.079
And yeah, uh that would be a huge offensive piece.
00:45:46.320 --> 00:45:51.760
Um, and so you know, I I don't know.
00:45:51.920 --> 00:46:02.159
I I think it's I think that moving Kyru out was gonna happen, and I think that they got a great deal for it, and I think that both sides will be better for it.
00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:04.239
So completely agree.
00:46:04.880 --> 00:46:14.480
Um, so that happens in June, and then we see the draft come into play.
00:46:14.800 --> 00:46:31.760
Um, and when all of these trades were happening at the end of the year, and even during the offseason, we were looking at what Doug was getting for this, and I just kept remember thinking to myself, I'm like, Doug's cooking up something.
00:46:32.559 --> 00:46:33.840
We're cooking up something.
00:46:34.079 --> 00:46:41.840
He's he's gotta go out with a bang because now reminder, Steen didn't take over 100% at the draft.
00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:44.639
It was a mixture of Steen and Armstrong at this last draft.
00:46:44.719 --> 00:46:50.079
So this was kind of Doug Armstrong's last hurrah, if you want to put it that way.
00:46:50.320 --> 00:46:59.519
Um, he entered the 2026 draft with four first round picks: number 11, number 15, number 16, and number 29.
00:47:00.400 --> 00:47:01.679
Cuckoo bananas.
00:47:01.920 --> 00:47:03.119
That's crazy right there.
00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:03.840
Insane.
00:47:05.039 --> 00:47:08.559
Um plus three third rounders.
00:47:08.800 --> 00:47:09.199
Yes.
00:47:09.360 --> 00:47:18.239
So I mean, he did a lot this offseason and this during trade deadline to get us to the point where we're at.
00:47:18.480 --> 00:47:22.559
So we he makes a pick during the number 11th.
00:47:22.719 --> 00:47:31.039
We get Tyron Lawrence to look up that name because I think that's a name that we're probably gonna be seeing here within the next year or so.
00:47:31.360 --> 00:47:33.760
Um, he's a really big pro prospect.
00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:36.480
And right now we have the prospect camp going on.
00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:38.559
Um, so I'm interested.
00:47:38.639 --> 00:47:44.480
I think they should have uh a game against the prospect Blackhawks soon.
00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:53.760
Um so if you want to keep up with that, keep up with that because I know for me I I do like to just kind of check in on where we're at with everything.
00:47:53.920 --> 00:47:56.079
And that was a name that I remember seeing.
00:47:56.239 --> 00:48:03.760
I'm like, I didn't know who it was at first, but then after doing some research, uh you could see that it's gonna fit, he's gonna fit with those blues.
00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:07.760
Yeah, he plays for Boston University.
00:48:08.159 --> 00:48:09.599
Um love it.
00:48:09.840 --> 00:48:10.719
Go be you.
00:48:11.119 --> 00:48:15.360
Uh, but he's a he's known for his skating.
00:48:15.599 --> 00:48:21.840
Um, so if we think about, I mean, I I'm a I'm a sucker for watching like a really, really great skater.
00:48:21.920 --> 00:48:24.880
It's one of the reasons I really enjoy watching Dylan Holloway.
00:48:24.960 --> 00:48:26.159
He's a great skater.
00:48:26.320 --> 00:48:29.119
Um we know Robert Thomas is an incredible skater.
00:48:29.280 --> 00:48:31.840
Uh Jimmy Snugger, incredible skater.
00:48:32.079 --> 00:48:34.639
Um, that's what Lawrence is known for.
00:48:34.719 --> 00:48:42.320
Um, his explosive skating and his ability to take off with the puck once it's on his stick.
00:48:42.559 --> 00:48:45.599
So um that one could be a really fun one.
00:48:45.840 --> 00:48:51.840
Um, you know, we talk about moving people out like Jordan Cairo, who we have aspirations um, you know, for that.
00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:54.159
He didn't get any faster as he aged.
00:48:54.239 --> 00:48:55.519
He got much slower.
00:48:55.679 --> 00:49:05.199
Um, but you know, replacing those types of individuals, filling gaps in two, three years from now that you know that you already have he'll be a great one.
00:49:05.280 --> 00:49:08.400
And I mean, we've got we've got a lot of great skaters right now.
00:49:08.480 --> 00:49:10.079
It makes this team really fun to watch.
00:49:10.320 --> 00:49:15.599
So and another great skater that we potentially just got a hold of.
00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:24.079
Well, we did get a hold of, but I say potentially good skater because I think that there might have been a little bit of criticism that came with this move.
00:49:24.320 --> 00:49:29.920
Um, so for draft numbers 15 and 29, the blues made a trade.
00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:34.719
They took those two draft picks and they traded those draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks.
00:49:34.960 --> 00:49:36.559
I wore my Air.
00:49:36.880 --> 00:49:37.679
What a splash.
00:49:37.840 --> 00:49:39.039
No pun intended.
00:49:39.679 --> 00:49:42.000
They get Mason McTavish.
00:49:42.559 --> 00:49:47.920
Um I remember when this trade happened and I had quite a few people text me.
00:49:48.079 --> 00:49:51.440
They're like, Do you think this was a good move?
00:49:51.840 --> 00:49:55.599
And I'm still 50-50 on it.
00:49:55.920 --> 00:49:57.039
You're what?
00:49:57.920 --> 00:50:04.000
We traded two draft picks for a third overall 2021.
00:50:04.480 --> 00:50:07.119
Will you let me finish my stamp?
00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:07.519
No.
00:50:08.320 --> 00:50:09.519
Take it back.
00:50:10.239 --> 00:50:11.920
What is this sorcery?
00:50:12.719 --> 00:50:21.760
Mason McAnee right now was under a lot of fire for his production.
00:50:22.320 --> 00:50:25.679
I mean, his numbers are good, don't get me wrong.
00:50:26.000 --> 00:50:32.079
But they were worried about his uh defensive capability.
00:50:32.400 --> 00:50:37.360
They were worried about um I gotta look at his plus minus.
00:50:37.519 --> 00:50:49.679
His his stats for the 25-26 season, he played 25 75 games, 17 goals, 24 assists with 41 points, and he was a minus 15.
00:50:50.320 --> 00:50:51.360
Big yikes.
00:50:51.840 --> 00:51:04.800
Um he he has not had a plus rating since his first year in the organization, in the ducks organization, and that's he played nine games and he was a plus three.
00:51:05.119 --> 00:51:07.039
Yeah, he's 23 years old.
00:51:07.280 --> 00:51:09.599
So I here's my thing.
00:51:09.679 --> 00:51:11.760
You know I care about plus minus greatly.
00:51:11.840 --> 00:51:13.119
I'm the stats girl.
00:51:13.280 --> 00:51:18.800
Um at 23 years old, nobody's got a good plus-minus.
00:51:18.960 --> 00:51:20.159
That's that's pretty rare.
00:51:20.239 --> 00:51:22.880
Unless you play for the freaking Colorado Avalanche.
00:51:23.199 --> 00:51:26.559
Uh I think one thing.
00:51:26.880 --> 00:51:32.960
If anyone has seen the pictures of Mason McTavish going around the internet, bro has spent all offseason in the gym.
00:51:33.199 --> 00:51:34.639
Yeah, massive.
00:51:34.960 --> 00:51:39.119
You want to talk about things that'll help your plus or minus, don't get pushed over.
00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:40.239
That's one.
00:51:40.400 --> 00:51:41.440
It sounds stupid.
00:51:41.519 --> 00:51:41.840
It's not.
00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:47.920
Don't find yourself on the ground, don't get pushed over easily, don't get pushed off the puck.
00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:49.840
That's not gonna happen anymore.
00:51:50.159 --> 00:51:51.039
No chance.
00:51:51.199 --> 00:51:52.559
Yeah, he's a brick wall.
00:51:53.519 --> 00:51:54.719
So that was so that was.
00:51:55.119 --> 00:51:56.079
And he's a center.
00:51:56.320 --> 00:52:08.480
So that was kind of the criticism that I read a lot of was that while being a center, your mindset is to be more of that defensive player.
00:52:08.800 --> 00:52:16.639
And he was not I don't want to say living up because that's not the word I'm looking for.
00:52:16.880 --> 00:52:25.119
He was not producing the defensive side of things the way that I think the people of Anaheim were expecting.
00:52:25.280 --> 00:52:31.280
Now I will say, reading about this, the people of Anaheim were mad at this.
00:52:31.519 --> 00:52:51.440
And Anaheim has undergone a little bit of scrutiny over the summer too, because there was a lot of um signings with like Leo Carlson that they were there was the um what's the uh offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers that didn't go through.
00:52:51.679 --> 00:52:57.840
Um they ended up signing who was it that they hold on.
00:52:58.079 --> 00:52:59.760
Well, didn't they release Kreider?
00:53:00.559 --> 00:53:06.000
Oh yeah, so Crider just signed a year in Montreal that happened last night.
00:53:06.639 --> 00:53:07.760
Carlson was the offer sheet.
00:53:08.320 --> 00:53:14.639
Carlson was the offer sheet, but there was somebody else that I yes Okay.
00:53:15.679 --> 00:53:20.239
The uh so Mason McTavish was the 2021 draft class.
00:53:20.400 --> 00:53:23.599
The first overall pick that year was Owen Power.
00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:26.960
Oh and the second overall pick was Maddie Beneers.
00:53:27.519 --> 00:53:28.000
Oh, okay.
00:53:28.079 --> 00:53:34.159
So he was out of the three of them, McTavish might look the best.
00:53:34.320 --> 00:53:35.360
Owen Power's good.
00:53:35.440 --> 00:53:36.320
He's a defenseman.
00:53:36.400 --> 00:53:37.280
You can't really compare the two.
00:53:37.519 --> 00:53:41.440
Yeah, you can't really compare uh but between Beneers and McTavish.
00:53:41.760 --> 00:53:45.679
Again, Beneers I kind of feel has had a left year.
00:53:46.159 --> 00:53:46.800
He will.
00:53:47.039 --> 00:53:49.599
Um uh Cutter Gauthier.
00:53:50.079 --> 00:53:50.639
Gautier?
00:53:51.119 --> 00:53:51.840
Gautier.
00:53:52.320 --> 00:53:53.039
Gautier.
00:53:53.360 --> 00:54:03.760
That's a that's another uh player that they're either needing to sign or did sign and it was it was a fair fairly big amount.
00:54:04.000 --> 00:54:09.199
Um they also picked, did they pick up Truba in the offseason?
00:54:09.599 --> 00:54:12.159
Yeah, they're they're kind of all over the place.
00:54:12.400 --> 00:54:16.880
You know, we like the ducks are having a tough go.
00:54:17.119 --> 00:54:17.679
You're good.
00:54:17.920 --> 00:54:24.159
Okay, so they traded uh Goodas to the Florida Panthers for AJ Gear.
00:54:24.559 --> 00:54:31.199
Uh John Carlson, who was they got from Washington when they thought they were making that push.
00:54:31.519 --> 00:54:34.159
He was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
00:54:34.400 --> 00:54:36.000
Chris Kreider left.
00:54:36.159 --> 00:54:38.000
Uh sorry, Truba left.
00:54:38.079 --> 00:54:45.679
Truba went to um other California team, San Jose, thank you.
00:54:45.920 --> 00:54:51.119
And we actually get Ross Johnson from uh Anaheim.
00:54:51.360 --> 00:55:04.800
So there's a there was a bit there was a big move with Anaheim this offseason that I think them move the people of Anaheim were upset about McTavish moving, but also I don't know.
00:55:04.880 --> 00:55:08.400
There was just a there was a there's been a lot with Anaheim this offseason.
00:55:08.639 --> 00:55:13.199
And yeah, and I think they're putting all their ducks in the Carlson basket.
00:55:13.440 --> 00:55:19.360
Yes, and like I think they should know if that's I I don't I don't I don't know though.
00:55:19.599 --> 00:55:21.519
I mean I don't think I would have paid him that much.
00:55:21.679 --> 00:55:22.320
Let me be clear.
00:55:22.480 --> 00:55:24.239
I wouldn't pay him as much as they paid him.
00:55:24.480 --> 00:55:25.280
No, nothing.
00:55:25.599 --> 00:55:33.679
Leo Carlson is a great hockey player, and he is the future uh of the Anaheim organization.
00:55:33.840 --> 00:55:34.719
I truly believe that.
00:55:38.880 --> 00:55:41.440
You're always gonna be behind Edmonton.
00:55:41.599 --> 00:55:49.840
There do you and your other competition is the San Jose Sharks, which you might have to worry about this year.
00:55:50.079 --> 00:55:55.599
The Seattle Kraken, who uh they didn't make they didn't make moves this offseason.
00:55:55.920 --> 00:55:58.719
Nobody wants to go they've tried so hard.
00:55:58.880 --> 00:56:00.400
Nobody wants to go to Seattle.
00:56:01.039 --> 00:56:10.400
Um the the LA Kings who didn't do a lot this offseason and they lost a lot of veteran presence, so we might see the downhill slide of the Kings.
00:56:10.559 --> 00:56:19.760
So I mean Anaheim has has the ability to kind of push up and be within that, you know, finishing second and third in the Pacific.
00:56:20.079 --> 00:56:29.360
And I don't know, I think losing McTavish might be a hard thing for them to push them to that point.
00:56:29.840 --> 00:56:35.440
Yeah, I think it's I think the big thing is that centers, good centers are hard to come by right now.
00:56:35.679 --> 00:56:36.000
Right.
00:56:36.159 --> 00:56:41.760
Um, and we just totally overhauled our our centers, which we really needed.
00:56:42.000 --> 00:56:46.880
Um, but now I mean we you've got Thomas, McTavish, and McMichael up the middle.
00:56:47.039 --> 00:56:50.239
I that's completely different.
00:56:50.639 --> 00:56:52.400
That's not Pavel Bushnevich.
00:56:52.800 --> 00:56:55.679
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
00:56:55.920 --> 00:56:58.480
You become what about Pavel?
00:56:58.719 --> 00:57:00.400
He could be the fourth line center.
00:57:01.119 --> 00:57:02.719
No, you got Pew Suter.
00:57:03.199 --> 00:57:03.760
I was gonna say.
00:57:03.920 --> 00:57:06.159
You can't put Pews on the wing.
00:57:07.599 --> 00:57:10.239
And I said notice how he said it cur notice how I said it correctly.
00:57:10.320 --> 00:57:11.039
I didn't call him Pius.
00:57:13.280 --> 00:57:18.639
Um Alyssa and I met Pews Suter at the season ticket holder event last year.
00:57:18.800 --> 00:57:21.280
He was the they do the pictures with the players.
00:57:21.440 --> 00:57:24.960
And so Alyssa asked him how you actually say his name.
00:57:25.039 --> 00:57:26.639
And he was like, it's Pewce.
00:57:26.800 --> 00:57:29.440
And so now she always says it properly.
00:57:30.159 --> 00:57:31.519
Um is great.
00:57:31.760 --> 00:57:38.239
Uh but I mean, yeah, I mean, tell us what what did we look up like up the middle last year?
00:57:38.559 --> 00:57:40.000
Okay, up the center.
00:57:40.159 --> 00:57:46.159
You've got Robert Thomas, you had Pew Suter, Braden Shen, and Oscar Sunquist.
00:57:47.039 --> 00:57:47.280
Okay.
00:57:47.840 --> 00:57:52.480
And and Otto Stenberg, and and hold on, Nick Buch said.
00:57:52.880 --> 00:57:54.639
And Pavel Bucnevich.
00:57:55.039 --> 00:57:58.480
Well, old Jack Finlay towards the end, too.
00:57:59.119 --> 00:58:02.079
I don't even know who this last person is that's on this list.
00:58:02.239 --> 00:58:06.639
Uh Robbie Favry for the short time that he was here, R.I.P.
00:58:06.880 --> 00:58:07.760
I miss him.
00:58:08.079 --> 00:58:12.559
Yeah, so now we're Thomas McTavish, McMichael, Suter.
00:58:13.440 --> 00:58:14.079
Yeah.
00:58:14.400 --> 00:58:22.559
I yeah, I it but honestly, if you would have told me that Pew Suter would have been gone this offseason, I wouldn't have been surprised.
00:58:22.719 --> 00:58:27.199
I kind of look for him to kind of be that deadline deal package deal.
00:58:27.360 --> 00:58:30.480
Um but that's neither again.
00:58:30.559 --> 00:58:35.760
I'm thinking ahead, and I shouldn't because we haven't even started the season yet.
00:58:36.239 --> 00:58:43.199
But um that's some like you said, that's some serious depth that we have moving into this.
00:58:43.519 --> 00:58:53.599
Uh so then the blues pick 16th and they choose Maddox Magnus D.
00:58:54.960 --> 00:58:58.239
So those are all the first rounds that we got out of this.
00:58:58.400 --> 00:59:02.559
So then we move to the third round, and Doug at it again.
00:59:02.880 --> 00:59:09.360
He trades two third round picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Brandon Carlo.
00:59:09.920 --> 00:59:15.280
Now, this is an older, and I say older, that's putting it mildly.
00:59:15.519 --> 00:59:15.920
Watch your son.
00:59:17.280 --> 00:59:18.639
He's our age.
00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:21.760
Alyssa just called us old.
00:59:22.000 --> 00:59:24.400
Well it is too early for this on a Sunday.
00:59:24.480 --> 00:59:25.679
You just called us old.
00:59:25.920 --> 00:59:27.679
You leave Brandon Carlo's age alone.
00:59:27.840 --> 00:59:28.400
I I leave.
00:59:28.719 --> 00:59:30.320
He is a young whippersnapper.
00:59:30.719 --> 00:59:53.519
I grew up with children who think that being born in the 1900s means that you're ancient, so but we get this 29-year-old defense, right shot defenseman, which again, um so Brandon Carlo ate up a lot of minutes in Toronto, and you now have the potential of him possibly working with Parego.
00:59:54.320 --> 00:59:58.960
Um probably not because I would put him both as right-handed defensemen.
00:59:59.920 --> 01:00:05.199
But again, a guy that's gonna be able to eat up some minutes and potentially be on your penalty kill.
01:00:05.599 --> 01:00:09.280
And as we know, penalty kill was a bit of a struggle last year.
01:00:09.599 --> 01:00:16.639
So was he worth two third-round draft picks?
01:00:17.920 --> 01:00:42.800
Possibly not, but I do think that this is a player that's gonna give you a bit more of aggressiveness on the blue line, a little more aggressiveness in front of the net, and potentially be a good pair for either Mayu, Preco, or um Robert.
01:00:44.719 --> 01:00:45.360
Yeah.
01:00:45.760 --> 01:00:50.000
So I mean, here's the question: are we rebuilding or not?
01:00:50.239 --> 01:01:00.880
You send out Shen Faut Cairo, you send in McTavish, McMichael, Carlo, Gastron and Prospects, plus your draft class for the year.
01:01:01.039 --> 01:01:07.920
The organization has 17 former first-round draft picks in its system, and seven were drafted in the last four drafts.
01:01:08.400 --> 01:01:17.840
So, I mean, you've got ten in the system that are still first-round draft picks, but aren't as recent as the last four drafts.
01:01:18.079 --> 01:01:22.639
Um you've only got seven players entering the season at over 30.
01:01:23.280 --> 01:01:32.880
So this team has been dramatically Yeah, they are dramatically younger than they were a year ago.
01:01:33.039 --> 01:01:35.199
Uh you are you are absolutely correct.
01:01:35.440 --> 01:02:03.679
We're very comparatively speaking to last year, when I think we were one of the oldest teams in the league, I think we've now moved to like one of the younger teams in the league, which I don't think in my time of watching the blues, except for maybe like when we had like Oshi, Berglin, that group, like the young prawn, those young guys, I don't think that we've been known as the young team in a really long time.
01:02:04.079 --> 01:02:06.800
And it's it's kind of different and kind of nice.
01:02:07.119 --> 01:02:09.599
Yeah, well, and I think it's it's a fun time in St.
01:02:09.679 --> 01:02:10.000
Louis.
01:02:10.159 --> 01:02:14.159
I think it's you know, the kids, the kids are the ones carrying our teams around here.
01:02:14.239 --> 01:02:15.679
The Cardinals are no different.
01:02:15.920 --> 01:02:24.159
Um, I mean, we did have we had Yachty and Albert in the house last night for their Hall of Fame induction, but like what a what a terrible loss last night, by the way.
01:02:24.400 --> 01:02:25.679
What a terrible loss.
01:02:25.840 --> 01:02:28.400
How dare you embarrass us in front of those men.
01:02:28.719 --> 01:02:31.199
After everything they have done for this organization.
01:02:31.760 --> 01:02:33.440
This is what we could treat them to.
01:02:34.320 --> 01:02:38.000
But saying the same thing about half the people in the blues organization.
01:02:38.239 --> 01:02:38.639
I know.
01:02:38.800 --> 01:02:41.840
And so, you know, the kids are carrying these teams.
01:02:41.920 --> 01:02:45.360
The blues are young, the Cardinals are young, it's a it's a really fun time.
01:02:45.440 --> 01:02:50.880
But I think you could, in my opinion at least, I felt like watching the blues last year.
01:02:51.679 --> 01:03:04.480
We got younger in some ways, and then we didn't we failed to get young enough everywhere because the speed that is required to keep like we just we couldn't do it.
01:03:04.639 --> 01:03:07.280
Brayden Chen could not, it is great.
01:03:08.320 --> 01:03:09.360
He can't keep up.
01:03:09.519 --> 01:03:15.760
Like, there's just there's too much speed, and there's too much hockey IQ, and there's too much shooting power.
01:03:16.559 --> 01:03:19.760
And the we could we simply could not keep up.
01:03:20.000 --> 01:03:23.199
We had to find a way, and centers are a great way to do that.
01:03:23.280 --> 01:03:42.880
If you can make your centers much more, you know, a little bit younger where they can work with, it's easier for a center to adapt to its wings than your wings to be stuck in the middle and not be able to keep up with someone who's flying down the side of the ice.
01:03:43.119 --> 01:03:48.239
And so, you know, I think we changed the exact thing that was most needed.
01:03:48.800 --> 01:03:49.280
Agreed.
01:03:49.679 --> 01:03:52.480
And I think it'll it'll make a big difference.
01:03:52.880 --> 01:03:56.800
Well, I also think that we've now got a little bit younger in our defensive core.
01:03:57.039 --> 01:04:03.280
Um, getting Carlo and he's younger, um Broberg and Mayu.
01:04:03.760 --> 01:04:10.320
Um, I mean, your your odd ones out there are Parego and Fowler, um and Tucker.
01:04:10.480 --> 01:04:12.000
I mean, Tucker's pretty young too.
01:04:12.079 --> 01:04:15.199
So if Lin's and Linstein comes up, Linstein's young.
01:04:15.280 --> 01:04:34.000
I mean we're slowly moving into that younger mindset, which I think if you can move to that younger mindset while still having that blue-collar feel, like your Jake neighbors, that's gonna be a recipe for success here.
