2014-2015 Blues (Hockey) Season

[mikechamp]

Speaking of Jackman, he is just a butcher with the puck. For the Blues experts on this board, can he really be that much better than Leopold or Lindbohm?

[TimeForGuinness]

Speaking of Jackman, he is just a butcher with the puck. For the Blues experts on this board, can he really be that much better than Leopold or Lindbohm?

Never have been nor will be a fan of Jackman

[Hoot45]

Jackman isn't that much better than some of the alternatives. But he has been with the team since the beginning of the millennium (well, 2001 to be exact). So there's that.

[thrill]

Speaking of Jackman, he is just a butcher with the puck. For the Blues experts on this board, can he really be that much better than Leopold or Lindbohm?

Never have been nor will be a fan of Jackman

We all loved him when he was a rookie. Let's not act like we didn't think he was the next Scot Stevens at the time. He beat out Pavel Datsyuk for RoY for pete's sake.

[tlombard]

Jackman is by no means a top pairing kind of guy but he does fill a role on the team at a cost that I think is reasonable enough so I'm fine with the guy. I think part of the problem (judging by what I hear from fans and see on Blues Talk) is that people expect him to be a number 1 guy and that just isn't what he is or what he's been paying for. I remember a year or two ago when people were complaining about him a poster posted a list of all of the guys making about the same money as Jackman and asked who they would rather have from that list. There really wasn't anyone on the list that was better. Sure you can always find a rookie/young guy who is on their first contract and makes less but that isn't a fair comparison. If that's how you want it then you never get to keep a player for more than a couple of years and constantly hitting on draft picks/young guys is not sustainable.

[mikechamp]

I'm not expecting him to be a top pairing guy. I've just noticed, over this season and last, that when pressured he coughs up the puck too easily.

Given the Blues are near the cap, I wonder if they couldn't trade him for a draft pick, then utilize either Leopold or Lindbohm and save a little money in the process. Lindbohm probably needs a little more seasoning in the minors, but I get the sense he's close.

[tlombard]

I don't disagree with that view of Jackman at all. I just find it absurd what some lunatics on other boards expect from him.

When it comes to hockey, it is probably my second favorite sport to watch (baseball is number one) but one that I got into late and never played so I don't really have a great knowledge of the rest of the league as far as players and tend to just watch for the pure enjoyment without much to offer as far as analysis or criticism. I have stronger opinions on baseball and football but hockey is just pure enjoyment for me. I would have killed to have been able to play hockey as a kid but sadly we were too broke to afford it. Probably because my parents had to save money so they could give my younger brother all the stuff he wanted when he was old enough.

FYI, my parents clearly didn't love me. When I was a kid my dad brought home a mini bike for me and promised to fix it. He never got around to it until my brother was old enough to ride it and it was too small for me. After that was just a steady stream of bigger bikes and then brand new quads.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go strangle my parents now. Shame too because today is my mom's birthday!

[Hoot45]

Oshie is back and scoring goals already!

[MrCrowesGarden]

Blues open up about a million dollars in cap space by trading Leopold to Columbus for a 5th in 2016.

[mikechamp]

Blues open up about a million dollars in cap space by trading Leopold to Columbus for a 5th in 2016.

Sounds like a salary dump.