Offseason moves tier list from our last guest. What do you think?
September 11, 2024
Offseason moves tier list from our last guest. What do you think?
27 comments
Isn’t Holloway considered better than Broberg?
I personally don’t hate the Bannister hire I thought he did a good job with what he had last year and I don’t think we’re a top coach away from being cup contenders.
I think I’d move the Texier one up a tier. He was a 45th overall pick and I think a change of scenery would be good for someone with his upside. I also didn’t hate the Bannister hire, and I think I would switch Kap and Faksa. Faksa is a good penalty killer who is also pretty good on the faceoff dot.
Claude Julien being brought in is an underrated move in my book. I can agree with most except the Bannister hiring. I don’t mind giving this guy a shot. He’s worked with the guys before, he’s a younger coach, how his hiring got an F is beyond me. I’d put it in the B/C category because we just don’t know what will happen with a full season under his belt.
If I had to grade them I’d put the Suter move lower, Holloway higher, and Bannister much higher.
I think you’re too negative on Bannister (C) and Buch (A), and too positive on Broberg (A/B) and Perunovich (C). Otherwise I think you’ve assessed the moves well.
Bannister is appropriately ranked.
In what world are signing Buch and Perunovich considered equal?
We got Faksa for future considerations. He’s got 1 year left on a 5 years contract at a 3.25M cap hit. We’re paying him less than that because of his contract structure. Solid veteran depth for winning faceoffs and potential scratch we can flip in and out to rest guys. When we get hurt (and we will) Faksa will be pretty important to help fill the lineup if he’s not already in full time.
Not saying he’s S tier, but E seems pretty harsh for someone we acquired for free and has very low risk.
All the Cs should be Bs, Buch is an A, Bannister is like a C or C-, Faksa is a B, Hayes is a C due to what we gave up and trading for him initially
Bannister an F? What criteria are you using?
Suter an A tier? Lmao
I get people not liking Hayes and “sunk cost fallacy” and all that but I feel like that whole thing was too weird to be rated particularly high. They still needed a center (and helped out a division rival to get one that’s not even really an upgrade, a deal people apparently didn’t particularly like anyway according to this). The “asset management” of it all- from acquiring Hayes for a sixth, to having to PAY a 2nd to get rid of him, to deciding “oops we actually want that second back to do an offer sheet” and having to pay additional assets- not that any of those picks were like that important but like, still bizarre for a team supposedly in a retool. Seemed like changes for the sake of changes rather than actual coherent roster construction.
I’m moving that trade and the Suter signing down two tiers each. I’m bumping that Matheiu Joseph trade and Steen GM in waiting up a tier each. Joseph is a great depth player and they got a free third for him, dunno why that’s rated lower than paying to get rid of a player you had to immediately go replace anyway.
I assume this is just ragebait for engagement.
Bannister’s hiring as an F is a total joke. Look at how well the team turned around with him at the helm and consider his strengths as a coach, comparing them with where the team currently is in it’s life cycle? Bannister makes a lot of sense.
If anything is an F it should be the Kapanen resigning. The Texier acquisition should be at least a B move. Suter’s signing should be lower. He might be fine but there’s no way he’ll be an A-level signing. The Hayes trade wasn’t a good one on it’s own without the hindsight of knowing what the picks turned into. Faksa’s signing should be higher.
Personally, I’d: bump up Bannister a couple tiers, bump down Suter a tier, bump Perunovich down a tier, Texier up a tier. Holloway up a tier, too imo.
All in all tho not a bad list.
Why Bannister so low?
Why is signing Bannister bad again?
I’d move Suter down to C or D. He’s a veteran depth piece and nothing more. Bannister up to C since it was essentially the expected outcome. Steen as GM in waiting to A because it’s showing commitment to the strategy and a transition period to ensure success. Perunivich resign as C and Buch resign as A. Perunivich has a make or bust year ahead of him. Buch resigning was a surprise but gives us three high upside forwards for a few years with really good cost controlled forwards ready to go.