01:04:34.480 --> 01:04:44.960
You've gotta adapt with the time, but also keep that same mindset that we've had as an organization for the past, what, six years.
01:04:45.760 --> 01:04:47.039
So, I don't know.
01:04:47.119 --> 01:05:12.159
That's just in my in my opinion, I think this I don't necessarily say it being I'll call it a rebuild, because I think that we are taking new we're getting rid of not getting rid of, but getting rid of players that aren't fitting the mold, and we're bringing in people that of what Armstrong and Steen want to align with.
01:05:12.480 --> 01:05:24.159
So Yeah, I think a rebuild it could be a rebuild, but I think um a rebuild often implies that it's gonna be a while before you win.
01:05:24.480 --> 01:05:27.280
And I don't know that it's gonna be a long time.
01:05:28.239 --> 01:05:35.360
I don't know that it's it's necessary for it to be a long time before this team is successful, but we're gonna find out soon.
01:05:36.000 --> 01:05:40.559
Um so the Alexander Steen era has officially begun.
01:05:40.639 --> 01:05:43.440
Um that started on June 30th.
01:05:43.519 --> 01:05:46.880
So Steen is the 12th GM in blues history now.
01:05:47.039 --> 01:05:48.960
Um a little bit about Steen.
01:05:49.119 --> 01:05:54.239
For those of you that are, you know, blues fans and have been for some time, you know who Alexander Steen is.
01:05:54.320 --> 01:05:56.159
Um he had a 15 year NHL career.
01:05:56.239 --> 01:05:58.400
He was drafted in 2002 by the Leafs.
01:05:58.719 --> 01:05:59.760
He debuted there in 2002.
01:06:00.480 --> 01:06:03.199
And played three years there before he was traded to the Blues.
01:06:03.280 --> 01:06:05.360
Um, so came here in 2008.
01:06:05.519 --> 01:06:12.239
He was part of the 2019 Stanley Cup team, of course, um, and retired in December of 2020 due to a back injury.
01:06:12.400 --> 01:06:16.480
For any of you that um remember that, that was that was so sad.
01:06:16.800 --> 01:06:25.599
He was, you know, I remember him talking about it, like unable to get in and out of his car, unable to like kneel down to like hug his young children.
01:06:25.840 --> 01:06:28.320
Um, he was just in a in a lot of pain.
01:06:28.559 --> 01:06:30.800
Um, and so he retired.
01:06:30.960 --> 01:06:37.280
His final career stats, he had 622 career points in a thousand eight regular season games.
01:06:37.360 --> 01:06:42.960
So he did have hit that 1,000 game milestone before he retired, which is which is nice.
01:06:43.039 --> 01:06:48.719
Um, but had a a great career, of course, capping all that off with a with a Stanley Cup um with the Blues.
01:06:48.800 --> 01:06:54.159
So um, but then he pretty much immediately jumped into a front office career with the Blues.
01:06:54.320 --> 01:07:01.599
So from 2021 to 23, he was a European player consultant and an international scout specifically for Sweden.
01:07:01.760 --> 01:07:13.199
Um, so he was heavily involved in recruiting and working with players that were in Sweden and in Europe in general, um, to help them transition um into the blues organization.
01:07:13.599 --> 01:07:23.679
Then he became a development coach and consultant from 23 to 24, but in 2024 then was promoted to the special assistant to Doug Armstrong, who's the GM at the time, of course.
01:07:23.920 --> 01:07:29.440
So um that's that to me just gives very office uh assistant to the general manager.
01:07:29.760 --> 01:07:36.400
Assistant to the yeah, and so because regional manager, but regional assistant to the regional manager, that's right.
01:07:36.639 --> 01:07:41.440
And because uh Steen must have felt that way because then they said, guess what?
01:07:41.599 --> 01:07:45.039
He is not just the special assistant to Doug Armstrong, he's gonna be your next GM.
01:07:45.119 --> 01:07:46.400
And he was like, Okay, that's better.
01:07:46.480 --> 01:07:48.400
That was very Dwight shrewd of him.
01:07:48.639 --> 01:07:53.440
Um, so now he is the general manager of St.
01:07:53.599 --> 01:08:04.320
Louis Blues, which is very exciting, and I think um I I can't think of someone that is, you know, uh he's he's just such a blue.
01:08:07.440 --> 01:08:24.720
He's very he's very blues, and he I love that, you know, as soon as he kind of like wrapped his career up, it didn't take long for him to jump into the blues organization and use his um his skills and his relationship building in in different ways.
01:08:24.800 --> 01:08:30.640
I love that he held a couple of different roles within the blues while he was here, even though that's not always necessary.
01:08:30.880 --> 01:08:34.960
Um, and then of course Doug Armstrong will remain on the blues staff.
01:08:35.039 --> 01:08:38.880
He is now the president of hockey operations, so he was, I believe he was both.
01:08:38.960 --> 01:08:41.039
Um that's not super uncommon right now.
01:08:41.119 --> 01:08:52.479
There are a lot of GMs and president of hockey operations, um, but he is the now the president of hockey operations and um Steen is the GM.
01:08:52.640 --> 01:09:07.840
So more of like I'm not gonna break down what the difference between the two is because it's different for every team, but basically Steen will oversee more of the day-to-day management of the team itself, whereas Armstrong now is overseeing hockey operations as a whole.
01:09:08.000 --> 01:09:16.640
So that typically includes anything from, I mean, there's staff that oversees scouting and stats and uh all the things.
01:09:16.800 --> 01:09:25.359
Um, so he'll be more on looking at the blues organization as a whole, and Steam will be focused on the team as it exists right now.
01:09:25.600 --> 01:09:29.279
So um very exciting though.
01:09:29.439 --> 01:09:36.640
Uh excited to have Steen on board, and I think um, you know, we've seen some of his work already.
01:09:36.800 --> 01:09:47.119
Um, you know, him and Doug Armstrong have worked in very close communication um with just about everything that they've done over the but the last couple years, um, which is great.
01:09:47.279 --> 01:09:54.000
And I think uh, you know, Doug Armstrong did did incredible things here in the 16 years he was here.
01:09:54.159 --> 01:09:56.880
Um, you know, he started with the blues in 2010.
01:09:57.199 --> 01:10:02.159
So um, you know, his his legacy will live on for quite some time.
01:10:02.239 --> 01:10:03.920
He brought this team their first cup.
01:10:04.079 --> 01:10:07.920
So he uh he's he's a legendary one for sure.
01:10:09.199 --> 01:10:19.279
Well, and so as he as Doug Arm finishes off, Alex Dean comes in and he starts free agency, and we get a couple of people in free agency.
01:10:19.359 --> 01:10:22.800
A lot of it is just re-signing the players that we've had.
01:10:22.960 --> 01:10:34.159
So uh Jonathan Bergren, again, he came over as a we picked him up off waivers last year, and he ended up signing a one-year, two million contract extension.
01:10:34.319 --> 01:10:37.119
I think that this is a good sign for the blues.
01:10:37.279 --> 01:10:51.199
I think that Bergren is very young, he is very fast, and I think that his go-getter and just um I don't want to say rough and gruff, but he he's got a bit more toughness to him.
01:10:51.359 --> 01:10:57.600
I think his mindset is um very blues-esque, and I and I did like his that it was a good pickup.
01:10:57.680 --> 01:11:00.239
It was a totally he was a great pickup.
01:11:00.720 --> 01:11:06.239
The waiver waivers are can kind of go again those one or two ways.
01:11:06.399 --> 01:11:21.520
Um, a lot of times people think that being claimed off waivers um might be a bad thing, but I I like to see it as um a team taking a chance on a player to show, like, hey, here's what I got.
01:11:21.840 --> 01:11:28.399
And I think that that's what Dargrim did in our in his case, and I love this extension.
01:11:28.640 --> 01:11:46.479
Um Jonathan Druin, he again came over in the shin um trade, and he they decided to waive his contract or waive him to the NHL, or wave him sorry, wave his contract, and he is currently an unrestricted free agent.
01:11:46.720 --> 01:12:02.399
Um, this one I'm a little surprised by because I thought that Druin didn't play terribly when he was with us, however, um maybe not just reaching the full potential that the blues were expecting him to.
01:12:02.720 --> 01:12:05.039
So he's currently an unrestricted free agent.
01:12:05.119 --> 01:12:07.680
There's a lot of unrestricted free agents this year.
01:12:07.840 --> 01:12:11.279
Um yeah, you know, we're getting into training camp season.
01:12:11.359 --> 01:12:14.640
I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of those come in as PTOs.
01:12:14.960 --> 01:12:19.359
I was gonna say I think that you will see a lot of PTOs coming up here within the next couple of days.
01:12:19.520 --> 01:12:28.239
Because for those of you who don't know, um, first preseason game is for the blues is this Saturday, and I do believe that I think everything starts on Saturday.
01:12:28.399 --> 01:12:30.800
Um we're playing the Blackhawks, aren't we?
01:12:31.119 --> 01:12:31.760
We are.
01:12:32.159 --> 01:12:40.880
Um so training camp will start on Thursday for the blues, which again, really upset that they decided to do it on Thursday and Friday this year.
01:12:41.119 --> 01:12:45.279
A little little upset, not gonna lie to you guys.
01:12:45.600 --> 01:12:49.760
This will be the first time in like I think four years that we haven't been to the city.
01:12:49.920 --> 01:12:59.920
Yeah, Alyssa and I get up at the butt crack of dawn to drive because I well, Alyssa doesn't live that far from Centine, really, at least compared to me.
01:13:00.079 --> 01:13:02.960
Um, but I live in South City, so I do.
01:13:03.199 --> 01:13:19.439
And uh we drive out there and one of us stops and gets coffee, and there's no one on the road, and there is this feeling in my bones on those days that I am just gonna go sit in a cold ice rink for like five hours because you watch group one, group two, and then usually there's a scrimmage.
01:13:20.720 --> 01:13:21.840
Oh my god, it's amazing.
01:13:22.000 --> 01:13:26.800
It's the and there's two different groups, so usually you can jump between the two ranks.
01:13:27.119 --> 01:13:28.479
It's it's the best.
01:13:28.720 --> 01:13:33.840
If obviously, I'm sure I'm talking to a bunch of people that have to work this week, so sorry.
01:13:34.000 --> 01:13:47.520
Um, but if for whatever reason you don't, and especially if you have kids who uh unfortunately will be in school, but if they're not by some weird stroke of genius, um, it's a really great time, and those are open practices.
01:13:47.600 --> 01:13:51.039
So you can go out and you can watch, you can watch them do drills.
01:13:51.199 --> 01:13:52.560
It's it's a blast.
01:13:52.640 --> 01:13:53.520
It's so much fun.
01:13:53.920 --> 01:13:54.720
It's a lot of fun.
01:13:54.880 --> 01:14:02.720
And I'll be so I'll be interested to see with the how they have it set up this year of us only playing, is it six games for a preseason?
01:14:02.880 --> 01:14:04.000
Or is it four?
01:14:04.239 --> 01:14:05.920
I think it's four.
01:14:06.159 --> 01:14:17.199
So it's it's a shorter preseason with a longer regular season, and I think there's also a cap for how many of those preseason games your veteran players can play.
01:14:17.520 --> 01:14:23.119
So that's what I was wondering if you'll start to see more veterans during the preseason.
01:14:23.279 --> 01:14:31.359
Um because that's like one of the biggest things when you go to a preseason game is those first two to three, you're seeing people that you don't know.
01:14:31.760 --> 01:14:38.079
Um they might throw in a veteran player one or the during one of the two games.
01:14:38.319 --> 01:14:45.680
Um you won't see the veteran players until that last preseason before home opener or before the season opener.
01:14:46.000 --> 01:14:48.720
And so I'll be interested to see how that runs this year.
01:14:48.880 --> 01:14:56.560
Um like will I get to see the people that I want to see on Saturday, or will I get to see these prospects?
01:14:56.800 --> 01:15:03.199
But I think that they do a really great job of holding the prospect camp too, so that might be a little looking a little different this year.
01:15:03.439 --> 01:15:12.159
Um but speaking of another veteran that we signed, we re-signed um Oscar Sunquist.
01:15:12.319 --> 01:15:15.279
So this is a one-year, two-way extension.
01:15:15.600 --> 01:15:21.359
So a two-way contract means that he plays both in the NHL and the AHL.
01:15:21.840 --> 01:15:33.840
Um, this is a lot for, and I I think that this move is for the veteran presence down in the AHL for uh the Thunderbirds.
01:15:34.000 --> 01:15:43.359
Uh, for those of you who don't know, uh Steve Ott took over as head coach down in Springfield during the season last year.
01:15:43.680 --> 01:15:50.880
That was a big loss, I think, on the bench for the Blues, but it turned out to work out really well for the Thunderbirds because they made it to the Calder Cup final.
01:15:51.520 --> 01:15:57.520
Um and they didn't with those start that they had, they didn't even think that they were gonna make it to the playoffs.
01:15:57.680 --> 01:16:07.439
So I think that this extension for Sun Quist provides him a chance to still be in the NHL, but also kind of had that leadership value in the AHL.
01:16:08.399 --> 01:16:11.039
Yeah, and you know, they they asked him about that too.
01:16:11.199 --> 01:16:18.960
They before he signed this, they said, How would you how would you feel if you had to go down to the AHL and play for the Thunderbirds?
01:16:19.039 --> 01:16:25.760
And they asked him about it um in media, and he said, I I love Steve Ott.
01:16:25.920 --> 01:16:27.920
I would play for Steve Ott in a heartbeat.
01:16:28.079 --> 01:16:30.399
Like I that does that would not bother me.
01:16:30.640 --> 01:16:32.399
And I think that's that's huge.
01:16:32.560 --> 01:16:40.560
I mean, I know that I think blues fans are very aware of the the role and the impact that Steve Ott has had on this organization.
01:16:40.880 --> 01:17:06.239
Um, and I I've been quoted many, many years in a row saying that I think that Steve Ott's time here could be limited because I think that you know it's just like the never-ending rotation of existing head coaches in this in this league, and eventually you're gonna need someone that can communicate really well with young players and has a little bit of a different perspective, and I think that Steve Ott has that.
01:17:06.560 --> 01:17:21.119
Um I think it's great, and I am not surprised to see his his success in the AHL, but um, I thought it spoke volumes that they asked Sunquist about that specifically, and he said I would I would go down and I would play for Steve Ott in a heartbeat.
01:17:21.199 --> 01:17:24.800
He's great, I love him, and I and I would I would happily do that.
01:17:24.960 --> 01:17:30.640
Um, you know, Sunquist is he's been with the blues for a long time, off and on, of course.
01:17:30.720 --> 01:17:32.479
Um, you know, left for a bit and came back.
01:17:33.439 --> 01:17:35.119
Yep, part of the 2019 team.
01:17:35.199 --> 01:17:37.359
He's married um to a woman from St.
01:17:37.439 --> 01:17:37.840
Louis.
01:17:37.920 --> 01:17:40.640
Um, they live here, and so he he loves St.
01:17:40.720 --> 01:17:45.840
Louis, he always has, and I think um you know they just had their first child.
01:17:46.079 --> 01:17:51.760
So I think you know, this speaks to his desire to stay with an organization that he loves.
01:17:51.840 --> 01:18:00.079
He's always been very honest about that, and um I he doesn't really care if it's with the NHL or the AHL at this point, I think that's great.
01:18:00.239 --> 01:18:04.800
Um, that's kind of what we've grown to expect, I think, out of blues players lately.
01:18:04.960 --> 01:18:13.039
Um is just this desire to to be part of the organization, which I think is speaks volumes to everything that the blues have done to make the organization what it is.
01:18:13.279 --> 01:18:24.880
So um, so another signing that the blues did this offseason, um, kind of going in that veteran presence, is Ross Johnson.
01:18:25.279 --> 01:18:35.199
So we mentioned he came over from Anaheim, and this contract it's a it's a little odd to me.
01:18:35.359 --> 01:18:43.359
It's a three-year deal at two million a year, which again he's here for the physicality, which I can understand.
01:18:43.600 --> 01:18:49.439
Um, but three years seems a little bit long for the physicality aspect.
01:18:49.920 --> 01:18:57.279
But um, some stats on uh Johnson is he last year he played 62 games.
01:18:57.520 --> 01:19:01.039
He had three goals, 11 assists for 14 points.
01:19:01.359 --> 01:19:05.119
His plus-minus was at a zero, so he wasn't, you know.
01:19:05.920 --> 01:19:06.399
Alright.
01:19:07.039 --> 01:19:07.840
Okay with that.
01:19:08.399 --> 01:19:10.880
Uh penalty minutes, 107.
01:19:11.840 --> 01:19:13.119
So wow.
01:19:13.600 --> 01:19:14.239
Wow.
01:19:15.680 --> 01:19:17.680
107 in how many games?
01:19:18.159 --> 01:19:19.119
62.
01:19:20.159 --> 01:19:24.319
Wow! That's more than two a game on average.
01:19:25.199 --> 01:19:25.600
Right?
01:19:25.840 --> 01:19:26.079
No.
01:19:26.319 --> 01:19:26.800
Hold on.
01:19:27.039 --> 01:19:27.680
Wrong.
01:19:27.920 --> 01:19:28.399
Wrong.
01:19:28.800 --> 01:19:30.000
Lexus got bad maths.
01:19:30.319 --> 01:19:32.319
It's it's about a penalty game.
01:19:32.560 --> 01:19:33.199
Yeah.
01:19:34.000 --> 01:19:40.640
And you figure probably, you know, one of the games he doesn't get a penalty, another is it's a 10-minute major, you know, a five-minute major.
01:19:40.960 --> 01:19:47.439
So um doesn't seem like a bad signing necessarily.
01:19:47.680 --> 01:19:51.680
Um we'll be interested to see how much we see of him.
01:19:53.359 --> 01:19:54.000
Agree.
01:19:54.399 --> 01:19:59.520
Um, and then the blues also signed Dylan Dubai to a one-year, one-way deal.
01:19:59.600 --> 01:20:04.880
Um, so that one-way deal means he's an NHL player, uh, or he'll play at the NHL level.
01:20:04.960 --> 01:20:07.840
I mean, we can send him down to the AHL, but we'll have to pay him the same salary.
01:20:08.079 --> 01:20:11.680
So um it's a league minimum$850,000 contract.
01:20:11.920 --> 01:20:17.439
Dylan Dubai has been with the Blues organization since December of last year.
01:20:17.680 --> 01:20:38.479
Um he prior to that had not played with an NHL team for quite some time, along with four other players um that were tried as part of a Hockey Canada investigation um that was tied back to sexual assault with the one of the junior teams um back a few years ago.
01:20:38.800 --> 01:20:44.560
So um Carter Hart is one of those individuals, Alex Formanton is one of those individuals.
01:20:44.640 --> 01:20:45.520
There's five of them total.
01:20:45.680 --> 01:20:47.439
Dylan Dubay is another.
01:20:47.680 --> 01:20:56.239
Um he played as part of our AHL group, um, and the Blues recently signed him to that NHL deal.
01:20:56.479 --> 01:21:00.640
There is a ton of information out there about that investigation.
01:21:00.800 --> 01:21:06.159
If you would like to go out and you um, you know, want to read up on it and see what it's about.
01:21:06.560 --> 01:21:14.159
Um it's it's not you know, be warned that it's it's not something that's really fun to read about.
01:21:14.239 --> 01:21:16.560
Um, it's something that can be pretty disheartening.
01:21:16.720 --> 01:21:21.119
However, um none of those players were um convicted.
01:21:21.520 --> 01:21:23.840
So um here we are.
01:21:24.000 --> 01:21:28.479
Um we've got three or four of them in the league now, um, in some way.
01:21:28.720 --> 01:21:39.520
And so um, you know, I encourage everyone to go out and do their research and absorb and kind of form your own opinions on how you feel about the situation.
01:21:39.760 --> 01:21:45.680
Um in case uh you would like to voice your concerns.
01:21:45.840 --> 01:21:50.079
There are petitions um for all teams that have those players.
01:21:50.159 --> 01:21:51.439
Um Vegas has one.
01:21:51.600 --> 01:21:56.880
There is uh Alex Foremonton was just signed in Edmonton, and theirs is going pretty crazy this week.
01:21:56.960 --> 01:21:58.399
Um that's a new signing.
01:21:58.640 --> 01:22:02.079
So, but there's lots of information out there about it.
01:22:02.239 --> 01:22:11.359
I encourage you to read about it if that is something that you want to do, if that is something that is not healthy for you, um, then that is that is okay too.
01:22:11.520 --> 01:22:14.079
Um, but he has signed with the blues.
01:22:14.159 --> 01:22:25.439
I will say that based on the roster and the players that we've talked about in the first hour and a half of this episode, uh, and looking at the roster, uh, the math doesn't math to me.
01:22:25.600 --> 01:22:28.640
There will be some players that do not make this NHL roster.
01:22:28.720 --> 01:22:30.640
I don't know if Dubai will be one of them.
01:22:30.720 --> 01:22:31.600
I don't know.
01:22:31.840 --> 01:22:41.279
Um, you know, I think it's um we'll find out more coming up here in the next couple days, especially with training camp as well as preseason.
01:22:41.439 --> 01:22:47.600
Um but like you said, the math doesn't math, especially with the amount of signings that we got.
01:22:48.000 --> 01:23:00.399
Um yeah, and I think even looking at the stats that he's put up in the last year, which is really all we got, uh, because he he hadn't played for a while before that.
01:23:00.640 --> 01:23:03.119
Um, because I that's something I didn't say.
01:23:03.199 --> 01:23:12.720
All of those players, once files were charged, the NHL did not allow those players to play in the league until the investigation was complete.
01:23:12.960 --> 01:23:18.159
So those players were not allowed to play um for a a period of time.
01:23:18.319 --> 01:23:23.600
And so he obviously did not play while that investigation was going on and while they were at trial.
01:23:23.840 --> 01:23:27.920
Um so he hasn't played for quite some time.
01:23:28.079 --> 01:23:31.119
His numbers are not all that impressive.
01:23:31.359 --> 01:23:36.800
Um I and I I I that's that's that's pretty factual.
01:23:36.880 --> 01:23:38.239
I don't that's not really my opinion.
01:23:38.479 --> 01:23:49.680
Yeah, um his numbers are not very impressive, and if I look at him alongside the other players that we have um that he'll be fighting for a spot with, I'm interested to see how it all shakes out.
01:23:49.760 --> 01:23:51.920
I was shocked that it was a one-way deal.
01:23:52.000 --> 01:23:53.279
That's maybe what I would say.
01:23:53.439 --> 01:23:58.720
I expected it to be a two-way deal because I wouldn't have been surprised to see him in the in the AHL.
01:23:58.800 --> 01:24:01.439
Um Sunquist has a two-way deal.
01:24:01.760 --> 01:24:04.000
So um we'll see.
01:24:04.239 --> 01:24:09.039
But um, yeah, encourage anyone that is interested in reading more about that.
