Confirmed with Link: Blais signs 2 years $1.5mil AAV

[Davimir Tarablad]

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[Spektre]

Approve

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

Hell yeah

 

[Mike Liut]

Love Sammy. He played a huge role in the cup run.

 

[mk80]

Very good deal!

 

[Stealth JD]

Love me some Sammy Blais...he’s going to fit great in Seattle

 

[Borderbluesfan]

I’m good with this. He has played up and down on lines 2-4. Bottom 6 player but has enough skill that he doesn’t look out of place on the top two lines.

 

[izzy]

that is a god damn phenomenal deal

top 5 in hits per 60 of players in over 40 games and isnt a bum offensively

he doesnt get hurt this year, hed be making much more

 

[bluesXwinXtheXcup]

Love me some Sammy Blais...he’s going to fit great in Seattle

Blais, not Faulk...

 

[MissouriMook]

I actually think that the AAV is a bit much. He’s getting more than Barbashev and Barbashev’s worst season offensively is better than Blais’ best, not to mention that I feel that Barbashev is the better defensive forward.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I'm surprised to see this deal being negotiated now, but good for him. Blais is a guy that's probably just happy to be a full-time NHL player. He could be a fringe guy, but he fits the Blues well. He has enough hockey sense that he's changed his game from being a skilled guy to being a bottom 6 banger. But he can credibly slide up the line-up and function with the offensively skilled guys. I think there is still potential for him to turn into more than he is, but at that salary it won't be a disappointment if he doesn't.

 

[Alklha]

I actually think that the AAV is a bit much. He’s getting more than Barbashev and Barbashev’s worst season offensively is better than Blais’ best, not to mention that I feel that Barbashev is the better defensive forward.

The flip side is that we can point to Sanford; the numbers for Blais this season are similar to those from Sanford last season, Blais was more trusted than Sanford in the playoffs last season, etc. It isn't a surprise that he's ended up with the same deal as Sanford.

I agree that the deals for both Sanford and Blais are a little much given what they have shown until the point of signing, but Armstrong is clearly favouring the cost certainty just now.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

The Cup victory was built on the backs of guys like Sundqvist, Blais, Barbashev, and even Sanford. They have proven they can buy in harmoniously to what Berube is selling. That’s worth something, and these are certainly not large salaries.

 

[Ranksu]

I love Blais and his physical game. His gamestyle is furious and I'm afraid he'll suffer a lot of injuries of because how he plays the game.

 

[Brian39]

I like this deal a lot (for a number of reasons) but I have to agree that the AAV is a bit surprising to me. It's fairly rare to see Army give out this type of raise to a guy with fewer than 100 carer games played, so I was expecting a 1 year bridge at a lower AAV.

With that said, I'm not complaining at all and have a few comments

1: This AAV seems to land somewhere in between what he'd get on a 1 year extension and what he would have made if he hadn't gotten hurt. This seems to be a nice mix of financial security for a player who plays a physical style and two years of a cap-friendly number for a team if he continues to succeed in a middle 6 role.

2: This contract is becoming a trend. $3M over 2 years has become our standard "this is what you get when you don't have arbitration rights" contract. I like it. This AAV is a few hundred grand more than we would have ultimately paid Blais for 2020/21 if we had played hardball and fought for every cent. But the flipside to that is that it prevents some amount of animosity among future RFAs. We are starting to build a really good track record to point to and say "this is the 2nd contract the St. Louis Blues offer unless we are talking about a long term deal. This number is not a reflection of your ability, but this is the bridge deal we offer unless we are getting a significant commitment into your UFA years." I'm thinking 100% about Dunn as I type this. We need to keep his AAV down if we are going to extend Petro. If I were the team, I would offer him a contract similar to these terms (worth slightly more), make the preceding sales pitch and (tactfully) tell his agent that he can either take the standard keep-the-band together bridge deal offered or he can take his QO and we will be happy to negotiate a higher AAV in 2021/22 when our cap space opens up.

3: My next jersey purchase is probably going to be a Blais jersey with a Cup Final patch. I almost pulled the trigger on one last summer, but had concerns about him getting nudged off the roster. This AAV pretty much locks him into a roster spot next year. I still crack up for some reason about Blais being the only guy who took a knee for the photo with the Clarence Campbell Bowl.

4: My childish brain wishes we had waited until Monday to announce the extension.

 

[Note Worthy]

Yaaaaasssssssss!

 

[AjaxManifesto]

More good news!!!!!

 

[BlueDream]

I’m fine with the price. Blais’ physicality is great.

He just needs to do one of 2 things:

A.) become more consistent offensively. Right now he’s a 4th liner who has shown flashes of being a potential middle 6’er. We’ll see if he can build on that. He needs to stay healthy if he wants to.

B.) Even if he doesn’t and remains a 4th liner, that’s fine as his bone crushing hits can be effective. But what he would then need to do is add more structure to his game. He’s all over the place. I’d like to see him get better defensively and make better decisions with the puck so he can become more reliable.

He’s only 23 so I think that growth will come, like it has for Sanford. But we have a lot of forwards and guys like Kyrou and Kostin will only get better and push for more time, so next season will be a key one for Blais to cement a spot.