The other issue is picking the next superstar defenseman out of a draft is a daunting proposition. The best of them will take at least 2-3 years and usually 3-5 years to develop into the force they need to be. Colton Parayko has all the skills and tools, like Pronger but he needs to be coached well and play next to someone with a lot more grit than Petro. Rest assured, if he were traded to the right team, he would be a Norris candidate many, many times and possibly win a few. I'll leave the picking of those guys to the folks that scout them for a living. The only two I even know about are Bowen Byram and the German kid, Moritz Seider. Both of those kids look like the real deal. I'm sure someone will win the Norris Trophy 6 or 8 years from now that was drafter in 2019 and we don't even know his name...

My only concern with Hughes is size. Even if they put some weight on him, he's still going to be smallish. We see how that works for guys like Fabbri. I would rather have a guy with a little more size. And it appears this year's draft has some pretty good forwards with Hughes-like skill but more size. All the skill in the world doesn't help much when you're on IR.

I just see the Blues really forking this whole thing up. I would bet a milkshake they miss the playoffs by only a few points and end up out of the top 5 draft picks...

Regarding the Schwartz funk, I have heard for the last few years that he and Berglund were close, very, very close. When you look at what happened with Berglund and then see Schwartz's funk, it sort of adds up. Trading him away in the off-season may have rocked both of their worlds more than either could handle. Who knows. It's all rumor and speculation. Apparently, the sports media types won't touch it with a 10' pole for obvious reasons. Who wants to be the writer or talk show host that throws that out there for people to chew on?