Read the full transcript of our weekly Blues chat.

Matthew DeFranks: Good afternoon. The Blues are 2-1-0 and open a home stand tonight vs. Chicago. Let’s get to your questions.

GD: My worries seem to be materializing, Bolduc is taking off in Montreal. I know it’s way too early to label this trade as a mistake, but not looking great right now.

Matthew DeFranks: The trade is pretty young given the season is about a week old, but I’m sure you’re not alone among Blues fans seeing what Zack Bolduc has done in Montreal so far. He’s got three goals and an assist in four games, and that’s tied with Cole Caufield on Montreal for most goals on the team.

Logan Mailloux, meanwhile, has struggled so far in his time in St. Louis. This was always going to be about the long-term outlook of the trade because Mailloux hadn’t played in the NHL full-time, but perhaps that’s a reason why the Blues should have received an extra draft pick or something in addition to Mailloux.

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I think the Blues placed similarly patient expectations on guys like Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway last season (saying things like “let’s not judge this by Christmas”) but then those guys blew way past the expectations.

If I look at similar hockey trades with young forwards and defensemen involved, I think there’s an argument that the team receiving the defensemen made out better in the end. Columbus got Seth Jones from Nashville for Ryan Johansen. Could be a toss-up in their primes, but Jones I think has had the better career. Tampa did get extra draft capital when they acquired Mikhail Sergachev for Jonathan Drouin, but I think they were happy with how Sergachev played for them.

The issue is whether Mailloux is in that same class, of course. And we won’t know the answer for a long time.

Kozzy: Good afternoon, Mr. DeFranks! Always enjoy our weekly chats! The season is starting off well, with a nice two-game sweep on the West Coast after a rough game at home, and Binner’s solid response against Vancouver. Although it’s only three games into the season, how are you liking the line combinations? I like the move to shift Snuggy down to the third line and let his skills shine against the Top 6 players. This seems to boost his confidence, and he’s starting to connect well with Suter. Neighbours looks very comfortable with Thomer and Buchy. The line that appears to be struggling is Kyrou, Holloway, Schenner. They get their individual chances, but as a three-man unit, they seem to be lacking possession in the O-Zone. Do you think Jordan might be pressing a bit, seeing as his many chances haven’t turned into goals?

Matthew DeFranks: I think you’ve got a good handle on it there. It was twice in the opening two games that Jim Montgomery moved Jimmy Snuggerud off the top line, so it only made sense that they started the Vancouver game with him on the third line. I think that line has a little bit of everything, especially with the attitude that Joseph is playing with right now. He’s flying and throwing his body around and getting in shooting lanes. His effort is very, very apparent.

I do think that Neighbours isn’t a long-term solution on the top line but we’ve seen that he can do it for extended periods of time. Thomas and Buchnevich work well with a shooter on their line. Neighbours will score a lot of goals around the net-front, and that’s important too, but he’s not a shooter like Snuggerud is.

Maybe once Snuggerud gets his legs under him in the NHL and gets some confidence, they can try it again. There are many worse options than Neighbours, who already has a 27-goal season under his belt.

With that Schenn line, Montgomery has talked about Holloway and Kyrou pressing a little bit since they haven’t scored yet. But Kyrou has been through this many times and he always comes out of it in the end. As long as his chances are there, he’ll be fine. I actually thought it was a confident, smart play he made on the Schenn goal in Vancouver to hang on to the puck instead of forcing a shot. That’s a positive sign.

DenMizzou: Hello, Mr. DeFranks. Thanks for the chat. With the Florida Panthers winning two Stanley Cups, do you ever wish you were back in Fort Lauderdale covering that team?

Matthew DeFranks: Honestly, not really, and actually, might have the opposite effect. The Panthers have won back-to-back Cups and neither local paper has a dedicated beat writer because there isn’t enough fan interest to warrant it. So if they weren’t going to cover the team when they’re playing like this … it was never going to work for me down there.