01:24:09.119 --> 01:24:11.279
Um, the Hockey Canada case is there.
01:24:11.359 --> 01:24:17.600
Uh Robert Thomas and Jordan Cairo were both part of that team, but they were not involved in that case.
01:24:18.000 --> 01:24:21.359
Um, so there wasn't a lot of talk about it in St.
01:24:21.520 --> 01:24:24.319
Louis because our players were not involved.
01:24:24.479 --> 01:24:28.720
Um, but it is definitely something that has been talked about a lot across the league.
01:24:28.880 --> 01:24:36.960
Um, and we are now one of three teams that I know of that has these players signed to their NHL roster.
01:24:37.199 --> 01:24:48.159
So um let's just switch gears right away and let's talk about uh our 25th camp captain in blues history.
01:24:48.399 --> 01:24:55.600
So it was just announced this past week and a half, past week, week and a half, something along those lines.
01:24:56.079 --> 01:24:59.680
Uh Robert Thomas has been named Blues Captain.
01:25:00.000 --> 01:25:03.039
And I mentioned this at the beginning of the episode.
01:25:03.119 --> 01:25:09.039
If you would have told me we would have gone this season without a captain, I wouldn't have been surprised.
01:25:09.199 --> 01:25:33.359
Um, I was actually kind of surprised that we picked a captain for the season, especially with how Armstrong and Steen had kind of talked of we're wanting to see where we're at, we want to see where uh the season leads us, but if we go back to the beginning of the episode, we talked about lear and points, goals, assist, everything.
01:25:33.680 --> 01:25:36.560
The name Thomas was right behind all of them.
01:25:36.880 --> 01:25:42.239
To me, Robert Thomas does kind of fit that mold of being a captain.
01:25:42.640 --> 01:25:47.439
I think that he is a great representation of the Sailors Blues organization.
01:25:47.760 --> 01:25:50.239
He is very dedicated to the craft.
01:25:50.479 --> 01:26:02.640
Um and it's definitely he's one that wears his heart on his sleeve for this game, and I think that he is going to lead this game very well.
01:26:03.119 --> 01:26:10.640
The only I'm gonna say caveat to that, again, he wears his heart on his sleeve.
01:26:10.880 --> 01:26:14.800
He is one that if he is not playing well, he shows it.
01:26:15.039 --> 01:26:25.520
Whether that be um slamming his stick a little bit more, slamming the slamming the boards or slamming the gate to the to the bench a little bit more.
01:26:26.640 --> 01:26:40.079
And as someone who gets upset with themselves when they're not feel when they feel that they're not producing things or doing things in the way it has been put in their head, I can understand where he's coming from in those senses.
01:26:40.319 --> 01:26:50.319
I just hope that that doesn't um affect his ability as captain.
01:26:51.039 --> 01:26:52.640
But yeah, I think that's fair.
01:26:52.960 --> 01:27:00.880
But I do think that as a leader and as a player, he is a great choice for the leader.
01:27:01.119 --> 01:27:08.960
Um our assistant captains, this this just it it made my heart flutter.
01:27:09.119 --> 01:27:15.920
Jake neighbors gets an assistant captain, Dylan Holloway gets an assistant captain, Colton Perico and Philip Roeberg.
01:27:16.399 --> 01:27:17.119
No notes.
01:27:17.279 --> 01:27:18.800
No notes, no notes.
01:27:19.199 --> 01:27:19.600
Perfect.
01:27:19.920 --> 01:27:21.520
Perfect, literally perfect.
01:27:21.920 --> 01:27:22.239
I love it.
01:27:22.399 --> 01:27:22.720
Yeah.
01:27:23.119 --> 01:27:30.720
Jake neighbors, if you would have told me that Jake Neighbors would have gotten the C this year, I'm not gonna lie to you, I think I would have cried tears of joy.
01:27:31.039 --> 01:27:42.399
He just I think he's a little too young and too new to the league to really say he's captain material right now.
01:27:42.720 --> 01:27:42.960
Totally.
01:27:43.199 --> 01:27:44.319
But if four to five.
01:27:44.720 --> 01:27:47.680
Well, and let's be clear about what this list is.
01:27:48.000 --> 01:27:52.000
This list is the is the five captains of the We Wanna Be Here squad.
01:27:52.720 --> 01:27:59.520
I mean Robert Thomas was in swirling and swirling and swirling his name, and Elliot Friedman.
01:28:00.079 --> 01:28:00.560
All right.
01:28:00.720 --> 01:28:02.720
Love Elliot Friedman on this podcast.
01:28:02.800 --> 01:28:03.680
He's my fave.
01:28:04.159 --> 01:28:07.920
He's out there over and over again, like Robert Thomas is being very clear.
01:28:08.079 --> 01:28:10.000
He does not want to go anywhere.
01:28:10.159 --> 01:28:12.800
He wants to stay exactly where he is.
01:28:13.039 --> 01:28:14.479
And the same with Colton Pareko.
01:28:14.640 --> 01:28:16.000
I mean, Colton Pareco.
01:28:16.239 --> 01:28:16.640
That whole thing.
01:28:17.520 --> 01:28:26.159
Yeah, the Buffalo thing really kind of um Jake Neighbors really has made it clear that, you know, he's in it at a hundred percent.
01:28:26.319 --> 01:28:27.359
And Dylan Holloway.
01:28:27.680 --> 01:28:30.239
How and Broberg signed offer sheets to go here.
01:28:30.560 --> 01:28:34.319
And even if we just say both of them with extensions.
01:28:34.479 --> 01:28:38.960
So I mean, this to me, like you said, no notes.
01:28:39.680 --> 01:28:40.960
I'm here for it.
01:28:41.279 --> 01:28:43.199
But yeah, it's it's beautiful.
01:28:43.359 --> 01:28:44.399
I absolutely love it.
01:28:44.640 --> 01:28:45.359
No notes.
01:28:45.520 --> 01:28:47.920
Um, this is the future of this team.
01:28:48.079 --> 01:29:06.720
And I think that this is a great mixture of defense and offense, tough and level-headed, hard like power points to show for it, hard working, loves to be here, loves to be good in the community, loves to be a part of just the St.
01:29:06.800 --> 01:29:09.279
Louis, you know, everything that is St.
01:29:09.359 --> 01:29:09.760
Louis.
01:29:09.840 --> 01:29:13.199
And I think um, I think it's this is big.
01:29:13.359 --> 01:29:15.760
I think it's a really strong leadership group.
01:29:15.920 --> 01:29:20.640
And also, I have to say that picture of Thomas with his wife and his daughter.
01:29:20.880 --> 01:29:22.239
It's the cutest thing ever.
01:29:22.319 --> 01:29:24.640
Um, but his daughter is a spitting image of him.
01:29:24.800 --> 01:29:27.119
Oh like I was like, wow.
01:29:27.279 --> 01:29:27.439
Yeah.
01:29:27.680 --> 01:29:29.520
I mean, she looked just like him.
01:29:29.680 --> 01:29:41.600
Anyway, it's that was I really loved how they structured the whole thing where they introduced Thomas, but they also had the entire leadership group there, um, you know, so that they could introduce everyone all at once.
01:29:41.760 --> 01:29:42.640
I think it's great.
01:29:42.960 --> 01:29:52.000
Because here's the thing Graco's had the A now for quite some time, but we're getting three new assistant captains in this um in this group as well.
01:29:52.079 --> 01:29:55.439
Because we were doing like the whole rotating thing last year.
01:29:55.680 --> 01:29:57.279
Yeah, I don't I don't like that.
01:29:57.520 --> 01:30:10.560
So the rotating bothers me comes from, and so what you'll probably see is like neighbors and Holloway will be assistant captains or wear the A at home, whereas Periko and Brooke will probably wear it on the road.
01:30:10.800 --> 01:30:12.960
That's how they kind of had it structured in before.
01:30:13.119 --> 01:30:19.680
I think the rotating assistant captains came from we don't have a captain on our team, so we need to have different leadership presence.
01:30:20.000 --> 01:30:21.840
Which I understand Yeah, it's just tough.
01:30:22.079 --> 01:30:28.720
It's hard, it's hard to um what's the kind of what's the word I'm looking for here?
01:30:29.119 --> 01:30:34.560
When you have the rotating leadership, it's kind of hard to be like, well, who do I listen to?
01:30:34.800 --> 01:30:38.479
Because you were the assistant captain the other day and you're saying one thing.
01:30:38.720 --> 01:30:42.000
Here's my other assistant captain the next day, and they're saying something else.
01:30:42.079 --> 01:30:43.680
So who do I follow?
01:30:43.840 --> 01:30:45.199
Who do I know?
01:30:45.600 --> 01:30:46.880
Are you a leader or are you not?
01:30:47.039 --> 01:30:48.479
Am I supposed to be listening?
01:30:48.720 --> 01:30:57.119
I mean, not that you shouldn't listen to your teammates regardless, but uh, you know, it I do think it's a little bit some challenges.
01:30:57.359 --> 01:30:57.600
Yeah.
01:30:58.000 --> 01:31:14.239
So anyway, I think this is a great group, and I, you know, and on top of that, you brought we talked about Armstrong and Steen, and but you brought up a good point that uh Montgomery now has two new assistant captains on his team too.
01:31:14.399 --> 01:31:21.680
And keep in mind, when Montgomery came on, he inherited the assistant uh coaches that we already had.
01:31:21.920 --> 01:31:24.960
So this is the first time he's gotten to pick his staff.
01:31:25.199 --> 01:31:28.880
And I actually he didn't even get to pick pick his staff in Boston when he was there.
01:31:29.119 --> 01:31:29.840
Correct.
01:31:30.079 --> 01:31:38.399
Um and losing the assistant captains that we had, so we lost Claude Julian, who very respected assistant coaches.
01:31:38.479 --> 01:31:38.640
Sorry.
01:31:39.359 --> 01:31:39.920
I misspoke.
01:31:40.479 --> 01:31:42.000
Assistant coaches, that's what I meant.
01:31:42.239 --> 01:31:48.079
Um Claude Julian, very respected coach in the NHL.
01:31:48.319 --> 01:32:00.479
Um in all honesty, when we picked him up as the assistant coach, I saw it as when this is not Bannister.
01:32:00.880 --> 01:32:01.840
Hold on, give me a second.
01:32:01.920 --> 01:32:03.199
Who was after Perube?
01:32:04.319 --> 01:32:05.039
Bannister.
01:32:05.359 --> 01:32:06.880
Oh, it was okay, so it was Bannister.
01:32:07.600 --> 01:32:14.720
Um that kind of seemed like a natural progression of we're gonna put uh Julian in as coach.
01:32:15.119 --> 01:32:28.960
And it just so happened that Boston was in that rut at the same time and had let go of Montgomery, and Doug Armstrong quite literally said, How can you get rid of Jim Montgomery and have an opening position for ourselves and not bring in Jim Montgomery?
01:32:29.119 --> 01:32:41.600
Um so I'll be really interested to see, and again, this is where I'm upset that I'm not gonna get to go to the practices this season, is I want to see how the team responds to these new assistant coaches.
01:32:41.840 --> 01:32:47.920
Um, our defensive core has changed a lot in the past couple of years.
01:32:48.239 --> 01:32:58.800
And um when we had Mike Van Ryan here and we won the and we won the cup, you know, we had a different team, we had a lot of veteran presence.
01:32:59.119 --> 01:33:02.880
Then we uh have Mike Van Ryan with a younger presence, it doesn't work out.
01:33:03.039 --> 01:33:08.560
We get Mike Weber, and we see a little bit of a change, but not much.
01:33:08.720 --> 01:33:12.239
So now we have a new assistant coach and a different team.
01:33:12.319 --> 01:33:14.960
So I'm interested to see how that rolls.
01:33:15.359 --> 01:33:16.880
Yep, I agree.
01:33:17.680 --> 01:33:19.039
And then odd's out too.
01:33:19.279 --> 01:33:21.680
So obviously Ott is in the A shell.
01:33:21.840 --> 01:33:24.560
So it'll be a different coaching staff.
01:33:24.720 --> 01:33:26.239
Um very much so.
01:33:26.479 --> 01:33:28.560
Which, yeah, should be good.
01:33:28.880 --> 01:33:30.960
Do you want to do questions or chirps first?
01:33:31.600 --> 01:33:35.760
Oh man, let's do chirps first.
01:33:35.840 --> 01:33:36.079
Okay.
01:33:36.319 --> 01:33:37.119
You want to go first?
01:33:37.600 --> 01:33:38.239
I can go first.
01:33:38.399 --> 01:33:39.520
Oh, okay.
01:33:40.159 --> 01:33:45.039
Um, my chirp in the year of our lord 2026.
01:33:45.680 --> 01:33:51.039
How can the technology to do face scanning be involved?
01:33:51.279 --> 01:33:53.680
And it turned out so poorly.
01:33:53.920 --> 01:34:02.960
So, for those of you who don't know, EA Sports, uh, they create uh NHL and then the year that they're on, so this would be NHL 27 that they're on.
01:34:03.439 --> 01:34:07.520
They have done facial scans to help create the players.
01:34:08.399 --> 01:34:11.439
Convince me there was a face scan involved in this.
01:34:12.079 --> 01:34:14.560
What face did they scan?
01:34:16.079 --> 01:34:40.079
There's been so many tweets, and if you are on Twitter, one, follow us, but two, um, just search up NHL face scans because there was one and it made me laugh so hard because it was the picture was supposed to be Kale McCarr, and it ended up looking like Shane Gillis.
01:34:41.279 --> 01:34:41.920
It's insane.
01:34:42.960 --> 01:34:43.439
It's terrible.
01:34:43.680 --> 01:34:48.479
They gave Austin Matthews a hairline that he hasn't had since the Obama administration.
01:34:48.800 --> 01:34:49.600
Be nice.
01:34:49.840 --> 01:34:51.680
Be nice to Austin Matthews.
01:34:51.840 --> 01:34:52.800
That's not nice.
01:34:53.920 --> 01:35:04.720
The one that has really floored me, and I think it's because he's not like a he's not a highly discussed player across the league, but we watch a lot of Kraken hockey.
01:35:04.880 --> 01:35:11.520
And so Maddie Beneers looks like he's a 60-year-old man, and this guy is not even 25 years old.
01:35:11.840 --> 01:35:22.000
Same with uh Alex Ovechkin looks like freaking uh Ovechkin likes Oliver Einstein.
01:35:22.319 --> 01:35:24.960
He does, except Ovechkin likes his.
01:35:25.119 --> 01:35:28.640
What the one there is a ESPN article out there.
01:35:28.800 --> 01:35:37.600
The player media tour was this week, so every team sends one player out to Vegas, and they do like media and all kinds of stuff.
01:35:37.840 --> 01:35:45.760
And um the top Thomas was there for the blues, if anyone was wondering, but um they were looking Alexander Ovechkin.
01:35:47.920 --> 01:35:49.279
He likes his.
01:35:49.600 --> 01:35:50.640
How could he not?
01:35:50.800 --> 01:35:56.239
His hair does look quite fly for the situation.
01:35:56.640 --> 01:35:57.279
Let's see.
01:35:57.359 --> 01:35:59.680
Um this is Will Smith.
01:36:03.760 --> 01:36:04.880
Literally terrible.
01:36:05.039 --> 01:36:05.279
Absolutely.
01:36:05.680 --> 01:36:17.760
Although I'm trying to find the one about the there's an article out there where they interview the players and ask them like what they think of their face scan for NHL 27.
01:36:18.239 --> 01:36:21.760
And um Cole Caulfield's like, yeah, mine's bad.
01:36:21.920 --> 01:36:22.960
I see mine every day.
01:36:23.119 --> 01:36:28.960
And then right after that, they ask Trevor Ziegris, and he's like, Cole Caulfield's is so bad, I send it to him every single day.
01:36:29.119 --> 01:36:33.359
And I'm like, that is so mean, but so funny.
01:36:33.600 --> 01:36:38.399
Um, and sounds just like something Trevor Ziegris would do based on what we know about Trevor Zegris.
01:36:38.560 --> 01:36:41.119
Um, but yeah, like Cole Caulfield's terrible.
01:36:41.359 --> 01:36:46.399
Maddie Beneers, though, Maddie Beneers looks absolutely terrible.
01:36:46.640 --> 01:36:50.239
Like, I don't I don't understand how this could happen.
01:36:50.399 --> 01:36:52.560
What face scan did they use?
01:36:52.960 --> 01:36:55.199
You can't convince me they did a face scan.
01:36:55.520 --> 01:36:57.359
This is like someone did it from memory.
01:36:57.600 --> 01:37:00.319
They were like, oh yeah, with a little gray here.
01:37:01.039 --> 01:37:03.039
This looked like the correct one.
01:37:03.199 --> 01:37:06.560
I can't find the tweets that I'm trying to find, and I know they're in here.
01:37:06.640 --> 01:37:07.600
Give me a second.
01:37:07.840 --> 01:37:09.279
You sent me the Gillis one.
01:37:09.520 --> 01:37:10.000
Oh, did I?
01:37:10.960 --> 01:37:11.520
Yeah, I think so.
01:37:11.840 --> 01:37:12.560
Maybe that's how I found it.
01:37:13.119 --> 01:37:14.960
I started looking at my messages.
01:37:15.760 --> 01:37:18.239
Um, yeah, they're they're absolutely terrible.
01:37:18.319 --> 01:37:20.079
I've never seen anything like it.
01:37:20.399 --> 01:37:22.560
And I mean, hold on.
01:37:22.640 --> 01:37:25.840
Here's how here's here's Cole Caulfields.
01:37:27.520 --> 01:37:29.199
Absolutely terrible.
01:37:30.159 --> 01:37:32.159
That doesn't even look like Cole Caulfield.
01:37:32.479 --> 01:37:33.600
I would sue.
01:37:36.399 --> 01:37:38.319
Um Jake.
01:37:38.399 --> 01:37:40.000
This is Jake Neighbors, guys.
01:37:40.159 --> 01:37:43.119
Jake neighbors has never looked like this in his life.
01:37:44.880 --> 01:37:46.960
He has never parted his hair down the middle.
01:37:47.039 --> 01:37:48.479
That I know for certain.
01:37:48.880 --> 01:37:51.520
That doesn't seem like something Jake Neighbors would do.
01:37:54.399 --> 01:37:55.920
Oh, let's see.
01:37:56.239 --> 01:38:01.119
Man, I am we sung too much stuff to each other.
01:38:02.000 --> 01:38:04.000
We do, yeah, we do.
01:38:05.760 --> 01:38:09.199
It's just a endless Matthews.
01:38:11.680 --> 01:38:13.039
It's so bad.
01:38:14.960 --> 01:38:30.159
So I I just in in my head, I don't understand how we as a society have the technology that we have, and they ended up looking like this.
01:38:31.439 --> 01:38:32.800
So that's my chirp.
01:38:32.960 --> 01:38:34.720
Um, EA Sports.
01:38:34.960 --> 01:38:38.640
Go ahead and uh get your stuff together.
01:38:38.880 --> 01:38:47.039
You uh have uh you've you've made some good memes though, I will say.
01:38:47.279 --> 01:38:52.319
You have made everything memeable for the p for the start of the season, and I do appreciate that.
01:38:52.479 --> 01:38:53.920
So that's my turn.
01:38:54.159 --> 01:38:58.560
There it is! There it is! He looks like Shane Gillis.
01:38:58.720 --> 01:39:00.319
It is hilarious.
01:39:05.199 --> 01:39:09.279
Oh my gosh, I hilarious.
01:39:09.760 --> 01:39:13.119
And oh boy.
01:39:15.359 --> 01:39:23.760
Uh so yeah, that's my that's my chirp for for the um here's the deal.
01:39:23.920 --> 01:39:25.279
Here's my chirp.
01:39:25.600 --> 01:39:29.680
Can we stop bullying players that want to trade?
01:39:30.239 --> 01:39:33.840
Like, why would you like somebody on your team that doesn't want to be there?
01:39:34.000 --> 01:39:35.199
That doesn't want to be there.
01:39:35.439 --> 01:39:38.399
I mean, maybe this is just a silly blues opinion.
01:39:38.479 --> 01:39:41.920
Like we said, where blues players care about people that want to play here.
01:39:42.000 --> 01:39:48.239
But like, what if if Dylan Larkin doesn't want to be a wing anymore, why don't you let him go?
01:39:48.640 --> 01:39:52.319
Guys, can we also talk about just that whole thing in general?
01:39:52.560 --> 01:40:10.800
That is that is some wild stuff going on in Detroit, and I I wanna know people were kind of trolling Dylan Larkin, and I might get a little bit of flack saying this, but they're like, You've just ruined your whole career because you won a two-week tournament.
01:40:12.880 --> 01:40:14.560
What hold on?
01:40:15.359 --> 01:40:16.640
I'm sorry.
01:40:18.640 --> 01:40:20.800
What is this sorcery?
01:40:23.039 --> 01:40:24.720
A two-week tournament?
01:40:25.920 --> 01:40:34.079
You as any hockey player ever, they will tell you.
01:40:34.800 --> 01:40:37.279
Listen, I'm just going off what I've seen.
01:40:37.439 --> 01:40:39.119
I it's the Olympics.
01:40:39.279 --> 01:40:40.079
It's literally the Olympics.
01:40:40.239 --> 01:40:42.079
I understand what it is, however.
01:40:45.600 --> 01:40:46.319
All right, blues.
01:40:46.800 --> 01:40:48.560
We need to stop bullying players, though.
01:40:49.199 --> 01:40:49.680
Please stop.
01:40:51.840 --> 01:40:55.600
Yeah, leave Connor Hellebuck alone.
01:40:56.079 --> 01:40:59.439
We have to stop, but yeah, leave Connor Hellibuck alone.
01:40:59.680 --> 01:41:00.960
Leave them all alone.
01:41:01.199 --> 01:41:02.640
I'm sick of it.
01:41:03.840 --> 01:41:05.119
Alright, blues fans.
01:41:05.279 --> 01:41:13.359
We've chatted at you for almost two hours at this point, but it has been so great getting caught up on where we're at.
01:41:13.600 --> 01:41:19.920
So we will probably start doing regular content next week.
01:41:20.000 --> 01:41:22.000
Um, we'll have one game under our belt.
01:41:22.159 --> 01:41:30.000
We also might kind of join in and talk about uh some trades that went on in the NHL, some big things that happened in the NHL in the offseason.
01:41:30.239 --> 01:41:32.640
Um, but yeah, we're starting.
01:41:34.399 --> 01:41:39.760
Mostly, yeah, central division, but like maybe even bigger like trades and things like that that have moves that have happened.
01:41:39.920 --> 01:41:44.239
But it I'm so excited for this season, guys.
01:41:44.399 --> 01:41:48.239
I I'm excited to be back doing this talk with Alexa.
01:41:48.319 --> 01:41:52.319
And we're just we just get to yap for two hours about the thing that we love, which is hockey.
