Read the transcript of our weekly Blues chat.
Matthew DeFranks: Good afternoon. It's hockey season again. The prospects practice tomorrow morning. The Blues are hosting a tournament this weekend. Training camp opens a week from tomorrow. Let's get to some questions.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Happy Wednesday Matt, thanks for the chats and your reporting. What is your opinion on Dalibor Dvorský's skating? Is he going to be fast enough to compete on the NHL level? Early last season when he played against men in the Swedish league he was too slow to keep up.
Matthew DeFranks: It's not the best part of his game, but the idea is that there's enough with the rest of Dvorsky's skillset to be able to make up for a lack of pace. His puck protection, his ability in tight spaces, his shot, his hockey IQ, those are all things that can help make up for a deficit in pace.
I still don't think he's a bad skater at all, to be honest. It's just that that part of his game falls short of the rest of the package.
Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, I don't see how Scott Perunovich fits into the team's new look, i.e. bigger, faster stronger (sounds like an episode of the $6 million dollar man). Will he be an AHL'er who is called up when the injury bug bites? Then again, I could be wrong. What say you?
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, when you start counting bodies, it's tough to see where he can find a full-time job back there. Let's say the Blues want to keep Leddy with Parayko to start, then Broberg with Faulk, finishing with Suter and Kessel. It's hard to find a path past one of those guys for Perunovich.
The Blues want Kessel to take a step forward. Obviously, Broberg will be playing key minutes. Before he signed, Suter was spoken to about a decent role.
I could see a scenario in which the Blues rotate Suter out if he's looking out of place, or Kessel if they're looking for more offense on the back end. But Perunovich really needs to have a good camp, particularly on the power play to prove his worth.
As far as potentially going to the AHL, Perunovich needs to be waived in order to be sent down. But his $1.15M cap hit is exactly the amount that can be buried in the minors without still counting towards the NHL cap. I doubt that's on accident.
Questions: Recently you wrote about Buchnevich not using the sticks he was used to playing with last season. Can you elaborate on that? Seems weird – I’d think any stick in the world would be available to an NHL player.
Matthew DeFranks: Yeah, it happened in December and January of last year. Buchnevich didn't have any of his sticks and was just using samples from the manufacturer. This is an excerpt from a story in late January.
SEATTLE — When the Blues arrive back in Ƶ after a three-game West Coast road trip, Pavel Buchnevich could resemble a kid on Christmas.
He’s hoping that there is a new shipment of sticks from Bauer awaiting him.
Buchnevich said he’s survived the last month and a half without his normal model, and has been going through two-stick samples from the manufacturer where “everything is different” from his normal stick. For example, when he took the ice in Seattle on Friday night, it was only the second time he used that stick.
“If you look at the stick what I play (with) versus the stick I have now, it’s like two different sticks,” Buchnevich said. “So I need to adjust. So this is a part of it.”
Tylerg: Matty D, my guy, hope your summer went well. Do you think Steve Ott ever gets a shot at a head coaching job? If he does is it in the post Bannister era or does he get poached by another team before then? Curious to hear your thoughts…
Matthew DeFranks: I go back and forth on this. He doesn't have any head coaching experience, and that's part of the reason why the Blues went with Bannister over Ott last year as an interim coach. But it's not easy for a guy that just got a promotion to associate coach to go down a level to become a head coach in the AHL, for example.
I think he's gained some experience with Hockey Canada this summer, and he's still a pivotal part of the Blues' staff. His two-year contract does end at the same time as the rest of the coaching deals -- and when Alex Steen becomes GM, too.
Bobo's Pet Monkey: Before he was snatched away by the Army, the Edmonton press was hyping the potential of Broberg getting to work with d-whisperer Paul Coffey and how greatly that could improve his game. That got me wondering, do Blues' alumni come down during training camp to impart some wisdom like we see every spring in Cardinals' camp? Does Al ever come down from the GM's box and work with the defensemen in camp, offering tips and tricks, or is that more of a baseball thing?
Matthew DeFranks: I haven't seen Al MacInnis on the ice with players during camp, thought I've only been in Ƶ for one training camp. For the most part, he sits in the stands with the rest of the management group watching practice.
I think the difference between MacInnis and Coffey is that when the coaching shuffle happened last year in Edmonton, Coffey went behind the bench. That's something MacInnis hasn't done.
Closest example I can think of is when Larry Robinson got involved with the Blues and got on the ice a bit.
GoThnder: Can you explain again why Blues may be better off not putting Krug on LTIR?
Matthew DeFranks: So LTIR is a complicated mechanism that's not really explained well in the CBA. But there are multiple benefits to not having to use LTIR if you do not have to.
1. Teams using LTIR do not accrue cap space. When teams are under the salary cap, they accrue daily cap space that they can use later in the season. Think of the salary cap as the sum of daily cap charges, and the more you save now, the more you can use later -- in particular at the trade deadline.
2. Teams that use LTIR enough during the season that their year-end cap hit is above the salary cap have to apple performance bonus overages to the following year's cap. That could apply to the Blues because of the $2.225M in bonuses that Suter has on his contract. If the Blues use LTIR, they could be looking at having a $2.225M charge on next year's cap because of Suter's bonuses.
3. When teams use LTIR, they must account for potential performance bonuses when recalling players on entry-level contracts. Let's take Dalibor Dvorsky as an example. His cap hit is $918,333, but he also has $550,000 in performance bonuses available. The Blues have to account for both pieces, meaning they must have $1.468M available in cap space. Using LTIR makes recalling players tougher.