Tylerg: Matty D, good start to the season. Sure VAN and CAL aren’t elite teams, but it was good to see the Blues more or less dominate both games especially in VAN. 2 questions for you today: question 1, who is the first player to get called up from the A when an injury will occur (let’s go with one D and one forward)? Question 2, Logan Mailloux looks over his head in the NHL and the Blues sheltered him in VAN with only 8-9 minutes of play. What does a good season from him realistically look like from him. As of now, it’s been a rougher start than I was expecting and my bar was fairly low. Thanks a bunch my guy!

Matthew DeFranks: Good questions. Let’s start with the AHL. Springfield has only played one game so far, so these opinions will mostly be based on training camp and preseason games.

I think Otto Stenberg is in line to be the first recall from the AHL. No matter what role the Blues would need, Stenberg can fill it. He can play up and down the lineup, he’s a good complementary player and he had a great camp. He’s played wing for the last two-plus years, but Montgomery said they would want to see what he looks like at center at some point. But I think the Blues feel that for the role they could use, Stenberg could fit that more than, say, Dalibor Dvorsky.

On defense, I would have thought Corey Schueneman was in line to be the first recall given his NHL experience and time with the Blues last season. But he was among the early cuts on D. So I’ll guess Hunter Skinner. He had a good camp, but was rocky in the first game in the AHL. The depth on defense gets thin after Matthew Kessel.

Leo Loof, to me, hasn’t shown enough. And I think the Blues want to give Theo Lindstein plenty of time to acclimate to the North American game.

If the Blues can see some improvement from Logan Mailloux in his own zone, I think they can count that as a small victory. That was the big knock on him coming from Montreal, and he hasn’t done much to disspell that. The Blues want him to be a top-four D in the future, so he’ll need those skills at some point. I think once he figures out his even-strength game, then they can add the special teams responsibility on the power play down the line. But I think Justin Faulk should feel comfortable for now.

Rich: Justin Carbeneau (spl) is tearing it up. Do you think his ceiling is the highest of the Blues prospects?

Matthew DeFranks: I watched Justin Carbonneau’s first four games in the QMJHL this season (haven’t watched Monday’s game yet) and he’s been good. I’ve come away with a little different opinion on him, honestly.

He’s very good at turning nothing into something very quickly. If he gets the puck with any space, he’s making a move around a defender and getting a shot on goal. On the power play, he loves to bomb one-timers from the circle, almost to a fault where he’ll spend much of the power play waiting in the circle like Ovechkin does.

You do see junior habits pop up. One thing that Jim Montgomery mentioned in preseason was that Carbonneau is often the last player back in the defensive zone because he lingers in the neutral zone hoping for a turnover. That is still true in Quebec. If you’re an accountant, he’s LIFO. Last in (the d-zone), first out (of the d-zone).

But the skill is undeniable and the production is obviously there. He’s on one of (if not the best) junior team in Canada, so he’ll play with a lot of skilled players and they should win a lot of games.

As a side note, FloHockey is a great resource if you’re a hockey junkie. And if you’re in this chat, you might be one. They have all the AHL, OHL and QMJHL games — ECHL too if you’re a true sicko. I think it’s $150 for a year, and then you can watch Springfield, Jiricek, Carbonneau, and other Blues prospects.

The WHL is available for free on Victory+, too. So that’s if you wanted to pop in and watch Adam Jecho or Will McIsaac.

Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, as always thank you for doing these chats. I read somewhere the signing of Georgi Romanov, the minor league goalie signed after the Blues lost Colten Ellis to Buffalo, was a great pickup. Have you heard anything like this and how is he doing so far with the T-Birds?

Matthew DeFranks: Romanov has not played a game yet in the AHL since Springfield doesn’t play again until Saturday. Will Cranley backed up Vadim Zherenko on opening night, but I don’t know if that means Romanov is third on the depth chart, or if Springfield just wanted the No. 3 to back up so they didn’t overuse the No. 2 goalie.

