Episode 7: What’s our goal here?

On this episode of Real Blue: A Fanmade St. Louis Blues Podcast, the hosts are joined by guest goaltending analyst Josh for a goaltending deep dive, built around the question of what the Blues should do with Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Before that, they give a touching update on the Arizona State hockey tragedy with news that a Blues fan sent a game-worn Matthew Mayich jersey to the player’s family. They also cover ten Thursday games added to a local St. Louis broadcast, and the latest roster moves: Dylan Dubé’s eight-week neck injury, Dylan Peterson’s expected NHL debut in Ottawa, Theo Lindstein sitting in the press box behind Justin Barron, and what a Torey Krug long-term injured reserve move could mean for the cap. The rumor roundup covers Alexander Nikishin and Simon Edvinsson, Detroit’s front-office mess, and whether Connor Zary is worth a look despite declining him when he was clearing waivers.

The goalie section starts with a Blues goalie trivia round covering career wins, lowest goals-against average, shutouts, assists and single-season wins. Then the hosts trade favorite goalies: Rick Wamsley, Curtis Joseph, Grant Fuhr, Vincent Riendeau, Binnington and surprisingly even Ed Belfour. The main debate is whether the Blues should keep Binnington or move on to Hofer, with an emphasis on the backdrop that neither is currently signed for next season. The hosts weigh Binnington’s competitive streak, his playoff and Team Canada resume, and a defense they say plays differently in front of him. They also weigh how much the Blues could get back for him, with the Rangers and Devils as possible suitors, and what happens if Hofer gets hurt after a trade. Not everyone agrees on how it plays out, and each host makes a prediction for Binnington’s future, one of them hoping for a David Perron-style return.

They also look at the three-game road trip through Ottawa, Minnesota and Nashville, and the hosts’ point predictions range from pessimistic to optimistic. A Montreal analyst’s praise of Dalibor Dvorsky leads to speculation about him as a trade chip and a possible fit with Kirby Dach. The episode wraps with a look at how Jordan Kyrou is doing in Washington and an interesting observation about the Enterprise Center banners.

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Episode 6: Blues Season Starts in Dallas!

The Blues open the season in Dallas, then play Colorado the next night, and the Real Blue hosts get ready for the back-to-back. First they share what they noticed in the opening games around the league: the Maple Leafs, the Canadiens, an Oilers game under Babcock, and Colorado's 8-4 win over the Kings. They also make their picks for the Stanley Cup final. Then they go through the Blues' roster news: Logan Mailloux out for two months, Tyler Tucker's surgery, Adam Jiricek getting the call to the top pairing with Philip Broberg, and Justin Barron claimed off waivers.

They also take a trivia question about Brett Hull's record for opening-night goals. Before getting to their predictions for the Dallas game, they talk about what a good start would look like, with goaltending, the power play, and how hard it is to open on the road against two top teams. The hosts also check in on the Alexander Nikishin and Simon Edvinsson situations and the Arizona State hockey coach's administrative leave.

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Episode 5: The Fall, How Armstrong Disassembled the Cup Team

Real Blue's fifth episode opens with an update on Matthew Mayich and the Arizona State hockey story. The hosts are underwhelmed by ASU and the coach Greg Powers’ response to it. After that, the hosts take a lap around the league. They cover the NHL's projected salary cap jump and the debate over Mike Babcock's hiring in Edmonton stirred up by Mike Messier’s “horrified” comments, and they take a trivia question about Oskar Sundqvist's career points as he heads to waivers.

The rest is the hosts' case against Doug Armstrong since the 2019 Stanley Cup. They go through the trades and signings that took apart a championship roster. Those include the Justin Faulk trade, losing Alex Pietrangelo over a no-movement clause, and replacing him with Torey Krug. They also cover exposing Vince Dunn in the expansion draft, letting Jaden Schwartz and David Perron go, and the Vladimir Tarasenko shoulder situation, and then the trades of Tarasenko, O'Reilly and Barbashev and the firing of Craig Berube. The hosts also credit the Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway offer sheets, but they question long contracts for Buchnevich, Fowler and Nick Leddy. They finish by grading Armstrong's legacy, and by asking whether the Blues can come back from a failed retool and what Doug Armstrong has left behind.

