Id hate to break up the SOB line, but maybe switching Stewart and Oshie could give Stew and Berglund the spark needed. Also Stewart needs to be out on the PP, I have no idea why last night with a one goal lead late in the game we get a PP and its Sterling - Arnott - Langenbrunner. Stewart needs to be out there parked in front of the net Big Walt style.
Stewart has never been paired with McDonald so how could we?
are you kidding me? Stewart was paired with mcdonald the first week we got him. he was also paired with him for bits of the later parts of the season as well as our first power play unit with berglund. stewart is significantly better with a playmaker like mcdonald on his side. just saying.
are you kidding me? Stewart was paired with mcdonald the first week we got him. he was also paired with him for bits of the later parts of the season as well as our first power play unit with berglund. stewart is significantly better with a playmaker like mcdonald on his side. just saying.
No, I'm not kidding you.
Stewart and McDonald played together for a whopping 4 games before he was put on the Berglund/Oshie line. Even with that line, it was more to get him and Backes on the ice at the same time than it was to get Stewart with McDonald. Outside of those 4 games, and 1 game earlier this year to try and jump start Stewart; the two haven't been on the ice at the same time.
The PP unit Stewart was on last year featured Berglund, Oshie, Colaiacovo and Shattenkirk. Again, no McDonald. McDonald was out there with Backes, D'Agostini, Pietrangelo and Steen(with Cola and Oshie double shifting while Steen was injured)
Stewart and McDonald have played less than 80 total minutes together on a line where McDonald was considered the "3rd man". They were never "paired together". That is nowhere near enough time to base any kind of conclusions on, so how can anybody even attempt to make a case that "Stewart plays better when paired with McDonald".
I fully agree that Stewart is best with a playmaker; but the playmaker he clicked with last year was Oshie, not McDonald.
The PP unit Stewart was on last year featured Berglund, Oshie, Colaiacovo and Shattenkirk. Again, no McDonald. McDonald was out there with Backes, D'Agostini, Pietrangelo and Steen(with Cola and Oshie double shifting while Steen was injured)
I fully agree that Stewart is best with a playmaker; but the playmaker he clicked with last year was Oshie, not McDonald.
Sorry, but what you said made it sound as if they literally have never played together. And they did get powerplay time together. As shown here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29g-PUZywYA
And even though they might have had 7 totals games that they played on the same line together, with the total amount of shifts per game and thus the total amount of shifts overall, there were enough games to sense if there was any chemistry between the 2. Stewart needs a playmaker like McDonald with him. Berglund even admitted himself that he sees himself as more of a power forward and questions his vision.
Sorry, but what you said made it sound as if they literally have never played together. And they did get powerplay time together. As shown here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29g-PUZywYA
And even though they might have had 7 totals games that they played on the same line together, with the total amount of shifts per game and thus the total amount of shifts overall, there were enough games to sense if there was any chemistry between the 2. Stewart needs a playmaker like McDonald with him. Berglund even admitted himself that he sees himself as more of a power forward and questions his vision.
Jay McClement now has more goals then Stewart. We will never here the end of it from the Avalanche fans.
What else is there for them to do when their team is losing and drifting into high lottery status (a pick they traded)? Can't look forward to the playoffs. Can't look forward to the draft without cursing their GM.
I'm content with the results of the trade. I'd like to see Stewart get it going, but the Blues are clicking right now. I have no problem with "losing" that trade and winning a Cup down the road.
What else is there for them to do when their team is losing and drifting into high lottery status (a pick they traded)? Can't look forward to the playoffs. Can't look forward to the draft without cursing their GM.
I'm content with the results of the trade. I'd like to see Stewart get it going, but the Blues are clicking right now. I have no problem with "losing" that trade and winning a Cup down the road.
I forgot all about that they traded their #1 pick for Semyon Varlamov, this has the feel of the Toronto/Seguin type of situation..... Especially with a deep draft this year, even if they finish where they are now 7th or 8th Washington could potentially land Alex Galchenyuk or Dumba.
What else is there for them to do when their team is losing and drifting into high lottery status (a pick they traded)? Can't look forward to the playoffs. Can't look forward to the draft without cursing their GM.
I'm content with the results of the trade. I'd like to see Stewart get it going, but the Blues are clicking right now. I have no problem with "losing" that trade and winning a Cup down the road.
On the basis of Shattenkirk vs. EJ I'd say we won the trade no matter how bad Stewart plays.
Jay McClement now has more goals then Stewart. We will never here the end of it from the Avalanche fans.
Give them odds on who will have more goals at the end of the season. That'll quiet them down.
(Not that there aren't a handful of Blues fans who are just as bad, if not worse, about shoving tidbits that favor us down their throats at every opportunity. I really wish the whole thing would just die.)
Give them odds on who will have more goals at the end of the season. That'll quiet them down.
(Not that there aren't a handful of Blues fans who are just as bad, if not worse, about shoving tidbits that favor us down their throats at every opportunity. I really wish the whole thing would just die.)
I would be pleasantly surprised if, when Stewart does score a bit, Blues fans completely refrain from talking about it outside the team board, let alone brag about it. But a fan of another team is going to talk about it anyway. While some fans who are frequent posters here are ****ing terrible about it and act all innocent, like they're just here to discuss hockey, not provoke people, it's nearly as frequently a fan of another team who gets confused for a Blues fan and the cycle is kickstarted.
The macho insecurity of fandom will probably always bother me because, as a fellow fan, I cannot escape it. We're saddled with it. It feels strange to miss things about the Blues being basement dwellers, because there was very little posturing. At least everyone seemed to take prospect arguments with a grain of salt because everyone knows that most of them will never even reach the NHL.
I would be pleasantly surprised if, when Stewart does score a bit, Blues fans completely refrain from talking about it outside the team board, let alone brag about it. But a fan of another team is going to talk about it anyway. While some fans who are frequent posters here are ****ing terrible about it and act all innocent, like they're just here to discuss hockey, not provoke people, it's nearly as frequently a fan of another team who gets confused for a Blues fan and the cycle is kickstarted.
The macho insecurity of fandom will probably always bother me because, as a fellow fan, I cannot escape it. We're saddled with it. It feels strange to miss things about the Blues being basement dwellers, because there was very little posturing. At least everyone seemed to take prospect arguments with a grain of salt because everyone knows that most of them will never even reach the NHL.
Personally I don't care if we win or lose a trade. All I care is that it makes us better. The only comparisons should be: does this improve our team today and tomorrow?
That been more of a recent aberration for me over the last few years. It seems the deeper I think about the game and the management of the team, the more I transition from subjective to objective. To me that is one of the cool things about progressing as a fan.