Barry-Blues Fan in Orlando: Matt, I think I saw Mailloux playing with Broberg. Is this true, and if yes, who is Tucker paired with? Thanks.

Matthew DeFranks: Yep, that’s accurate. Fowler-Parayko, Tucker-Faulk and Broberg-Mailloux, with Kessel as the extra.

Sctdog: One of the national hockey journalists suggested the Blues offense was underpowered citing last years expected goals for totals. I haven’t found a post Monty hiring split, but it seemed to me that both their offensive and defensive numbers began improving relatively quickly. Have you seen the split after the hiring, how does that version of the Blues compare vs the league?

Matthew DeFranks: Under Bannister: 22 games, 2.13 xGF/60 at 5v5 (29th), 2.07 actual GF/60 (24th).

Under Montgomery: 60 games, 2.29 xGF/60 at 5v5 (27th), 2.72 actual GF/60 (3rd).

So it’s a valid point. The Blues had the highest PDO (shooting percentage plus save percentage) in the NHL under Montgomery, so there’s room for some regression. I think the counter to the offensive numbers are the defensive ones. The Blues were legitimately one of the best defensive teams in the league under Montgomery, and that’s a good foundation to build off of.

Sctdog: If the focus is to have the best Blues team in the second half while still winning enough in the first half, the move of Snuggy to the third line and splitting the two young D looks like a shrewd move. I also wonder if a Dvo or Stenberg move up is likely by the 2H?

Matthew DeFranks: The moves could buy the Blues time, you’re right. Let those guys get comfortable. Don’t let them drown in responsibility, and then move them into proper roles when they’re ready. It’s moves like these that make you wonder if the NHL is actually a developmental league, despite everyone saying it isn’t. There are ways to protect young players, and the Blues have found a couple early on with Snuggerud and Mailloux.

Jimfla: Hi Matt. I really enjoyed your NFP with Jim Thomas. Great job I wondered if you had an email for him. I have a PD news photo of the Philadelphia game he was referring to that I would like to send him. And on the current Blues. Who do you think will be the first forward called up to the big club? Thx

Matthew DeFranks: Loved chatting with JT again. The man won’t stop loving hockey, and it’s great. I do have an email for him, but instead of blasting in on the internet, how about you send me an email at mdefranks@post-dispatch.com, and then I can give you his email address?

David S: Speaking of giving it time….I have watched / listened to the Kerber / Vitale broadcasts and I DONT LIKE IT. While the game is ongoing, they are talking about the thigh master, garlic cotton candy, etc. This isn’t a circus.. .it’s a hockey game and I miss John Kelly’s description and the analysis of hockey. We take our hockey seriously. I realize the NFL offers the Mannings’ version of a broadcast… but I don’t care for the approach. The announcers are not the focus of the broadcast…, the game and the Blues are. Thoughts?

Matthew DeFranks: I think the people in charge want them to be themselves, and that’s just who they are. Obviously, different broadcasters have their different schticks, and you never know where Joey’s going to take a conversation, to be honest.

David S: On defense, I don’t think you can pair Tucker and Mailloux on the same line. Liking both but Tucker – while physical is too slow and Mailloux – too inexperienced to pair together. That means bumping Faulk to third d pairing with one of the two. I think we saw this midway through the Vancouver game and maybe even the Calgary game. What do you see as the D pairing for the foreseeable future?

Matthew DeFranks: You did see that in Vancouver for the whole game. Broberg with Mailloux and Tucker with Faulk. Jim Montgomery explained the reasoning as the Blues wanted to make sure they could match up with the opposition, especially on the road when they don’t have last change. But they’re using the same pairs again tonight at home, so it could have more to do with sheltering a young guy like Mailloux even more.

I think it’ll be a more malleable defensive core these days, with different guys on the ice in different situations in different zones.

