The SHOCKING TRUTH behind the Logan Mailloux Trade REVEALED...

The shocking truth on the Logan Mayhew trade has been revealed as Doug Armstrong speaks out on the recently acquired right-handed defenseman and exactly how he fits the timeline of this team. We're going to break down everything on Logan Mayhew, where he fits, and some crazy quotes from Doug Armstrong later on in this episode. Before we get into that, I just want to give a huge shout out to everyone watching us on the Blues Digest side. The growth has been insane. And if you're watching this from the Hattrick side and you're enjoying Blues content, go check out Blues Digest, where we'll be doing daily videos on everything around the St. Louis Blues that you're not going to want to miss. But with that, we're going to hop straight into this today. Before we get into it, I just want to make it very clear, even with free agency going in when this closes, we're going to cover everything on prospects, the development camp, going into next year. So you're going to want to check out all these videos, but we're going to get straight into the truth on this trade that a lot of Blues fans are very skeptical on. Right now, we do know Boudic was traded for Mayhew. We do have Josh from Habs Digest here to give us a real big rundown on what to expect with acquiring this player. We've seen the quote from Doug Armstrong adding Mayhew fills a void for us in a group today and tomorrow. I mean, Josh, what was your initial reaction to Mayhew going and what should Blues fans expect from this defenseman? I mean, from the Habs side, it's always tough giving up, you know, a six foot three right hand shot defenseman with incredible offensive upside. That's what you get with Logan Mayhew. You saw 12 goals in 63 games this year. He had 47 points in 72 games last year as a rookie. He was an AHL All-Star, even at four points in seven games with the time he spent with the Montreal Canadiens this year. So the thing is, from Montreal's side, Zachary Bolduc fits the long term vision of the roster a lot better than a Logan Mayhew, of course, while still having Mike Matheson, just acquiring Noah Dobson, having David Reimbacher in the system. So bringing in Bolduc fills that kind of role of a depth, you know, depth up front at least and scoring up front with a young guy. But Mayhew, I was always saying if he could go to a team where he'd be given the opportunity, he could really light the world on fire. The big downside with Logan Mayhew is that a lot of the time he makes a lot of mistakes, right? That's the big thing that has single handedly kept him down in the AHL for Montreal. Even with a lack of depth on the right side, he hasn't been able to make that leap despite that incredible offensive talent because of the mistakes he tends to make. And, you know, his offense is unbelievable, right? NHL level today, he plays with a mean streak, he fights, he's physical, you just gotta shore up those mistakes. And honestly, once he does, I genuinely believe he can be a force to be reckoned with in the NHL. And it wouldn't surprise me to see him running a power play at some point in the future if all things go right. So while I know Blues fans are not happy about giving up on Bolduc, bringing in a guy like Yeah, and Josh, I do agree. I think there is a lot of value when he comes in onto this power play. And we do get a quote from Doug Armstrong on this going into he's an excellent skater, an excellent shot. We think he's NHL ready now. I talked to him, I told him he has the opportunity, he has the job now. It's his job to come into camp and keep it. I mean, Darius, this is kind of crazy. We're getting a guy that spent majority of the year last year in the AHL, he had a stint with the Montreal Canadiens. But he does seem poised to join this group. Now Nick Letty placed some waivers. Go check out the video we dropped earlier on that. But what is your initial thoughts on what seems like he's going to be a full time Blues player going into next year? Yeah, I think that he might actually end up making the jump because it's going to be okay and exactly what the Blues need. And I want to echo what Josh said that, you know, I think that he actually can run a power play. And I think that's kind of the game plan right here. And what we've been talking about on the channel that, you know, this Blues core, the defense core is getting older. They're good right now. They're good in the immediate. But it was something that you have to start thinking about, you know, restocking the shelves a little bit, so to speak. So getting Mayhew is exactly that. Now, I did say in the video that, you know, we covered the trade happened immediately. We had a video covering that. I did say that, you know, ironically, I think I watched Mayhew's worst game that he's ever played live. So I have a pretty skewed version of what he looks like. I think I think it was probably the worst game he's ever played. But you could see flashes of brilliance, right? Like the way he can move the puck, the way he can shoot the puck. I did see those things. It was just the physicality in that game and a lot of mistakes. He looked nervous. But if you look at the full sample size, he's been playing great at the AHL level. He had a stint at the NHL level. I feel like he is probably ready at this point to make the jump in the right circumstance. And it's probably with the Blues. Is he going to run the power play immediately? Maybe not, but I feel like he's going to, you know, slide into that role at some point and maybe they start feeding him a couple of power plays, you know, throughout the season. So I do think with Nick Letty, like you said, we're going to have another video covering that. So go check that out. But with Nick Letty being placed on waivers, it does open the door a little bit. I know they played opposite sides, but it does actually open the door for him to maybe be a full-time NHL. And I mean, Josh, the big thing is looking into the future of Logan Mayhew. We know right now he's a big defenseman that does throw the occasional hit. He puts up points in the AHL. We did get a snippet from Pierre McGuire going into and asked if the separation point from is that big? And he says it's not even close. They're about the same player. When looking at him as a prospect, former Habs prospect, and we're going to touch on Ball Duke very quickly in a moment, but looking at these two players, could you see a comparable where at some point Logan Mayhew comes in as a power play quarterback that's going to put up 60 plus points on a blue line? I think that is an optimistic view of what he could do. And I mean, if all things click for him, I think in a vacuum, he has the offensive talent where if he was put in a role similar to Bouchard, where he's playing with those level of players around him, I could see the point totals being near that. However, I don't see him making that kind of jump to the NHL where he, he creates offense