You have Suter too high. Aging Defenseman who at best will just be a guide to the young guys.
And you have Bannister far too low. I at first wasn’t thrilled but when you look at how many head coach vacancies there were, he was going to snatched up by someone else. So then you’re stuck with maybe an experienced coach that is sucking elsewhere or a coach with no experience. You don’t want the latter at all. So why not give a hungry young coach familiar with the team a shot?
I don’t think there was an S tier move tbh, and that’s fine considering that the Blues are loading up with prospects. I would put the Broberg/Halloway offer sheets in the A tier as an excellent, low risk move to get some very good depth for the future. I don’t think either will be All stars, but they’ll be solid depth. Claude Julien is a B tier move. It’s good to have his experience, but I don’t think an assistant coach gives the Blues a huge edge, and I think it indicates how short of a leash Bannister has, tbh. I think Bannister is a C move. He’s…fine. I think he at least earned a chance to coach this team for the near future, but he’s still largely unproven. No reason to do anything to change the status quo there imo. I think the Buch move is a C move. Resigning him is fine, but I’m not sure how much his prime lines up with the window. Kevin Hayes is a C move – addition by subtract, but we had to get our pick back from Pitt to make the offer sheets. The rest of the moves are really inconsequential for me to even rank. It’s all depth guys like the Joseph brothers, Suter, Kapanen, etc, which is fine around the margins but probably no difference as to whether or not the Blues make the playoffs. As much as this town loves scrappy third liners, they’re not going to move the needle 6 points to get you back into the playoffs.
Suter is the F over Bannister IMO – he’s old and has nothing left to prove. Hope he proves me wrong.
Garbage
Bannister that low is criminal. C or B at best but nowhere near an F. On top of it if Bannister struggles this year then we’ve got Claude waiting in the shadows to take over.
In what world does signing Ryan Suter be above signing Buch? It may have been the most head scratching move this off-season. We have a log jam on defense, we signed more defenseman, plus Suter. Sure, he’s at league min, but why sign him? Honestly, it’s almost assuredly a D tier signing or below. Both make no sense and don’t move the needle.
In other areas:
broberg and Holloway should both be A tier – both are young and unproven, but incredibly cheap adds. It s unlikely these moves hurt the blues.
Buch resigning is S tier. Great team deal and has proven his worth.
Faksa is at least on par with c or b tier. He helps build the bottom six. Decent player with one more year of contract.
Finally, resigning bannister is not a F tier move. Do I think he wins us a cup? No. Do I think the blues can win a cup this year? Also no. I think he has a good reputation with the players and he hasn’t shown he can’t coach this team. D tier at worst, C tier realistically. Let the guy coach a year before we crucify him.
Buch signing is better than suter for sure.
I actually think Holloway ends up a better player for the blues than broberg.
I’m hopeful with Bannister. That F grade is a soft F for me. I’d give it a D
Does Suter really rank as an A? He’s going to be **40 years old** this season, and from what I remember, Stars fans weren’t very high on him last season. I don’t know if that had to do with his cap hit or something, but I’d be concerned if we’re counting on him to be an impact player. Would love to be proven wrong.
I think the Buchnevich signing is appropriately ranked. Don’t get me wrong, I love Buchy and and I don’t think $8 million is, like, egregiously high for him. But that’s a pretty long deal and he’s gonna be 30 when it **starts**. And I remember reading that the Blues initially offered him $8 million for 5 years, but he wanted an extra year. I’m slightly discouraged that the Blues couldn’t parlay giving him the extra year into bringing the money down a little. Still love Buchy, but that keeps me from thinking the extension is S or A rank.