David S: I think it is clear that we need a(nother) scoring forward. For all his opportunities, Kyrou is not it. Wish we had outbid Utah for Peterka, but understand the draft pick stockpile with Utah. Given that we will have significant cap space when Krug hits LTIR, I think Army is waiting to make a big splash. Any thoughts along those lines? My dream world says that if Buffalo is selling, do we go after Tage Thompson and give up some highly valued NHL ready prospects (i.e. Dvorski)?

Matthew DeFranks: The Blues will definitely have that option, and it’s not an accident. They could have spent that Krug money in the offseason on a player or two, but instead waited until the regular season to think about using it. I still think Kyrou will give you 35ish goals, and that’s nothing to sneeze at, but contenders usually have more than one of those kind of guys.

Getting Tage Thompson back would be a hilarious full circle move, but I don’t know how often the Sabres can hit the reset button time after time. Thompson doesn’t have much leverage since he’s under contract until 2030, but stars have forced their way out of Buffalo plenty of times before.

Easy Ed – fan since 1967: Hi Matt, enjoying your terrific columns. Interesting Monty combos. On D, giving lots of time for Broberg-Mailloux to acquaint themselves, a future top pair if I’ve ever seen one perhaps. Also, on bottom six Fs, each has a two-ways center, a scorer (right now) with Snuggerud and Texier, and a fast hustler. I think Joseph looks great so far, and that line is the equivalent of a third scoring line. I mean, they already have three goals and Joseph hit a post on a drive, besides setting up a goal. Your thoughts, please. Go Blues!

Matthew DeFranks: I love what Joseph has brought so far. There was a preseason game (I think vs. Ottawa) where Joseph was both like the second-best player on the ice and the second-worst. He was making plays, hitting people, speedy on the forecheck, and then would come a bad turnover or a tough penalty. I think there’s still some of that in his game, but the good outweighs the bad.

Joe: Hello and thanks for hosting the chat! I’m surprised the Blues could not find a way to protect what seemed to be the third beast goaltender in the entire organization, in Colten Ellis. Were you surprised by this? What was the calculus to leave him available (e.g. who would have been the next man not protected)?

Matthew DeFranks: The Blues didn’t have a ton of options if they wanted to keep Colten Ellis. He required waivers to be sent to the AHL and the Blues were already set with Binnington and Hofer in goal. The Blues could have carried three goaltenders on the active roster, but then you’re looking at waiving Texier or Joseph instead.

The only way I could have seen the Blues keeping Ellis — and this is in hindsight knowing he would get claimed — is a really tight timeline on Oct. 5.

So rosters were due Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. CT. That means players needed to clear waivers on Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. CT in order to be removed from the roster. Of course, that means waiving them on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. CT.

The Blues practiced at 10:45 a.m. CT on Oct. 5, and Oskar Sundqvist got hurt at the very end. We know now that he was going to miss more than a week, and could have gone on injured reserve, opening a spot on the active roster to keep Ellis.

But executing that move would have meant the Blues had knowledge that Ellis was going to get claimed AND that Sundqvist was going to miss more than a week AND figure out the cap implications AND know all of that within like 75 minutes.

It’s an unfortunate result losing Ellis, but not one that the Blues should be kicking themselves over.

David S: Isn’t LIFO what you want in a true scorer? Not talking “cherry picker” but if you can score – and I’m not saying he’s a Brett Hull – release the beast. This is the kind of scoring the Blues lack in their bump and chase, grind it out style. I think there is a place and need for both. And I don’t see us having a big scorer a.k.a Kaprizov, Jason Robertson, etc. someone who instantly gets the other team’s attention when they touch the puck

Matthew DeFranks: Great point. And yes, in a way! Jim Montgomery spoke the other day about wanting the wingers to go north as soon as the Blues had possession in their own zone. That stretched the ice, and we saw that on the Schenn goal that Kyrou set up. That was a great stretch pass from Broberg that hit Kyrou at the far blue line.

