Confirmed with Link: Blues sign Stastny!!!!!4 years, $7 million

[Majorityof1]

Both of those are too low. And our bottom-6 boat has too many riders. I think someone is going to end up shipped out for picks/prospects. Berglund is probably still in the crosshairs.

Agreed. But that is the only way we can get it done without shipping someone out. We can leave Jaskin in the AHL and save 3/4 million. We could also trade Leopold or Paajarvi, or demote Paajarvi. Leopold would require us to sign another 7th D. There are options, but if Schwartz and Sobe sign cheaper than we expect, we don't need them.

I was all for moving Berglund when I thought we were getting an upgrade at wing. Now that we are just doing it to cut salary, I don't like it. Losing Berglund and slotting up Jaskin or Paajarvi makes us worse. I like doing something with Paajarvi or Leopold for cap relief.

 

[simon IC]

Love this signing! Stastny is perfect for us. One thing though... everybody has Lehtera and Lindstrom penciled in their top six. Are the really that good? Neither of them have played a single NHL game. I was thinking maybe AHL time for conditioning/adjustment. Sorry to nit-pick but ...

 

[Lord Helix]

Love this signing! Stastny is perfect for us. One thing though... everybody has Lehtera and Lindstrom penciled in their top six. Are the really that good? Neither of them have played a single NHL game. I was thinking maybe AHL time for conditioning/adjustment. Sorry to nit-pick but ...

Not everyone has them in the top 6...Mostly top 9. And Lindstrom has played a bit.

 

[Majorityof1]

Love this signing! Stastny is perfect for us. One thing though... everybody has Lehtera and Lindstrom penciled in their top six. Are the really that good? Neither of them have played a single NHL game. I was thinking maybe AHL time for conditioning/adjustment. Sorry to nit-pick but ...

They were both good in their respective leagues. Scouts think both have a game that can translate well to the NHL. However, Lindstrom at least had a shot and failed at the NHL. Well, failure probably isn't the right word. He was younger, got shot, then was sent back down. He has improved greatly. The issue is, I do not think either has the game for a 4th line role. So they are pretty much stuck on the 3rd or higher. We invested a good bit of cash in Lehtera at the least. I'd hate for him to be sitting in the press box when we are cap crunched now.

 

[BluesCanada]

I didn't think we'd have the cap room to do it. As others have said, I'm sure he took less to come back home.

Do you slot him into Backes' spot, or do you not mess with that chemistry and have him anchor Tank and Schwartzy?

 

[Old Blueser]

Am I remembering it wrong, but didn't Statsny and Oshie play together in Sochi with some chemistry?

 

[Note Worthy]

It's still funny to see some, not all, Avs fans do a 180 on Stastny.

They were so sure he would sign with them and when he doesn't they act like they didn't want him to anyway.

Hilarious.

 

[Dbrownss]

Am I remembering it wrong, but didn't Statsny and Oshie play together in Sochi with some chemistry?

They played very well together. How that will translate to nhl ice would remain to be seen.

I don't care who's on who's line, I just want that red lamp on non stop

 

[Captain Creampuff]

It's still funny to see some, not all, Avs fans do a 180 on Stastny.

They were so sure he would sign with them and when he doesn't they act like they didn't want him to anyway.

Hilarious.

I just don't get what they could be mad about. They have ROR, Duchene, and Mackinnon as centers all of which are younger than him and still have room to go. Sure they could put ROR at wing but that would still mean Paul would be the 3rd line center because I fully expect Mackinnon to be capable at C next year, the kid is an incredible talent. Why wouldn't a guy of Pauly's talents want to be put in a better situation where he gets more gametime? Some people bring up the fact that he went to a rival but it's really just coincidence that his hometown is a division rival now, we've been talking about bringing in Stastny for years now.

It sucks that it had to happen I'm sure but you shouldn't wish ill will on the guy (I don't expect them to cheer him on as well however) for making a move that he felt would benefit his career better. It's not like he said the Blues were in a better position for the cup. It's really just about doing what he thinks is best for him.

