Its been a while but I do remmeber that he was decent in his first run, had some hands and could dish the puck a bit but did not do well adjusting to the physical grind of the NHL.

Frustrated me that he would cough the puck over so easily and once he started doign that, got in the coaches dog house, thats when he called it quits (granted Sacco was a bad coach but I dont think it was all bc of him)

http://blogs.denverpost.c...ther-than-cleveland/8971/

Dater has a pretty good summary of him when he left
- DDM-Coga

ugh this site did it again with the spacing in a blog.....

going to have to retype the whole darn thing....oh well

Its been a while but I do remmeber that he was decent in his first run, had some hands and could dish the puck a bit but did not do well adjusting to the physical grind of the NHL.

Frustrated me that he would cough the puck over so easily and once he started doign that, got in the coaches dog house, thats when he called it quits (granted Sacco was a bad coach but I dont think it was all bc of him)

http://blogs.denverpost.c...ther-than-cleveland/8971/

Dater has a pretty good summary of him when he left
- DDM-Coga

Look at all these fuks going to you for your authoritative opinions....youre like a fuking Prince in these parts.

According to Mccann - It took a little while, but Justin Abdelkader has been suspended for three games by the IIHF. This is in response to Abdelkader’s nasty hit on Vladimir Sobotka in a World Championship game.

I thought Toronto fans would be smarter when it came to hockey. Just like the leafs there good and big and bad at first then they just fall out of it. Lol
- BluesandBirds89

so exactly like the blues last year?

so exactly like the blues last year?
- GardinerExpress

Similar indeed...except for one glaring difference of course....

Look at all these fuks going to you for your authoritative opinions....youre like a fuking Prince in these parts.
- Jeropotato

Authoritative opinions is an oxymoron.

Look at all these fuks going to you for your authoritative opinions....youre like a fuking Prince in these parts.
- Jeropotato

This is how I am goign to make it to the big time, you will see me on TSN (probably puckrant first) in no time

Apparently everyone missed Hitchcock's interview when he was talking about pairings (Backes/Oshie, Lehtera/Tarasenko, Steen/Lindstrom). Hitchcock hinted at the top three lines all being viewed as No. 1 lines. Those pairings he has in mind would likely make the lines look like this:

Backes - Stastny - Oshie
Schwartz - Lehtera - Tarasenko
Steen - Berglund - Lindstrom
Paajarvi - Lapierre - Ott
Reaves

Bouwmeester - Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson - Shattenkirk
Leopold - Jackman

A few of my thoughts:
1) I put Paajarvi on the 4th line because I think he has too much potential to sit on the bench for half the season. If he is going to do that, the Blues might as well trade his value for another asset.
2) I'd rather have Reaves on the ice than Ott, but considering the new deal, he'll obviously be on the ice.
3) There are quite a few teams that need a guy like Leopold. It would make sense to move him for an asset and permanently bring up Cole.
4) Having an all-Swede line is kind of cool!
5) Regarding having Steen on the 3rd line: I guess Hitchcock sees great potential having Steen and Lindstrom together, however I believe Steen's goal-scoring prowess last year was likely due to his chemistry on line 1.

Time will tell, but the lines I listed above seem awfully dangerous to me.

Apparently everyone missed Hitchcock's interview when he was talking about pairings (Backes/Oshie, Lehtera/Tarasenko, Steen/Lindstrom). Hitchcock hinted at the top three lines all being viewed as No. 1 lines. Those pairings he has in mind would likely make the lines look like this:

Backes - Stastny - Oshie
Schwartz - Lehtera - Tarasenko
Steen - Berglund - Lindstrom
Paajarvi - Lapierre - Ott
Reaves

Bouwmeester - Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson - Shattenkirk
Leopold - Jackman

A few of my thoughts:
1) I put Paajarvi on the 4th line because I think he has too much potential to sit on the bench for half the season. If he is going to do that, the Blues might as well trade his value for another asset.
2) I'd rather have Reaves on the ice than Ott, but considering the new deal, he'll obviously be on the ice.
3) There are quite a few teams that need a guy like Leopold. It would make sense to move him for an asset and permanently bring up Cole.
4) Having an all-Swede line is kind of cool!
5) Regarding having Steen on the 3rd line: I guess Hitchcock sees great potential having Steen and Lindstrom together, however I believe Steen's goal-scoring prowess last year was likely due to his chemistry on line 1.

Time will tell, but the lines I listed above seem awfully dangerous to me.
- RobShouts

I like it except DA said Jaskin will be given every opportunity to make the team. that makes me think a trade is coming invoving Berglund +

Apparently everyone missed Hitchcock's interview when he was talking about pairings (Backes/Oshie, Lehtera/Tarasenko, Steen/Lindstrom). Hitchcock hinted at the top three lines all being viewed as No. 1 lines. Those pairings he has in mind would likely make the lines look like this:

Backes - Stastny - Oshie
Schwartz - Lehtera - Tarasenko
Steen - Berglund - Lindstrom
Paajarvi - Lapierre - Ott
Reaves

Bouwmeester - Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson - Shattenkirk
Leopold - Jackman

A few of my thoughts:
1) I put Paajarvi on the 4th line because I think he has too much potential to sit on the bench for half the season. If he is going to do that, the Blues might as well trade his value for another asset.
2) I'd rather have Reaves on the ice than Ott, but considering the new deal, he'll obviously be on the ice.
3) There are quite a few teams that need a guy like Leopold. It would make sense to move him for an asset and permanently bring up Cole.
4) Having an all-Swede line is kind of cool!
5) Regarding having Steen on the 3rd line: I guess Hitchcock sees great potential having Steen and Lindstrom together, however I believe Steen's goal-scoring prowess last year was likely due to his chemistry on line 1.