01:41:52.479 --> 01:41:55.680
So I'm I'm just really excited to be back at it.
01:41:57.199 --> 01:41:58.159
Me too.
01:41:58.319 --> 01:41:59.279
All right, folks.
01:41:59.439 --> 01:42:00.399
Have a fabulous week.
01:42:00.560 --> 01:42:00.880
Have a good week.
01:42:01.119 --> 01:42:02.319
We'll have blue hockey this week.
01:42:02.479 --> 01:42:04.399
Woohoo! Bye, guys.
01:42:05.119 --> 01:42:05.520
Bye.
01:42:09.119 --> 01:42:12.079
From the Lou to the League, we've got you covered.
01:42:12.239 --> 01:42:13.119
Thanks for listening.
01:42:13.279 --> 01:42:15.039
This has been Two for Chirping.
01:42:15.199 --> 01:42:18.079
Gals from the Lou, watching all 32.
01:42:18.319 --> 01:42:20.319
It's hockey talk flavor.
01:42:20.560 --> 01:42:21.680
You're welcome.
00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:06.639
Welcome back, blues fans! You know what time it is.
00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:08.640
We were actually early this year.
00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:10.080
We're starting earlier this year.
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:11.439
I'm so excited.
00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:18.879
A little bit of a different format this year for the preseason, and we add two extra games to the NHL season.
00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:23.359
So we have been talking about the blues all summer.
00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:25.039
Alexa and I have.
00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:34.159
And I cannot express to you how excited I am to start this new season and start season two of Two for Chirping.
00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.479
So as Alexa just said, let's do that hockey.
00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:44.399
From the Lou to the league, we've got you covered.
00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:46.000
This is Two for Chirping.
00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.880
Gals from the Lou watching all 32.
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:51.600
It's hockey talk with flavor.
00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:53.039
You're welcome.
00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:54.640
Alright, blues fans.
00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:56.719
Well, boy, do we have a lot to cover.
00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:03.520
We're going to structure this first episode as like everything anything blues off season.
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:17.439
And even we're going to go a little bit back and touch briefly on the trade deadline last year just to start kind of giving everyone the full scope and so that that you can understand how we got to where we are today.
00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:29.599
Because there of course were, of course, some huge changes that happened at the deadline last year that heavily influenced where we are right now, which I guess is all you could hope for based on what those changes were.
00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:49.519
So we will spend today talking about the blues, whether it's the trade deadline last year, um, draft day this summer, the new GM, um with Alexander Steen joining the group, all of the acquisitions, um, of course, said goodbye to a to a pretty serious blues player um this summer as well.
00:01:49.680 --> 00:02:04.319
So we will break all of that down um with hopefully some really great entertaining arguments from Alyssa and I because there are discussion questions that we have for these sections that we did not converse on before this podcast.
00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:11.439
So you will be getting real unfiltered conversation between several of these topics, which we know is what you came here for.
00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:12.960
So, all right.
00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:17.199
Um let's talk about let's talk about where we're at.
00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:18.479
I mean, welcome back.
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.639
It's season two of Two for Chirping.
00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.000
The blues first preseason game is less than a week from today.
00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.280
We're recording this on Sunday, 9.13.
00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:31.360
Um, first blues preseason game is Saturday.
00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:45.199
My first chirp of the day goes to the blues organization for not having team practices on weekends now, uh, because Alyssa and I love to go to the team preseason training camp practices, but now they are during the week.
00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.759
And Alyssa and I don't podcast for a living.
00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:49.280
Uh, so we won't be there.
00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:53.520
I wish we podcast for a living because I would be there.
00:02:53.759 --> 00:03:04.800
Unfortunately, we have to I have to teach the youth of America and you have to teach the adults of America in your role.
00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:14.000
Maybe I I do have my calendar blocked, but I will have to go by myself if I do that.
00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:15.199
Unfortunately.
00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:16.560
So I'm not sure.
00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:19.280
She's just gonna face FaceTime me from there.
00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:19.919
Yeah.
00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:22.319
And Alyssa's gonna have it on her smart board.
00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:23.919
Um, so anyway.
00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:34.319
Um that's chirp one, but um we have I feel like we we you know took the summer off for two for chirping because it's the summer.
00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:37.840
And all of you are probably like, WTF.
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:39.520
We missed a lot.
00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:42.479
Yeah, did you want to keep us in the loop on that?
00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:43.280
No, I guess not.
00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:43.759
Okay.
00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:45.919
Um, so don't worry though.
00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:49.280
We're here now, and we're gonna we're gonna walk through all of it.
00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:56.639
So we'll go from the trade deadline through the draft, we'll talk about who we moved, um, we'll talk about the GM, we'll talk about a bunch of different stuff.
00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:03.360
But let's flash back to the trade deadline for last season.
00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:12.319
So as a reminder to everyone, we lost Blues Captain Brayden Shen to the New York Islanders.
00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:17.120
I say this one was a tough one for me because I love Braden Shen.
00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:37.839
I thought that he truly embodied what it meant to be a blues player, and seeing him go was so hard, and then quite literally, so it had when the trade happened, the Islanders were staying at the same hotel that the blues were, and like he just like walked over to meet his new team.
00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:43.120
But then, quite literally, I think one of the first games back at home for the blues was against the islanders.
00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:47.439
So, talk about rubbing salt on the wound for a painful game.
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:49.519
That was a we went to that game together.
00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:50.800
We did that.
00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:56.800
And then like they had they had to like rush to get the um the tribute video together.
00:04:57.360 --> 00:04:59.920
I was like, oh, oh my, oh my.
00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:05.279
And it was not gonna lie, there was some tears in in my eyes watching it.
00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:06.879
There were tears in my eyes.
00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:09.199
Yeah, we've had Brain Shen for quite some time.
00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:12.959
He was part of that 2019 Stanley Cup team.
00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:17.279
So seeing him go was a was a hard move.
00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:26.399
And I was worried about how the locker room would respond to not having a captain at that time.
00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:28.720
But we seemed to play really well.
00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:42.319
I don't want to say we played really well, we seemed to keep up with how we were playing after Shen had been moved to the Islanders, and I feel as though a lot of people stepped up in that time, and we'll kind of talk about that here in a little bit.
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.759
But tell us who we got when we traded Brayden Shen.
00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:54.079
Alright, so we we had Jonathan Druin come over, which I thought he was like a pretty good filler through the end of the year.
00:05:54.240 --> 00:06:00.319
He didn't play a ton, um, but when he did play, he wasn't uh you know a flight risk.
00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:03.279
He we played pretty well, he did what he needed to do.
00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:08.160
Um, and then Marcus Gidloff, I think he went straight down to the AHL.
00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:13.839
Um so he didn't play any NHL games, and then we got two picks.
00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:19.759
One, we'll talk about this number 29 first round pick in a bit and where that went.
00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:21.439
That was worth every penny.
00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:22.959
Sorry, Braden Shen.
00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:27.920
Um, and then a 2026 third round pick, which was number 76 as well.
00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:35.040
I think to the hardest part I think about seeing Shen go was that he was pretty honest that he didn't necessarily want to go.
00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.959
And so um that's that's always a tough pill to swallow.
00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.639
Or I I didn't think he was like rude about it, obviously.
00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:47.360
He was just like, No, you know, I I think he went through that phase where he's like, my team doesn't want me.
00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.199
And it's like we're not, it's not that we don't want you, it's that like it's just not the right fit.
00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.879
But he would have stayed if we hadn't asked him to go.
00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:57.360
And so like that's always hard, I think, as a fan.
00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:02.720
And the I mean, I we'll talk about this a lot probably in this episode.
00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:12.639
I know we've talked about it um in last season, but for those of you that may not have been here for that, something we talk about a lot here is that blues fans, one, we're blue-collar fans.
00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:14.639
Jim Montgomery says that all the time.
00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:19.839
But on top of that, we and I I say this of the Cardinals organization too here in St.
00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:20.480
Louis.
00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:22.560
We want players that want to be here.
00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.839
That is like you can be, you can have the worst.
00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:28.160
Think of Matt Carpenter, okay?
00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:34.399
You could have some of the worst years of your career offensively, defensively, does not matter.
00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:40.160
If you want to be here, the fans will give you that grace.
00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:50.959
And like so, when you see a player leave, like Braden Shen, who is so beloved, like that is just as a fan, that is so hard to see, even though it's just it's just how it is.
00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:52.959
Sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:56.399
So well, and he only has two years left on his contract.
00:07:56.560 --> 00:08:02.000
Sorry, I was just looking that up because he had signed an eight-year deal here when we first got him.
00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:07.040
So that led him, and so it'll expire after the 27-28 season.
00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:13.519
So he's getting two two and a half years in on the island if he chooses to stay there.
00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:25.680
I mean, he might choose to ask for a trade, but he was really honest with being traded to the islanders, how he was excited to work with Matthew Schaefer, who don't blame him.
00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:47.679
I mean, who wouldn't be that I love watching him if you if I'm gonna tell if you listen to any part of this podcast and you try to get anything out of it, looking at our young core that's coming up into the NHL right now, your Matthew Schaefer's, your Gavin McKinnas, we're after Celebrini.
00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:49.440
Yeah, Will Smith.
00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:55.360
We're entering into a new era of hockey that's different from your Crosbys and your Ovechkins.
00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:57.919
Now, granted, I still love my Crosby's and Ovechkins.
00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:02.159
That's to me, in my head, what shaped my loving of hockey.
00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:03.840
But what do you mean they're aging?
00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:04.639
They're not aging.
00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:06.960
No, Sidney Crosby's gonna play forever.
00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:08.399
Sydney Crosby's gonna play forever.
00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:10.960
I mean, have you seen their EI sports headshots?
00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:12.720
They're fine, they're young.
00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:15.039
They're they're just fine.
00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:15.600
Yeah.
00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.480
Stop talking about that because that's my chirp later.
00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:19.600
Leave EA.
00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:20.799
We're not talking about it anymore.
00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.120
I just want everyone to know that Sidney Crosby's not aging.
00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:24.559
Just sore clear.
00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:26.720
Um he's the same.
00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:27.840
He's not.
00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:30.159
Lost my train of thought there.
00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:32.399
Oops.
00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:47.600
Um, but seeing this new generation of hockey players and seeing I don't want to say aging because I mean I think Braden Shen is like 33 years old.
00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.600
Something along those lines.
00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:53.919
And um maybe 35.
00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:05.120
I know you're checking, I know you're checking me right now, but you're aging into that that air that area of getting older.
00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:10.240
And you know, essentially once you get past 30 in the NHL, you're at retirement age.
00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:21.679
So um the fact that he's getting to play with this new generation of players, I hope to see him thrive in that in that situation.
00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:22.879
More so.
00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:25.200
Uh totally.
00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:27.200
And I think I think he will do that.
00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:35.120
Uh, the Islanders are one that I feel like they probably could have done more the in the offseason, but when you have Matthew Matthew Ship.
00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:39.200
So I mean obviously.
00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:40.320
Braiden Shen?
00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:41.120
Yeah.
00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:41.919
Man.
00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:44.399
He'll always be 30 to me.
00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:45.120
I don't know.
00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:47.200
Like that's we can't.
00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:47.840
We got them right.
00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:50.240
What do you mean hockey players age?
00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:51.120
They don't age.
00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:52.159
They don't age.
00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:53.120
No.
00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:56.240
Except for when you look at uh yeah.
00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:59.120
So then going on aging.
00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:07.519
We also lose Justin Falk in the speaking of aging again.
00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:08.480
I think Justin Fulk.
00:11:08.799 --> 00:11:09.759
What a segue.
00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:14.639
I do think that Justin Falk, 34 years old.
00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:20.799
But in my head, I still think of Justin Falk as the Carolina Hurricanes Justin Falk.
00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:27.200
Anyway, so Justin Falk again at the deadline move.
00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:32.879
The blues and he goes to Detroit, and in that the blues receive Justin Hall.
00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:39.519
Dimitri.
00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.799
I need your pronunciations typed out again, Alexa.
00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:47.519
Yeah.
00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:49.440
Bushelnikov.
00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:50.399
Sure.
00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:52.480
That's what I got for today, guys.
00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:53.200
That's it.
00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:53.840
Yep.
00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:57.679
Um, and we also received two 2026 picks.
00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:02.559
So we a first round number 15, again, going to come in handy later.
00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:09.440
It really important for this draft, as well as a third round pick, number 73, which again is going to be important.
00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:16.720
So Justin moving Justin wasn't a big surprise to me.
00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.799
Um he was on the chopping block, in my opinion.
00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:29.759
Um defensively, I don't think besides Philip Roberg, there was it wasn't our best year defensively.
00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:30.799
I'll just say that.
00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:32.799
Besides Philip Roberg.
00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:41.279
Um so seeing him moved wasn't necessarily a surprise nor a bad thing.
00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:47.840
We get Justin Hall in this, but later on he he tends to not play as much as the year goes on.
00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:57.919
We bring up Theo Linstein, which we came to find out worked really well with Colton Kraiko in the latter half of the season.
00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:04.639
And that's a name that I think that we're going to be hearing more of in the next couple of years.
00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:11.519
But um, Justin Hall wasn't necessarily a, like you said, a flight risk coming in.
00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:17.279
Um but losing Folk, you also lost again a little bit of that leadership core.
00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:18.879
He was an assistant captain.
00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:39.200
And so again, you're losing that piece in the locker room that is your your guys that are going to help when we're going through that losing streak, or when you're on that winning streak to not um maybe get too ahead of yourself would be um yeah the thought process there.
00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:41.440
He had been here so long.
00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:46.879
So I mean Falk, I I know I think it's like pre-Stly Cup, post-Stanley Cup.
00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:49.600
It's like uh it's like how most people think.
00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:52.080
So he started right after.
00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:59.759
Yeah, because he was the only player when we raised the banner, like he was just like, I'm gonna just I'll just stand over here.
00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:04.399
I do remember and so do you remember who we traded to get Justin Falk?
00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:05.919
Joel Edmondson.
00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:07.120
Good job.
00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:10.240
Yeah, I unfortunately do vividly remember that.
00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.559
Yes, because I love Joel Edmondson.
00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:25.600
Um yeah, so uh you know, Justin Falk had been here for quite some time, and that blues team was largely the same after the cup except for Joel Edmondson.
00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:27.679
Um and maybe one other.
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:32.320
And so, you know, he's gonna be a little bit more than Maroon had Maroon had to call the cup.
00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:32.559
Yeah.
00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:33.200
Yep.
00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:51.679
So, you know, like uh it was it was just that weird, like you're coming into this locker room that just won a cup, and like that's great, obviously, but at the same time, like you feel like they just like went through the most, you know, insane team building exercise ever.
00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:56.960
Uh and so you know, he came in and he definitely had a really tough first year.
00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:05.600
Um, you alluded to this playing on um the East Coast is just or in the Eastern Conference, even is just different.
00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:14.799
Um, and so he struggled pretty hard that first year, and then he kind of bounced back and had some good years, but he was never really what he just was feel like.
00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.399
I was gonna say it just didn't feel like he reached his full potential here in St.
00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:26.639
Louis because I remember when we got him, my brother and I talked really heavily on it of like he did great work in Carolina.
00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:42.320
I mean, Carolina has been a team that they weren't great for that little bit, and then they were kind of just etching at being a playoff team, and then you know, now we just saw them make it all the way, yeah.
00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:43.039
Right.
00:15:43.279 --> 00:16:03.440
So he had a good leadership because leading a team when they're at their lowest is a lot different than leading a team when they're at their highest, and I think that Braden Shen was a good example of like where we were for the past couple of years of leading a team of we weren't great.
00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:05.039
Let's be honest, guys.
00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:07.200
We have not been great the past couple of years.
00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:29.200
We have been a bubble team probably for the last what three, four years, and it's hard to watch a team that you see the potential in, you see the talent that you have, but they just don't mesh well together, and that kind of was what I got from at least this last year's team.
00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:37.600
Like there was so many great pieces, but we were just missing something that was some kind of glue putting them together.
00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:38.320
Totally.
00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:48.320
It's like everyone could everyone knew what they were really good at, and they could go and they would do whatever they were good at, but it was like, but how like not everyone everyone has a role.
00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:57.759
So that's something that like goes back all the way to the Stanley Cup team and like my for the anyone that may be new here listening, I will say this ad nauseum.
00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:00.399
You will be so sick of it by the time this season is over.
00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:10.319
But like I believe that the best teams that are primed to win a cup or make the playoffs are those that every single person on the team knows their role.
00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:14.720
It doesn't matter if you're on the fourth line, the third D-pair, it does not matter.
00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:24.400
Every single person knows their role, every single person contributes, often even in points, even if it's just a point here or there, that is what matters.
00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.759
And but you have to be able to work in that system.
00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:31.200
Just because you know your role doesn't mean that you can use it.
00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:49.039
And so when you have someone like you have that line like Snuggerood and Holloway and Thomas, who are just on an absolute bender, and then everyone else is like, well, I'm still here, but like they're not scoring and they're not defending, and they're like, I don't know what my job is today.
00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:51.839
Am I supposed to be a center that blocks up the middle?
00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:54.400
Am I supposed to be someone that's shooting?
00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.720
Am I what am I what am I supposed to do?
00:17:56.960 --> 00:17:58.960
Um, that you I think you're totally right.
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:07.440
That was missing from a lot of different pieces, but I think that there were also, you know, when you like you said, you we brought up like a Theo Linstein.
00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:10.480
And so then in that case, what is Pereco's job?
00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:14.960
Is it his job to really support him and stay back and be defensive?
00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:16.400
Is it his job to still shoot?
00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:18.160
Is it is it his job to do both?
00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:21.839
Is it is it, you know, what's Broger's job and you know, how does that work?
00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:28.160
And every single piece that you move in changes how everyone else has to fit around things.
00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:33.759
And I think there were just there were we weren't in a good place at the deadline anyway.
00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:40.160
So then how we finished out the year was like, let's just let's just throw a bunch of at a wall and see kind of what sticks.
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:44.559
We went through a a phase there where we were really, really good.
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:47.599
Um, and we felt like maybe there was a chance.
00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:49.359
So you're saying there's a chance.
00:18:49.519 --> 00:19:12.480
Um Well, and I think especially when we went on that win streak, I again, I feel as though the blues at post-Olympics or post uh four nations, whatever post-break that we have, usually you see this incline of like, oh, kind of like that desperation would be the best way to put it.
00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:16.640
And we always seem to hit it after the break.
00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:24.079
What I would like to see this year, and I think I'm hopeful with the pieces that we got that we're gonna see it the whole year.
00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:35.759
And kind of going back to your point of like everybody knowing their role, one of my favorite things that Rob Brindamore, coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, has always said is that he doesn't have lines one through four.
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:36.880
He has four lines.
00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:38.880
Seems to have finally worked for him.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:42.319
I know he has four lines that he would cycle through.
00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:48.640
And especially during uh the Stanley Cup final, you saw a lot of people being switched around.
00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:53.440
Seth Jarvis was a big police that went from second to first line back down to the third line.
00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.519
I mean, he jumped around, and it didn't matter where he was at, he was he was helping out.
00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:01.519
Same thing with uh like Svechnikov and Aho.
00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:10.319
They weren't producing, and you didn't hear Brenda Moore call them out and say, Well, they're not doing this, but you definitely heard it from the fans.
00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:26.240
And once they got that confidence in that that little piece, uh, that I mean that line exploded, and you got to see where they were at and how they got to work as four cohesive lines to win that Stanley Cup.
00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:32.319
So I'm hoping that the blues can kind of take notes from that and use that this year.
00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:33.039
Yeah.
00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:40.240
So I think like as we wrap up, we lose Falk and Shen, huge veteran pieces for the for the blues.
00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:47.759
The I liken it to like sending your kids off to college.
00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.599
Like, we're taking Shen and Falk out of the fold.
00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:56.720
We don't know who the next leader is of this team, if there is one.
00:20:56.880 --> 00:21:01.039
We talked a lot about that as we wrapped up the season on this podcast last year.
00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:09.759
Um, my take at the time was that you know, maybe we don't have a captain, uh, you know, whatever it is, we'll get into how that all shook out.
00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:15.279
But honestly, if you would have told me we wouldn't have had a captain this year, I wouldn't have been upset.
00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:18.079
I can think of one.
00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:18.799
Yep.
00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:24.319
And but I think, you know, they're like, all right, we're gonna shop Shen and Falk are gone.
00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:27.039
Let's see what these kids get up to.
00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:30.240
Um, you know, there were certainly still some veterans here.
00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:33.039
It's not like all of a sudden, you know, nobody was here.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:42.400
But um, you know, let's kind of let everyone find their own personality and their uh, you know, kind of their space, not just as a player, but maybe as a leader.
00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:47.920
Um, let them start building that camaraderie together and see kind of what happens.
00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:52.880
So, um, so to finish the year though, we had some strong and weak points.
00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:59.759
Um, you know, as we kind of wrapped up the the year, we finished fifth in the central, um, which feels way worse than I seem to recall.
00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:06.000
Uh so I must have felt somewhat decent about how we ended the year without worrying about the rank.
00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:07.440
Um yeah.
00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:11.759
You know, it's like you said, there was a pretty great win streak in there.
00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:17.279
So I think that always has a a way of covering where you actually end up.
00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:24.720
Um but finished the year 37, 33, and 12, so with 86 points, um, which was fifth in the central.
00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:33.440
You know, and I think a lot of what hurt the blues this year was those overtime losses or the shootout loss.
00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:40.240
Um when you're going in and you're getting a point, yeah, that's great.
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:52.000
But as you can see, not getting those two points, especially against teams who you think we should get points against, and we'll kind of talk about that as well.
00:22:52.160 --> 00:23:01.200
But there was times where you know we would be losing, come back and get into an overtime position, and it was almost like we didn't show up in overtime.
00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:08.240
So I'm hoping that that was a big lesson that we learned this offseason and what we're gonna move towards for the next season.
00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:17.920
But a lot of those losses came from only having one point in the overtime slot.
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:19.599
Yeah, totally.
00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:28.720
Um, team leaders, uh Thomas, Thomas, Thomas, Thomas with 64 points, Thomas with 25 goals, Thomas with 39 assists.
00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:33.759
So um and it's plus minus at a plus 22, which is incredible.
00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:41.200
Cons considering the fact that he you don't really see him necessarily on the penalty kill as much.
00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:47.440
Um more so for the face-off aspect, but usually after the face-off he would get off, or if he was a little bit more.
00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:50.480
I wonder if we see more of him on the penalty kill this year.
00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:58.319
Possibly, but we also picked up a couple of key pieces that I think are gonna be used on the penalty kill a little bit more, so we'll talk about that.
00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:04.799
So you're saying we shouldn't pull a Craig Barube and have Austin Matthews play in every situation.
00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:06.720
You're saying we shouldn't do that with Robert Thomas?
00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:08.240
You don't think that's a good idea?
00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:12.640
Just because you have the C on your chest doesn't mean that you do everything.