The distinction I see is that you want that once you’re done playing defense. You have the puck, it’s time to transition to offense and the wingers are at the forefront of that. It doesn’t mean being an afterthought in your own zone and spending more time there as a result. Not every player will have the same defensive commitment, and I’m not sure you even want that, but you can’t cheat for offense 100% of the time in the NHL.

Again, love Justin Carbonneau’s offensive skills. The hands and the shot are special, and it happens so quickly. Turning nothing into something by yourself isn’t something that’s common.

Bryan: Regarding moving Snuggerud to the 3rd line, your explanation makes total sense to me. My question: If he needs the time to get more comfortable and find his legs, why was he on the Thomas/Buchnevich line for the entirety of training camp? What changed Monty’s opinion of where Snuggerud fit best?

Matthew DeFranks: Very fair question. Montgomery mentioned today that he told Snuggerud before the Vancouver game to stop thinking and just to play. So that’s what Montgomery was seeing in the first two games. Preseason was actually fantastic for Snuggerud. He was pretty noticeable throughout practices and scrimmages, and the coaches liked what that line did together. And they were together for basically the entire camp.

mrr: Matt, thanks for the chats! quick question—are they using broberg and fowler together some? (both over 19 min on the ice, while their partners are in the 13/17 range…or was that just a function of power play time)? Do we see the blues shorten to two pair late in games?

Matthew DeFranks: They haven’t used them together much outside of partial changes when one is on the ice before their partner changes. They played 0:30 together vs. Minnesota, 0:42 at Calgary and 0:48 at Vancouver.

David S: Just a thought that I’m glad to see the Blues getting early points against teams they should beat if they are a playoff team. Minnesota game was ugly, but those games against playoff contenders are toss-ups. Got to get points (especially early) against teams like Chicago tonight. Stockpile points early as we saw the need last year.

Matthew DeFranks: The points in October count the same as the points in April, last time I checked. I know you’re talking about beating inferior teams, but it’s just necessary for the Blues to start fast in general. Last October? 5-6-0. Previous October? 3-3-1. And 3-5-0 in 2022.

It was 2021 the last time the Blues had a winning record in October.

Easy Ed – fan since 1967: Matt, I like Broberg-Mailloux together regularly. Frankly, with no Suter “D” for Malloux to play with, I think the two will jell together and it’ll help both in the long run, talking together like Holloway-Kyrou, which has helped both. At practice, H-K stayed after setting each other up for roof shots from different spots. Man, they hit them, too. By end of year, three top-4-like pairs. Great, too, that Monty moved Tucker up with Faulk. Deserves top 4, and he’ll learn a lot from Faulk- plus, Tucker’s O has been very good, I think. He’ll learn faster with Faulk. Seems a contradiction, but it’s not.

RE: I said no contractions: Mailloux and Tucker have different needs.

Matthew DeFranks: It’s a good point. I used to think Broberg was destined to play with Parayko one day, but maybe the fit down the road is Mailloux. I don’t share your same enthusiasm for bumping up Tyler Tucker’s minutes in a top-four role, but I think the Blues coaches will do a good job of making sure the right guys get the ice time.

For example, here are the TOIs from the Vancouver game at even strength

Easy Ed – fan since 1967: Per your reply on Mailloux-Broberg, if Mailloux jells with Broberg and gets up near his level by year’s end, that’ll be a helluva third pair. This pair will evolve faster and better than if Monty left Broberg with Faulk and played Mailloux with Tucker, who needs seasoning himself, a combo which would have a much earlier end date: all true, if the Blues are right about Mailloux. I see flashes with him that impress me.

Matthew DeFranks: That would be a lot to ask of Mailloux, but certainly would be a very welcome sight for the Blues. If that came true, you’d feel much more secure about the future of the blue line as Fowler, Faulk and Parayko age.

