I keep reading that “Mason needs a vet behind him” - which I think is bogus. You have to throw the youngsters in there sometime, much like some of the other NHL clubs have done this past season with nice results.

1) Legace would be an ideal backup solution; if JD can sit him down and put the situation bluntly, and Legace doesn’t flinch at knowing he’s only going to play every fourth game, then maybe you consider it. He did say he was open to returning; so take him at his word, at least for the purpose of negotiations.

2) Not resigning Tkachuk is not just a bad idea, it’s also a slap in the face, to both Tkachuk and to fans. He’s a popular player who wants to retire a Blue, he won’t break the bank at this stage of his career, and he is still capable of giving quality ice time and leadership. It’s just plain nonsense to not bring him back, unless he decides he wants some ridiculous figure to do so.

3) Sign Roman Polak to an extension. Period. The word that describes one who disagrees with this sentiment is “stupid”.

4) I think re-acquiring Pronger, and righting a wrong of the previous ownership group, is a great objective. It’s purposeful, noble, and benefits the team for at least five years. But do we give up what Anaheim will inevitably want for him (he has one year left on his deal)? I’m not sure we do, considering the value of Jarmo Kekalainen’s drafts the last few years.

5) Everyone wants more scoring. Mr. O’Neill, I would ask you to define your requirements for a scoring forward in this instance. Is it 25-30 goals? 30-35? 35-40? More than 40? Each one of those tiers costs at least another $1.5 million per season these days, if you start with $3 million for the lowest tier. And look what we got for our $6 million man this year. I think developing a young scorer benefits you more than wasting money on a veteran who may or may not be looking for a new contract.

6) Mr. Wheeler, we ARE still rebuilding. This team is not yet capable of competing over 82 games with the top five teams. Until we get to that level, we’re still in (re-) building mode. The mandate is to develop quality from within. As we’ve all seen, a playoff appearance is a guarantee of a big fat nothing in the NHL. I would rather see the development go one more year at least before making such wholesale changes as you imply are necessary. But your suggestions for retaining talent are spot-on. I think Stastny deserves more ice time than he’s been getting, and Winchester deserves more consistent ice time.

We have suffered thru two consecutive seasons where the starting goaltender has been played into exhaustion because of incompetent backups. Fixing that is priority number one. Someone said we should use one of the kids. That would be fine, if we had a kid that was anywhere near ready for nhl duty. None of our goalie prospects are anywhere near that level yet. They are not an option.
I’m not sure that an additional scoring winger is nearly as important as getting more offense from the backline. With Kariya, McDonald,Boyes,Backes, Perron, Berglund, and Oshie, we have 7 top 2 line forwards. Certainly we should see improved goal scoring from Kariya, Perron, Berglund, and Oshie.

RESIGN WALT RESIGN WALT AND AGAIN RESIGN WALT We have the D we dont need another D. WE NEED WALTS O.

Don’t underestimate the intimdation factor..Franklin is sporting a mean looking beard, and that has got to be taken in to account. Please don’t shave that nasty beard

Wheeler’s factually wrong. Stastny has one more year. I hear he has a cheap one way contract. So he replaces Hinote, also Kariya will be in one of the spots occupied by Tkachuk or Winchester. That means one forward tops to replace from within or go in a different direction in free agency or draft day trade.

The Blues finally got rid of the old, slow expensive veterans. They need to keep moving forward with youth and speed. And please, don’t bring Pronger back as he takes too many terrible penalties. It’s hard to win when you are always killing penalties.

The first thing this team needs to do is buy out Eric Brewer’s two years of his contract. They can pay him 2.25m over the next 4 years instead of 4.5m for 2 years, this opens up another 2.5m for next year. The next step is to sign a veteran back-up goaltender (there are enough around cheap)to play 25-30 games or fill-in in case of injury. Step three is to sign a big strong defenseman who can clear the front of the net and smash some people. This team cannot beat Detroit, Vancouver, and the other teams that have “Garbage Men” in the crease (Holmstrom, Franzen, Sedin Brothers)than need to be knocked on the butts. And last a scoring right winger who can give the Blues what Cory Stillman did for them a few years ago.

I think the D was exposed in the playoffs. Jackman is no #1 and niether is Brewer, really. They need a stud D-man and Pronger would fit that quite nicely.

Also, I don’t understand why writers keep insisting that E Johnson is a great player. He has big upside and was pretty good as a rookie, but he is far from an elite player as of right now.

I am convinced that Pleau and JD have their sights set on a Chris Pronger return to St Louis. He would be a terrific influence on our younger defensemen, much like Al MacInnis was for him. We have plenty of team speed that is not always utilized due to a poor transition game. Pronger is excellent at carrying or passing the puck in transition. And finally he would great for our power play, just imagine Johnson and Pronger together on the point. If that was the case this year I think we would still be playing. Anyone that doubts his abilities to still play, well just tune in to the Detroit-Anaheim series.

