Get your questions ready and join in at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for our weekly Blues chat.
Matthew DeFranks: Good morning and welcome to an adjusted chat time. Doug Armstrong is scheduled to speak to reporters at 1 p.m. Training camp starts tomorrow. The first preseason game is in three (!) days. Let's get to it.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Good morning Matt, thanks for the chat this morning. Zachary “The Duke” Bolduc was really flying in the game Sunday, I can see him scoring 20 goals this year. Given management made him team captain I believe they see it too. What say you?
Matthew DeFranks: Nikita Alexandrov was the captain of the prospects last year. So I'm not tying the prospect captaincy to regular-season goal-scoring production. Of the prospects, Bolduc has the best chance at making the roster, but it's still not a sure thing. I still think 20 goals would be a high bar to set. Bolduc is technically still a rookie (hasn't played more than 25 NHL games in a season), and the Blues haven't had a rookie score 20 goals since 2008-09, and that was Patrik Berglund.
I agree with you that he was flying out there, but that performance doesn't land him a job in the NHL. It just sets him up in a better position entering training camp. It's up to him to continue his play.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, there was an article Saturday in the PD about how good Dean's performance was in the first game of the prospect's tournament. It was made a big deal Dean hit several posts (but did have assists leading to goals by others). To me hitting the post/crossbar is the same as shooting wide. I am not impressed by Dean, he can't score, maybe he's slotted in as a fourth liner and not expected to score but to dig pucks out to the scorers. My attention in those games was on "The Duke" and Dalibor Dvorsky.
Matthew DeFranks: I guess you and the NHL view posts similarly since the league counts posts as missed shots. But it's still a marker of how many chances are generated. Dean's projection hasn't been a top-six player, and he did things well enough on Friday that would be similar to what he's asked in the bottom-six.
Bolduc was good, you're right. Dvorsky, I thought, was better Sunday than he was on Friday. More impactful setting up teammates vs. shooting from everywhere like he was on Friday. I guess I can't blame him from shooting all the time when he has that good of a release.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: If the goaltending is as good this season as last, what do you see as the odds Binner is traded? To the Leafs? It would be awesome if Binnington could get the Leafs close to winning the cup. Who knows....win the thing?
Matthew DeFranks: This is the first season of Binnington's current contract that he doesn't have a NTC. Instead, he has an 18-team no-trade clause this season, which drops to 14 next year and 10 the year after that. So for the first time in a while, the Binnington trade questions are actually not just a simple response of: "He has a no-trade clause."
I guess you wonder how Hofer progresses, and then what the Blues would be able to get back from the Maple Leafs or another team. They seem to be past the talent accumulation phase of the retool and now it's on to development, so many their targets change from what the ask would have been a year or two ago.
Jack: Maybe I missed it, but did Alexandrov finally sign a deal? He's still listed as an RFA on the contract tracker. Given all the competition on the roster, he would seem to be a good candidate to head back and take his chances in DEL or other Euro league.
And watching the Prospect Showcase last week, the Bolduc/Dean combo really stood out, but the player that surprised me the most was Simon Robertsson. That kid's a player. He'll end up in Springfield, but hoping he continues to play well and that we see him in Blues jersey by end of year. But out of the Bolduc/Dean combo, which one do you think has the best chance of making the Blues out of camp? Boduc has the high-end skills and Dean looks like a really physical forward (and Dvorsky doesn't look quite ready IMHO)?
Matthew DeFranks: The Alexandrov situation is odd to me. I've seen unsigned RFAs listed on training camp rosters before. It was that way in Dallas with Jason Robertson (and even Julius Honka!). But when I was at the rink in the last week, I saw Alexandrov at the facility. So I wonder if Alexandrov and the Blues have an agreement in place and are just waiting for something CBA-related in order to register it with the league? I don't know, just spitballing.
We should hopefully find out more when we speak with Armstrong this afternoon.
As for Robertsson, I thought he was the most consistently impactful Blues player over the weekend. Bolduc, Dean, Dvorsky, Buchinger, Kaskimaki, Peterson all had their moments, but Robertsson looked like he had some professional polish to his game.
The Blues liked the way he played a bottom-six role in the SHL, and he'll probably play a similar speed and forechecking plus penalty killing role in Springfield this season. I watched a bit of Robertsson in the playoffs last season (when he was teammates with Theo Lindstein), but seeing him live gave me more of an appreciation of his game.