00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:14.000
You you really.
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:15.440
Really?
00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.480
I'm just gonna I'm just gonna point that out there.
00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:20.000
Wow.
00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:20.799
Who knew?
00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:21.839
I didn't know that.
00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:25.839
Neither did Austin Matthews, in case you're wondering.
00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:26.960
He didn't know that either.
00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:30.160
He thought he had to tear his ACL in order to be captain, so I don't know.
00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:31.359
Okay, hold on.
00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:33.200
He didn't tear his ACL.
00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:36.640
It was Renegudis who tore his ACL for him.
00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.599
Okay, well, he thought he had to take that one for the team.
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:41.359
That's what the C stands for, right?
00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:42.880
Right?
00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:43.920
Yeah.
00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:44.720
Sure.
00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:46.160
Sure.
00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:48.400
That's just the impression I got.
00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:53.839
Well, let's talk about some of these key players at the end of the season, what they end it with.
00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:55.519
You got Jimmy Snuggerood.
00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:56.960
He played a total of 70 games.
00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:02.960
Remember, he had wrist surgery pretty early in the season, if I remember, like a November-ish area.
00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:08.079
Um, but still ended the season with 21 goals, 30 assists, and 51 points.
00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:10.400
Went on an absolute heater at the end of the year.
00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:11.759
Insane behavior.
00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:13.039
Insane behavior.
00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:15.599
Finally, ESPM was talking about Jimmy Snuggerund.
00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:16.400
That's how good he was.
00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:18.160
That's saying a lot, you know.
00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:26.319
I will I will be interested to see because this will this year technically be his sophomore year, or did they consider last year his sophomore year?
00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:33.440
He only played the last couple years, uh, the through prior season, and then he played in the playoffs when we went and played winning.
00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:34.079
That's right.
00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:35.039
So that's right.
00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:36.400
His freshman year.
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:44.559
He was he was in the I mean, he wasn't gonna win rookie of the year, but he was in the top five in votes, I believe.
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:45.599
So oh yeah.
00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:55.359
So I guess um that's something that I guess that that we'd have to take a take a look at this year is if you're considering this his sophomore year, are we gonna see a sophomore slump?
00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:56.480
No.
00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:57.839
But I don't think so.
00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.759
Get that negative energy out of here.
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:01.039
Absolutely not.
00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:04.160
Jimmy Snugger doesn't have slumps.
00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:05.359
Listen.
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:09.039
I'm just stating facts.
00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:09.759
Okay.
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:13.920
Dylan Holloway, our next key player.
00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:16.400
He only played 59 games.
00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:20.160
And that was because he had knee injury, right?
00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:21.440
Ankle.
00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:22.400
Ankle.
00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:24.480
Lower body.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:28.799
It was ankle because he came back for like a game or two, and then they were like, and then he left.
00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:29.119
Yeah.
00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:29.359
Yeah.
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:30.160
Lower body.
00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:37.920
But still ended the season with 22 goals and 29 points with or sorry, 29 assists with 51 points.
00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:45.599
So again, we see how that his his play is just incredible.
00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:47.599
I love watching his determination.
00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.920
He's one that's like, hey, look at me.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:50.640
I'm not sure what's going on.
00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:56.960
I know we've yeah, I mean, I know, like, this is it's the thing, but the I love that the whole league talks about it.
00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:00.079
I love that they still call Broberg and Holloway the Offer Sheet Boys.
00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:02.880
And they are the best.
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:10.720
I mean, Doug Armstrong made some legendary moves in his 16 years here, but like that one.
00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:12.160
Oh my god.
00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:21.279
Holy it that turned the this organization is in a completely different spot without those two.
00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:22.000
Without a doubt.
00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:24.240
Oh, 100%.
00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:30.480
Um, we also have Pavel Buchinevich, so he played 81 games.
00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:42.640
So remember, he sat out just one game in the season, and this was we he was kind of going through a rough patch, not producing, so um, he was a healthy scratch one game.
00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:47.359
Still ended the season with 20 goals, 28 assists with 48 points.
00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:54.079
I'll be honest with you, I didn't think his points were that high this year.
00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:56.079
Um, I'll be honest with you.
00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:59.519
I thought he might not be a blue when we recorded this episode.
00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.240
Like if you had asked me a few months ago.
00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:06.000
Yeah, no, I thought Pavel Bucinevich would be out of here.
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:11.440
Uh I don't think it's one that you potentially have to look at for the trade deadline.
00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:15.839
Yeah, well, and I let me be let me be honest.
00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:17.759
I I like Pavel Bucinevich.
00:28:17.839 --> 00:28:18.480
I really do.
00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.920
And I loved him when he first got here, except the headbutt.
00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:23.920
I was gonna say you loved that.
00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:29.119
I did not love that.
00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:31.839
However, no, that was my favorite thing about him.
00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:33.440
I'm not gonna love you.
00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:34.640
I know, yeah.
00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:38.480
I mean, I gotta I got a giggle, but then I was like, what's this dude doing?
00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:39.599
Is he insane?
00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:40.079
Yes.
00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:42.000
The answer is he is insane.
00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:45.519
However, I I really, really like Pavel Bushnevich.
00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:51.039
However, he's not playing very well here, and he hasn't for the last bit.
00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:53.599
Like the last again, I would even say two years.
00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:56.079
So to West Coast.
00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:56.640
Yes.
00:28:57.359 --> 00:28:58.720
Came from the Rangers, yeah.
00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:05.759
And so I just I but I let me tell you why I think that is the case.
00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:07.680
I don't think anyone's interested.
00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:21.359
And I think that when Steen and Armstrong go out, I know at the trade deadline, when they went out and looked for suitors for Bucnevich, they determined they weren't gonna get enough for him.
00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:28.640
And that is one thing about having someone for as long as we've had Bucnevich, you see what he's capable of.
00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:35.839
So when someone's not willing to give you what you want for him, you're like, well, he could, he could be better.
00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:40.079
And we do know what he did, what he looked like when he was really good.
00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:47.200
And so there's not as much, I don't want to say there's not as much risk, but there it I think it's how you look at it differently.
00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:55.440
Um, and so you know, I don't expect I I mean Pavlovnevich, I look at this lineup that we have with the acquisitions that we've had this offseason.
00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:57.519
He's gonna be in the bottom two lines.
00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:00.960
I go back he's and he's gonna have to be better.
00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:03.839
Whereas he was your second line.
00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:09.359
I mean, and they were pushing him into a center position, which that's not his natural position.
00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:12.720
Um he's not good at it.
00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:14.240
Have you seen that man?
00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:17.759
He is trying so hard, and I love him for that.
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:20.000
But he is he can't take a face off.
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.039
He looks like a baby deer.
00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:27.119
He can't he's like, what do I do with this thing?
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:28.480
What do I do with this?
00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:30.400
To be fair, it's like he has an extra limb.
00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:32.799
It's hard to take a face off.
00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:34.240
I I I'll give it to him.
00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:35.119
It's hard to take a face off.
00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:45.599
Of course, of course, but yeah, it I think a lot of putting Bucnevich in at center was kind of that desperation mode for our team.
00:30:45.759 --> 00:30:48.640
So he said he'd try really hard, which he did.
00:30:48.880 --> 00:31:00.160
He did, he did, but uh again, being a center also means that you play defense, and I I love Pavel, but he's not that defensive mindset guy.
00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:00.799
Oh no.
00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:03.200
He's just not, and I love him to death.
00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:03.599
I do.
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:09.039
Pavel Buznevich has my heart, and I just He is really funny.
00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:10.559
He's a great locker room guy.
00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:22.400
He is a great locker room guy, so I do think that that's something that we could see the help, especially with the amount of guys that we got and the age range of the guys that we got.
00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:24.799
So, and we'll talk about that later too.
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:31.039
Um I wanna there's two two more key players that I wanted to kind of hone in on real quick.
00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:41.039
Uh, Jordan Cairo, and again we'll get to him here in a second, but played 72 games, 18 goals, 28 assists, and 46 points.
00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:44.160
This was definitely a low season for Jordan Cairou.
00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:53.759
Um and I think it was hard as a blues fan to watch this of him.
00:31:54.640 --> 00:31:58.720
Um because again, we know what he's capable of.
00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:01.119
We've seen what he can do.
00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:15.039
Um I think that he was kind of at a turning point of either I'm going to stay here and I'm gonna be a life, lifelong person.
00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:17.680
Again, he had signed that eight-year contract.
00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:19.920
Um was it last year?
00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:25.279
And again, the the blues got him for a steal of a deal, him and Thomas.
00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:28.480
Uh it was an eight-year deal, right?
00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:29.440
Eight by eight.
00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:30.880
He has five years remaining.
00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:36.960
I think seeing that was was very hard for uh blues fans this year.
00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:45.839
And what we saw, what we're gonna talk about next, I think won't come as a surprise, but it might have been a surprise for some.
00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:49.200
Um but just real quick, Jakey Neighbors.
00:32:49.359 --> 00:32:50.480
I love Jake Neighbors.
00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:53.759
Jake we'll talk about that on this podcast every single day.
00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:58.720
Jake neighbors is he's he's it.
00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:00.319
He's he's he's the guy.
00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:11.039
He's baby shenanigans a fire in him that can't be matched by a lot of people.
00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:13.359
He's the perfect blues player.
00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:14.079
Uh yeah.
00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:14.640
He fits.
00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:19.440
It's like Doug Armstrong went to the draft that year and was like, you.
00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:21.119
You I know you.
00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:22.559
You're the one.
00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:24.480
And then you you brought him back to St.
00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:26.079
Louis and we were like, oh.
00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:27.440
And we missed a lot.
00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:35.440
And then you moved him in with Brayden Shen and you were like, here, we're just gonna polish this one off just a little bit, and then we'll be good.
00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:35.920
Yeah.
00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:42.720
And you know, I I huge shout out to Jake Neighbors for for what he was able to accomplish last year.
00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:45.279
Talk about someone who went through a lot last year.
00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:55.680
Um, he lost one of his best friends um to a fatal car accident before the year started and had to miss part of training camp um to go to that funeral.
00:33:55.759 --> 00:34:00.400
Um, and then immediately came back and jumped right into camp, jumped right into the season.
00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:02.319
Definitely didn't have his best year.
00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:07.920
You could see the frustration on his face the majority of this year.
00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:14.159
Only 69 games played, 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points.
00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:19.679
That's that's not so that's not the Jake Neighbors that we I think are used to.
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:26.800
It it's not, and I think there was it's toward the end of the year-ish, not all the way at the end.
00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:43.840
We were reading um from all the reporters like Jeremy Rutherford at the Athletic, um, and others that you know are at practice every day that Jake Neighbors would just be I mean, he's the first one on the ice, he's the last one off the ice, he's always working with someone, he's always trying to get better.
00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:45.920
You can just tell he's so frustrated.
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:54.000
We had the monkey off the back moment finally a couple years or a couple weeks before the season ended, um, and had a couple good games there.
00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:56.719
But yeah, a t a tough year from here for him.
00:34:56.960 --> 00:35:10.400
So I hope he was able to spend the offseason working on some things that maybe he felt like he just I I think with Jake Neighbors, there are some players that are that rely more on con are fueled by confidence more than others.
00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:14.000
Um I would put Jordan Cairo and Jake Neighbors both in that camp.
00:35:14.159 --> 00:35:19.199
I think they both require a heck of a lot of self-confidence in order to produce their best work.
00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:25.280
And when you have a stat line like that for the year, that's not Jake Neighbors hockey.
00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:34.239
Um, and so I have no doubt that he just needed to probably spend some time working on some things and getting himself a little bit more confident in his game.
00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:37.840
Um so I'm excited to see what the year has in store for him.
00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:38.960
He's always a fun one to watch.
00:35:39.039 --> 00:35:40.000
He's one of my faves.
00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:46.000
So yeah, now the the dungeon.
00:35:47.199 --> 00:36:03.519
I don't want to say the dreaded conversation, but um I will say this wasn't a surprise, but it also I guess there's still a bit of shock factor within, you know, because of how long we've had Jordan Cairo.
00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:09.920
So for those of you who don't know, on June 23rd, Jordan Cairo was traded to the Washington Capitals.
00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:16.639
I will say when this trade happened, again, I'm not surprised that the trade happened.
00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:21.280
However, was also a bit surprised that it happened with Washington.
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:31.519
Um I think that there was other teams that were thrown around in the conversation, especially at the trade deadline.
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:38.880
Um and that seeing Washington was a bit of a surprise.
00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:51.199
So, like we said earlier, Jordan Cairo has five years remaining on his contract at 8.125 million average, which is dirt cheap, uh we think.
00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:59.920
I mean considering it was dirt cheap when he signed it, and now uh signed him for 19 years.
00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:00.800
Yeah.
00:37:01.119 --> 00:37:06.000
So I I mean, based on his numbers for last year, people are probably like, please, it's not a deal.
00:37:06.159 --> 00:37:07.840
I'm like, it is a deal.
00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:13.280
Because I've said this, I've said this uh since probably a year ago.
00:37:13.440 --> 00:37:18.320
Oh I said this uh when we start talking about maybe Cairo's gonna leave a year ago.
00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:20.400
Uh I here's the deal.
00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:24.639
Jordan Cairou, I will say this with my whole chest.
00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:26.880
He's gonna be great wherever he goes.
00:37:27.039 --> 00:37:30.159
And I bet he's gonna be stellar in Washington.
00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:34.960
So he's gonna be worth every penny of that 8.125.
00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:48.880
Now, what I do know is as soon as this happened, I have a friend who's a Caps fan, a former colleague, who immediately texted me and the anger at with with which I was met for taking her favorite player, Connor McMichael.
00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:57.840
Um, so I I mean as a from a Washington perspective, they feel like they gave up a lot for Kairu.
00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:04.559
So that like for us, we had just determined Kairu wasn't gonna be the thing here.
00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:11.039
And so I think it this is a much more I mean this is a huge win as a blues fan, in my opinion.
00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:14.960
Oh, I think that this is a this is worth this is worth all of it.
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:16.719
There is no, did we do that?
00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:18.320
No, I am not doubting this.
00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:21.440
I don't I don't question a single piece of this trade.
00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:24.639
This is a great move for the blues organization.
00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:26.639
And best of luck to Kairu.
00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:28.320
I was a huge Cairo fan.
00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:35.440
I was one of many that like when he went through his phase with Barube and he went, I'm like, just give him a break.
00:38:35.599 --> 00:38:38.639
Like, I just he took so much grief here.
00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:43.039
He's a great player, he's gonna be an incredible player somewhere else.
00:38:43.360 --> 00:38:46.320
And I think Washington could be a great fit for him.
00:38:46.559 --> 00:38:51.119
But yeah, McMichael, we he shall not be underestimated here.
00:38:51.440 --> 00:39:04.800
And I think from a Washington perspective, if I'm their management team, their fans are looking to compare the two, and they are expecting because McMichael is not at his ceiling, not even close.
00:39:05.119 --> 00:39:06.159
He is so young.
00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:07.840
So you pulled the stats on them.
00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:14.880
Kairu and McMichael actually had almost the same amount of points last year, if you compare them side by side, right?
00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:22.320
So McMichael um signed a six-year deal here once we got him here.
00:39:22.559 --> 00:39:27.199
Um, so this isn't, like you said, a temporary replacement for Kairu.
00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:32.079
Like they are expecting him to kind of be here in the long run.
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:40.480
So for his 25-26 stats, he had 14 goals and 32 assists for a total of 46 points.
00:39:41.119 --> 00:39:45.599
What I said for and he so he played 78 games.
00:39:45.840 --> 00:39:52.960
Jordan Cairo, who played 72 games, had 18 goals and 28 assists for 46 points.
00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:55.360
So we're seeing similar numbers.
00:39:55.440 --> 00:40:00.719
I I think he oh yeah, in in parentheses, didn't realize they had the same amount of points.
00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:09.280
Yeah, well, and the crazy thing here though is McMichael though is so he's younger than Kairu, is he not?
00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:13.119
Yeah, he I we had we had ages written down here.
00:40:13.599 --> 00:40:15.760
Uh give me a second.
00:40:16.400 --> 00:40:22.000
So, you know, like it's just one of those things in Kairu's 27.
00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:25.440
Give me a second.
00:40:26.239 --> 00:40:28.159
Um I always struggle.
00:40:28.239 --> 00:40:29.519
He's a year older than Thomas.
00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:31.119
He's a year old, he's 28.
00:40:31.519 --> 00:40:32.159
He's 28.
00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:32.960
Okay, so yeah.
00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:38.559
I mean, you're looking at Big Michael, he is right in that in that window.
00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:44.000
He's right in it, I was gonna say, he's right in that window where when Kairou was kind of going through that slump.
00:40:44.639 --> 00:40:45.920
He's at that window.
00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:57.679
So one thing I do worry about, again, and I will say this until the day I die, going from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference is much different than going from the Western Conference.
00:40:57.840 --> 00:41:03.920
He's very so he was the one I think he had a hat trick against us when we played then this year.
00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:06.159
I think because I remember that name.
00:41:06.400 --> 00:41:08.079
Uh and I was like, who?
00:41:08.400 --> 00:41:13.360
Because I remember saying who if you can't beat him, join him, you know.
00:41:13.519 --> 00:41:14.159
Well, yeah.
00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:17.280
Someone was like, hey, we can't have that.
00:41:17.599 --> 00:41:23.199
We you know, maybe we should do the same thing and go get uh what's his name?
00:41:23.440 --> 00:41:25.280
Uh who's the other one?
00:41:25.679 --> 00:41:27.519
He played for Vancouver.
00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:29.360
Kiefer Sherwood.
00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:35.760
Let's think of other players that just kill the blues and let's go pick all of them up so they can't wreak havoc anymore.
00:41:36.079 --> 00:41:37.360
Correct correct.
00:41:37.920 --> 00:41:42.719
Um yeah, no, the one night when we played them this is two years ago.
00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:44.719
He had two goals against us.
00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:46.639
Um for a plus two.
00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:53.440
I mean, and then the 27th of 22, 27, 25, one goal, one assist.
00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:56.719
So I mean, he's a pretty consistent player.
00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:00.880
Um I don't know.
00:42:01.039 --> 00:42:08.880
I one of the questions that you had posed on here is do you think that we got enough for Kairu?
00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:12.559
And honestly, yeah, I do think that we got enough.
00:42:12.800 --> 00:42:29.360
I mean, we end up getting so the blues received in the trade Connor McMichael, Milton Gastron, which I think he already went down to the AHL, and the number 16 overall pick again, which we made a pick for.
00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:30.880
Yeah, yeah.
00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:45.440
So I think that while it's not Jordan Cairo, I feel as though the pieces that we got this offseason plus Connor McMichael, I think is going to help.
00:42:45.920 --> 00:42:50.880
I don't want to say replace because I don't like the word replace in situations like this.
00:42:51.039 --> 00:42:56.960
I think it's a different piece that's going to create a different team for us.
00:42:57.360 --> 00:43:02.400
Yeah, I think it will help fuel our offensive production, which is much needed.
00:43:02.639 --> 00:43:14.719
Um because I think that I I think that's the real problem is we had a player in Cairo who wasn't able to reach his offensive potential anymore here.
00:43:14.880 --> 00:43:17.039
And I don't think he was ever going to reach it here.
00:43:17.119 --> 00:43:19.440
I just think it his time was out.
00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:22.559
And I think that this will help.
00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:34.239
And I think the portion of him, what he went through with Barube really, I think sharp a cord and just the not producing throughout his the next year.
00:43:34.400 --> 00:43:40.559
I think, like you said, we kind of just hit that wall of like, hey, we've tried, we've done everything we can.
00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:41.840
We got you a new coach.
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:47.199
I don't want to say we got you a new coach, I mean we got the organization a new coach, you're not thriving under that new coach.
00:43:47.360 --> 00:43:57.519
Um and one thing that we didn't mention at the beginning, um, at the end of the season, we lose both of our assistant coaches and get two new assistant coaches.
00:43:58.079 --> 00:43:58.719
True.
00:43:59.199 --> 00:44:11.360
So Uh you're looking at uh I don't want to say a completely different team, but you're looking at a team that kind of different pieces and and re is I hate the word, but rebuild.
00:44:11.920 --> 00:44:13.920
There is a bit of a rebuild here with us.
00:44:14.159 --> 00:44:17.199
I'm not gonna use the Vancouver Canucks term of retool.
00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:18.400
Retool.
00:44:18.559 --> 00:44:18.960
But yeah.
00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:24.000
I mean, I hate that word, but like that feels a little bit more accurate in this case.
00:44:24.079 --> 00:44:32.719
So there's a question I have at the bottom of uh this at the bottom of our notes for today that is is this a rebuild?
00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:34.239
I don't know that that's wrong.
00:44:34.400 --> 00:44:40.159
Like I think that he did he moved some pieces out that weren't working anymore.
00:44:40.480 --> 00:44:49.119
And he moved some pieces in that are young and have really like great stats to start with.
00:44:49.199 --> 00:44:56.960
Like these aren't people that he brought in that were like, okay, so you think they're capable of this thing, but we don't know for sure.
00:44:57.119 --> 00:45:01.440
Like they're people that are well on their way to being where we need them to be.
00:45:01.679 --> 00:45:17.280
Um, and I think we needed to get rid of Kairu, and and we did, and we signed someone for six years at less than that, which is gonna be rare because everyone's getting paid more.
00:45:17.679 --> 00:45:21.840
So, you know, I'm not I'm not saying that Mick Michael is is Jordan Cairo.
00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:23.039
I'm gonna be really clear.
00:45:23.199 --> 00:45:24.480
That's not what I'm saying.
00:45:24.719 --> 00:45:41.599
Um, but we did need to move Cairo out, and we did need to pull in others, and um the other thing that is not in this gargantuan list of items that we're covering today is that the blues are out there shaking the trees on Nikishin.
00:45:42.239 --> 00:45:46.079
And yeah, uh that would be a huge offensive piece.
00:45:46.320 --> 00:45:51.760
Um, and so you know, I I don't know.
00:45:51.920 --> 00:46:02.159
I I think it's I think that moving Kyru out was gonna happen, and I think that they got a great deal for it, and I think that both sides will be better for it.
00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:04.239
So completely agree.
00:46:04.880 --> 00:46:14.480
Um, so that happens in June, and then we see the draft come into play.
00:46:14.800 --> 00:46:31.760
Um, and when all of these trades were happening at the end of the year, and even during the offseason, we were looking at what Doug was getting for this, and I just kept remember thinking to myself, I'm like, Doug's cooking up something.
00:46:32.559 --> 00:46:33.840
We're cooking up something.
00:46:34.079 --> 00:46:41.840
He's he's gotta go out with a bang because now reminder, Steen didn't take over 100% at the draft.
00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:44.639
It was a mixture of Steen and Armstrong at this last draft.
00:46:44.719 --> 00:46:50.079
So this was kind of Doug Armstrong's last hurrah, if you want to put it that way.
