BenFred: Binnington, the hero of the blues, does not back down | Ben Frederickson

Stop worrying about BERUBE

QUESTION: I'm worried about Bérubé's departure. Should I be?

TOM T .: I would not be too hurt about it. The Blues love Bérubé, Bérubé loves the Blues, and it's a team that enters his window of a busy team. This is an ideal situation for a coach, and more attractive than, for example, Buffalo. So, unless someone opens Fort Knox for Berube, I think he'll stick around.

Brown here to stay?

QUESTION: Are you surprised that Patrick Maroon really started to play well?

TOM T .: I must admit that I did not think that Maroon's signature would make a lot of difference for this team. For a long time, I did a good job on that, but lately I may have been wrong. His playing and that of his line were decisive for the success of this team. And there was a moment in this season when people thought that Maroon was heading for the door, or at least was going to be a healthy scratch until the end of the season or at least the deadline of trades.

Now he plays a vital role in the success of the team and you must think that the team is thinking of keeping it close to next season. If you have watched the first three months of the season, I do not know how you can not be surprised. Bouwmeester and he are personified by the mid-season shift of the team.

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Follow up: The Blues should at least consider the idea of ​​coming back from Maroon next year, but they also have some younger players and few opportunities for attackers. Maroon will probably win more money than younger players too, and the Blues are already tight against the cap. Is there room for Maroon?

TOM T .: This will be the hardest part of bringing back Maroon: Where do you play everyone? If everyone comes back to play, you have a place on this fourth line that was Fabbri / Sanford in series, but if Fabbri comes back, you must have a place for him. But there is enough uncertainty about Fabbri that I do not know you can write his name with a Sharpie.

So, if you want to find a place for Kyrou, you have to give in, but you will need more than 12 forwards during the season. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

PERRON SPEAKING

QUESTION: Looks like the "tinker" line is working. What is the agreement between Perron and say it publicly?

TOM T .: Perron is one of the most candid players on the team, perhaps the most candid. He talks about his mind. He is openly disagreeing with the questions that are put to him all the time, challenging the journalists, which is quite unusual. I think he's not telling us that he has not already told Berube or the coaching staff – or that they did not presume it – and I think his position is the one with which most players would probably agree. . "Stop all the DIY and play."

WHO IS THE BEST DEFENDER: PIETRANGELO OR PARAYKO?

QUESTION: It seems that the national broadcasters consider Parayko as the best defender of the Blues. Local media still considers "Petro" as the best defender of the Blues. Who is right?

TOM T .: Neither one nor the other? Both? I do not know if the local media as an entity consider Pietrangelo as the best defender of the Blues. He and Parayko are pretty, I would say. While Pietrangelo and Gunnarsson form the top pair, Bouwmeester and Parayko get the best trio from the other team.

Pietrangelo and Parayko have a double in ice time for the playoff Blues – Pietrangelo is at 24:55, Parayko at 22:30 – and a big part of the difference is that Pietrangelo gets a power play time and Parayko does not. . If you only play in defense, Parayko probably has a slight advantage.

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Follow up: Just curious why Parayko is not on the power play? It looks like with his recent shooting and offensive success he would be an excellent choice.

TOM T .: The simplest reason is that after the power games, the opposing teams usually arrive with their first line, and the Blues want to be able to place Bouwmeester and Parayko in this position. So, to do that, they have to prevent Parayko from being on the numerical advantage so he does not end up with a long shift. It comes out sometimes, usually later in games and usually if the power play has not been very effective so far.

WILL JAKE DEMAND TRADE?

QUESTION: Given the evolution of things, it seems likely that Binnington will enter as a starting goaltender next season. Do you think Jake Allen will ask for an exchange during the summer?

TOM T .: I really do not know, but I would think that Jake Allen thought that he would do everything possible this summer to come back and beat Jordan Binnington. To ask for a job would be a defeat.

SHOULD BLUES BEGIN AT EDMUNDSON?

QUESTION: Do you think the Blues are moving Joel Edmundson this season? He has the top 4, an increase, and the Blues seem to be deep on the left side. It could be their best commercial element, depending on how this race unfolds.

TOM T: It will be an interesting contract negotiation with Edmundson, which, we are sure, would be ready for a decent increase and several years this time. Being in playoff form can not be good for his bargaining position. Nevertheless, I think in two years you'd rather have it than Gunnarsson, and you certainly have a lot of work with you.

Moving a young talented defender does not seem to be the kind of movement the Blues would do unless they get a talented young defender back.