Perunovich re-signing is probably a C rank. I was high on Perunovich at the start of last season, but unfortunately I’m just not seeing it. He can’t stay healthy and it’s not like he’s amazing when he is healthy. I really wish I could say otherwise, but I don’t see him as better than a 3rd pair/sometimes 2nd pair defenseman. **On the other hand**, there’s still a little time for him to develop (people forget that sometimes it takes multiple seasons in the NHL for players to figure it out, think Brandon Montour, Stefan Noesen, or Jared McCann or DP57). I would hate for the Blues to give up on him now only to see him put it all together with another team. So it’s not bad to hang on to him but I don’t think it’s on the same level as acquiring Holloway or extending Buchnevich.
I’m high on the Texier trade. Maybe Texier won’t be anything more than a 3rd-liner, but he’s definitely a regular NHLer. We got him for a 4th round pick, and I will take an actual NHL player over a 4th round pick every time. He had 30 pts last year on the Blue Jackets who were bad (and his scoring rate was less) and he’s young enough that he could even take another step. The biggest concern is that he stay healthy.
Similarly I think the Faksa trade is being underrated, it’s not as good as Texier or Mathieu Joseph but shouldn’t be just above F. We acquired him for future considerations; until someone tells me otherwise, I think that just means Dallas wanted to offload him and didn’t care if they got nothing in return. And like Texier, he is an NHLer every day. Getting a regular NHL-quality player for nothing is good. He’s probably overpaid but we shouldn’t care because his deal is over this season. And like Mathieu Joseph, maybe we can even deal him at the trade deadline (I think Joseph is the more likely subject for a trade, but you never know), and then we turned nothing into an asset.
I am lukewarm on Bannister as our head coach, F is probably too harsh, but C might be too high. The splits between him and Berube are a good sign of improvement. Under Berube, the Blues had a record of 13-14-1 (46.5% point percentage), definitely not a playoff team. Under Bannister, their record was 30-19-5 (60.1% point percentage), definitely a playoff team. One of the wild card teams, but it **would** make the playoffs. That’s good but I don’t really know what Bannister wants the team to be. It felt like I knew what kind of team Chief wanted, with Bannister I have no idea. Hopefully “better than last season,” but “better than last season” isn’t an identity. I wish we could’ve lured Rod Brind’Amour away. Everything I hear about him makes me want him as a coach.
27 comments
Isn’t Holloway considered better than Broberg?
I personally don’t hate the Bannister hire I thought he did a good job with what he had last year and I don’t think we’re a top coach away from being cup contenders.
I think I’d move the Texier one up a tier. He was a 45th overall pick and I think a change of scenery would be good for someone with his upside. I also didn’t hate the Bannister hire, and I think I would switch Kap and Faksa. Faksa is a good penalty killer who is also pretty good on the faceoff dot.
Claude Julien being brought in is an underrated move in my book. I can agree with most except the Bannister hiring. I don’t mind giving this guy a shot. He’s worked with the guys before, he’s a younger coach, how his hiring got an F is beyond me. I’d put it in the B/C category because we just don’t know what will happen with a full season under his belt.
If I had to grade them I’d put the Suter move lower, Holloway higher, and Bannister much higher.
I think you’re too negative on Bannister (C) and Buch (A), and too positive on Broberg (A/B) and Perunovich (C). Otherwise I think you’ve assessed the moves well.
Bannister is appropriately ranked.
In what world are signing Buch and Perunovich considered equal?
We got Faksa for future considerations. He’s got 1 year left on a 5 years contract at a 3.25M cap hit. We’re paying him less than that because of his contract structure. Solid veteran depth for winning faceoffs and potential scratch we can flip in and out to rest guys. When we get hurt (and we will) Faksa will be pretty important to help fill the lineup if he’s not already in full time.
Not saying he’s S tier, but E seems pretty harsh for someone we acquired for free and has very low risk.
All the Cs should be Bs, Buch is an A, Bannister is like a C or C-, Faksa is a B, Hayes is a C due to what we gave up and trading for him initially
Bannister an F? What criteria are you using?
