I don't see the Blues seriously going after Parise during free agency. He's certainly a great player, and no team gets worse by signing him, but the Blues will be hard pressed to find spots for all of their forwards as it is next year. Suter would be fantastic. Hopefully we make a deep run in the playoffs, and the new ownership is in place so we have the money to go after him. Suter-Petro pairing for the future would be unreal.
Suter would be great but his salary would throw off the whole salary structure of the team. We have a lot of young guys who are getting to need to get paid in the next few years.
The best thing the Blues can do is hope that one of their draft pics matures into a great pair for Pietro.. Or Army swings one hell of a deal that offsets some of the salary that a top lefty would come with.
O hey btw Tarasenko had two goals and an assist in the last game against Dynamo. Kid is a beast.
I agree, it won't make much of a difference to Tarasenko if they eventually lose the series.
A Zenit fan? You must have enjoyed the 5-1 win against Dynamo a couple of weeks ago. I still don't think Spalletti is the right man for that job, but he is winning the League so he will remain despite the defeat to Benfica.
Spalletti is great and absolutely loved by fans. Didn't think he'd be that good for Zenit. As to Benfica... Well, February isn't the best month to play football in Russia. And Luciano didn't get all the players he wanted. Guess the new CL will be better for Zenit...
As to beating Dynamo - yes, that was sweet. And even the later loss to them in the cup didn't matter a lot. Because nobody cares of the cup much. Hope SKA will beat them too. And Tarasenko will score a lot. If SKA will win Gagarin Cup, he's got a legit chance for MVP. Will be great "good bye" to KHL.
Spalletti is great and absolutely loved by fans. Didn't think he'd be that good for Zenit. As to Benfica... Well, February isn't the best month to play football in Russia. And Luciano didn't get all the players he wanted. Guess the new CL will be better for Zenit...
As to beating Dynamo - yes, that was sweet. And even the later loss to them in the cup didn't matter a lot. Because nobody cares of the cup much. Hope SKA will beat them too. And Tarasenko will score a lot. If SKA will win Gagarin Cup, he's got a legit chance for MVP. Will be great "good bye" to KHL.
Maybe I am harsh in my judgement of Spalletti. I was always a big fan of Dick Advocaat, he is a great coach but his arrogance prevented him becoming an outstanding coach which was frustrating. Zenit will be in Pot 2 for the Champions League next season, so should get a favourable draw, they just need 2 or 3 new players in the summer. Moving the season in line with the other European League will be helpful to attract players, but even more so is the fact that Sibir and Luch-Energiya were relegated in recent years and Tom' will be gone this season. As beautiful as it is, no more trips to Siberia is certainly beneficial for the players!
Anyway, back on topic! The next game for Tarasenko is tomorrow at 10am CDT. If the last game is anything to go by, it is well worth finding a stream for it guys.
It is 0-0 at the half way point. Tarasenko has had almost 7 minutes of ice time, and is getting to play in decent situations; he gont time on the 4-on-4 and has been out on the PP. Quiet game so far, aside from a missed Dynamo penalty shot, Tarasenko looked dangerous a couple of times in the first but that is about it.
In the first period the Russian commentators were talking about how he should be getting more responsibility, so it isn't just us Blues fans!
Totally agree, SKA really didn't play well. They were taking too long to release passes, they weren't crisp and did generally look slow.
Great assist from Tarasenko for the goal, he had another great move at the end of the second period that I thought was going to result in a goal as well. Even when he wasn't getting the puck, he was finding the open ice, looked the most dangerous player for SKA today, although that isn't saying much!
Totally agree, SKA really didn't play well. They were taking too long to release passes, they weren't crisp and did generally look slow.
Great assist from Tarasenko for the goal, he had another great move at the end of the second period that I thought was going to result in a goal as well. Even when he wasn't getting the puck, he was finding the open ice, looked the most dangerous player for SKA today, although that isn't saying much!
This is when the all stars principle to build a team fails. SKA's 3rd line can't produce offense and it doesn't forcheck at all. 1st line is useless as well, but sometimes your 1st line does suck because opponets try their best to shut them down. But if your 3rd line can't attack and can't defend, you're in big troubles... It's only 2nd (Afinogenov-Nepryaev-Artyukhin) and Tarasenko's lines who are trying to do something. Isn't enough for playoffs.
Tarasenko's playoff performance is good news for the Blues. It shows that in the clutch, Tarasenko's a performer. Which means his chances for Sochi increase, regardless of where he's playing. He will understand this.
The reason he's so good in the clutch is that he's a player suited to small ice. His game is about making dynamic moves in tight spaces and still making great passes or getting off quality shots, which means the hard areas aren't a problem for him. It will translate well to the NHL and it will translate well to Hitchcock's Blues system.
It's just amusing at this point to see his ice time compared with the other playoff scoring leaders. It's basically 60-65%. This is such a good player.
Tarasenko has good speed and an NHL ready body. Where do you think he would rate speed wise with this current group of Blues forwards?
Probably in the top half, he probably can't keep up with D'agostini, Amac, and Polak just yet but he plays the game at a high pace and that matters more than just having bursts of speed ala Stewart.
Dynamo won again, Tarasenko is performing but the so called SKA-stars are massivly dissappointing (Martensson the 2e leading scorer of the regular season has just 4 points).
Probably in the top half, he probably can't keep up with D'agostini, Amac, and Polak just yet but he plays the game at a high pace and that matters more than just having bursts of speed ala Stewart.
I'm glad someone else can see that Polak is such a great skater. That dude can flat out fly!
Dynamo won again, Tarasenko is performing but the so called SKA-stars are massivly dissappointing (Martensson the 2e leading scorer of the regular season has just 4 points).
Yeah, it's obvious now who is who. That's why I fear that SKA will make him an offer he won't be able to reject. On the other hand there will be a hard salary cap next season in the KHL. It's gonna be pretty high though ($40M or like, as I've heard).
