Friday links: Blues needed a bigger boat edition

by averagejoe on Feb 5, 2010 5:00 AM CST Comment 35 comments

I hate the Sharks. I really, really do. And back-to-back games.

Blues news

Slow starts will kill you all the time. [Belleville News-Democrat]
What the hell is T.J. Oshie doing in this photo? Anyway, Sharks won. Back-to-back nights plus home games = bad idea jeans. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
The Blues went after Ilya Kovalchuk. As has happened so often this season, the Note came up short at the end. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Jeremy Rutherford chatted. [STLtoday]
The Rivermen will be wearing a modified version of the Blues third jersey, also known as the one they wear all the damn time now. [OurSports Central]

Hockey news

Thrashers deal Kovie to Devils for some players you probably haven't heard of. [TSN]
Now is the time for the Thrashers to become a team, not the Dancin' Kovalchuks. [ESPN]
The Falconer weighs in on the big deal: Getting Johnny Oduya. [Bird Watchers Anonymous]
As an outsider, Robert L makes a pretty good case that the Ilya Kovalchuk to the Devils deal is dumb. By the way, how lucky is Ilya. He goes from wearing the ugliest jerseys in the league to, in my opinion, one of the best. [Habs Eyes on the Prize]
What every team may be doing at the trade deadline. [NHL.com]
The Capitals are unstoppable. Dozen wins in a dozen games is hella good. [TSN]
Alex Ovechkin is just filthy. [Puck Padre]
Caps have 12 straight wins, the Senators have 11 in a row, and the Kings have eight straight. Man, this Olympic break is coming at a really good time. [TSN]
Thursday's results. [Yahoo! Sports]
Friday's games. [Yahoo! Sports]

Other links

Batman slaps Robin. You write the funny. I made a few where Robin claims to be a Red Wing fan. It was awesome. [Batman & Robin Comic Generator]
This one is for the ladies. Getting married? Check out Yvettes formal wear Web site. If you don't have a seizure and can find out where to click, let me know. [Yvette's]
Classifieds will print just about anything. [ManoFest]

Videos

RFJCC sends along some videos from Japan. Holy shit are these weird. Ghetto Star Wars and Business Cat? Why not.

Business Cat

Ghetto Star Wars selling tuna.

Poor College Student will guide you through the weekend. Send him links and stuff to gametimelinks(at)gmail.com

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Comments

I want a scorer and I want one now JD and co!!!

Getting really pissed at all the missed shots:

I AM SPARTACUS!!!

by I_AM_SPARTACUS on Feb 5, 2010 6:26 AM CST reply actions

man those commercials were wierd

"HOLY JUMPIN!"

by stlAJ on Feb 5, 2010 6:35 AM CST reply actions

I believe in that picture

Oshie was trying for a reach around

Hockey players wear numbers because you can't always identify the body with dental records.

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. Laura Ingalls Wilder

by luvhockey on Feb 5, 2010 7:30 AM CST reply actions

Who doesnt love

A good reach around

by Tkachukles on Feb 5, 2010 10:08 AM CST via mobile reply actions

Lemieux is the only guy I can come up with that was as creative but Ovechkin might be topping even that with a few more highlight reelers. Of course Lemieux also had another 2 inches of height, 20 pounds of freight train and the impossible reach…..god damn that guy was good.

Not afraid to nitpick

by joker24 on Feb 5, 2010 11:15 AM CST reply actions

I will be unable to unremember those commercials. Yikes.

Also . . . this:

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -- Don Marquis
The Blue Note Zone - BY Blues fans, FOR Blues fans!

by Donut King on Feb 5, 2010 12:04 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

A strong anvil fears no hammer

by Childhood Trauma on Feb 5, 2010 4:43 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

Rec'd like the City of Detroit!

I know it's time for hockey because I've started singing "Don't Stop Believing" with the words "...born and raised in FUCK DETRIOT!!!"

by J-Mill on Feb 5, 2010 5:03 PM CST up reply actions

Sooo...

Am I th eonly one thinking “The Blues were unwilling to match THAT offer?” when it comes to Kovalchuk? If you are confident you can re-sign him (which, to be blunt, would be the only reason why the Blues should be in the discussion at all), I think you can match that offer without much problem.

I know David Perron is really well liked around here, but building a package around him would have had to be more attractive then a solid, but not elite defensemen. Perron is a talented player, and I like him, but his best case scenario is a worse version of Kovalchuk. The difference between the Blues 2nd round pick and the Devils first doesn’t look like it’s going to be that much, and I could see someone like McRae being a more attractive then the cheapshotting prospect they got simply because…. well, he’s not a cheap shotting prick.You can probably send another non-essential to fill in the spot for the other dude who’se names not coming to me.

Honestly, I don’t think I could have much of a problem making a trade work for Kovalchuk IF your confident you can re-sign him. And I could certainly put together a better offer then then the one the Devils won with.

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 12:13 PM CST reply actions

No, you're not the only one thinking that.

