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Kraken Expansion Draft - St Louis Blues |
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Happy Friday everyone!
Today I am joined by @itsurtimebbv who has taken on the task of tackling the Blues. Let's take a closer look.
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ST LOUIS BLUES PROTECTION LIST
FORWARDS
Vladimir Tarasenko - RW
Ryan O'Reily - C
Brayden Schenn - C
Jaden Scwartz - LW
David Perron - RW
Samuel Blais - 24
Robert Thomas - RW
DEFENSE
Torey Krug - LD
Colton Parayko - RD
Vince Dunn - LD
GOALIE
Jordan Binnington
For the St. Louis Blues I went with 7/3/1 format, the first 5 forward decisions were a no brainer either based on past performance. The last 2 spots I had to make some tough decisions the salary cap played into effect as well as the potential of players with that being said let's dive into the list:
Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko - When healthy one of the best players in the game for me it's a no brainer.
Ryan O'Reilly - Natural born leader and I believe the true heart beat of this organization, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see the "C" on this man's Jersey at the start of the season.
Brayden Schenn - May not produce the 70 points from a few years ago but a solid number 2 centre that leaves it out on the ice every night.
Jaden Schwartz - Currently scheduled to be a UFA at season's end I believe he re-signs with the Blues and he one of the best scoring wings the Blues have.
David Perron, David is a fan favorite and a solid two way winger that is hard to replace.
The last two spots came down to:
Ivan Barbashev
Oskar Sundqvist
Samuel Blais
Robert Thomas
Jordan Kyrou
The 6th spot goes to Samuel Blais very similar player to Sundqvist just 1.25 million cheaper and when your up against the cap every dollar helps
The last spot I was very torn on this one between Thomas and Kyrou cause either loss would be huge, but I'm choosing to protect Thomas he is coming off his ELC and has met all the requirements to be exposed where Kyrou is 40 games short and who know if we will play that many this year also remember that 1.25 we may have just saved here is where some if not all of it gets spent.
Defense
The defence was very difficult luckily the Blues used NTC's not NMC's for most of their players which made picking which defense to leave exposed a little easier. I need to protect 3 of the following 5 defensemen
Tory Krug
Justin Faulk
Colton Parayko
Marco Scandella
Vince Dunn
First spot goes to Tory Krug - This man can play skate, pass, shoot he can do it all a little on the small side but in the new NHL he holds his own very well and is a top tier defenseman
Second - Colton Parayko at 27 he is in his prime and the best RD on the Blues very consistent
The last spot was the toughest but I'm going with Vince Dunn, I think he would be the hardest to lose at the young age of 24 he would be hard to replace, in my opinion he is their future number 1 defenseman.
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Thanks for the list!
Here are some available players worth looking at.
Oskar Sundqvist - 26 year old winger who has settled in well to a third line role with the Blues. Was on pace to break his previous career high of 14 goals with 12 in 57 games. Plenty of room for this player to grow.
Zach Sanford - 16 goals and 30 points in 58 games last season for the 6'4 26 year old. Another player likely primed to play some top six minutes for the Blues next season.
Ivan Barbashev - Hasn't produced at the same rate as some of these other options but the centre still put up 26 points in a bottom six role.
Jordan Kyrou - The 22 year old hasn't yet fully settled into the NHL but has produced at a near ppg clip in the AHL thus far. Certainly a player to watch.
SEATTLE SELECTS.....
Zach Sanford
Right now Sanford looks to be the best player on this list but watching Kyrou will certainly be noteworthy as well. Averaging under 14 minutes a game, Sanford still produced above a .5 ppg clip and this season should be playing above 15 minutes a game. Has size and a strong skating ability to go with a clever shot.
LINEUP
Bailey-Henrique-Hornqvist
Sanford-Strome-Kunin
Tierney-Bennett-Aube-Kubel
Compher-Blueger- Merkley
Lizotte-Nielsen-Stenlund
Dahlen
Klefbom-Dumba
Zadorov-Miller
Bean-Lauzon
x - Fleury
Khudobin
Hill
Seattle Kraken Blogger • 
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