UNGIE7: Hi Matt when Thomas came to the blues he played on the third line with Bozak as his center. any possibility that they play Dalibor on the wing and do the same with him
Matthew DeFranks: It's a good idea, and something that I'm sure the Blues have thought about. A lot of young centers begin their NHL careers on the wing because handling faceoffs and defensive responsibilities can be too much sometimes. I would think it's a possibility.
The main difference I see from Thomas' situation to now is the center depth that the Blues have. Back then, it was Schenn, O'Reilly, Bozak and Sundqvist. While Schenn and Sundqvist are in şüŔęĘÓƵ, they're six years older. Of course, Thomas is at the top now. But having Faksa as a potential third-line center doesn't feel like a position with a bunch of depth. Now if Buchnevich works out at center, perhaps the Blues feel comfortable enough with the center depth to be able to move Dvorsky to the wing?
Todd: I have a question about limited no trade clauses like Binnington's above. Does the player give a list of the 18 teams at the beginning of the preseason, during the early portion of the year or like 30 days before the trade deadline? If given during the preseason, can the player change the list at any point during the year?
Matthew DeFranks: I don't know this for sure, but I believe a lot of times, those teams are due around July 1. If you remember how Patrik Berglund got traded to Buffalo, it was when his full NTC moved to a modified one, and his new selections weren't registered with the league. I'll have to ask around a touch more to understand if there's a variance player to player, but I don't think they can change their selections.
Pugger: Matty D!!! Good morning and thanks for the early chat.. I sense some +++ vibes around the Blues with moves that were made and (hopefully) emerging talent. How do you assess the actual talent on this team and how far away are they you think from doing some actual damage in the playoffs.. And if 1 more piece were needed to put them over the top in a year or 2, who might that be (ie: A free agent signing that they could target).. Thanks Matt!!!
Matthew DeFranks: I think your sense of the fanbase is on the mark. I think the offer sheets really juiced the enthusiasm in a usually quiet part of the hockey calendar. Every casual conversation I have with friends mentions how much more they are looking forward to this season compared to last year.
I still think they're a couple years from truly turning the corner back into potential contenders (when Dvorsky, Snuggerud, etc. arrive and develop). But they should be more fun to watch this season, for sure.
As far as free agents go, let's begin training camp first before we look at next summer's crop of FAs.
Ddwis: For the person, it’s a bummer about Krug and what he has to go through with his rehab. After reading an article in another publication, it seems like his chances of coming back hover around 30%. If he can’t come back, What does that do for the Blues cap situation for the next several season?
Matthew DeFranks: If Torey Krug can't return, the Blues can place him on long-term injured reserve. It's not a perfect scenario since teams are limited in many ways when using LTIR, but it would allow the Blues to exceed the salary cap by close to Krug's $6.5 million cap hit.
Pugger: It seems like Bolduc has matured.. From his proclamation that he wanted to make the team his 1st year of training camp, being basically an 'all offense' player, he seems to be much more well rounded. Like maybe he has turned a corner??. What is your take on him ceiling wise Matt? Thanks!
Matthew DeFranks: There's definitely been some development on his end. It's not only playing on the defensive side of the game, but it's also that his pace seems to have picked up. That was something the Blues asked him to work on when he was in juniors, to move his feet more, and to pick up his pace of play.
Ideally, Bolduc can be a top-six winger and score on a consistent basis. I think he has the skill to become that player, but the results in the AHL/NHL last year didn't dictate that that he could become a top-line guy. For example, Jordan Kyrou was basically a point per game player in the AHL. Bolduc was a half a point a game player.
Pugger: Interesting.. Maybe Bolduc realized something and made some changes.. And maybe he'll be that rare guy (we hope!) that finds his footing in the NHL and reaches his potential... Not the normal path we see from guys (normally guys yes, tear it up in juniors/minors).. Let's hope he's that guy.. If he scores 14-17 goals with 20 assists I'd say he had a productive rookie year...
Matthew DeFranks: That would be a wildly productive rookie season. Blues rookies in the last 30 years with at least 15 goals and 20 assists: 2008-09 Patrik Berglund and 1996-97 Jim Campbell.
Pugger: Wow.. Ok, maybe I"m a little overly optimistic!!! Ha!!
Matthew DeFranks: Hey, even though he wasn't a rookie, Jake Neighbours scored 27 goals as a 21-year-old, which is how old Zack Bolduc is.
Sprtsfntc10: do you think there is a good chance that we will see Broberg paired with Parayko?
Matthew DeFranks: I wonder more if they want to keep Leddy and Parayko together, and instead put Broberg with Faulk on the second pair.
We'll stop there for today. More to come later after we speak to Doug Armstrong. Have a good day!
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