I was mad as hell after I read that. I would rather somebody tell me – “The Blues had no chance. They were never even in the picture. Sorry.” I can’t believe we COULD have had the most prolific goal scorer in hockey, on a team whose major flaw (except maybe goaltending) is lack of offense, and we cheaped out.

I shudder to think of how many sellouts in a row we could have had with Kovalchuk here, or how many 3rd jerseys that dude would have sold.

Oh wells. Hopefully mgmt. has a plan.

by Washoo on Feb 5, 2010 12:39 PM CST up reply actions

Nah

Kovalchuk does not turn the Blues into a cup contender this year so what’s the point? We make the playoffs and might win one series? Then he’s either gone after the year, or they sign him to a ridicunormous contract…..which we could still offer him after the season anyway so it would be pointless to give up someone like Perron.

Not afraid to nitpick

by joker24 on Feb 5, 2010 2:25 PM CST up reply actions

Becuase you can negotiate with him now instead of competing against like 10 other teams? Same reason why Bouwmeester was traded during the draft last year, teams wanted to get the chance to negotiate with him before he was a free agent. Calgary made the trade, and was able to sign him before free agentcy came up

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 3:40 PM CST up reply actions

And Calgary had to give up a 3rd round pick to make that happen

That’s a far, far cry from Perron + McRae + 1st/2nd rounder.

Not afraid to nitpick

by joker24 on Feb 5, 2010 6:44 PM CST up reply actions

Because it happend a week before free agentcy, not in the middle of an active playoff race.

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 7:43 PM CST up reply actions

Exactly?

Trading a bunch of young assets for exclusive negotiating rights isn’t good business.

Not afraid to nitpick

by joker24 on Feb 5, 2010 7:57 PM CST up reply actions

If it's the only way to get an asset more valuable then all of those assets your giving put together

I disagree. If Kovalchuk hits free agentcy in an open market (which he probably will, can’t see him wanting to stay with the Devils long term. Wrong style),we won’t be the winner bidder.

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 9:28 PM CST up reply actions

more valuable then all the assets we’d be trading, anyway

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 9:31 PM CST up reply actions

A 10M a year contract is not an asset in a cap league

Unless you are talking Ovechkin, Malkin or Crosby. At the very least, there’s no way it’s worth giving up a load of young talent in order to pick up a 100M tab—-those contracts lead to things like not being able to re-sign Backes and the like in addition to having already traded young talent. It’d be worth the Boumeester type 3rd round pick and whatnot to pick up exclusive rights yes, but that’s obviously not practical right now. Kovalchuk—-right now—-is much more valuable to a legitimate cup contender than he can possibly be to the Blues as he just doesn’t do that much this season.

And that’s all ignoring the very real possibility that they trade for him and he doesn’t re-sign.

Not afraid to nitpick

by joker24 on Feb 6, 2010 11:40 AM CST up reply actions

Like I said, if the Blues didn’t feel like they could have re-signed him, they shouldn’t have even been talking to the Thrashers in the first place. We don’t need a rental.

And your forgetting one important detail. Kovalchuk wanted that much money to stay in Atlanta. Atlanta would have had to overpay. Alo, we’ve alreayd established that if we traded Boyes in the deal, we’d be getting rid of his cap, Kariya’s 6 mill a season comes of the books this year, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we bought out the last year of Brewers contract, etc. There are plenty of ways for us to free up cap.

And, last I checked, it’s really hard to win in the NHL without an elite player. How many players currently on the Blues are anywhere near the “elite player” list?

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 6, 2010 1:18 PM CST up reply actions

Well

You also can’t win with a bunch of crap around an “elite player” because the guy eats up too much cap space…..see Ilya Kovalchuk in Atlanta. And if we’re projecting forward, it’s not that hard to envision Johnson/Pietrangelo becoming elite defensemen. That’s really how Anaheim won. Niedermayer and then Pronger turned Selanne’s clock back 5 years. Lidstrom, Rafalski and Kronwall are every bit as responsible for Detroit’s success as Datsyuk/Zetterberg. I don’t think we can use the Penguins model of “tank for 5 years to get two generational players in back to back drafts, one of whom is probably any winger’s favorite player to play with in the whole league and sign them to relatively discounted deals.”

And your forgetting one important detail. Kovalchuk wanted that much money to stay in Atlanta. Atlanta would have had to overpay.

That’s the point! Kovalchuk wasn’t taking a discount to stay in his hockey home, why was he going to take a discount here? And signing a 2nd tier star like Kovalchuk to max contract money isn’t good business. It’s NOT an asset to have say Lacavalier on a 10M a year deal, it’s a hindrance and that’d be after trading away talent to start. I’d much, much rather just ride this out this year and make a run at him in the off-season on him in FA or even a guy like Marleau.