00:46:50.320 --> 00:46:59.519
Um, he entered the 2026 draft with four first round picks: number 11, number 15, number 16, and number 29.
00:47:00.400 --> 00:47:01.679
Cuckoo bananas.
00:47:01.920 --> 00:47:03.119
That's crazy right there.
00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:03.840
Insane.
00:47:05.039 --> 00:47:08.559
Um plus three third rounders.
00:47:08.800 --> 00:47:09.199
Yes.
00:47:09.360 --> 00:47:18.239
So I mean, he did a lot this offseason and this during trade deadline to get us to the point where we're at.
00:47:18.480 --> 00:47:22.559
So we he makes a pick during the number 11th.
00:47:22.719 --> 00:47:31.039
We get Tyron Lawrence to look up that name because I think that's a name that we're probably gonna be seeing here within the next year or so.
00:47:31.360 --> 00:47:33.760
Um, he's a really big pro prospect.
00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:36.480
And right now we have the prospect camp going on.
00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:38.559
Um, so I'm interested.
00:47:38.639 --> 00:47:44.480
I think they should have uh a game against the prospect Blackhawks soon.
00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:53.760
Um so if you want to keep up with that, keep up with that because I know for me I I do like to just kind of check in on where we're at with everything.
00:47:53.920 --> 00:47:56.079
And that was a name that I remember seeing.
00:47:56.239 --> 00:48:03.760
I'm like, I didn't know who it was at first, but then after doing some research, uh you could see that it's gonna fit, he's gonna fit with those blues.
00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:07.760
Yeah, he plays for Boston University.
00:48:08.159 --> 00:48:09.599
Um love it.
00:48:09.840 --> 00:48:10.719
Go be you.
00:48:11.119 --> 00:48:15.360
Uh, but he's a he's known for his skating.
00:48:15.599 --> 00:48:21.840
Um, so if we think about, I mean, I I'm a I'm a sucker for watching like a really, really great skater.
00:48:21.920 --> 00:48:24.880
It's one of the reasons I really enjoy watching Dylan Holloway.
00:48:24.960 --> 00:48:26.159
He's a great skater.
00:48:26.320 --> 00:48:29.119
Um we know Robert Thomas is an incredible skater.
00:48:29.280 --> 00:48:31.840
Uh Jimmy Snugger, incredible skater.
00:48:32.079 --> 00:48:34.639
Um, that's what Lawrence is known for.
00:48:34.719 --> 00:48:42.320
Um, his explosive skating and his ability to take off with the puck once it's on his stick.
00:48:42.559 --> 00:48:45.599
So um that one could be a really fun one.
00:48:45.840 --> 00:48:51.840
Um, you know, we talk about moving people out like Jordan Cairo, who we have aspirations um, you know, for that.
00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:54.159
He didn't get any faster as he aged.
00:48:54.239 --> 00:48:55.519
He got much slower.
00:48:55.679 --> 00:49:05.199
Um, but you know, replacing those types of individuals, filling gaps in two, three years from now that you know that you already have he'll be a great one.
00:49:05.280 --> 00:49:08.400
And I mean, we've got we've got a lot of great skaters right now.
00:49:08.480 --> 00:49:10.079
It makes this team really fun to watch.
00:49:10.320 --> 00:49:15.599
So and another great skater that we potentially just got a hold of.
00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:24.079
Well, we did get a hold of, but I say potentially good skater because I think that there might have been a little bit of criticism that came with this move.
00:49:24.320 --> 00:49:29.920
Um, so for draft numbers 15 and 29, the blues made a trade.
00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:34.719
They took those two draft picks and they traded those draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks.
00:49:34.960 --> 00:49:36.559
I wore my Air.
00:49:36.880 --> 00:49:37.679
What a splash.
00:49:37.840 --> 00:49:39.039
No pun intended.
00:49:39.679 --> 00:49:42.000
They get Mason McTavish.
00:49:42.559 --> 00:49:47.920
Um I remember when this trade happened and I had quite a few people text me.
00:49:48.079 --> 00:49:51.440
They're like, Do you think this was a good move?
00:49:51.840 --> 00:49:55.599
And I'm still 50-50 on it.
00:49:55.920 --> 00:49:57.039
You're what?
00:49:57.920 --> 00:50:04.000
We traded two draft picks for a third overall 2021.
00:50:04.480 --> 00:50:07.119
Will you let me finish my stamp?
00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:07.519
No.
00:50:08.320 --> 00:50:09.519
Take it back.
00:50:10.239 --> 00:50:11.920
What is this sorcery?
00:50:12.719 --> 00:50:21.760
Mason McAnee right now was under a lot of fire for his production.
00:50:22.320 --> 00:50:25.679
I mean, his numbers are good, don't get me wrong.
00:50:26.000 --> 00:50:32.079
But they were worried about his uh defensive capability.
00:50:32.400 --> 00:50:37.360
They were worried about um I gotta look at his plus minus.
00:50:37.519 --> 00:50:49.679
His his stats for the 25-26 season, he played 25 75 games, 17 goals, 24 assists with 41 points, and he was a minus 15.
00:50:50.320 --> 00:50:51.360
Big yikes.
00:50:51.840 --> 00:51:04.800
Um he he has not had a plus rating since his first year in the organization, in the ducks organization, and that's he played nine games and he was a plus three.
00:51:05.119 --> 00:51:07.039
Yeah, he's 23 years old.
00:51:07.280 --> 00:51:09.599
So I here's my thing.
00:51:09.679 --> 00:51:11.760
You know I care about plus minus greatly.
00:51:11.840 --> 00:51:13.119
I'm the stats girl.
00:51:13.280 --> 00:51:18.800
Um at 23 years old, nobody's got a good plus-minus.
00:51:18.960 --> 00:51:20.159
That's that's pretty rare.
00:51:20.239 --> 00:51:22.880
Unless you play for the freaking Colorado Avalanche.
00:51:23.199 --> 00:51:26.559
Uh I think one thing.
00:51:26.880 --> 00:51:32.960
If anyone has seen the pictures of Mason McTavish going around the internet, bro has spent all offseason in the gym.
00:51:33.199 --> 00:51:34.639
Yeah, massive.
00:51:34.960 --> 00:51:39.119
You want to talk about things that'll help your plus or minus, don't get pushed over.
00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:40.239
That's one.
00:51:40.400 --> 00:51:41.440
It sounds stupid.
00:51:41.519 --> 00:51:41.840
It's not.
00:51:42.400 --> 00:51:47.920
Don't find yourself on the ground, don't get pushed over easily, don't get pushed off the puck.
00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:49.840
That's not gonna happen anymore.
00:51:50.159 --> 00:51:51.039
No chance.
00:51:51.199 --> 00:51:52.559
Yeah, he's a brick wall.
00:51:53.519 --> 00:51:54.719
So that was so that was.
00:51:55.119 --> 00:51:56.079
And he's a center.
00:51:56.320 --> 00:52:08.480
So that was kind of the criticism that I read a lot of was that while being a center, your mindset is to be more of that defensive player.
00:52:08.800 --> 00:52:16.639
And he was not I don't want to say living up because that's not the word I'm looking for.
00:52:16.880 --> 00:52:25.119
He was not producing the defensive side of things the way that I think the people of Anaheim were expecting.
00:52:25.280 --> 00:52:31.280
Now I will say, reading about this, the people of Anaheim were mad at this.
00:52:31.519 --> 00:52:51.440
And Anaheim has undergone a little bit of scrutiny over the summer too, because there was a lot of um signings with like Leo Carlson that they were there was the um what's the uh offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers that didn't go through.
00:52:51.679 --> 00:52:57.840
Um they ended up signing who was it that they hold on.
00:52:58.079 --> 00:52:59.760
Well, didn't they release Kreider?
00:53:00.559 --> 00:53:06.000
Oh yeah, so Crider just signed a year in Montreal that happened last night.
00:53:06.639 --> 00:53:07.760
Carlson was the offer sheet.
00:53:08.320 --> 00:53:14.639
Carlson was the offer sheet, but there was somebody else that I yes Okay.
00:53:15.679 --> 00:53:20.239
The uh so Mason McTavish was the 2021 draft class.
00:53:20.400 --> 00:53:23.599
The first overall pick that year was Owen Power.
00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:26.960
Oh and the second overall pick was Maddie Beneers.
00:53:27.519 --> 00:53:28.000
Oh, okay.
00:53:28.079 --> 00:53:34.159
So he was out of the three of them, McTavish might look the best.
00:53:34.320 --> 00:53:35.360
Owen Power's good.
00:53:35.440 --> 00:53:36.320
He's a defenseman.
00:53:36.400 --> 00:53:37.280
You can't really compare the two.
00:53:37.519 --> 00:53:41.440
Yeah, you can't really compare uh but between Beneers and McTavish.
00:53:41.760 --> 00:53:45.679
Again, Beneers I kind of feel has had a left year.
00:53:46.159 --> 00:53:46.800
He will.
00:53:47.039 --> 00:53:49.599
Um uh Cutter Gauthier.
00:53:50.079 --> 00:53:50.639
Gautier?
00:53:51.119 --> 00:53:51.840
Gautier.
00:53:52.320 --> 00:53:53.039
Gautier.
00:53:53.360 --> 00:54:03.760
That's a that's another uh player that they're either needing to sign or did sign and it was it was a fair fairly big amount.
00:54:04.000 --> 00:54:09.199
Um they also picked, did they pick up Truba in the offseason?
00:54:09.599 --> 00:54:12.159
Yeah, they're they're kind of all over the place.
00:54:12.400 --> 00:54:16.880
You know, we like the ducks are having a tough go.
00:54:17.119 --> 00:54:17.679
You're good.
00:54:17.920 --> 00:54:24.159
Okay, so they traded uh Goodas to the Florida Panthers for AJ Gear.
00:54:24.559 --> 00:54:31.199
Uh John Carlson, who was they got from Washington when they thought they were making that push.
00:54:31.519 --> 00:54:34.159
He was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
00:54:34.400 --> 00:54:36.000
Chris Kreider left.
00:54:36.159 --> 00:54:38.000
Uh sorry, Truba left.
00:54:38.079 --> 00:54:45.679
Truba went to um other California team, San Jose, thank you.
00:54:45.920 --> 00:54:51.119
And we actually get Ross Johnson from uh Anaheim.
00:54:51.360 --> 00:55:04.800
So there's a there was a bit there was a big move with Anaheim this offseason that I think them move the people of Anaheim were upset about McTavish moving, but also I don't know.
00:55:04.880 --> 00:55:08.400
There was just a there was a there's been a lot with Anaheim this offseason.
00:55:08.639 --> 00:55:13.199
And yeah, and I think they're putting all their ducks in the Carlson basket.
00:55:13.440 --> 00:55:19.360
Yes, and like I think they should know if that's I I don't I don't I don't know though.
00:55:19.599 --> 00:55:21.519
I mean I don't think I would have paid him that much.
00:55:21.679 --> 00:55:22.320
Let me be clear.
00:55:22.480 --> 00:55:24.239
I wouldn't pay him as much as they paid him.
00:55:24.480 --> 00:55:25.280
No, nothing.
00:55:25.599 --> 00:55:33.679
Leo Carlson is a great hockey player, and he is the future uh of the Anaheim organization.
00:55:33.840 --> 00:55:34.719
I truly believe that.
00:55:38.880 --> 00:55:41.440
You're always gonna be behind Edmonton.
00:55:41.599 --> 00:55:49.840
There do you and your other competition is the San Jose Sharks, which you might have to worry about this year.
00:55:50.079 --> 00:55:55.599
The Seattle Kraken, who uh they didn't make they didn't make moves this offseason.
00:55:55.920 --> 00:55:58.719
Nobody wants to go they've tried so hard.
00:55:58.880 --> 00:56:00.400
Nobody wants to go to Seattle.
00:56:01.039 --> 00:56:10.400
Um the the LA Kings who didn't do a lot this offseason and they lost a lot of veteran presence, so we might see the downhill slide of the Kings.
00:56:10.559 --> 00:56:19.760
So I mean Anaheim has has the ability to kind of push up and be within that, you know, finishing second and third in the Pacific.
00:56:20.079 --> 00:56:29.360
And I don't know, I think losing McTavish might be a hard thing for them to push them to that point.
00:56:29.840 --> 00:56:35.440
Yeah, I think it's I think the big thing is that centers, good centers are hard to come by right now.
00:56:35.679 --> 00:56:36.000
Right.
00:56:36.159 --> 00:56:41.760
Um, and we just totally overhauled our our centers, which we really needed.
00:56:42.000 --> 00:56:46.880
Um, but now I mean we you've got Thomas, McTavish, and McMichael up the middle.
00:56:47.039 --> 00:56:50.239
I that's completely different.
00:56:50.639 --> 00:56:52.400
That's not Pavel Bushnevich.
00:56:52.800 --> 00:56:55.679
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
00:56:55.920 --> 00:56:58.480
You become what about Pavel?
00:56:58.719 --> 00:57:00.400
He could be the fourth line center.
00:57:01.119 --> 00:57:02.719
No, you got Pew Suter.
00:57:03.199 --> 00:57:03.760
I was gonna say.
00:57:03.920 --> 00:57:06.159
You can't put Pews on the wing.
00:57:07.599 --> 00:57:10.239
And I said notice how he said it cur notice how I said it correctly.
00:57:10.320 --> 00:57:11.039
I didn't call him Pius.
00:57:13.280 --> 00:57:18.639
Um Alyssa and I met Pews Suter at the season ticket holder event last year.
00:57:18.800 --> 00:57:21.280
He was the they do the pictures with the players.
00:57:21.440 --> 00:57:24.960
And so Alyssa asked him how you actually say his name.
00:57:25.039 --> 00:57:26.639
And he was like, it's Pewce.
00:57:26.800 --> 00:57:29.440
And so now she always says it properly.
00:57:30.159 --> 00:57:31.519
Um is great.
00:57:31.760 --> 00:57:38.239
Uh but I mean, yeah, I mean, tell us what what did we look up like up the middle last year?
00:57:38.559 --> 00:57:40.000
Okay, up the center.
00:57:40.159 --> 00:57:46.159
You've got Robert Thomas, you had Pew Suter, Braden Shen, and Oscar Sunquist.
00:57:47.039 --> 00:57:47.280
Okay.
00:57:47.840 --> 00:57:52.480
And and Otto Stenberg, and and hold on, Nick Buch said.
00:57:52.880 --> 00:57:54.639
And Pavel Bucnevich.
00:57:55.039 --> 00:57:58.480
Well, old Jack Finlay towards the end, too.
00:57:59.119 --> 00:58:02.079
I don't even know who this last person is that's on this list.
00:58:02.239 --> 00:58:06.639
Uh Robbie Favry for the short time that he was here, R.I.P.
00:58:06.880 --> 00:58:07.760
I miss him.
00:58:08.079 --> 00:58:12.559
Yeah, so now we're Thomas McTavish, McMichael, Suter.
00:58:13.440 --> 00:58:14.079
Yeah.
00:58:14.400 --> 00:58:22.559
I yeah, I it but honestly, if you would have told me that Pew Suter would have been gone this offseason, I wouldn't have been surprised.
00:58:22.719 --> 00:58:27.199
I kind of look for him to kind of be that deadline deal package deal.
00:58:27.360 --> 00:58:30.480
Um but that's neither again.
00:58:30.559 --> 00:58:35.760
I'm thinking ahead, and I shouldn't because we haven't even started the season yet.
00:58:36.239 --> 00:58:43.199
But um that's some like you said, that's some serious depth that we have moving into this.
00:58:43.519 --> 00:58:53.599
Uh so then the blues pick 16th and they choose Maddox Magnus D.
00:58:54.960 --> 00:58:58.239
So those are all the first rounds that we got out of this.
00:58:58.400 --> 00:59:02.559
So then we move to the third round, and Doug at it again.
00:59:02.880 --> 00:59:09.360
He trades two third round picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Brandon Carlo.
00:59:09.920 --> 00:59:15.280
Now, this is an older, and I say older, that's putting it mildly.
00:59:15.519 --> 00:59:15.920
Watch your son.
00:59:17.280 --> 00:59:18.639
He's our age.
00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:21.760
Alyssa just called us old.
00:59:22.000 --> 00:59:24.400
Well it is too early for this on a Sunday.
00:59:24.480 --> 00:59:25.679
You just called us old.
00:59:25.920 --> 00:59:27.679
You leave Brandon Carlo's age alone.
00:59:27.840 --> 00:59:28.400
I I leave.
00:59:28.719 --> 00:59:30.320
He is a young whippersnapper.
00:59:30.719 --> 00:59:53.519
I grew up with children who think that being born in the 1900s means that you're ancient, so but we get this 29-year-old defense, right shot defenseman, which again, um so Brandon Carlo ate up a lot of minutes in Toronto, and you now have the potential of him possibly working with Parego.
00:59:54.320 --> 00:59:58.960
Um probably not because I would put him both as right-handed defensemen.
00:59:59.920 --> 01:00:05.199
But again, a guy that's gonna be able to eat up some minutes and potentially be on your penalty kill.
01:00:05.599 --> 01:00:09.280
And as we know, penalty kill was a bit of a struggle last year.
01:00:09.599 --> 01:00:16.639
So was he worth two third-round draft picks?
01:00:17.920 --> 01:00:42.800
Possibly not, but I do think that this is a player that's gonna give you a bit more of aggressiveness on the blue line, a little more aggressiveness in front of the net, and potentially be a good pair for either Mayu, Preco, or um Robert.
01:00:44.719 --> 01:00:45.360
Yeah.
01:00:45.760 --> 01:00:50.000
So I mean, here's the question: are we rebuilding or not?
01:00:50.239 --> 01:01:00.880
You send out Shen Faut Cairo, you send in McTavish, McMichael, Carlo, Gastron and Prospects, plus your draft class for the year.
01:01:01.039 --> 01:01:07.920
The organization has 17 former first-round draft picks in its system, and seven were drafted in the last four drafts.
01:01:08.400 --> 01:01:17.840
So, I mean, you've got ten in the system that are still first-round draft picks, but aren't as recent as the last four drafts.
01:01:18.079 --> 01:01:22.639
Um you've only got seven players entering the season at over 30.
01:01:23.280 --> 01:01:32.880
So this team has been dramatically Yeah, they are dramatically younger than they were a year ago.
01:01:33.039 --> 01:01:35.199
Uh you are you are absolutely correct.
01:01:35.440 --> 01:02:03.679
We're very comparatively speaking to last year, when I think we were one of the oldest teams in the league, I think we've now moved to like one of the younger teams in the league, which I don't think in my time of watching the blues, except for maybe like when we had like Oshi, Berglin, that group, like the young prawn, those young guys, I don't think that we've been known as the young team in a really long time.
01:02:04.079 --> 01:02:06.800
And it's it's kind of different and kind of nice.
01:02:07.119 --> 01:02:09.599
Yeah, well, and I think it's it's a fun time in St.
01:02:09.679 --> 01:02:10.000
Louis.
01:02:10.159 --> 01:02:14.159
I think it's you know, the kids, the kids are the ones carrying our teams around here.
01:02:14.239 --> 01:02:15.679
The Cardinals are no different.
01:02:15.920 --> 01:02:24.159
Um, I mean, we did have we had Yachty and Albert in the house last night for their Hall of Fame induction, but like what a what a terrible loss last night, by the way.
01:02:24.400 --> 01:02:25.679
What a terrible loss.
01:02:25.840 --> 01:02:28.400
How dare you embarrass us in front of those men.
01:02:28.719 --> 01:02:31.199
After everything they have done for this organization.
01:02:31.760 --> 01:02:33.440
This is what we could treat them to.
01:02:34.320 --> 01:02:38.000
But saying the same thing about half the people in the blues organization.
01:02:38.239 --> 01:02:38.639
I know.
01:02:38.800 --> 01:02:41.840
And so, you know, the kids are carrying these teams.
01:02:41.920 --> 01:02:45.360
The blues are young, the Cardinals are young, it's a it's a really fun time.
01:02:45.440 --> 01:02:50.880
But I think you could, in my opinion at least, I felt like watching the blues last year.
01:02:51.679 --> 01:03:04.480
We got younger in some ways, and then we didn't we failed to get young enough everywhere because the speed that is required to keep like we just we couldn't do it.
01:03:04.639 --> 01:03:07.280
Brayden Chen could not, it is great.
01:03:08.320 --> 01:03:09.360
He can't keep up.
01:03:09.519 --> 01:03:15.760
Like, there's just there's too much speed, and there's too much hockey IQ, and there's too much shooting power.
01:03:16.559 --> 01:03:19.760
And the we could we simply could not keep up.
01:03:20.000 --> 01:03:23.199
We had to find a way, and centers are a great way to do that.
01:03:23.280 --> 01:03:42.880
If you can make your centers much more, you know, a little bit younger where they can work with, it's easier for a center to adapt to its wings than your wings to be stuck in the middle and not be able to keep up with someone who's flying down the side of the ice.
01:03:43.119 --> 01:03:48.239
And so, you know, I think we changed the exact thing that was most needed.
01:03:48.800 --> 01:03:49.280
Agreed.
01:03:49.679 --> 01:03:52.480
And I think it'll it'll make a big difference.
01:03:52.880 --> 01:03:56.800
Well, I also think that we've now got a little bit younger in our defensive core.
01:03:57.039 --> 01:04:03.280
Um, getting Carlo and he's younger, um Broberg and Mayu.
01:04:03.760 --> 01:04:10.320
Um, I mean, your your odd ones out there are Parego and Fowler, um and Tucker.
01:04:10.480 --> 01:04:12.000
I mean, Tucker's pretty young too.
01:04:12.079 --> 01:04:15.199
So if Lin's and Linstein comes up, Linstein's young.
01:04:15.280 --> 01:04:34.000
I mean we're slowly moving into that younger mindset, which I think if you can move to that younger mindset while still having that blue-collar feel, like your Jake neighbors, that's gonna be a recipe for success here.
01:04:34.480 --> 01:04:44.960
You've gotta adapt with the time, but also keep that same mindset that we've had as an organization for the past, what, six years.
01:04:45.760 --> 01:04:47.039
So, I don't know.
01:04:47.119 --> 01:05:12.159
That's just in my in my opinion, I think this I don't necessarily say it being I'll call it a rebuild, because I think that we are taking new we're getting rid of not getting rid of, but getting rid of players that aren't fitting the mold, and we're bringing in people that of what Armstrong and Steen want to align with.
01:05:12.480 --> 01:05:24.159
So Yeah, I think a rebuild it could be a rebuild, but I think um a rebuild often implies that it's gonna be a while before you win.
01:05:24.480 --> 01:05:27.280
And I don't know that it's gonna be a long time.
01:05:28.239 --> 01:05:35.360
I don't know that it's it's necessary for it to be a long time before this team is successful, but we're gonna find out soon.
01:05:36.000 --> 01:05:40.559
Um so the Alexander Steen era has officially begun.
