Confirmed with Link: Sanford resigns with Blues 2 year 3 mill (1.5 mill AAV)

[Eldon Reid]

I think he got more than a lot of us have expected.

Sanford avoids arbitration, agrees to two-year deal

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[67Blues]

Just saw that. A bit higher than I expected. Had him in at probably $2m over 2 years.

 

[BlueDream]

I swear I just had some random feeling that Sanford would sign today and then I pull up Twitter 5 mins later and see the announcement. That was weird but I’ll take it.

Not a bad contract. The potential is there. Even if he doesn’t become more than a 4th liner, it’s not much money.

 

[TheBluePenguin]

I think its fair, he should get an opportunity to earn some more regular season playing time, seemed to have some chemistry with ROR and can be thrown up their with that line at times.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Not that big of a deal but it seems high to me. I don’t know how he gets any more than Blais.

Happy to have him back.

 

[Deko]

Two year deal provides excellent cost control for 2020-21 when Blues could be in serious trouble with the cap. Now if he becomes solid middle six player his next deal will kick in after Steen, Allen and Bozak contracts are off the books.

 

[BlueSinceBirth]

I want to know what Berube said to him before putting him back in the lineup in the final. That was a completely different Sanford.

 

[STL BLUES]

Some of us humorous fans had fun with Bradford... glad the name saga continues.

Good one for Fred Sanford.

 

[Blues0307]

Seems a bit high. If he can play regularly and produce, maybe he can become a 3rd line regular. Then the deal will look good.

 

[Note Worthy]

Seems a little on the high side but obviously not ridiculous enough to warrant any complaining or concern.

 

[STL fan in MN]

A bit more than I was expecting but I was also assuming a 1 year deal. The 2nd year raised the AAV...but that could end up saving the Blues some cash in 2021-22 and beyond.

A solid 3rd liner. Needs to keep growing his game, consistency and continue to add bulk but he’s got a lot of good tools, good hockey sense, good positioning/D play, etc. Has the ability to play up and down the lineup a bit.

A bit of a risk going two years on a guy that hasn’t fully established himself but it’s a worthwhile risk IMO.

 

[Falco Lombardi]

Little high for Jack Danford but hey.

We won the f***ing Cup so who cares?

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

Why is everyone saying it’s a little high? Is this a meme? He’s making $1.5mil / yr, if you can get anybody - anybody - to produce regularly on your team at $1.5, you’re extremely fortunate. That’s a tremendous deal. After the finals, I don’t know why people are still so skeptical / bitter about Sanford. Get on board already

 

[GoldenSeal]

Potential is there, good contract!

 

[Alklha]

Surprised that it isn't a one year deal at $1m-$1.2m range. We must be pretty bullish that he'll have a good year next season.

I had expected this to be the contract that Barbashev would have got, but that will probably have to be revised up now.

 

[Falco Lombardi]

Why is everyone saying it’s a little high? Is this a meme? He’s making $1.5mil / yr, if you can get anybody - anybody - to produce regularly on your team at $1.5, you’re extremely fortunate. That’s a tremendous deal. After the finals, I don’t know why people are still so skeptical / bitter about Sanford. Get on board already

Probably because 7 games is about the longest Sanford has ever gone before going invisible if not outright being a negative.

 

[TheBluePenguin]

Surprised that it isn't a one year deal at $1m-$1.2m range. We must be pretty bullish that he'll have a good year next season.

I had expected this to be the contract that Barbashev would have got, but that will probably have to be revised up now.

I mean Barbs and Sunny we always going to get a bit more then 1.5 right? I cannot be the only one who think that, both play center that always costs more and both are can move up in the lineup for short periods of time. I would think if you could get either of them at 2m then its a steal but I would think they should come around 2.5

 

[David Dennison]

Barbs doesn't have arbitration rights, so doesn't he pretty much have to take what we give him?

 

[Brian39]

Surprised that it isn't a one year deal at $1m-$1.2m range. We must be pretty bullish that he'll have a good year next season.

I had expected this to be the contract that Barbashev would have got, but that will probably have to be revised up now.

I think we have a shot at getting Barby at $1.5 on a 1 year deal, but I'm not sure what incentive he has to take a 2 year deal at that price. He had a good year where he took a pretty big step in development playing a role I don't think he expected to be playing 2 years ago. He became a decent contributor to the PK, found a bit more of an NHL-levl scoring touch and took big strides with his play off the puck. Unless you really make it worth his while, I don't see the incentive for a 2 year deal from his perspective. The extra security of a 2nd year doesn't mean much to a guy who will certainly get a qualifying offer barring a catastrophic injury and he could make close to $1.5 in the KHL if he completely washes out by this time next year (highly unlikely). He is already worth $1.5, so why commit to that for a 2nd year when there is a decent chance he can take another step and earn a bit more money?

This is about the AAV I'm hoping for on a 1 year deal for Barby and I don't know how much this contract changes those chances. I'd happily take Barby on a 2 year deal at $1.75 (or really anything under $2 mil AAV if we are getting another year). I've been a big Barby fan for years though.

 

[blues hillbilly]

Injured shoulder in fluke boarding during practice two years ago and last year a little bigger and improvement in most phases.

If he improves to teen goals and 30 points, that would be big improvement depending on playing time.

About what I expected. No complaints.

Go get em kid.

 

[PiggySmalls]

I think the 2 years had some to do with having expansion draft eligible players available. The difference in his play between the Winnipeg series and the SCF was night and day. IDK if it had more to do with them playing Boston or he just needed to see how you gotta play in the playoffs.

 

[Brian39]

Barbs doesn't have arbitration rights, so doesn't he pretty much have to take what we give him?

Basically, but he has a few options.

His qualifying offer was $875k. If all we are offering are low-ball multi-year deals, he could just take his 1 year qualifying offer. That would allow him to play next year, earn arbitration rights and then cash in at that hearing.

He could also technically go play in the KHL. we would hold onto his NHL rights for 4 more years, but if we are truly low-balling him he could make as much or more there for the next couple years.

None of this will happen, but they are the pieces of leverage he has to force us to make reasonable offers.

 

[Deko]

I wonder how much pair of fresh legs and being less banged up in general amounted to Sanford's success in the finals. Blues got their fair share of rest between series, but 26 games of playoff hockey in two months is tough. Blais and Fabbri each looked impressive in their first couple of games and Kuhlman was pretty good for Bruins, too.

 

[67Blues]

The only thing that worries me is the precedence that is set for our other RFAs in terms of $$$$

 

[WeWentBlues]

Almost doubled his ELC salary. I was hoping to extend him closer to 1M. Cost of winning the Stanley Cup I suppose. 500k doesn't seem like much of a difference but it's going to make things that much tighter.

Leaves 13.1M in cap space to extend Fabbri, Barbashev, Sundqvist, Edmundson, and Binnington. I think the Blues will have to make a move to fit everyone.

Just as an example, the following would put us over the cap, at least according to CapFriendly.
Fabbri - 1.5M
Barbashev - 2M
Sundqvist - 3M
Edmundson - 3.5M
Binnington - 5M