Replace Pacioretty

[jtr101]

Steen , Gagner, JVR and Tlusty are available right now, either an upgrade over Pacioretty the way he has been playing?

[Baron Von Snipeski]

Sadly they all are. As an owner, I've been wondering what the heck has been going on. I watched the game last night. He is clearly in a secondary role (pp & toi). I'm not sure it's just bad bounces. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt after the injury, but it's getting hard.

There is 3/4 of the season left though...

[jtr101]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Snipeski

Sadly they all are. As an owner, I've been wondering what the heck has been going on. I watched the game last night. He is clearly in a secondary role (pp & toi). I'm not sure it's just bad bounces. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt after the injury, but it's getting hard.

There is 3/4 of the season left though...

Yeah i was really hoping the line up switch was going to shake him out of the funk he is in. Really thinking about dropping him, even though i am a habs fan...haha...

[Pengwin7]

Alexander Steen is a guy I've been tracking for a few years now.
I really like what I see from him when I watch him.
He greatly underperformed last year... which really surprised me. I expected big things from him.

He's one of those rare players that I think adjusts to the NHL very slowly, very well... and every year he gets a little bit better.

This looks like it could be his break-out season.
Check his SOG totals lately: 7/5/6/6/1/5.
That's about 4 per game, which is 320+ shots in an 82-game season = Impressive, a top 10 kind of SOG amount.
He's finding ways to get the puck on net.
He'd be my pick.

[jtr101]

Originally Posted by Pengwin7

Alexander Steen is a guy I've been tracking for a few years now.
I really like what I see from him when I watch him.

He's one of those rare players that I think adjusts to the NHL very slowly, very well... and every year he gets a little bit better.

This looks like it could be his break-out season.
Check his SOG totals lately. He's finding ways to get the puck on net.
He'd be my pick.

I am eyeing him and JVR really, both have ~ 50 SOG, Steen has upper hand in PPP, everythign else is pretty much a wash. Hopefully St. Louis can get out of the slide they are in after beating Detroit.

[habs7079]

Add Steen. He is such an essential part of the Blues PP. Regardless of whether STL starts winning again or not (and they will turn it around), they have the #1 PP in the league and Steen will keep seeing tons of points from it. JvR is thriving with all that ice time, but is way more likely to hit a wall than Steen, given how well Hitchcock manages his lines.

[jtr101]

Originally Posted by habs7079

Add Steen. He is such an essential part of the Blues PP. Regardless of whether STL starts winning again or not (and they will turn it around), they have the #1 PP in the league and Steen will keep seeing tons of points from it. JvR is thriving with all that ice time, but is way more likely to hit a wall than Steen, given how well Hitchcock manages his lines.

Yeah i have already grabbed him, worth a shot for sure!

[JHM]

I'm certainly not saying to dump Max.

Steen is horribly forgotten. In part this is due to his injuries. This has added a sense of unreliability, and prevented him from stacking together one of those seasons in which everyone goes "ooooooooooooooooooooh he's a break through guy". He's never threatened for 30 goals, which is a mark that always catches attention. No wild and racy PIMs either.

2012-13 - 28 points in 43 games, works out to over 50 point pace
2011-12 - 51 points in 72 games, just short of 60 point pace
2010-11 - 47 points in 68 games, just short of 60 point pace

He's a great two way player, so that doesn't really enhance our view in fantasy. He's the kind of player great teams have. Just busy being efficient and quietly winning his shifts.

So, now he's off to a great start. Well, he's not going to finish with 44 points. He'll have his down stretches too, but he should sail right on past 30 points andhead towards 40. I don't believe he has the upside that Max does, but he probably has a higher downside. He's just more proven. He is also not likely to face top line checkers on a consistent basis.

Steen
18 minutes TOI, over 3 minutes PP TOI, not quite 2 minutes SH TOI, 51 shots is sexy, but 3 goals is low. That's over 4 shots per night. He's never been in that territory before and is not likely to maintain this pace.

There's nothing the matter with six points in nine games for Max. If he had the three goals to go with those six assists, you wouldn't be blinking an eye.

Max
Everyone is busy expecting more of the 30-30 and wondering about 35-35. It's all pretty heady stuff. 15 minutes TOI is disappointing, over 3 minutes PP TOI, really doesn't play shorthanded (so regular ice time & PP TOI is about a minute less than Steen), 28 shots on goal is over three per night, a whisker behind last year.

JvR
I certainly understand someone arguing for him. New situation may just allow him to explore levels that he hasn't explored before. I'd feel better if he had a few more assists. Shots are very nice though. It wouldn't be the first time a fine talent like JvR came to fruitation in a new town.
Almost identical TOI totals to Steen. 18 minutes, 3-1/2 PP TOI, about 1 SH TOI, 50 shots.

Gagner
Sam's just 24, and was considered perhaps the top hockey mind in his draft class. He's on the edge of moving from prospect to prime. We've been wondering for a few years if prime would see a nice scoring pace. Not everyone gets to talk to their Dad about polishing the final steps... Not everyone is waiting for elite prospect teammates to potentially go all world. I won't be surprised when he finishes with a 50+ point pace.
18 minutes TOI, 3-3/4 PP TOI, 1-1/2 minutes SH TOI. 30 shots is normal healthy.

Tlusty
Too soon for me to even consider in the same discussion. He's the right age, and the right talent, to explore new heights. He laid out a fine ground work for himself to build upon last year. He may very well step up to 50 point pace. He doesn't bring the same level of security as the other options.
17 minutes TOI, 2-3/4 minutes PP TOI, 1-1/2 minutes SH TOI. Very respectable. 33 shots is nice.

If I was impatient I'd grab Steen and wonder which developing young gun might just blow right on by! I'd feel safe though.

[Pengwin7]

Hope you grabbed Steen.
Because if you hadn't... he's gone now.