SUNNY OUTLOOK FOR OSKAR

QUESTION: Oskar Sundqvist had the second longest time on the ice of all the attackers of match 3. Berube has a lot of confidence in him. Is he playing well now?

TOM T .: Match 2 was not great, but he was active and involved and helped move things forward in Match 3 and did everything, but was involved in one goal. (He had over-2 in the game.) I thought that he could be eliminated for the third game, but Berube stuck it and certainly got some results. It was a game where the pucks and, as it was all season, the opposing elbows did not stop finding Sundqvist. This guy takes a beating.

Does KYROU HAVE AN IMPACT?

QUESTION: Do you think Kyrou can make an impact next season, as Thomas has had this year? Who from other perspectives could have an impact soon?

TOM T .: I think Kyrou can make an impact next season, but keep in mind that he'll probably get a third or fourth line ice time early, a bit like Thomas, which will mean limited minutes . The ascension of Thomas was gradual and there is no reason for Kyrou to be the same, Kyrou however has the advantage of having more time in the NHL (but not much) compared to Thomas, as well as a full season in the American League. Mikkola, the great defender, will be the other player to watch. He had a great season last season and should still play in a year, but who knows?

WHAT MAKES BLUES SO RESILIENT?

QUESTION: Maybe it comes from the past, but when the Blues are going to score a goal or two, I guess of course they'll go to bed and not recover. This team is just … different. I continue to be (pleasantly) surprised every time they bounce. What makes this team so resilient?

TOM T .: It was said that it was because of the difficulties that the team had earlier in the season and what it did to their state of mind. They also had enough returns during the second half of the season and playoffs, which allows them to think that they never got out of the match unlike the start of the season when they were waiting for the sky their falls on it. .

Another reason is that they form a good team. They can score goals (albeit in limited numbers). And Binnington keeps the games tight. He makes stops to prevent the 2-0 games from becoming 3-0 games, and the 3-0 games are much harder to come back. There are so many other things to consider. And part of that is just lucky luck. At first, the rebounds were against them. Now they are not. At one point, we were aware of opposing goals bouncing into parts of Bouwmeester's body.

THE VALUE OF GUNNARSSON?

QUESTION: Why do the Blues use Gunnarsson? It skates as at its peak 5 years ago.

TOM T .: For some reason, playing with Gunnarsson seems to improve Pietrangelo's game. Whether it is the tendencies to stay at Gunnarsson's house that allow Pietrangelo to be more offensive or his calm that works well in pressure situations, he helps. I still think that there is only a very small chance that he will be back next season. It's a pity that he has not spent the whole season in good health.

IMPACT OF THE POSITIVE ATTITUDE OF BLUES

QUESTION: The Blues seem to have a really positive locker room. How much of that is due to Bérubé? And does this team hear better than other recent Blues teams?

TOM T .: Winning teams usually hear very well and have a positive outlook. Losing teams do not usually do it. So, if Bérubé managed to win the team and that made the team happier, he deserves it.

But it seems that Bérubé has a more accessible, more user-friendly behavior, which the players liked, and which seems to have been recorded before the start of the victory. Sometimes teams do not need that to hear. Sometimes, if everyone does not like the coach, it can also bring together a team. Nothing like having a common enemy.

Should I use a BERUBE staff with current assistants?

QUESTION: Assuming that Bérubé stays coach next year, do you see him keeping the same group of assistants? It is already down so there should be an opening. The current group has been hired by Yeo. Comments from the current team on the assistants?

TOM T .: I think Van Ryn stays because he helped this defensive unit and is the fourth defensive coach of the Blues in four seasons and this group needs continuity. Everyone loves Steve Ott and the players give him a lot of credit for the work he does with them. A year ago, he was among the top listeners in a survey of player associations with assistants who could be head coach someday. That Bérubé seeks to fill this opportunity depends on him, but that someone who could help the game of mercurial power of the Blues does not hurt.

PERPLEX OF POWER PLAY

QUESTION: Is the Stars' unit punitive? this well? The Blues seem to be stepping on gasoline every time they have the advantage in this series.

TOM T .: The Dallas PK is probably not as good as the numbers say, because the Nashville power play is so bad that almost every team could beat it in the first round. The Blues' power play was going well towards the end of the series in Winnipeg, but the inability to win draws against Dallas put them in a hole. The zone entrances have not been the strength of the Blues, so if they win the faceoff and it is already engaged, they will go well, but if they lose it and the rink slides on the ice , the power play sometimes requires 45, 60 seconds or more to set up. Once they are installed, there are usually promises. … Winning games are probably more important than the movement of personnel that they can perform.