#saintlouisblues

[black-mixtape]

Father of the Blues W. C. Handy, born November 16, 1873 ✨ -- #WCHandy #WilliamChristopherHandy #FatherOfTheBlues #Blues #BluesMusic #Musician #Trumpet #Songwriter #DeltaBlues #MemphisBlues #SaintLouisBlues #STLouisBlues #MusicLegend #Music #AfroAmerican #AfricanAmerican #BlackHistory #BlackCulture #BlackMusic #BlackMixtape https://www.instagram.com/p/B47ULQTo9_j/?igshid=njauvxxy2l9i

[lynnstevens]

LET'S GO BLUES #stlblues #nhl #seasonopener #stlouisblues #stlouis #saintlouisblues #hockeylover https://www.instagram.com/p/CVY9svZrcNG/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gatewaycitygoals-blog]

Free Agent Centers: ROR Ryan O’Reilly

This is the second installment in a series highlighting centers the Blues might target in free agency. The first installment on Joe Thornton can be found here. 

Ryan O’Reilly Center Buffalo Sabres

To the casual fan, Ryan O’Reilly might not elicit much excitement. He has spent most of his career as one of the best players on bad teams. His most recent stint has been spent in upstate New York with the struggling Sabres. 

He isn’t a household name like John Tavares, and he hasn’t received the local media attention (and now internationally bad media attention) that Mike Hoffman has. In my opinion, he might be the best option for the Blues. 

Before you chop my head off and scream Tavares is a better and more dynamic player, you are right. Tavares is just shy of a generational player. He is easily one of the best in the entire league, and would immediately become the best player on our team. (Sorry Vladi) JT will be covered in a future article in this series, but to lure him to St. Louis with every other team in the league courting him will take big money and big term. Rumor has it it might take in the area of $12 mil a year avg. A contract like that could cripple the Blues ability to build a team around him and certainly cripple them in the future. Is it worth it for a few real shots at the cup? Only if we win, which is never guaranteed.

O’Reilly doesn’t come cheap, he is making the exact same amount as Tarasenko. He is locked up until 2023 with $7.5 mil/yr avg.That isn’t a cheap contract to take on, but compared to what Tavares will make, its palatible.

So who is Ryan O’Reilly?

He’s a 27 year old Ontario native, and he’s one of the best two way forwards in the league. He is defensively sound and plays like a power forward. He might also have the best backhand in the league. His stat line reads:

GP: 81 G: 24 A: 37 P: 61 TOI: 20:49 OZS%: 42.6% FOW%: 60%

There are a few stats here that jump off the page at me. He eats up time on the ice. He averaged more time on the ice than any Blues forward. Schenn lead the team with 19:44 last season. The Blues might be looking to give Robert Thomas a real crack at the lineup this season, but giving him too much ice time would be a real risk. Having a clock eater like O’Reilly would benefit a team that’s looking to develop its young talent at the big league level. 

The next is his offensive zone start percentage. The Sabres were an awful team last season (25-45-12). Less than half of his zone starts were in the offensive zone. This means he was constantly battling to clear the zone before any sort of offensive stats could be tallied. The Blues centers’ zone starts look like this:

Schenn: 63.9% Stastny: 54.1% Berglund: 43.9%

This means that O’Reilly started with less favorable zone time than Berglund but managed to score 35 more points. O’Reilly actually scored 2 fewer goals than Berglund had points all season.

How was he able to so reliably able to generate points with such bad zone starts? Look no further than his prowess in the faceoff. He lead the NHL in that category and was 4.8% better than any other Blues center last seasons. The ability to maintain puck possession is vital in all three zones, and winning the faceoff can be the difference between getting the puck in your opponents net and keeping it out of your own. 

This is how O’Reilly was able to net 61 points last season, which would have put him 3rd on the Blues behind only Tarasenko and Schenn. He did this with far worse zone starts an a far worse team. It’s often hard to project how a player will do when placed on a better team, but the general consensus is, you play better with better players around you. 

Stats are all well and good, but what kind of player is O’Reilly? Stats can be deceiving in the NHL. A puck that bounces off your ass and go into the net, and it counts as your goal. Are these empty stats? The unequivocal answer is no. O’Reilly creates plays like no other player currently on the Blues. He isn’t a master set up man like Schenn. O’Reilly fearlessly charges the net and dares anyone to move him out of the slot. He is strong on his stick and skates and throws grown men around like they are rag dolls. Imagine David Backes with better hands and the deadliest backhand in the league.

O’Reilly knows when to hold onto the puck and when to pass it. Especially on the power play. So often last season I saw Blues pass the puck just as quickly as they got it without creating any looks for themselves or their teammates.They would mindlessly pass it back and forth while the defense stood still and never bit on a move. O’Reilly will drag the puck around the ice with power and make his opponents choose to give him an open look or his teammate. He also has a quick and accurate one timer. 