Blues biggest concerns this off season is fixing the defense and getting a good back up goalie. I think Tkachuk will be signed for 1 more year, and it shouldn’t cost much. It will be a good move. But defense and goalie should be the top 2 things to address this year. I don’t know why people would push the panic button for offense. The offense should be fine going into next year. First off the kids will be better, and more productive. Not too mention you already got Kariya coming back next year and Andy McDonald has won me over. What a trememdous year he had last year in less than 50 games…….Kids should improve, Kariya’s back in play, better team health, and the offense is fine. Whatever needs they need for offense they can address at the next NHL trade deadline. It’s defense and goaltending that needs the fine tuning now.

IMO, we have to bring Pronger back, if there is a reasonable shot at it.

Has everybody forgot why the Blues were swept….well…besides AM’s inability to adjust to how Vancouver was defending our PREDICTABLE “attack”? The Blues were embarrassed because they could not convert on PP opportunities, because of the imbalance of skill/grit on defense and the inability to win literally a single faceoff!!! The Blues have a dozen bodies in the system to fill the 3rd pairing and what they need are two….yes two….top pairing dmen so we can get the puck out of our own end efficiently to maintain better puck possession and a guy who can QB our PP. We have plenty of overpaid plumbers folks the Blues need to try and increase the skill level on the defense before worrying about Walt’s legacy or a backup goalie that you can sign for 500K a week before the season starts if they want Bishop to play more in Peoria. It is unreasonable to think that a couple of kids in EJ and Petro are going to solve defensive woes over the next couple seasons. The Blues need to try and either trade or buyout some of our expensive plumbers in Brewer and the very overrated Barrett Jackman and at least sign or trade for a guy who can QB the PP.

Next, we need a #1 center but they are not available unless you severely overpay in either cash or contract years and/or prospects so the Blues at least need to address another glaring issue and that is we don’t have a forward who can will a big draw…..yes that includes Big Walt. Walt is at best a 3rd line guy now so the Blues need to let him go and try and sign or trade for a center who is a faceoff specialist to center the 3rd line and take over for McClement who just got it handed to him by RJ in that Vancouver series. Walt can only slow down even more and since he is at best average on draws the Blues must get a guy who will win the big draws come playoff time……not just meaningless regular season games.

Nothing will happen though on defensive front….the proof is in the pudding. Jackman has been exposed by AM as a 3rd pairing guy the past couple years and coupled with #5’s massive contracts mean we will be seeing him posing in front of the net after a goal has been given up with that not-so-bright look on his face….very sad. Brewer’s injury means the pilon will be back unless complications arise with his injury or they buy him out. So our hopes will ride with EJ, Petro will not make the team if AM is the coach, somehow growing up in a hurry and solving the PP woes. They will resign Walt so really the only change for next season’s roster will be EJ and Brewer and more boring dump and chase ….with only one forward, four back in the neutral zone at all times because our dmen can’t put two passes together….AM hockey. I just hope they don’t give him more than a two year deal, don’t go all Matt Millen on us JD. Just watch this years playoff series against the Nucks and how AM was helpless to counter anything Vancouver was doing defensively against us. The way the Nucks dominated the faceoffs because of how predictable the tatics the Blues forwards utilize to support our center taking the draw. In fact watch the CBC game tape where it discussed how bad AM and Ray Bennett were out coached by Vancouver’s staff and how the Blues made ZERO adjustments as the series progressed to how the Nucks defended them. Wow this is turning into a manifesto…..in short, Walt will be resigned, EJ and Brewer return from injury and Petro is sent down to Peoria after his 10 game stint to start the season next year.

Season Tickets Now on Sale!!

Doesn’t anyone think we need a center that can win an important face-off. McDonald and McClement did okay in the series against Vancouver but throughout the year the Blues were terrible. Keep Bishop as the back-up no need to sign a vet. That’s like saying I need an extra car in case my first car breaks down. Expensive and unnecessary.

Resign Winchester, let Tkachuk walk…he’s too slow to keep up with the kids. That’s why he was demoted to third/fourth line duty this season. I won’t deny his 25 goals, but weren’t 10 of those in the first month of the season? He really seemed to tail off towards the end of this season.

As for a scoring forward, I’d look to make a trade with Philadelphia, who has major cap issues. Someone like Lupul would probably be available for a draft pick just as a salary dump. He could easily replace Tkachuk’s offense.

I’d try to get Harding as a backup/1b goaltender.

I would not trade for Pronger if it costs Perron or Pietroangelo. Didn’t we learn from the Weight & Tkachuk trades? Our defense did just fine this season even after losing our best d-man for the year and our captain for most of it.

In summary, we don’t need to do anything major, just stick to the plan and add some spare parts to the wonderful core we’ve assembled.

resigning Tkachuk would be in the best interest. We need his leadership and presents in front of the net. Let him retire as a blue note. We due need a reliable back-up in goal. I don’t think there is anybody in the farm thats ready for the role. Wow, to be able to get Pronger back would be outstanding. The blues have the talent!!!! Resigning Tkachuk and adding Pronger would make it muche better.