Not afraid to nitpick

by joker24 on Feb 6, 2010 2:43 PM CST up reply actions

Am I the only one who notices...

that JD always seems to come out after another team makes a big deal to tell us the Blues were in the thick of things, but were ~~unwilling~~ unable to go the whole nine yards with their offer? First Pronger, now Kovalchuk? Granted, I haven’t been able to keep up here as much recently (computer trouble), so I don’t know exactly how much “Kovie-to-the-Blues” buzz was really happening. Obviously any deal for a player like Kovie would have to include one of either Backes, Oshie, or Perron, with probably one of our blueline prospects thrown in (though, let’s face it: other than Petro, d-man prospects are nearly a dime a dozen for us right now). But if you have a chance to sign a player like that long term before some crazy, desperite GM offers him the league maximum, I say you do what you can to pull the trigger – we’re talking about probaby the fourth, maybe third (sorry Geno) best player of his sport in the human race! That’s worth a risk, I’d say.

All that said, he’s a Devil now – we better stop talking about him at all, for fear of tampering charges.

I know it's time for hockey because I've started singing "Don't Stop Believing" with the words "...born and raised in FUCK DETRIOT!!!"

by J-Mill on Feb 5, 2010 4:07 PM CST up reply actions

I don’t think a trade would “have” to require one of those 3. I meerly used Perron as the most likely option (due to his inconsistant play and a gut feeling that the Blues organization is annoyed by his inconsistant actual effort). The Devils were able to pull of the deal centered around just a top 4 defensemen, a decent rookie, a troubled prospect, and a draft pick. I think building this trade around someone like, say, Brad Boyes could have also worked effectivly as part of a package.

Boyes
McRae
Insert 3rd player here (Probably someone with some youth that could play in the NHL now if need be, obviously not Pietrangelo or Eller. Stratchan perhaps?)
2nd Round Pick (With maybe an addional 4th or 5th rounder as well)

I think that offer would have upped the Devils one. I wouldn’t like losing McRae, but hey, the one thing I can think of that the Blues truely lack is a top line scorer. You can gamble that one of your prospecs become one, or you ca give up some of your depthfor one.

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 4:53 PM CST up reply actions

the one thing we fail

to mention is Kovalchuk is still relatively young…the contract is what would hurt the most

Pujols takes out "I" in BIG and "A" in MAC, previously considered to be an unyielding, consonant threat

by DESTROYER on Feb 5, 2010 4:55 PM CST up reply actions

That it would.

But, honestly, I can see avoiding that issue with some clever moves. If we sent that Boyes offer, that takes him off the cap, and he has a rather big number. Combine that with buying out Brewers contract this off-season gives us some breathing room.

Also, this might sound odd, but Johnson’s blah play actually helps our situation, as it might cut back the ammount of money we will have to give him this off-season.

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 5:00 PM CST up reply actions

or I could have seen, since it’s not an option anymore. Cause we sure as hell won’t win the race to sign him this off-season

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 5:00 PM CST up reply actions

also

Kariyas cap number comes off next year, and possibly Walts if he hangs em up.

Pujols takes out "I" in BIG and "A" in MAC, previously considered to be an unyielding, consonant threat

by DESTROYER on Feb 5, 2010 5:09 PM CST up reply actions

so yea

it wouldnt be as bad but thats alot of cash to plug into a cap that might lower itself this year

Pujols takes out "I" in BIG and "A" in MAC, previously considered to be an unyielding, consonant threat

by DESTROYER on Feb 5, 2010 5:09 PM CST up reply actions

It woud be. But elite players demand elite money, and it’s hard to win in the modern NHL without elite players. The Caps lead the NHL in points rght now I do believe, and that’s due in large part to Ovechkin, the Pens won the Cup last year mostly due to Malkin and Crosby, the Red Wings have Datsyuk, and the best teams in the West right now are the Sharks with Thorton, Heatley, and Marleau and the Blackhawks with Toews, Kane, and Hossa.

I think the issue is, do you think Kovalchuk is a top line overall player, or just a guy who can produce points. Guy has one of the bottom 15 career +/- guys active in the NHL. Part of that has to be attributed to playing on the Thrashers, but still.

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 5:23 PM CST up reply actions

I think

he would be a first liner, but you would have to put him on a line with either Backes or Andy mc because the guy just simply doesnt backcheck at all, he is in the full sense a one way player. which i would be able to stomach for 80pts-110pts a year. we def have a better D then atlanta does. and not to argue but the pens last year with Crosby and Malkin had to basically do what the blues did to get in

Pujols takes out "I" in BIG and "A" in MAC, previously considered to be an unyielding, consonant threat

by DESTROYER on Feb 5, 2010 5:50 PM CST up reply actions

Anyone have ESPN insider?

There is a headline on the ESPN NHL page that says Rumors: The Blues are gonna make a splash, but it is one of those insider deals. A summary?

Lod

by Lodnod on Feb 5, 2010 12:33 PM CST reply actions

I don’t have it, but it might be about Lehtonen perhaps?

Breaking News: I'm currently in the process of writing "I will not say and/or type "that word" 1,000 times.

by Novacain on Feb 5, 2010 12:41 PM CST up reply actions

its nothing

its about the blues being in on Kovie. It’s a teaser to an article that you read here on the links.

I had ESPN insider for a while — it’s not much. The rumors are mostly aggregates from other sources. You can find most of the stuff with a simple google search.

by averagejoe on Feb 5, 2010 1:58 PM CST up reply actions