Suter an A tier? Lmao
I get people not liking Hayes and “sunk cost fallacy” and all that but I feel like that whole thing was too weird to be rated particularly high. They still needed a center (and helped out a division rival to get one that’s not even really an upgrade, a deal people apparently didn’t particularly like anyway according to this). The “asset management” of it all- from acquiring Hayes for a sixth, to having to PAY a 2nd to get rid of him, to deciding “oops we actually want that second back to do an offer sheet” and having to pay additional assets- not that any of those picks were like that important but like, still bizarre for a team supposedly in a retool. Seemed like changes for the sake of changes rather than actual coherent roster construction.
I’m moving that trade and the Suter signing down two tiers each. I’m bumping that Matheiu Joseph trade and Steen GM in waiting up a tier each. Joseph is a great depth player and they got a free third for him, dunno why that’s rated lower than paying to get rid of a player you had to immediately go replace anyway.
I assume this is just ragebait for engagement.
Bannister’s hiring as an F is a total joke. Look at how well the team turned around with him at the helm and consider his strengths as a coach, comparing them with where the team currently is in it’s life cycle? Bannister makes a lot of sense.
If anything is an F it should be the Kapanen resigning. The Texier acquisition should be at least a B move. Suter’s signing should be lower. He might be fine but there’s no way he’ll be an A-level signing. The Hayes trade wasn’t a good one on it’s own without the hindsight of knowing what the picks turned into. Faksa’s signing should be higher.
Personally, I’d: bump up Bannister a couple tiers, bump down Suter a tier, bump Perunovich down a tier, Texier up a tier. Holloway up a tier, too imo.
All in all tho not a bad list.
Why Bannister so low?
Why is signing Bannister bad again?
I’d move Suter down to C or D. He’s a veteran depth piece and nothing more. Bannister up to C since it was essentially the expected outcome. Steen as GM in waiting to A because it’s showing commitment to the strategy and a transition period to ensure success. Perunivich resign as C and Buch resign as A. Perunivich has a make or bust year ahead of him. Buch resigning was a surprise but gives us three high upside forwards for a few years with really good cost controlled forwards ready to go.
You have Suter too high. Aging Defenseman who at best will just be a guide to the young guys.
And you have Bannister far too low. I at first wasn’t thrilled but when you look at how many head coach vacancies there were, he was going to snatched up by someone else. So then you’re stuck with maybe an experienced coach that is sucking elsewhere or a coach with no experience. You don’t want the latter at all. So why not give a hungry young coach familiar with the team a shot?
I don’t think there was an S tier move tbh, and that’s fine considering that the Blues are loading up with prospects. I would put the Broberg/Halloway offer sheets in the A tier as an excellent, low risk move to get some very good depth for the future. I don’t think either will be All stars, but they’ll be solid depth. Claude Julien is a B tier move. It’s good to have his experience, but I don’t think an assistant coach gives the Blues a huge edge, and I think it indicates how short of a leash Bannister has, tbh. I think Bannister is a C move. He’s…fine. I think he at least earned a chance to coach this team for the near future, but he’s still largely unproven. No reason to do anything to change the status quo there imo. I think the Buch move is a C move. Resigning him is fine, but I’m not sure how much his prime lines up with the window. Kevin Hayes is a C move – addition by subtract, but we had to get our pick back from Pitt to make the offer sheets. The rest of the moves are really inconsequential for me to even rank. It’s all depth guys like the Joseph brothers, Suter, Kapanen, etc, which is fine around the margins but probably no difference as to whether or not the Blues make the playoffs. As much as this town loves scrappy third liners, they’re not going to move the needle 6 points to get you back into the playoffs.
Suter is the F over Bannister IMO – he’s old and has nothing left to prove. Hope he proves me wrong.
Garbage
Bannister that low is criminal. C or B at best but nowhere near an F. On top of it if Bannister struggles this year then we’ve got Claude waiting in the shadows to take over.
In what world does signing Ryan Suter be above signing Buch? It may have been the most head scratching move this off-season. We have a log jam on defense, we signed more defenseman, plus Suter. Sure, he’s at league min, but why sign him? Honestly, it’s almost assuredly a D tier signing or below. Both make no sense and don’t move the needle.