4. While the Blues will get to use most of Krug's $6.5M cap hit if he goes on LTIR, they're only able to use the difference between $6.5M and whatever cap space they have available at the time. That's why you see teams get as close as they possibly can to the cap before using LTIR.
5. Even with Krug injured and the possibility that Sundqvist is injured, the Blues can still have both of those players on IR, plus a full 23-man roster, and still be under the salary cap. But if more injuries happen, then the Blues might need to find more cap space.
GoThnder: Ah! Thank you.
Matthew DeFranks: You're welcome!
Jock Ewing: Matt - I noticed a national list recently had Robert Thomas at the 18th best center in the league. Too high, too low or just right?
Matthew DeFranks: I think it's a bit low, but not by much. For those that don't know which list this is referencing, it's the NHL Network's list.
You can make a really good case for Thomas over Stutzle (17) and Suzuki (16). It's a bit of a closer argument with Larkin (15) and Hintz (14). Bedard (13) might have the better long-term future, but is he really already five spots ahead of Thomas?
After that, it's Aho (12), Miller (11), Pettersson (10), Hughes (9), Eichel (8), Point (7), which feels like a tier above Thomas. Then there's no real argument to make once we get to Crosby (6), Barkov (5), Draisaitl (4), Matthews (3), MacKinnon (2) and McDavid (1).
Best case, I think you can try and put Thomas at 13, but the group after Aho seems fairly tight.
Matt L: I like Thomas Kyrou Buch together on the top line, but it looks like the Blues want to use Buch as a 2C this year, at least to start. I admit 2C is a weak spot for the Blues if Buch can’t fill it but to me you keep what could be a dominant first line together and do your best with Schenn centering the second line. What do you think?
Matthew DeFranks: I think I'm with you. I think you try to see if your revamped depth forwards can supply some scoring before you go to a plan that breaks up a sometimes elite top line.
The problem with that is that you may end up yo-yoing Buchnevich from wing to center and back, and I didn't get the feeling that he liked doing that last year. During games, he was shift to shift at center vs. wing sometimes, and he wanted some more consistency.
ROn: Torts will lead Philly to a Stanley Cup this summer. Are you scared of him like your colleague Jeff Gordon??
Matthew DeFranks: I think covering John Tortorella would be a good experience. He's a lot more candid and honest than a lot of other coaches, and that's all we can really ask for, even if sometimes, it goes a bit sideways.
Matt L: What’s the backup plan if the Blues have a goaltending injury? Hard to figure it’s Ellis or Zherenko.
Matthew DeFranks: It's Vadim Zherenko. He's now got a couple AHL seasons under his belt, which should be enough to fill in for a spot start or two if injuries arise.
The plan last year was for him to split time with Subban, and then he grabbed the No. 1 job enough for the Blues to trade Subban, and entrust Ellis as the backup in Springfield.
Matt L: Bannister’s contract was only 2 years right? He’s got to prove he’s the man for the job this year or his seat will be warm to start next year simply by virtue of having a limited track record and an expiring contract.
Matthew DeFranks: I was wrong about this last year when I thought the Blues would give Craig Berube more leash than they did. But I think the next two years belong to Bannister. Next season is Armstrong's last as GM, and all the contracts line up for Steen to make the decision himself in the summer of 2026. Feels silly to jump that date when all of the coaching and management checkpoints line up with 2026.
Twister18: What is your take on deferred compensation? I think it will widen the gap between large and small revenue teams. Are team allowed to restructure contracts? i.e. lower the AAV and give more signing bonus.
Matthew DeFranks: I don't think too much about it, honestly. I think the people that need to be convinced are the players. Particularly with interest rates right now, people want to have money now instead of waiting for it.
It's been in the CBA since the lockout, but hasn't been used much since then. I wonder if the Ohtani deal made it much more mainstream to think about doing such things.
As for restructuring, that's not allowed. I know in baseball, you can sign a new contract and replace future years already under contract, but that's not allowed in hockey. The contract is the contract unless bought out or terminated.
Chris: If the Blues had known they were going to end up with Philip Broberg, would they have signed Ryan Suter? Even with no Krug, the blueline is still pretty crowded and they might have to risk losing someone to waivers. At this point in his career, I don't believe Suter adds much on the ice.
Matthew DeFranks: It's a good question. I'm not sure. I think Doug Armstrong would still like to have the depth that he has on defense, and they'll have to live with the consequences of potentially waiving a player like Tyler Tucker.
It's tough to play this game because the Blues didn't know they would be getting Broberg when he signed the offer sheet, let alone a month before that.
STCBluesFan: He earned more of my respect last year when he praised his team for working their xxxxx off. "Not a great skill team but they worked their xxxxx off!"
Matthew DeFranks: I did appreciate when he stood up for Kevin Hayes. Differences about hockey didn't lead to resentment about character.
Tommy Pham: I think Torts is Chuck Norris and Chuck Norris is Torts....
Matthew DeFranks: A lot of Torts fans today!
STCBluesFan: Here is the quote (edited for TV) "ShareThe Flyers‘ win over the Penguins was a gutsy one, and the team knows it. Head coach John Tortorella would be the first one to say it.“We win the game because we’ve got xxxxx. We do,” Tortorella said. “We do stupid stuff. We don’t make plays sometimes. [We] lose sight of certain momentums in the game, a number of things we have to work on and try to get consistent at. But one thing we do have is xxxxx.”
Matthew DeFranks: Sometimes, his pressers are adventures.
We're out of questions now, and seems like we're done with Blues chatter. So we'll call it there. Thanks, and see you next week!
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