HallPlante: Comments on NetFront podcast with Armstrong. That is the most informative interview I can recall. Kudos to you for picking the topics and questions. … Your audio in your “studio” was excellent. But in the Army interview, your volume dropped almost to a whisper. … Your co-host’s audio was below-average, sounded like he was talking through tin can. We know nothing about the credentials of the co-host. … Thank you for taking the time to produce the podcast for our information and entertainment.

Matthew DeFranks: Thank you for the feedback! We used a couple different recording methods, so I’ll keep that in mind for future episodes. I hope the new iteration of the podcast can bring something different to Blues coverage, and at some point, we will be doing listener questions. But while we have guests right now, we’ll hold off so the episodes don’t go too much over an hour as they do now.

ICCFIM: The biggest issue I had with trading Bolduc is he was really the next David Perron. He had the one-timer and the nastiness the Blues had been missing for 3 years since Perron left. Who plays that role now? I don’t see another player on the team with that combination. I know Mailloux is young and may develop. My issue is that Armey if he has a weakness, it has been judging D guys.

Matthew DeFranks: The one-timer sounds like a job for Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway. The nastiness (in a skilled role) will likely continue on with Jake Neighbours. I think one of Bolduc’s best skills was figuring out how to score in the bumper on the power play. It’s hard and he was good at it with Robert Thomas feeding him.

Armstrong rightfully takes flack for the downfall of the defense in the last five years. The decisions on Faulk, Pietrangelo, Krug, Leddy, Scandella, Walman, Dunn, Mikkola, etc. have been litigated plenty. I think Blues fans better hope that Mailloux ends up more in the Broberg, Fowler camp of defenseman acquisitions.

HallPlante: This x1,000: “…the Blues should have received an extra draft pick or something in addition to Mailloux.” … I can live with whatever happens, but even if Mailloux becomes a star, the Blues still overpaid based on market values at time of the trade. Same reason why I still think Blues overpaid for Chris Pronger (giving up Shanahan).

Matthew DeFranks: Over time, the values could be equal, right? But in the moment, the riskier move was taking on Mailloux since Bolduc was proven in the NHL, and teams should be compensated for that. But in the long run, not sure if we’ll judge the trade based on the inclusion of a fourth- or fifth-round pick.

HallPlante: What are the legal and practical limits on waiver claims? What’s to stop a last-place team from claiming everyone? At what point does the waiver order switch from last season’s standings to this season’s?

Matthew DeFranks: I guess roster space and cap space would be the only constraints preventing a last-place team from claiming everyone.

As far as the date, it’s Nov. 1. Until that point, the waiver priority is based on the previous year’s standings. After that, it’s points percentage of the current season.

Matt: Hearing all of the “sky is falling” reactions to the Bolduc/Mailloux trade is exhausting. I don’t know how you do it. Have these fans never watched a full season before? There’s 82 games – stay even keil instead of riding the wave of emotions. Anyways, any update on Milan Lucic’s rehab/PTO?

Matthew DeFranks: Milan Lucic is still around the Blues. I saw him walking around Enterprise Center this morning after the team skated. He still has his stall with gear out at Centene. But he hasn’t practiced with the Blues yet since training camp.

jwvl: The Blues have played 3 games Matt This crowd needs to chill on Mailloux

Matthew DeFranks: Those three games represent 27.3% of Mailloux’s NHL career, too.

AZRay: Matt, loved the earlier LIFO note as a former accountant. For the offensive zone, you can use FISH – First In, Still Here!

Matthew DeFranks: The Offensive Zone Inventory, I guess.

simpleton: The same pitchfork crowd out there for Kyrou because he’s not scoring 75 goals a year.

Matthew DeFranks: I think Kyrou’s been able to change the narrative around his game with his play, but I understand your point.

The queue’s empty, and I’m going to call it there since the Blues also play tonight. Have a good week!

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