01:05:40.639 --> 01:05:43.440
Um that started on June 30th.
01:05:43.519 --> 01:05:46.880
So Steen is the 12th GM in blues history now.
01:05:47.039 --> 01:05:48.960
Um a little bit about Steen.
01:05:49.119 --> 01:05:54.239
For those of you that are, you know, blues fans and have been for some time, you know who Alexander Steen is.
01:05:54.320 --> 01:05:56.159
Um he had a 15 year NHL career.
01:05:56.239 --> 01:05:58.400
He was drafted in 2002 by the Leafs.
01:05:58.719 --> 01:05:59.760
He debuted there in 2002.
01:06:00.480 --> 01:06:03.199
And played three years there before he was traded to the Blues.
01:06:03.280 --> 01:06:05.360
Um, so came here in 2008.
01:06:05.519 --> 01:06:12.239
He was part of the 2019 Stanley Cup team, of course, um, and retired in December of 2020 due to a back injury.
01:06:12.400 --> 01:06:16.480
For any of you that um remember that, that was that was so sad.
01:06:16.800 --> 01:06:25.599
He was, you know, I remember him talking about it, like unable to get in and out of his car, unable to like kneel down to like hug his young children.
01:06:25.840 --> 01:06:28.320
Um, he was just in a in a lot of pain.
01:06:28.559 --> 01:06:30.800
Um, and so he retired.
01:06:30.960 --> 01:06:37.280
His final career stats, he had 622 career points in a thousand eight regular season games.
01:06:37.360 --> 01:06:42.960
So he did have hit that 1,000 game milestone before he retired, which is which is nice.
01:06:43.039 --> 01:06:48.719
Um, but had a a great career, of course, capping all that off with a with a Stanley Cup um with the Blues.
01:06:48.800 --> 01:06:54.159
So um, but then he pretty much immediately jumped into a front office career with the Blues.
01:06:54.320 --> 01:07:01.599
So from 2021 to 23, he was a European player consultant and an international scout specifically for Sweden.
01:07:01.760 --> 01:07:13.199
Um, so he was heavily involved in recruiting and working with players that were in Sweden and in Europe in general, um, to help them transition um into the blues organization.
01:07:13.599 --> 01:07:23.679
Then he became a development coach and consultant from 23 to 24, but in 2024 then was promoted to the special assistant to Doug Armstrong, who's the GM at the time, of course.
01:07:23.920 --> 01:07:29.440
So um that's that to me just gives very office uh assistant to the general manager.
01:07:29.760 --> 01:07:36.400
Assistant to the yeah, and so because regional manager, but regional assistant to the regional manager, that's right.
01:07:36.639 --> 01:07:41.440
And because uh Steen must have felt that way because then they said, guess what?
01:07:41.599 --> 01:07:45.039
He is not just the special assistant to Doug Armstrong, he's gonna be your next GM.
01:07:45.119 --> 01:07:46.400
And he was like, Okay, that's better.
01:07:46.480 --> 01:07:48.400
That was very Dwight shrewd of him.
01:07:48.639 --> 01:07:53.440
Um, so now he is the general manager of St.
01:07:53.599 --> 01:08:04.320
Louis Blues, which is very exciting, and I think um I I can't think of someone that is, you know, uh he's he's just such a blue.
01:08:07.440 --> 01:08:24.720
He's very he's very blues, and he I love that, you know, as soon as he kind of like wrapped his career up, it didn't take long for him to jump into the blues organization and use his um his skills and his relationship building in in different ways.
01:08:24.800 --> 01:08:30.640
I love that he held a couple of different roles within the blues while he was here, even though that's not always necessary.
01:08:30.880 --> 01:08:34.960
Um, and then of course Doug Armstrong will remain on the blues staff.
01:08:35.039 --> 01:08:38.880
He is now the president of hockey operations, so he was, I believe he was both.
01:08:38.960 --> 01:08:41.039
Um that's not super uncommon right now.
01:08:41.119 --> 01:08:52.479
There are a lot of GMs and president of hockey operations, um, but he is the now the president of hockey operations and um Steen is the GM.
01:08:52.640 --> 01:09:07.840
So more of like I'm not gonna break down what the difference between the two is because it's different for every team, but basically Steen will oversee more of the day-to-day management of the team itself, whereas Armstrong now is overseeing hockey operations as a whole.
01:09:08.000 --> 01:09:16.640
So that typically includes anything from, I mean, there's staff that oversees scouting and stats and uh all the things.
01:09:16.800 --> 01:09:25.359
Um, so he'll be more on looking at the blues organization as a whole, and Steam will be focused on the team as it exists right now.
01:09:25.600 --> 01:09:29.279
So um very exciting though.
01:09:29.439 --> 01:09:36.640
Uh excited to have Steen on board, and I think um, you know, we've seen some of his work already.
01:09:36.800 --> 01:09:47.119
Um, you know, him and Doug Armstrong have worked in very close communication um with just about everything that they've done over the but the last couple years, um, which is great.
01:09:47.279 --> 01:09:54.000
And I think uh, you know, Doug Armstrong did did incredible things here in the 16 years he was here.
01:09:54.159 --> 01:09:56.880
Um, you know, he started with the blues in 2010.
01:09:57.199 --> 01:10:02.159
So um, you know, his his legacy will live on for quite some time.
01:10:02.239 --> 01:10:03.920
He brought this team their first cup.
01:10:04.079 --> 01:10:07.920
So he uh he's he's a legendary one for sure.
01:10:09.199 --> 01:10:19.279
Well, and so as he as Doug Arm finishes off, Alex Dean comes in and he starts free agency, and we get a couple of people in free agency.
01:10:19.359 --> 01:10:22.800
A lot of it is just re-signing the players that we've had.
01:10:22.960 --> 01:10:34.159
So uh Jonathan Bergren, again, he came over as a we picked him up off waivers last year, and he ended up signing a one-year, two million contract extension.
01:10:34.319 --> 01:10:37.119
I think that this is a good sign for the blues.
01:10:37.279 --> 01:10:51.199
I think that Bergren is very young, he is very fast, and I think that his go-getter and just um I don't want to say rough and gruff, but he he's got a bit more toughness to him.
01:10:51.359 --> 01:10:57.600
I think his mindset is um very blues-esque, and I and I did like his that it was a good pickup.
01:10:57.680 --> 01:11:00.239
It was a totally he was a great pickup.
01:11:00.720 --> 01:11:06.239
The waiver waivers are can kind of go again those one or two ways.
01:11:06.399 --> 01:11:21.520
Um, a lot of times people think that being claimed off waivers um might be a bad thing, but I I like to see it as um a team taking a chance on a player to show, like, hey, here's what I got.
01:11:21.840 --> 01:11:28.399
And I think that that's what Dargrim did in our in his case, and I love this extension.
01:11:28.640 --> 01:11:46.479
Um Jonathan Druin, he again came over in the shin um trade, and he they decided to waive his contract or waive him to the NHL, or wave him sorry, wave his contract, and he is currently an unrestricted free agent.
01:11:46.720 --> 01:12:02.399
Um, this one I'm a little surprised by because I thought that Druin didn't play terribly when he was with us, however, um maybe not just reaching the full potential that the blues were expecting him to.
01:12:02.720 --> 01:12:05.039
So he's currently an unrestricted free agent.
01:12:05.119 --> 01:12:07.680
There's a lot of unrestricted free agents this year.
01:12:07.840 --> 01:12:11.279
Um yeah, you know, we're getting into training camp season.
01:12:11.359 --> 01:12:14.640
I wouldn't be surprised if we see a lot of those come in as PTOs.
01:12:14.960 --> 01:12:19.359
I was gonna say I think that you will see a lot of PTOs coming up here within the next couple of days.
01:12:19.520 --> 01:12:28.239
Because for those of you who don't know, um, first preseason game is for the blues is this Saturday, and I do believe that I think everything starts on Saturday.
01:12:28.399 --> 01:12:30.800
Um we're playing the Blackhawks, aren't we?
01:12:31.119 --> 01:12:31.760
We are.
01:12:32.159 --> 01:12:40.880
Um so training camp will start on Thursday for the blues, which again, really upset that they decided to do it on Thursday and Friday this year.
01:12:41.119 --> 01:12:45.279
A little little upset, not gonna lie to you guys.
01:12:45.600 --> 01:12:49.760
This will be the first time in like I think four years that we haven't been to the city.
01:12:49.920 --> 01:12:59.920
Yeah, Alyssa and I get up at the butt crack of dawn to drive because I well, Alyssa doesn't live that far from Centine, really, at least compared to me.
01:13:00.079 --> 01:13:02.960
Um, but I live in South City, so I do.
01:13:03.199 --> 01:13:19.439
And uh we drive out there and one of us stops and gets coffee, and there's no one on the road, and there is this feeling in my bones on those days that I am just gonna go sit in a cold ice rink for like five hours because you watch group one, group two, and then usually there's a scrimmage.
01:13:20.720 --> 01:13:21.840
Oh my god, it's amazing.
01:13:22.000 --> 01:13:26.800
It's the and there's two different groups, so usually you can jump between the two ranks.
01:13:27.119 --> 01:13:28.479
It's it's the best.
01:13:28.720 --> 01:13:33.840
If obviously, I'm sure I'm talking to a bunch of people that have to work this week, so sorry.
01:13:34.000 --> 01:13:47.520
Um, but if for whatever reason you don't, and especially if you have kids who uh unfortunately will be in school, but if they're not by some weird stroke of genius, um, it's a really great time, and those are open practices.
01:13:47.600 --> 01:13:51.039
So you can go out and you can watch, you can watch them do drills.
01:13:51.199 --> 01:13:52.560
It's it's a blast.
01:13:52.640 --> 01:13:53.520
It's so much fun.
01:13:53.920 --> 01:13:54.720
It's a lot of fun.
01:13:54.880 --> 01:14:02.720
And I'll be so I'll be interested to see with the how they have it set up this year of us only playing, is it six games for a preseason?
01:14:02.880 --> 01:14:04.000
Or is it four?
01:14:04.239 --> 01:14:05.920
I think it's four.
01:14:06.159 --> 01:14:17.199
So it's it's a shorter preseason with a longer regular season, and I think there's also a cap for how many of those preseason games your veteran players can play.
01:14:17.520 --> 01:14:23.119
So that's what I was wondering if you'll start to see more veterans during the preseason.
01:14:23.279 --> 01:14:31.359
Um because that's like one of the biggest things when you go to a preseason game is those first two to three, you're seeing people that you don't know.
01:14:31.760 --> 01:14:38.079
Um they might throw in a veteran player one or the during one of the two games.
01:14:38.319 --> 01:14:45.680
Um you won't see the veteran players until that last preseason before home opener or before the season opener.
01:14:46.000 --> 01:14:48.720
And so I'll be interested to see how that runs this year.
01:14:48.880 --> 01:14:56.560
Um like will I get to see the people that I want to see on Saturday, or will I get to see these prospects?
01:14:56.800 --> 01:15:03.199
But I think that they do a really great job of holding the prospect camp too, so that might be a little looking a little different this year.
01:15:03.439 --> 01:15:12.159
Um but speaking of another veteran that we signed, we re-signed um Oscar Sunquist.
01:15:12.319 --> 01:15:15.279
So this is a one-year, two-way extension.
01:15:15.600 --> 01:15:21.359
So a two-way contract means that he plays both in the NHL and the AHL.
01:15:21.840 --> 01:15:33.840
Um, this is a lot for, and I I think that this move is for the veteran presence down in the AHL for uh the Thunderbirds.
01:15:34.000 --> 01:15:43.359
Uh, for those of you who don't know, uh Steve Ott took over as head coach down in Springfield during the season last year.
01:15:43.680 --> 01:15:50.880
That was a big loss, I think, on the bench for the Blues, but it turned out to work out really well for the Thunderbirds because they made it to the Calder Cup final.
01:15:51.520 --> 01:15:57.520
Um and they didn't with those start that they had, they didn't even think that they were gonna make it to the playoffs.
01:15:57.680 --> 01:16:07.439
So I think that this extension for Sun Quist provides him a chance to still be in the NHL, but also kind of had that leadership value in the AHL.
01:16:08.399 --> 01:16:11.039
Yeah, and you know, they they asked him about that too.
01:16:11.199 --> 01:16:18.960
They before he signed this, they said, How would you how would you feel if you had to go down to the AHL and play for the Thunderbirds?
01:16:19.039 --> 01:16:25.760
And they asked him about it um in media, and he said, I I love Steve Ott.
01:16:25.920 --> 01:16:27.920
I would play for Steve Ott in a heartbeat.
01:16:28.079 --> 01:16:30.399
Like I that does that would not bother me.
01:16:30.640 --> 01:16:32.399
And I think that's that's huge.
01:16:32.560 --> 01:16:40.560
I mean, I know that I think blues fans are very aware of the the role and the impact that Steve Ott has had on this organization.
01:16:40.880 --> 01:17:06.239
Um, and I I've been quoted many, many years in a row saying that I think that Steve Ott's time here could be limited because I think that you know it's just like the never-ending rotation of existing head coaches in this in this league, and eventually you're gonna need someone that can communicate really well with young players and has a little bit of a different perspective, and I think that Steve Ott has that.
01:17:06.560 --> 01:17:21.119
Um I think it's great, and I am not surprised to see his his success in the AHL, but um, I thought it spoke volumes that they asked Sunquist about that specifically, and he said I would I would go down and I would play for Steve Ott in a heartbeat.
01:17:21.199 --> 01:17:24.800
He's great, I love him, and I and I would I would happily do that.
01:17:24.960 --> 01:17:30.640
Um, you know, Sunquist is he's been with the blues for a long time, off and on, of course.
01:17:30.720 --> 01:17:32.479
Um, you know, left for a bit and came back.
01:17:33.439 --> 01:17:35.119
Yep, part of the 2019 team.
01:17:35.199 --> 01:17:37.359
He's married um to a woman from St.
01:17:37.439 --> 01:17:37.840
Louis.
01:17:37.920 --> 01:17:40.640
Um, they live here, and so he he loves St.
01:17:40.720 --> 01:17:45.840
Louis, he always has, and I think um you know they just had their first child.
01:17:46.079 --> 01:17:51.760
So I think you know, this speaks to his desire to stay with an organization that he loves.
01:17:51.840 --> 01:18:00.079
He's always been very honest about that, and um I he doesn't really care if it's with the NHL or the AHL at this point, I think that's great.
01:18:00.239 --> 01:18:04.800
Um, that's kind of what we've grown to expect, I think, out of blues players lately.
01:18:04.960 --> 01:18:13.039
Um is just this desire to to be part of the organization, which I think is speaks volumes to everything that the blues have done to make the organization what it is.
01:18:13.279 --> 01:18:24.880
So um, so another signing that the blues did this offseason, um, kind of going in that veteran presence, is Ross Johnson.
01:18:25.279 --> 01:18:35.199
So we mentioned he came over from Anaheim, and this contract it's a it's a little odd to me.
01:18:35.359 --> 01:18:43.359
It's a three-year deal at two million a year, which again he's here for the physicality, which I can understand.
01:18:43.600 --> 01:18:49.439
Um, but three years seems a little bit long for the physicality aspect.
01:18:49.920 --> 01:18:57.279
But um, some stats on uh Johnson is he last year he played 62 games.
01:18:57.520 --> 01:19:01.039
He had three goals, 11 assists for 14 points.
01:19:01.359 --> 01:19:05.119
His plus-minus was at a zero, so he wasn't, you know.
01:19:05.920 --> 01:19:06.399
Alright.
01:19:07.039 --> 01:19:07.840
Okay with that.
01:19:08.399 --> 01:19:10.880
Uh penalty minutes, 107.
01:19:11.840 --> 01:19:13.119
So wow.
01:19:13.600 --> 01:19:14.239
Wow.
01:19:15.680 --> 01:19:17.680
107 in how many games?
01:19:18.159 --> 01:19:19.119
62.
01:19:20.159 --> 01:19:24.319
Wow! That's more than two a game on average.
01:19:25.199 --> 01:19:25.600
Right?
01:19:25.840 --> 01:19:26.079
No.
01:19:26.319 --> 01:19:26.800
Hold on.
01:19:27.039 --> 01:19:27.680
Wrong.
01:19:27.920 --> 01:19:28.399
Wrong.
01:19:28.800 --> 01:19:30.000
Lexus got bad maths.
01:19:30.319 --> 01:19:32.319
It's it's about a penalty game.
01:19:32.560 --> 01:19:33.199
Yeah.
01:19:34.000 --> 01:19:40.640
And you figure probably, you know, one of the games he doesn't get a penalty, another is it's a 10-minute major, you know, a five-minute major.
01:19:40.960 --> 01:19:47.439
So um doesn't seem like a bad signing necessarily.
01:19:47.680 --> 01:19:51.680
Um we'll be interested to see how much we see of him.
01:19:53.359 --> 01:19:54.000
Agree.
01:19:54.399 --> 01:19:59.520
Um, and then the blues also signed Dylan Dubai to a one-year, one-way deal.
01:19:59.600 --> 01:20:04.880
Um, so that one-way deal means he's an NHL player, uh, or he'll play at the NHL level.
01:20:04.960 --> 01:20:07.840
I mean, we can send him down to the AHL, but we'll have to pay him the same salary.
01:20:08.079 --> 01:20:11.680
So um it's a league minimum$850,000 contract.
01:20:11.920 --> 01:20:17.439
Dylan Dubai has been with the Blues organization since December of last year.
01:20:17.680 --> 01:20:38.479
Um he prior to that had not played with an NHL team for quite some time, along with four other players um that were tried as part of a Hockey Canada investigation um that was tied back to sexual assault with the one of the junior teams um back a few years ago.
01:20:38.800 --> 01:20:44.560
So um Carter Hart is one of those individuals, Alex Formanton is one of those individuals.
01:20:44.640 --> 01:20:45.520
There's five of them total.
01:20:45.680 --> 01:20:47.439
Dylan Dubay is another.
01:20:47.680 --> 01:20:56.239
Um he played as part of our AHL group, um, and the Blues recently signed him to that NHL deal.
01:20:56.479 --> 01:21:00.640
There is a ton of information out there about that investigation.
01:21:00.800 --> 01:21:06.159
If you would like to go out and you um, you know, want to read up on it and see what it's about.
01:21:06.560 --> 01:21:14.159
Um it's it's not you know, be warned that it's it's not something that's really fun to read about.
01:21:14.239 --> 01:21:16.560
Um, it's something that can be pretty disheartening.
01:21:16.720 --> 01:21:21.119
However, um none of those players were um convicted.
01:21:21.520 --> 01:21:23.840
So um here we are.
01:21:24.000 --> 01:21:28.479
Um we've got three or four of them in the league now, um, in some way.
01:21:28.720 --> 01:21:39.520
And so um, you know, I encourage everyone to go out and do their research and absorb and kind of form your own opinions on how you feel about the situation.
01:21:39.760 --> 01:21:45.680
Um in case uh you would like to voice your concerns.
01:21:45.840 --> 01:21:50.079
There are petitions um for all teams that have those players.
01:21:50.159 --> 01:21:51.439
Um Vegas has one.
01:21:51.600 --> 01:21:56.880
There is uh Alex Foremonton was just signed in Edmonton, and theirs is going pretty crazy this week.
01:21:56.960 --> 01:21:58.399
Um that's a new signing.
01:21:58.640 --> 01:22:02.079
So, but there's lots of information out there about it.
01:22:02.239 --> 01:22:11.359
I encourage you to read about it if that is something that you want to do, if that is something that is not healthy for you, um, then that is that is okay too.
01:22:11.520 --> 01:22:14.079
Um, but he has signed with the blues.
01:22:14.159 --> 01:22:25.439
I will say that based on the roster and the players that we've talked about in the first hour and a half of this episode, uh, and looking at the roster, uh, the math doesn't math to me.
01:22:25.600 --> 01:22:28.640
There will be some players that do not make this NHL roster.
01:22:28.720 --> 01:22:30.640
I don't know if Dubai will be one of them.
01:22:30.720 --> 01:22:31.600
I don't know.
01:22:31.840 --> 01:22:41.279
Um, you know, I think it's um we'll find out more coming up here in the next couple days, especially with training camp as well as preseason.
01:22:41.439 --> 01:22:47.600
Um but like you said, the math doesn't math, especially with the amount of signings that we got.
01:22:48.000 --> 01:23:00.399
Um yeah, and I think even looking at the stats that he's put up in the last year, which is really all we got, uh, because he he hadn't played for a while before that.
01:23:00.640 --> 01:23:03.119
Um, because I that's something I didn't say.
01:23:03.199 --> 01:23:12.720
All of those players, once files were charged, the NHL did not allow those players to play in the league until the investigation was complete.
01:23:12.960 --> 01:23:18.159
So those players were not allowed to play um for a a period of time.
01:23:18.319 --> 01:23:23.600
And so he obviously did not play while that investigation was going on and while they were at trial.
01:23:23.840 --> 01:23:27.920
Um so he hasn't played for quite some time.
01:23:28.079 --> 01:23:31.119
His numbers are not all that impressive.
01:23:31.359 --> 01:23:36.800
Um I and I I I that's that's that's pretty factual.
01:23:36.880 --> 01:23:38.239
I don't that's not really my opinion.
01:23:38.479 --> 01:23:49.680
Yeah, um his numbers are not very impressive, and if I look at him alongside the other players that we have um that he'll be fighting for a spot with, I'm interested to see how it all shakes out.
01:23:49.760 --> 01:23:51.920
I was shocked that it was a one-way deal.
01:23:52.000 --> 01:23:53.279
That's maybe what I would say.
01:23:53.439 --> 01:23:58.720
I expected it to be a two-way deal because I wouldn't have been surprised to see him in the in the AHL.
01:23:58.800 --> 01:24:01.439
Um Sunquist has a two-way deal.
01:24:01.760 --> 01:24:04.000
So um we'll see.
01:24:04.239 --> 01:24:09.039
But um, yeah, encourage anyone that is interested in reading more about that.
01:24:09.119 --> 01:24:11.279
Um, the Hockey Canada case is there.
01:24:11.359 --> 01:24:17.600
Uh Robert Thomas and Jordan Cairo were both part of that team, but they were not involved in that case.
01:24:18.000 --> 01:24:21.359
Um, so there wasn't a lot of talk about it in St.
01:24:21.520 --> 01:24:24.319
Louis because our players were not involved.
01:24:24.479 --> 01:24:28.720
Um, but it is definitely something that has been talked about a lot across the league.
01:24:28.880 --> 01:24:36.960
Um, and we are now one of three teams that I know of that has these players signed to their NHL roster.
01:24:37.199 --> 01:24:48.159
So um let's just switch gears right away and let's talk about uh our 25th camp captain in blues history.
01:24:48.399 --> 01:24:55.600
So it was just announced this past week and a half, past week, week and a half, something along those lines.
01:24:56.079 --> 01:24:59.680
Uh Robert Thomas has been named Blues Captain.
