2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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MrCrowesGarden
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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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JCShutout wrote:
MrCrowesGarden wrote:See previous posts. Scoring was the biggest problem last year.
Agreed. I keep going back and forth between thinking the Blues have good solid depth, and wanting just one more scoring line winger. I guess there is a good chance someone, be it Perron or a kid, can score 50 points.
Consistent scoring is the biggest problem the Blues have had for years. But Allen as the #1 goalie is still a problem. I have difficulty thinking the Blues can be true Stanley Cup contenders with Allen completely losing his game for weeks at a time, a couple times every season.

I like Allen, and when he's on his game he can be outstanding. But the long stretches of putrid play are extremely frustrating. He has to figure it out or the Blues have to go in a different direction soon.

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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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Popeye_Card wrote:
JCShutout wrote:
MrCrowesGarden wrote:See previous posts. Scoring was the biggest problem last year.
Agreed. I keep going back and forth between thinking the Blues have good solid depth, and wanting just one more scoring line winger. I guess there is a good chance someone, be it Perron or a kid, can score 50 points.
Consistent scoring is the biggest problem the Blues have had for years. But Allen as the #1 goalie is still a problem. I have difficulty thinking the Blues can be true Stanley Cup contenders with Allen completely losing his game for weeks at a time, a couple times every season.

I like Allen, and when he's on his game he can be outstanding. But the long stretches of putrid play are extremely frustrating. He has to figure it out or the Blues have to go in a different direction soon.
+ times 1000

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MrCrowesGarden
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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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I'm sure they want to, but no one wants to take Allen. Just glad it seems they're prioritizing goal scoring for both this season and the future. Not many teams currently are successful putting defense first. Maybe Nashville, but they still have the likes of Johansen, Forsberg, Turris etc. up front.

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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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I don’t think it is as simple as that. A poor game here and there from a goalie is fine. Everybody has a bad night sometimes. When your goalie just loses it for a month, it creeps into the psyche and play of the entire team. Now your defensemen feel like they can’t pinch to keep an offensive chance alive, because they have to get back to help their goalie. That’s poor “defense” that ends up affecting offensive numbers.

Confidence in your goalie is huge in hockey. Can’t be understated.

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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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I agree with you. I’d also say even before Allen’s struggles the Blues were focused on trying to win 1-0 or 2-1. That’s no way to live.

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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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So I guess where I’m at on Allen is that I don’t mind going into one more season with him as the #1. I would have preferred a better backup, but in the hierarchy of needs I don’t mind spending on offense instead.

This year has to be his last chance though. If the long stretches of awful play continue, the Blues need to go in a different direction.

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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

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Do they Blues have a legitimate goalie prospect in the minors? I was talking to a friend the other day and he seems to think that the Blues have one of the best goalie prospects in the minors. He was also disappointed in who they brought in to replace Hutton as the backup. If he's right about the prospect then I think the move they made for the backup makes sense in that there is nobody to block the prospect from coming up and taking over when Allen's time is finally done here whether his contract expires or they trade him. In that case, I'm fine with Hutton being gone but if my friend is wrong... I wish they'd kept Hutton.

Part of my reason for thinking down that line is how it seems that the Blues have had to make decisions that ended up trading away prospects in goal in the past (Ben Bishop being an extreme example) because of the 1/1A situation on the big club and the need to stop that from happening again.

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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

Post by GeddyWrox »

Ville Husso is the next big prospect, but I think he's young still. They didn't want to press him into duty prematurely. The other guys on here probably know way more than I do on it.

It seems, if Husso is legit, signing Hutton would've blocked him unless they could've moved Allen. I don't think they were ready to give up on him yet.

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Re: 2018 - 2019 Blues (Hockey) Season

Post by MrCrowesGarden »

Berglund, Sobotka and Matheny were all let go within the same calendar month.

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