at the NHL level at the same level as Bouchard. I do see where Pierre McGuire is coming from. And look, I'm not saying it's impossible. I think his ceiling is very high. I just think the floor is lower than someone like a Bouchard, just in the sense that, again, the decision making, which is something that could very well be improved, in fact, that was the number one thing he was working on in Laval this year, the decision making and also his defensive play, which is partially why you saw his points drop a bit this year compared to last year in Laval, is like he can do it, but there's a lot that needs to go right, right? The attitude seems to be there. He wants to, he wants to win, but he was getting pushed out of Montreal system by other prospects and even guys like lesser heralded guys, like an Adam Engstrom, a left-hand shot young defenseman for Laval, ended up taking some of Mayu's time, right? So it's like, it can be there. If all things click, I could see him putting up pretty significant numbers. I have a hard time saying he'll end up being like a $10 million contract guy like Evan Bouchard, but you know, if things fall into the right place, I can see the impact at his ceiling being somewhere near that, sure. And I mean, the thing is moving up Boulder, it hurts as a Blues fan, losing a player that had an incredible season. We know the Blues had a log jam and they made it very clear that they drafted Carabino. They have Cairo. They have Snuggerud on this right side. It did seem like they were slowly having to move out wingers because Boulder did not have an area to kind of fill in this top six. And once again, this is from Puffpedia. This is not our lines. We do agree. Holloway should be up there. He should be on the oilers, but they massively screwed up on that. But the big thing is with this team, it is getting really heavy on both wings with a few prospects drafted with everything they do have. It sucks to lose out on Ball Duke. What he did on Armanti, 19 goals, Josh, you're getting a hell of a player. And I'm just going to kind of throw it to you Darius before Josh, what is your thoughts on the impact of Ball Duke and do you think it's going to hurt this team a little bit or could you see someone really taking the next step up, maybe even a divorce key? I think that, you know, it's not necessarily going to hurt the team. He was a great young player that I think was going to, at some point, maybe become a top six player, could play top six wing time. But if you look at the blues current lineup right now, in the immediate, they're good on the wings and they're good on the wings in the future. You have Carbineau coming up. You just drafted him. I feel like he's only a couple of years away at this point. Again, we have to see how his development goes, but I think he's a lot closer than people realize. They're good on the wings. This also freed up salary cap space for a need. That's what we've been talking about. You need to get younger on the blue line quickly, right? And I feel like, you know, going through the draft, it's not fast enough. You have to start thinking about it. You can see some of the ages here with Pareko and obviously Fowler, who are great in the immediate, but you have to start thinking about it and adding some youth on the blue line. That's what they did with this trade. So in this league, I know it's all nice. You know, people want to trade, you know, spare parts for other teams, best players. It never really works out like that in this league. You need to give to get. So that's exactly what happened here. And I think Mayu is going to be a great player for the blues. And I know that Boldy is a fan favorite. Absolutely. And I think that he played that role. Fantastic. And, you know, he was fantastic in that role, but they got something that they needed out of it. And I mean, Josh, just to throw it to you quickly. What is your thoughts on Boldy joining this Habs team? For all the Habs fans watching, we're loving your comments, too. What is your thoughts on Boldy joining the team? And could you see him being in the top six next season? Yeah. Which is crazy, right? Like, you know, the Habs have made it clear that they need that top six help. And while Boldy is not that in the immediate, but, you know, 19 goals in 72 games is great. But 36 points, half a point per game is not really top six on this Montreal team right now. However, stylistically and projecting to the future, I absolutely see it. You know, a guy who was was in like the 90 plus percentile defensively five on five in the NHL this past year, while also getting seven power play goals, having that stretch of like incredible play right after the four nations. You can project him to be like a 25 ish goal scorer with a bit of physical edge over 100 hits in his 72 games. Playing with a guy like Yvonne Demidov could work really well. That super skilled winger, along with a guy who can forecheck, who can hit, who can play defensive Boldy on the other side. And I've been hearing some rumblings that, you know, Boldy played a bit of center in junior. Like maybe he could end up trying to shift over to the middle. Don't know if that's really the case. I think it's just one of these trades where Montreal had too much on the defensive end, especially adding Noah Dobson. You go to St. Louis, you get a guy who has that top six upside, who fills a specific need not only for skill, but for physicality and defense, at least in the immediate, in your middle six, while giving up a guy that kind of doesn't really fit the defense. So I really love this trade for Montreal. I think it's the perfect move. And also for St. Louis, like I know he's a fan favorite. I think he'll be awesome again from just up the river and just a couple hours away from Montreal and talking about like, you know, he'll be a fan favorite wherever he goes. His effort, his defense is great. And I just think these kinds of trades where, again, one team fills one need and another team fills another. Both teams' fans can maybe be a little upset at what they gave up, but at the end of the day, I think you'll see the best out of both of these players in these new situations. And it's hard to be upset with that. But I mean, Blues fans, what are your thoughts on this full trade? It's a full day later. We're getting quotes on this. We're getting videos from both players speaking. What's your initial thoughts? Habs fans, if you're here too, leave a comment. Go check out Habs Digest if you want to. That sucked, but whatever. That's besides the point. Just want to give a huge shout out to Josh for joining us. Blues fans, thank you once again for supporting this content. What was that? I'm in a blender. It's always a blender at the end of the episode. But if you enjoyed it, go leave a like, subscribe, share this with your friends. We'll be back with another episode, so keep your eye out for that. But I've been your host, Mark, with Josh and Darius, and take care.