01:25:00.000 --> 01:25:03.039
And I mentioned this at the beginning of the episode.
01:25:03.119 --> 01:25:09.039
If you would have told me we would have gone this season without a captain, I wouldn't have been surprised.
01:25:09.199 --> 01:25:33.359
Um, I was actually kind of surprised that we picked a captain for the season, especially with how Armstrong and Steen had kind of talked of we're wanting to see where we're at, we want to see where uh the season leads us, but if we go back to the beginning of the episode, we talked about lear and points, goals, assist, everything.
01:25:33.680 --> 01:25:36.560
The name Thomas was right behind all of them.
01:25:36.880 --> 01:25:42.239
To me, Robert Thomas does kind of fit that mold of being a captain.
01:25:42.640 --> 01:25:47.439
I think that he is a great representation of the Sailors Blues organization.
01:25:47.760 --> 01:25:50.239
He is very dedicated to the craft.
01:25:50.479 --> 01:26:02.640
Um and it's definitely he's one that wears his heart on his sleeve for this game, and I think that he is going to lead this game very well.
01:26:03.119 --> 01:26:10.640
The only I'm gonna say caveat to that, again, he wears his heart on his sleeve.
01:26:10.880 --> 01:26:14.800
He is one that if he is not playing well, he shows it.
01:26:15.039 --> 01:26:25.520
Whether that be um slamming his stick a little bit more, slamming the slamming the boards or slamming the gate to the to the bench a little bit more.
01:26:26.640 --> 01:26:40.079
And as someone who gets upset with themselves when they're not feel when they feel that they're not producing things or doing things in the way it has been put in their head, I can understand where he's coming from in those senses.
01:26:40.319 --> 01:26:50.319
I just hope that that doesn't um affect his ability as captain.
01:26:51.039 --> 01:26:52.640
But yeah, I think that's fair.
01:26:52.960 --> 01:27:00.880
But I do think that as a leader and as a player, he is a great choice for the leader.
01:27:01.119 --> 01:27:08.960
Um our assistant captains, this this just it it made my heart flutter.
01:27:09.119 --> 01:27:15.920
Jake neighbors gets an assistant captain, Dylan Holloway gets an assistant captain, Colton Perico and Philip Roeberg.
01:27:16.399 --> 01:27:17.119
No notes.
01:27:17.279 --> 01:27:18.800
No notes, no notes.
01:27:19.199 --> 01:27:19.600
Perfect.
01:27:19.920 --> 01:27:21.520
Perfect, literally perfect.
01:27:21.920 --> 01:27:22.239
I love it.
01:27:22.399 --> 01:27:22.720
Yeah.
01:27:23.119 --> 01:27:30.720
Jake neighbors, if you would have told me that Jake Neighbors would have gotten the C this year, I'm not gonna lie to you, I think I would have cried tears of joy.
01:27:31.039 --> 01:27:42.399
He just I think he's a little too young and too new to the league to really say he's captain material right now.
01:27:42.720 --> 01:27:42.960
Totally.
01:27:43.199 --> 01:27:44.319
But if four to five.
01:27:44.720 --> 01:27:47.680
Well, and let's be clear about what this list is.
01:27:48.000 --> 01:27:52.000
This list is the is the five captains of the We Wanna Be Here squad.
01:27:52.720 --> 01:27:59.520
I mean Robert Thomas was in swirling and swirling and swirling his name, and Elliot Friedman.
01:28:00.079 --> 01:28:00.560
All right.
01:28:00.720 --> 01:28:02.720
Love Elliot Friedman on this podcast.
01:28:02.800 --> 01:28:03.680
He's my fave.
01:28:04.159 --> 01:28:07.920
He's out there over and over again, like Robert Thomas is being very clear.
01:28:08.079 --> 01:28:10.000
He does not want to go anywhere.
01:28:10.159 --> 01:28:12.800
He wants to stay exactly where he is.
01:28:13.039 --> 01:28:14.479
And the same with Colton Pareko.
01:28:14.640 --> 01:28:16.000
I mean, Colton Pareco.
01:28:16.239 --> 01:28:16.640
That whole thing.
01:28:17.520 --> 01:28:26.159
Yeah, the Buffalo thing really kind of um Jake Neighbors really has made it clear that, you know, he's in it at a hundred percent.
01:28:26.319 --> 01:28:27.359
And Dylan Holloway.
01:28:27.680 --> 01:28:30.239
How and Broberg signed offer sheets to go here.
01:28:30.560 --> 01:28:34.319
And even if we just say both of them with extensions.
01:28:34.479 --> 01:28:38.960
So I mean, this to me, like you said, no notes.
01:28:39.680 --> 01:28:40.960
I'm here for it.
01:28:41.279 --> 01:28:43.199
But yeah, it's it's beautiful.
01:28:43.359 --> 01:28:44.399
I absolutely love it.
01:28:44.640 --> 01:28:45.359
No notes.
01:28:45.520 --> 01:28:47.920
Um, this is the future of this team.
01:28:48.079 --> 01:29:06.720
And I think that this is a great mixture of defense and offense, tough and level-headed, hard like power points to show for it, hard working, loves to be here, loves to be good in the community, loves to be a part of just the St.
01:29:06.800 --> 01:29:09.279
Louis, you know, everything that is St.
01:29:09.359 --> 01:29:09.760
Louis.
01:29:09.840 --> 01:29:13.199
And I think um, I think it's this is big.
01:29:13.359 --> 01:29:15.760
I think it's a really strong leadership group.
01:29:15.920 --> 01:29:20.640
And also, I have to say that picture of Thomas with his wife and his daughter.
01:29:20.880 --> 01:29:22.239
It's the cutest thing ever.
01:29:22.319 --> 01:29:24.640
Um, but his daughter is a spitting image of him.
01:29:24.800 --> 01:29:27.119
Oh like I was like, wow.
01:29:27.279 --> 01:29:27.439
Yeah.
01:29:27.680 --> 01:29:29.520
I mean, she looked just like him.
01:29:29.680 --> 01:29:41.600
Anyway, it's that was I really loved how they structured the whole thing where they introduced Thomas, but they also had the entire leadership group there, um, you know, so that they could introduce everyone all at once.
01:29:41.760 --> 01:29:42.640
I think it's great.
01:29:42.960 --> 01:29:52.000
Because here's the thing Graco's had the A now for quite some time, but we're getting three new assistant captains in this um in this group as well.
01:29:52.079 --> 01:29:55.439
Because we were doing like the whole rotating thing last year.
01:29:55.680 --> 01:29:57.279
Yeah, I don't I don't like that.
01:29:57.520 --> 01:30:10.560
So the rotating bothers me comes from, and so what you'll probably see is like neighbors and Holloway will be assistant captains or wear the A at home, whereas Periko and Brooke will probably wear it on the road.
01:30:10.800 --> 01:30:12.960
That's how they kind of had it structured in before.
01:30:13.119 --> 01:30:19.680
I think the rotating assistant captains came from we don't have a captain on our team, so we need to have different leadership presence.
01:30:20.000 --> 01:30:21.840
Which I understand Yeah, it's just tough.
01:30:22.079 --> 01:30:28.720
It's hard, it's hard to um what's the kind of what's the word I'm looking for here?
01:30:29.119 --> 01:30:34.560
When you have the rotating leadership, it's kind of hard to be like, well, who do I listen to?
01:30:34.800 --> 01:30:38.479
Because you were the assistant captain the other day and you're saying one thing.
01:30:38.720 --> 01:30:42.000
Here's my other assistant captain the next day, and they're saying something else.
01:30:42.079 --> 01:30:43.680
So who do I follow?
01:30:43.840 --> 01:30:45.199
Who do I know?
01:30:45.600 --> 01:30:46.880
Are you a leader or are you not?
01:30:47.039 --> 01:30:48.479
Am I supposed to be listening?
01:30:48.720 --> 01:30:57.119
I mean, not that you shouldn't listen to your teammates regardless, but uh, you know, it I do think it's a little bit some challenges.
01:30:57.359 --> 01:30:57.600
Yeah.
01:30:58.000 --> 01:31:14.239
So anyway, I think this is a great group, and I, you know, and on top of that, you brought we talked about Armstrong and Steen, and but you brought up a good point that uh Montgomery now has two new assistant captains on his team too.
01:31:14.399 --> 01:31:21.680
And keep in mind, when Montgomery came on, he inherited the assistant uh coaches that we already had.
01:31:21.920 --> 01:31:24.960
So this is the first time he's gotten to pick his staff.
01:31:25.199 --> 01:31:28.880
And I actually he didn't even get to pick pick his staff in Boston when he was there.
01:31:29.119 --> 01:31:29.840
Correct.
01:31:30.079 --> 01:31:38.399
Um and losing the assistant captains that we had, so we lost Claude Julian, who very respected assistant coaches.
01:31:38.479 --> 01:31:38.640
Sorry.
01:31:39.359 --> 01:31:39.920
I misspoke.
01:31:40.479 --> 01:31:42.000
Assistant coaches, that's what I meant.
01:31:42.239 --> 01:31:48.079
Um Claude Julian, very respected coach in the NHL.
01:31:48.319 --> 01:32:00.479
Um in all honesty, when we picked him up as the assistant coach, I saw it as when this is not Bannister.
01:32:00.880 --> 01:32:01.840
Hold on, give me a second.
01:32:01.920 --> 01:32:03.199
Who was after Perube?
01:32:04.319 --> 01:32:05.039
Bannister.
01:32:05.359 --> 01:32:06.880
Oh, it was okay, so it was Bannister.
01:32:07.600 --> 01:32:14.720
Um that kind of seemed like a natural progression of we're gonna put uh Julian in as coach.
01:32:15.119 --> 01:32:28.960
And it just so happened that Boston was in that rut at the same time and had let go of Montgomery, and Doug Armstrong quite literally said, How can you get rid of Jim Montgomery and have an opening position for ourselves and not bring in Jim Montgomery?
01:32:29.119 --> 01:32:41.600
Um so I'll be really interested to see, and again, this is where I'm upset that I'm not gonna get to go to the practices this season, is I want to see how the team responds to these new assistant coaches.
01:32:41.840 --> 01:32:47.920
Um, our defensive core has changed a lot in the past couple of years.
01:32:48.239 --> 01:32:58.800
And um when we had Mike Van Ryan here and we won the and we won the cup, you know, we had a different team, we had a lot of veteran presence.
01:32:59.119 --> 01:33:02.880
Then we uh have Mike Van Ryan with a younger presence, it doesn't work out.
01:33:03.039 --> 01:33:08.560
We get Mike Weber, and we see a little bit of a change, but not much.
01:33:08.720 --> 01:33:12.239
So now we have a new assistant coach and a different team.
01:33:12.319 --> 01:33:14.960
So I'm interested to see how that rolls.
01:33:15.359 --> 01:33:16.880
Yep, I agree.
01:33:17.680 --> 01:33:19.039
And then odd's out too.
01:33:19.279 --> 01:33:21.680
So obviously Ott is in the A shell.
01:33:21.840 --> 01:33:24.560
So it'll be a different coaching staff.
01:33:24.720 --> 01:33:26.239
Um very much so.
01:33:26.479 --> 01:33:28.560
Which, yeah, should be good.
01:33:28.880 --> 01:33:30.960
Do you want to do questions or chirps first?
01:33:31.600 --> 01:33:35.760
Oh man, let's do chirps first.
01:33:35.840 --> 01:33:36.079
Okay.
01:33:36.319 --> 01:33:37.119
You want to go first?
01:33:37.600 --> 01:33:38.239
I can go first.
01:33:38.399 --> 01:33:39.520
Oh, okay.
01:33:40.159 --> 01:33:45.039
Um, my chirp in the year of our lord 2026.
01:33:45.680 --> 01:33:51.039
How can the technology to do face scanning be involved?
01:33:51.279 --> 01:33:53.680
And it turned out so poorly.
01:33:53.920 --> 01:34:02.960
So, for those of you who don't know, EA Sports, uh, they create uh NHL and then the year that they're on, so this would be NHL 27 that they're on.
01:34:03.439 --> 01:34:07.520
They have done facial scans to help create the players.
01:34:08.399 --> 01:34:11.439
Convince me there was a face scan involved in this.
01:34:12.079 --> 01:34:14.560
What face did they scan?
01:34:16.079 --> 01:34:40.079
There's been so many tweets, and if you are on Twitter, one, follow us, but two, um, just search up NHL face scans because there was one and it made me laugh so hard because it was the picture was supposed to be Kale McCarr, and it ended up looking like Shane Gillis.
01:34:41.279 --> 01:34:41.920
It's insane.
01:34:42.960 --> 01:34:43.439
It's terrible.
01:34:43.680 --> 01:34:48.479
They gave Austin Matthews a hairline that he hasn't had since the Obama administration.
01:34:48.800 --> 01:34:49.600
Be nice.
01:34:49.840 --> 01:34:51.680
Be nice to Austin Matthews.
01:34:51.840 --> 01:34:52.800
That's not nice.
01:34:53.920 --> 01:35:04.720
The one that has really floored me, and I think it's because he's not like a he's not a highly discussed player across the league, but we watch a lot of Kraken hockey.
01:35:04.880 --> 01:35:11.520
And so Maddie Beneers looks like he's a 60-year-old man, and this guy is not even 25 years old.
01:35:11.840 --> 01:35:22.000
Same with uh Alex Ovechkin looks like freaking uh Ovechkin likes Oliver Einstein.
01:35:22.319 --> 01:35:24.960
He does, except Ovechkin likes his.
01:35:25.119 --> 01:35:28.640
What the one there is a ESPN article out there.
01:35:28.800 --> 01:35:37.600
The player media tour was this week, so every team sends one player out to Vegas, and they do like media and all kinds of stuff.
01:35:37.840 --> 01:35:45.760
And um the top Thomas was there for the blues, if anyone was wondering, but um they were looking Alexander Ovechkin.
01:35:47.920 --> 01:35:49.279
He likes his.
01:35:49.600 --> 01:35:50.640
How could he not?
01:35:50.800 --> 01:35:56.239
His hair does look quite fly for the situation.
01:35:56.640 --> 01:35:57.279
Let's see.
01:35:57.359 --> 01:35:59.680
Um this is Will Smith.
01:36:03.760 --> 01:36:04.880
Literally terrible.
01:36:05.039 --> 01:36:05.279
Absolutely.
01:36:05.680 --> 01:36:17.760
Although I'm trying to find the one about the there's an article out there where they interview the players and ask them like what they think of their face scan for NHL 27.
01:36:18.239 --> 01:36:21.760
And um Cole Caulfield's like, yeah, mine's bad.
01:36:21.920 --> 01:36:22.960
I see mine every day.
01:36:23.119 --> 01:36:28.960
And then right after that, they ask Trevor Ziegris, and he's like, Cole Caulfield's is so bad, I send it to him every single day.
01:36:29.119 --> 01:36:33.359
And I'm like, that is so mean, but so funny.
01:36:33.600 --> 01:36:38.399
Um, and sounds just like something Trevor Ziegris would do based on what we know about Trevor Zegris.
01:36:38.560 --> 01:36:41.119
Um, but yeah, like Cole Caulfield's terrible.
01:36:41.359 --> 01:36:46.399
Maddie Beneers, though, Maddie Beneers looks absolutely terrible.
01:36:46.640 --> 01:36:50.239
Like, I don't I don't understand how this could happen.
01:36:50.399 --> 01:36:52.560
What face scan did they use?
01:36:52.960 --> 01:36:55.199
You can't convince me they did a face scan.
01:36:55.520 --> 01:36:57.359
This is like someone did it from memory.
01:36:57.600 --> 01:37:00.319
They were like, oh yeah, with a little gray here.
01:37:01.039 --> 01:37:03.039
This looked like the correct one.
01:37:03.199 --> 01:37:06.560
I can't find the tweets that I'm trying to find, and I know they're in here.
01:37:06.640 --> 01:37:07.600
Give me a second.
01:37:07.840 --> 01:37:09.279
You sent me the Gillis one.
01:37:09.520 --> 01:37:10.000
Oh, did I?
01:37:10.960 --> 01:37:11.520
Yeah, I think so.
01:37:11.840 --> 01:37:12.560
Maybe that's how I found it.
01:37:13.119 --> 01:37:14.960
I started looking at my messages.
01:37:15.760 --> 01:37:18.239
Um, yeah, they're they're absolutely terrible.
01:37:18.319 --> 01:37:20.079
I've never seen anything like it.
01:37:20.399 --> 01:37:22.560
And I mean, hold on.
01:37:22.640 --> 01:37:25.840
Here's how here's here's Cole Caulfields.
01:37:27.520 --> 01:37:29.199
Absolutely terrible.
01:37:30.159 --> 01:37:32.159
That doesn't even look like Cole Caulfield.
01:37:32.479 --> 01:37:33.600
I would sue.
01:37:36.399 --> 01:37:38.319
Um Jake.
01:37:38.399 --> 01:37:40.000
This is Jake Neighbors, guys.
01:37:40.159 --> 01:37:43.119
Jake neighbors has never looked like this in his life.
01:37:44.880 --> 01:37:46.960
He has never parted his hair down the middle.
01:37:47.039 --> 01:37:48.479
That I know for certain.
01:37:48.880 --> 01:37:51.520
That doesn't seem like something Jake Neighbors would do.
01:37:54.399 --> 01:37:55.920
Oh, let's see.
01:37:56.239 --> 01:38:01.119
Man, I am we sung too much stuff to each other.
01:38:02.000 --> 01:38:04.000
We do, yeah, we do.
01:38:05.760 --> 01:38:09.199
It's just a endless Matthews.
01:38:11.680 --> 01:38:13.039
It's so bad.
01:38:14.960 --> 01:38:30.159
So I I just in in my head, I don't understand how we as a society have the technology that we have, and they ended up looking like this.
01:38:31.439 --> 01:38:32.800
So that's my chirp.
01:38:32.960 --> 01:38:34.720
Um, EA Sports.
01:38:34.960 --> 01:38:38.640
Go ahead and uh get your stuff together.
01:38:38.880 --> 01:38:47.039
You uh have uh you've you've made some good memes though, I will say.
01:38:47.279 --> 01:38:52.319
You have made everything memeable for the p for the start of the season, and I do appreciate that.
01:38:52.479 --> 01:38:53.920
So that's my turn.
01:38:54.159 --> 01:38:58.560
There it is! There it is! He looks like Shane Gillis.
01:38:58.720 --> 01:39:00.319
It is hilarious.
01:39:05.199 --> 01:39:09.279
Oh my gosh, I hilarious.
01:39:09.760 --> 01:39:13.119
And oh boy.
01:39:15.359 --> 01:39:23.760
Uh so yeah, that's my that's my chirp for for the um here's the deal.
01:39:23.920 --> 01:39:25.279
Here's my chirp.
01:39:25.600 --> 01:39:29.680
Can we stop bullying players that want to trade?
01:39:30.239 --> 01:39:33.840
Like, why would you like somebody on your team that doesn't want to be there?
01:39:34.000 --> 01:39:35.199
That doesn't want to be there.
01:39:35.439 --> 01:39:38.399
I mean, maybe this is just a silly blues opinion.
01:39:38.479 --> 01:39:41.920
Like we said, where blues players care about people that want to play here.
01:39:42.000 --> 01:39:48.239
But like, what if if Dylan Larkin doesn't want to be a wing anymore, why don't you let him go?
01:39:48.640 --> 01:39:52.319
Guys, can we also talk about just that whole thing in general?
01:39:52.560 --> 01:40:10.800
That is that is some wild stuff going on in Detroit, and I I wanna know people were kind of trolling Dylan Larkin, and I might get a little bit of flack saying this, but they're like, You've just ruined your whole career because you won a two-week tournament.
01:40:12.880 --> 01:40:14.560
What hold on?
01:40:15.359 --> 01:40:16.640
I'm sorry.
01:40:18.640 --> 01:40:20.800
What is this sorcery?
01:40:23.039 --> 01:40:24.720
A two-week tournament?
01:40:25.920 --> 01:40:34.079
You as any hockey player ever, they will tell you.
01:40:34.800 --> 01:40:37.279
Listen, I'm just going off what I've seen.
01:40:37.439 --> 01:40:39.119
I it's the Olympics.
01:40:39.279 --> 01:40:40.079
It's literally the Olympics.
01:40:40.239 --> 01:40:42.079
I understand what it is, however.
01:40:45.600 --> 01:40:46.319
All right, blues.
01:40:46.800 --> 01:40:48.560
We need to stop bullying players, though.
01:40:49.199 --> 01:40:49.680
Please stop.
01:40:51.840 --> 01:40:55.600
Yeah, leave Connor Hellebuck alone.
01:40:56.079 --> 01:40:59.439
We have to stop, but yeah, leave Connor Hellibuck alone.
01:40:59.680 --> 01:41:00.960
Leave them all alone.
01:41:01.199 --> 01:41:02.640
I'm sick of it.
01:41:03.840 --> 01:41:05.119
Alright, blues fans.
01:41:05.279 --> 01:41:13.359
We've chatted at you for almost two hours at this point, but it has been so great getting caught up on where we're at.
01:41:13.600 --> 01:41:19.920
So we will probably start doing regular content next week.
01:41:20.000 --> 01:41:22.000
Um, we'll have one game under our belt.
01:41:22.159 --> 01:41:30.000
We also might kind of join in and talk about uh some trades that went on in the NHL, some big things that happened in the NHL in the offseason.
01:41:30.239 --> 01:41:32.640
Um, but yeah, we're starting.
01:41:34.399 --> 01:41:39.760
Mostly, yeah, central division, but like maybe even bigger like trades and things like that that have moves that have happened.
01:41:39.920 --> 01:41:44.239
But it I'm so excited for this season, guys.
01:41:44.399 --> 01:41:48.239
I I'm excited to be back doing this talk with Alexa.
01:41:48.319 --> 01:41:52.319
And we're just we just get to yap for two hours about the thing that we love, which is hockey.
01:41:52.479 --> 01:41:55.680
So I'm I'm just really excited to be back at it.
01:41:57.199 --> 01:41:58.159
Me too.
01:41:58.319 --> 01:41:59.279
All right, folks.
01:41:59.439 --> 01:42:00.399
Have a fabulous week.
01:42:00.560 --> 01:42:00.880
Have a good week.
01:42:01.119 --> 01:42:02.319
We'll have blue hockey this week.
01:42:02.479 --> 01:42:04.399
Woohoo! Bye, guys.
01:42:05.119 --> 01:42:05.520
Bye.
01:42:09.119 --> 01:42:12.079
From the Lou to the League, we've got you covered.
01:42:12.239 --> 01:42:13.119
Thanks for listening.
01:42:13.279 --> 01:42:15.039
This has been Two for Chirping.
01:42:15.199 --> 01:42:18.079
Gals from the Lou, watching all 32.
01:42:18.319 --> 01:42:20.319
It's hockey talk flavor.
01:42:20.560 --> 01:42:21.680
You're welcome.