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Episode 4: One Last Offseason Move?

With the preseason opener days away, the Real Blue hosts ask whether the Blues have one more move in them. They go through the rumor mill, including Alexander Nikishin, Jason Robertson, Simon Edvinsson and Logan Stanley. They also talk about the Blues' remaining cap space, and what actually has to happen on the roster to make room for anyone new.

The hosts disagree about how aggressive the Blues should be. One argues for making a splash, another for patience, and a third for leaving things alone, and a lot of that argument comes back to no-trade clauses and a thin supply of draft picks. They also look back at favorite Blues trades, including the Wayne Gretzky trade and Mike Keenan's tenure. They then ask how much longer Jim Montgomery lasts if the rebuild drags on, and they debate whether the Blues are two years or four years from being exciting again, with a few thoughts on the preseason opener and the goalies.

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Episode 3: Remembering the St. Louis Blues and Armstrong’s road to the 2019 Stanley Cup

Real Blue's third episode begins with the hosts remembering Barry Melrose. Then comes some training-camp happy talk about Ross Johnston and Mason McTavish, and a lap around the league. That lap covers the Ducks' standoff with Cutter Gauthier, the Red Wings' GM vacancy with Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson unresolved, and the NHL's expansion talk about Houston, Atlanta and why not Canada. They also take a trivia question about Doug Armstrong's lone GM of the Year award and revisit how national TV covered the Blues against the Bruins in the 2019 Cup final.

The main segment is a look back at the good side of Doug Armstrong, tracing how the Blues' Stanley Cup roster came together. The hosts walk through the trades, draft picks and signings: Jay Bouwmeester, Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn, Oskar Sundqvist, Martin Brodeur's brief return, Ryan O'Reilly and Tyler Bozak. They also touch on the Vegas expansion draft, a theory about the Patrick Berglund no-trade list, Craig Berube replacing Mike Yeo, and Jordan Binnington's run. They end by saying Armstrong deserves his credit, and they promise that the other side of the ledger is coming in the next episode.

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Episode 2: Mayich tragedy, Thomas is captain, and the Blues Hall of Fame review

Real Blue's second episode starts with a sober look at the heat-stroke tragedy in Arizona State's hockey program, involving Blues draft pick Matthew Mayich. The hosts are blunt about what they see as a failure of basic training safeguards and accountability. They then turn to the news that the Blues will be on Amazon this season, and to Robert Thomas being named captain, with Jake Neighbors, Colton Parayko, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway as assistants. Each host says who they would have picked instead, and they ask what the choice signals about Thomas's future. They also run through the franchise's long list of captains.

Most of the episode is a review of the Blues Hall of Fame and its criteria, with the current class and the next ballot: Backes, Bouwmeester, Brown, Caron, Francis, Hitchcock, Mullen, Oates, Oshie, Shanahan, Turgeon and Quenneville. Joined by their LA correspondent Jason, the hosts argue over who belongs on character, longevity, big moments or just vibes. They each submit three votes, and a few of the cases get heated. Later they trade memories of rewatching a 1990 Blues-Blackhawks game, and they take shots at Gary Bettman and at what the league did to its old rivalries.

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Episode 1: Will they make the playoffs, who will be traded, and more!

In the first episode of Real Blue, a St. Louis Blues podcast, the hosts open with their earliest Blues game memories and the surprisingly long history of the old Arena (aka, the Checkerdome). Then they get to the real question: can this team make the playoffs? They go through the competition in the Central Division and the wild-card race, including Dallas, Colorado, Minnesota, Utah, Nashville and Winnipeg. They also explain why they don't see where the goals are coming from.

From there the hosts look at the roster. They debate whether Robert Thomas is really a number one center, and whether St. Louis spoiled Jordan Kyrou and Thomas. They also make their picks for who leads the team in goals and points, and at least one of those picks is a long shot. Along the way they cover Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer in net, Logan Mailloux, Brandon Carlo, Mason McTavish and Philip Broberg. They also question the Cam Fowler extension and Ross Johnston's three-year deal, and they talk about the Alexander Nikishin cap rumors. They close with the unresolved question of where Blues fans will actually be able to watch games, a half-serious workaround involving Sportsnet+, and what they hate about three-on-three overtime.

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