Something his physical charging the net style forces him to do is dig the puck out from behind the net. After watching Jaskin try and fail for years at scoring a wrap around, watching O’Reilly bring a puck out from behind the net will make your mouth water. He has, in my opinion, the best backhand shot in the league. His sheer strength allows him to out muscle opponents and get his shoulders in position to shoot. Most players in this position will tap a weak backhand attempt that has little or no aim or power. O’Reilly has the ability to go top shelf from the backhand with a flick of the wrist. 

He is deadly from all angles on the ice. He is not a sniper, but he is as close as a bruising power forward gets. His shots have eyes whether they are one timers, backhanders, or wristers. He scores goals and creates points by going to the net. He doesn’t sit back and wait for a play to develop. When his teammates find themselves in the corners or behind the net, O’Reilly finds an open spot in the slot for an outlet. He creates offense not by creativity but through physicality and intelligence. He knows where he needs to be and how he needs to get there.  

Don’t want to take my word for it? Check out every goal he scored in the 2016-2017 season:

Are you convinced? Are you surprised a player like O’Reilly is out there and you didn’t know about it?

So what would it take to get him? Buffalo has been in a consistent rebuild for some time, and are one of the worst teams on the blue line. The Blues have young defensemen like Schmaltz and Walman who Buffalo might be interested in, as well as movable veterans like Carl Gunnarsson. The Blues also have young forward talent in spades. Let’s not forget about our first round pick we got from WPG. Could O’Reilly be had for Eric Foley, our 1st round pick, and Schmaltz? I think it would be one of the better offers Buffalo will get. The Blues have flexibility in the trade market because of the amount of assets they have. They have more than most teams who are sniffing around O’Reilly. The Blues likely won’t make a move until they have lost out on Tavares, or at least feel they have fallen out of the front running. 

Fans across the gateway city will be upset if Tavares goes somewhere else, but if ROR is the consolation prize, I for one won’t be upset for long. 

[teexasprint]

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[wedgo]

КУБОК СТЭНЛИ Эти два дня были очень насыщенными, мы старались запечатлить каждый момент этой истории, истории, которая происходит сегодня в Новосибирске благодаря Владимиру Тарасенко @vt9191 и Сент Дуис Блюз. Кубок впервые в Новосибирске и сегодня тысячи людей благодарили Владимира за это!! Спасибо вам, ребята, за оказанное доверие вновь снимать вашу чудесную семью! @tarasenko.yana #кубокстэнли #кубокстэнли2019 #тарасенко #семейныйфотограф #saintlouisblues #tarasenko (at FC Sibir Novosibirsk) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1V9bqJFLvQ/?igshid=1ougriv20l6ee

[iamtshirtladystl]

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[homebello]

#SaintLouisBlues #blueshockey #saintlouishockey #nhl #hockey #hockeyfights #hockeyboys #nhlfinals #blueshockeyclub shop for all your Saint Louis Blues gifts and jewelry at HomeBello @homebello #homebello https://www.instagram.com/p/Byt3pFmAOV_/?igshid=1rc722meycxhe

[creativesignzdesignz-blog]

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[teetweets]

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[melissamangus]

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[stlvintageclothing]

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[scratchedforlife]

A very drunk boy stealing some very expensive camera equipment 

[teexasprint]

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[overwatchtoday]

Woo Jackpot 😂 #overwatch #overwatchmemes #saintlouisblues #overwatchtoday #gamewatchtoday (at Overwatch Today) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByFn6WdhbDk/?igshid=tz6368c7yziw

[primosparks-blog]

Aint gone even lie! Im from the sho me state. Mf really dont give a fuk wht u talkin bout. Its bout what u do! Really frfr its bout what u do 4 me lhh "Fuk What u Say" #talent #upcomingrapper #unsignedhype #songwriter #performer #lyricallemonade #literal #ceo #entrepreneur #trapmusic #trap #hiphopunderground #undergroundhiphop #stlouis #saintlouiscardinals #kansascitychiefs #saintlouisblues #losangelesdodgers #oakland #losangeles #newyorkcity #atlanta #italy #unitedkingdom #france #russia #nigeria #showmestate #black #laughing https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu1lumCn_1H/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8bdtoj9sc1wu

[bluelotusrecordings]

One of the old guard real deal bluesmen right here, Lobster. #18in18 #stlbluessociety #blues #stlblues #saintlouisblues #lobster #realdeal #oldguard (at Blue Lotus) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqdTe0fDdl4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jkq84clou0i3