Time will tell, but the lines I listed above seem awfully dangerous to me.
- RobShouts

I thought he mentioned he wanted Backes & Berglund playing together.....

I like it except DA said Jaskin will be given every opportunity to make the team. that makes me think a trade is coming invoving Berglund +
- sycsam

Yeah with all the time the team has invested in Jaskin, I really dont see him going back to the AHL.

Last year the top line when healthy carried a nice chunk of the offense. Schwartz and Tarasenko developed some chemistry but the main problem from last year was that we didnt have a legit top line center to play between them.

I think you load up on the top two lines, at least to start the season, so you can match up with some of the other teams in the west who now have a pretty formidable 1-2 punch.

Maybe Lehtera can be a quality number 2 center but I would like to start him as the third line pivot so as not to over expose him too quickly. Any way you slice it, we will still have some pretty decent players that can play wing on the third line.

Yeah with all the time the team has invested in Jaskin, I really dont see him going back to the AHL.

Last year the top line when healthy carried a nice chunk of the offense. Schwartz and Tarasenko developed some chemistry but the main problem from last year was that we didnt have a legit top line center to play between them.

I think you load up on the top two lines, at least to start the season, so you can match up with some of the other teams in the west who now have a pretty formidable 1-2 punch.

Maybe Lehtera can be a quality number 2 center but I would like to start him as the third line pivot so as not to over expose him too quickly. Any way you slice it, we will still have some pretty decent players that can play wing on the third line.
- fattyboubatty

I agree, we really don't know how his game will translate to the NHL. It may take him awhile to adapt. At the same time I'd like to see Lehtera center Schwartz and Frank. I'd like to see them put the Americans on one line.
Oshie Statsny Backes
Tarasenko Lehtera Schwartz
Steen Lindstrom Berglund/Jaskin
Reaves Ott Lapierre
It's a good problem to have, but right now there are more players you would like to get in the line up than there are spots!

I like it except DA said Jaskin will be given every opportunity to make the team. that makes me think a trade is coming invoving Berglund +
- sycsam

Gotta think Lapierre isn't going to wear a Blues uni this year. With his truculence, I sure would like to see him moved to Calgary (far far away from St. Louis).

Gotta think Lapierre isn't going to wear a Blues uni this year. With his truculence, I sure would like to see him moved to Calgary (far far away from St. Louis).
- eggsegan

I don't see why the hate for Lapierre continued after his early-season suspension. I wasn't happy when we signed him, and I sure wasn't happy after he hit Boyle (though I don't think Lapierre intended to injure Boyle, it was a bad hit). However, Lapierre was a noticeably different player when he returned from his suspension; the word on the street was that he received a long talking-to from Hitch and Army. As the season progressed, I began to accept his style of play and appreciate his tenacity.

Are there other players who would fit the team better than Lapierre? Of course, but I by no means hate him.

I don't see why the hate for Lapierre continued after his early-season suspension. I wasn't happy when we signed him, and I sure wasn't happy after he hit Boyle (though I don't think Lapierre intended to injure Boyle, it was a bad hit). However, Lapierre was a noticeably different player when he returned from his suspension; the word on the street was that he received a long talking-to from Hitch and Army. As the season progressed, I began to accept his style of play and appreciate his tenacity.

Are there other players who would fit the team better than Lapierre? Of course, but I by no means hate him.
- RobShouts

I'd much rather see Jaskin at the NHL level than continue to keep Lapierre plugged into a roster spot.

If the lines are:

Backes Stastny Oshie
Schwartz Lehtera Vladi
Berglund Lindlundstromholm Steen
Reaves/Porter Ott FillInTheBlank

I'd rather fill in the blank with Jaskin, understanding that Berglund might spend some time down on four... I just don't see a place on this team for two guys who's natural temperament is to play reckless. Ott makes Lapierre expendable.

Apparently everyone missed Hitchcock's interview when he was talking about pairings (Backes/Oshie, Lehtera/Tarasenko, Steen/Lindstrom). Hitchcock hinted at the top three lines all being viewed as No. 1 lines. Those pairings he has in mind would likely make the lines look like this:

Backes - Stastny - Oshie
Schwartz - Lehtera - Tarasenko
Steen - Berglund - Lindstrom
Paajarvi - Lapierre - Ott
- RobShouts

If these lines stick, the biggest winner is Oshie. He gets to play a more O-fensive-minded game. Backes and Stastny can be the first two back...