Hey, if they can get Barkov giving up Lundkvist, Chytil, Hajek and Jones. So be it. As every day passes I think O'Reilly is the target we should go for. They probably will want Chytil and Lundkvist. Not doing that for a guy that is 30. I'd love O'Reilly but it's hard because he's 30. The more I think about it, the more I'd make it about a number 1 in a deal. You offer Strome because of the salary deal. You offer Jones because he'll never play here. You probably send back a Howden. It's probably going to cost you your number 1 this season. Strome might be a guy they trade for another number 1 at some point. I'm thinking it will cost less for O'Reilly now because of his age than I previous thought. If I was the Blues I'd ask for Strome, Jones, Pajuniemi, Skinner and Hajek. I'd add 3 pieces to my future defense. I'd trade Strome f0r picks later. Hajek could be a top 4 guy. I thought he looked really good playing with a below average d partner all year. Jones is fine if he has a lot of bigger defenseman around him. Strome is a good player who will have trade value. Pajuniemi probably will do very well on a team where he gets ice time. Skinner has a lot of upside.
That's the thing with O'Reilly, he's a winner and the type of guy you want but at 30 he's had some hard miles already. I'm not so sure the Blues would deal him yet as they still have a solid team for the next 2-3y.
I said it earlier. The Blues finally won their cup. Their window is closed. If they can get 3 pieces on defense and start the rebuild they should do it.
Yeah, it's gonna be tough to get by Vegas and Colorado going forward, so maybe they would in the next year or so. That would be a fallback wait and see option.
O'Reilly actually wouldn't be a bad guy to target. Turns 31 mid-season, so you get him in his 30-31 and 31-32 year old seasons (not old). Plus he has a solid cap hit of 7.5 mill for the next two seasons. He is great on FO's. Good in his own end. Tough and gritty. Scores almost 1 point per game. And the Blues have a lot of UFA's and RFA's to re-sign. Not crazy to think they would deal him for a 1st, and some solid prospects after getting knocked out in the 1st round two straight seasons. Strome, Jones, 1st, and I think we'd have to give them one other solid piece. If they wanted Lundkvist instead of Jones, I would think about it. He is a good fit for us. If they said Strome, Lundkvist, 2nd or 3rd, and a mid-prospect for O'Reilly I think I would do it (thinking Jones and a 1st OR Lundkvist and a 2nd or 3rd - if they want Lundkvist no 1st IMO).
I would offer Mika for Barkov. Same numbers and contract situation. Mika is going to want more than the Rangers can pay and assuming Barkov wants to move he'd be going to an up and coming team finishing rebuild.
They can't have a ton of huge contracts. Fox is going to get big money. Gorton was incompetent with contracts. Hopefully, Drury locks Fox, Kakko, Lafreniere and Shesterkin up to extensions now so he can get them cheaper than if he waits until they are RFA. Gorton was awful with that.
It's amazing how incompetent the Oilers are. McDavid and Draisaitl and they still can't win jack shit in the playoffs. Half their defense which sucks anyway will be UFA. Their goalies always suck. You have to think with the trading history of these two teams a deal will be made. Just looking at their role players, guys like Howden, Rooney and Blackwell are actually a lot better than what they have.
The Blues fucking suck now as far as winning a cup. It's over there. They will dump O'Reilly. We should be at the top of his list. Strome, Jones, Skinner and maybe a Ronning. That's enough.
If the Blues wanted to really change things up, create cap space and build towards the future Ryan O’Reilly is the logical choice. But would they really trade their captain? It’s unlikely, but after getting swept I’d pick up the phone and gauge St. Louis interest in making a blockbuster deal. O’Reilly is 30 years-old and has two years at $7.5 million on his current deal. He does not have any trade restrictions so the Blues could shop him and get maximum return. With the Rangers interest in Jack Eichel cooled, this could be the type of center they want. The cost of acquisition would also be high, maybe not as high as Eichel but big enough. St. Louis would want a player like Ryan Strome back to replace O’Reilly down the middle. They are also in the market for a back up and the means Alexandar Georgiev needs to be part of it. Then they will want prospects like Vitali Kravtsov and Zac Jones as well. Maybe Vince Dunn could be part of this deal? This is all spitballing but it’s to demonstrate that this wouldn’t be a small trade.
O'Reilly is 30 and his game is really wasted on a team that isn't in desperate need for a top faceoff guy, some grit and some north-south production. He would neutralize a ton of faceoff losses against Boston, NYI and Pitt. He's 30. He can be had.
Lundkvist made a huge mistake not coming over here this season. I said it before the season started. Makes me question his desire to turn pro.
How about this trade? 3 team trade - Blues get Eichel, we get O'Reilly, Sabres get Blue's first this year, our first this year, their second back, Chytil, Jones?
Not giving up a first, Chytil and Jones for a center that will turn 31 in February. Strome is the guy they need to dump. Chytil improved on faceoffs this season. We wasn't much worse than Strome. He was a bit snake bit and needs to relax a little more when he shoots. He should have had 20 goals this season. If he didn't get hurt I think he would had at least 30-35 points. That set him back a lot. Rangers think he can be a star. If I'm giving up Lundkvist it needs to be for Horvat who is younger and contingent upon Horvat signing an extension. O'Reilly is a 2 year rental. Not worth giving up a 1st rounder and Chytil for that.
https://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/arti..._gets_assist_at_wc_and_more/s1_15425_35037329 "Per Brooks, Drury will run the draft with Chris Morehouse who is the director of North American scouting. This is a seismic shift in the Rangers draft philosophy who have gone heavy with Europeans in recent years. Another significant directional difference coming to light with Drury in charge." The more I read about Drury's changes, the more I like them. I have full confidence in Chris Drury. I think finally we will see some good drafts and trades coming up. I don't consider Kakko or LFA great draft picks. Those are no-brainers. Fox was also a no-brainer as Fox did not want to play anywhere else, he just fell into our lap. Jeff Gorton lost big in the McDonagh trade. How was Jeff Gorton instrumental in at anything here? I know many here on this board were upset when Jeff Gorton was fired, but what has he has done what any of us couldn't have done being a GM. McDonagh trade was horrible, now that we can revisit. We gave up a very good defenseman, who probably made a difference in Tampa winning the cup and they might get another one here. We gave up JT Miller in that trade also, and we got Hajek/Howden and Lundkvist who may not even sign. I could have been a GM and just sat there and do nothing for 2 years.
Lundkvist will sign, and the jury is still kind of out on Hajek. Gorton did a pretty solid job for the most part, though I'm not all that thrilled with Trouba so far.