In other areas:
broberg and Holloway should both be A tier – both are young and unproven, but incredibly cheap adds. It s unlikely these moves hurt the blues.
Buch resigning is S tier. Great team deal and has proven his worth.
Faksa is at least on par with c or b tier. He helps build the bottom six. Decent player with one more year of contract.
Finally, resigning bannister is not a F tier move. Do I think he wins us a cup? No. Do I think the blues can win a cup this year? Also no. I think he has a good reputation with the players and he hasn’t shown he can’t coach this team. D tier at worst, C tier realistically. Let the guy coach a year before we crucify him.
Buch signing is better than suter for sure.
I actually think Holloway ends up a better player for the blues than broberg.
I’m hopeful with Bannister. That F grade is a soft F for me. I’d give it a D
Does Suter really rank as an A? He’s going to be **40 years old** this season, and from what I remember, Stars fans weren’t very high on him last season. I don’t know if that had to do with his cap hit or something, but I’d be concerned if we’re counting on him to be an impact player. Would love to be proven wrong.
I think the Buchnevich signing is appropriately ranked. Don’t get me wrong, I love Buchy and and I don’t think $8 million is, like, egregiously high for him. But that’s a pretty long deal and he’s gonna be 30 when it **starts**. And I remember reading that the Blues initially offered him $8 million for 5 years, but he wanted an extra year. I’m slightly discouraged that the Blues couldn’t parlay giving him the extra year into bringing the money down a little. Still love Buchy, but that keeps me from thinking the extension is S or A rank.
Perunovich re-signing is probably a C rank. I was high on Perunovich at the start of last season, but unfortunately I’m just not seeing it. He can’t stay healthy and it’s not like he’s amazing when he is healthy. I really wish I could say otherwise, but I don’t see him as better than a 3rd pair/sometimes 2nd pair defenseman. **On the other hand**, there’s still a little time for him to develop (people forget that sometimes it takes multiple seasons in the NHL for players to figure it out, think Brandon Montour, Stefan Noesen, or Jared McCann or DP57). I would hate for the Blues to give up on him now only to see him put it all together with another team. So it’s not bad to hang on to him but I don’t think it’s on the same level as acquiring Holloway or extending Buchnevich.
I’m high on the Texier trade. Maybe Texier won’t be anything more than a 3rd-liner, but he’s definitely a regular NHLer. We got him for a 4th round pick, and I will take an actual NHL player over a 4th round pick every time. He had 30 pts last year on the Blue Jackets who were bad (and his scoring rate was less) and he’s young enough that he could even take another step. The biggest concern is that he stay healthy.
Similarly I think the Faksa trade is being underrated, it’s not as good as Texier or Mathieu Joseph but shouldn’t be just above F. We acquired him for future considerations; until someone tells me otherwise, I think that just means Dallas wanted to offload him and didn’t care if they got nothing in return. And like Texier, he is an NHLer every day. Getting a regular NHL-quality player for nothing is good. He’s probably overpaid but we shouldn’t care because his deal is over this season. And like Mathieu Joseph, maybe we can even deal him at the trade deadline (I think Joseph is the more likely subject for a trade, but you never know), and then we turned nothing into an asset.
I am lukewarm on Bannister as our head coach, F is probably too harsh, but C might be too high. The splits between him and Berube are a good sign of improvement. Under Berube, the Blues had a record of 13-14-1 (46.5% point percentage), definitely not a playoff team. Under Bannister, their record was 30-19-5 (60.1% point percentage), definitely a playoff team. One of the wild card teams, but it **would** make the playoffs. That’s good but I don’t really know what Bannister wants the team to be. It felt like I knew what kind of team Chief wanted, with Bannister I have no idea. Hopefully “better than last season,” but “better than last season” isn’t an identity. I wish we could’ve lured Rod Brind’Amour away. Everything I hear about him makes me want him as a coach.