 

[Lord Helix]

I just don't get what they could be mad about. They have ROR, Duchene, and Mackinnon as centers all of which are younger than him and still have room to go. Sure they could put ROR at wing but that would still mean Paul would be the 3rd line center because I fully expect Mackinnon to be capable at C next year, the kid is an incredible talent. Why wouldn't a guy of Pauly's talents want to be put in a better situation where he gets more gametime? Some people bring up the fact that he went to a rival but it's really just coincidence that his hometown is a division rival now, we've been talking about bringing in Stastny for years now.

It sucks that it had to happen I'm sure but you shouldn't wish ill will on the guy (I don't expect them to cheer him on as well however) for making a move that he felt would benefit his career better. It's not like he said the Blues were in a better position for the cup. It's really just about doing what he thinks is best for him.

He said in an interview that a big factor was that he didn't have to move between the season and off-season. Now he's at his main residence throughout the year with his new fiancee. The change really made too much sense when you consider all the factors.

 

[Meatball]

Am I remembering it wrong, but didn't Statsny and Oshie play together in Sochi with some chemistry?

They did. I remember seeing threads about their play together on the main boards. One was started by an Avs fan deriding Blues fans for wanting Stastny to play on the Blues for that reason. Also, many Blues fans here talked of the chemistry between Staz and Osh as well.

I lurked for quite a while, today seemed like a good day to finally jump in, by the way.

 

[BlueDream]

Stastny in his interview on NHL Tonight basically admitted there was only 2-3 teams on his list. It truly was probably between us and the Avs.

Not a surprise, but still just a good feeling.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

He was no longer our property, as far as I know. Thank Frank for that signing.

I thought we had his NHL rights coinciding with the end of his 2-year KHL contract (after next season). But no one was really suspecting he may buy out that contract and come over. So...it was thought he was as good as gone, though technically still a Blues prospect. In fact, I remember we had an argument over whether to include him in the preseason prospect rankings because of this.

 

[Meatwagon]

I thought we had his NHL rights coinciding with the end of his 2-year KHL contract (after next season). But no one was really suspecting he may buy out that contract and come over. So...it was thought he was as good as gone, though technically still a Blues prospect. In fact, I remember we had an argument over whether to include him in the preseason prospect rankings because of this.

Im pretty sure the Blues still owned his rights, its just after he signed a 2 year deal, everyone wrote him off as a wasted draft pick. I think thats correct, anyone else know?

 

[Meatwagon]

I was just lurking over at the Avs board, man they do not like us! Am i missing something? I get it they are pissed Stastny signed with us, but I dont see what else they hate the Blues so much?

Is it Backes punching their golden boy McKinnon? Or Hitch calling out Roy for being the Dbag he really is? Or was it that they are mad that Shattenkirk is better than EJ? That might be stretching it...hehehe. Or maybe because they gave Tarasenko a concussion and thought it was clean? Or was it because we dominated them pretty much all year?

None of those seem like hate worthy offenses, anyone else got a reason for the hate?

 

[542365]

I was just lurking over at the Avs board, man they do not like us! Am i missing something? I get it they are pissed Stastny signed with us, but I dont see what else they hate the Blues so much?

Is it Backes punching their golden boy McKinnon? Or Hitch calling out Roy for being the Dbag he really is? Or was it that they are mad that Shattenkirk is better than EJ? That might be stretching it...hehehe. Or maybe because they gave Tarasenko a concussion and thought it was clean? Or was it because we dominated them pretty much all year?

None of those seem like hate worthy offenses, anyone else got a reason for the hate?

We're division rivals.

 

[Note Worthy]

I was just lurking over at the Avs board, man they do not like us! Am i missing something? I get it they are pissed Stastny signed with us, but I dont see what else they hate the Blues so much?

Is it Backes punching their golden boy McKinnon? Or Hitch calling out Roy for being the Dbag he really is? Or was it that they are mad that Shattenkirk is better than EJ? That might be stretching it...hehehe. Or maybe because they gave Tarasenko a concussion and thought it was clean? Or was it because we dominated them pretty much all year?

None of those seem like hate worthy offenses, anyone else got a reason for the hate?

I can understand their frustration. A player they drafted and have watched grown over the years has not only left but left to a team in the same division.

Think of Backes or Oshie hitting free agency and then deciding to go to Colorado. It would definitely leave a sour taste in most of our mouths so I definitely can't blame them for being a bit salty.

 

[simon IC]

I was just lurking over at the Avs board, man they do not like us! Am i missing something? I get it they are pissed Stastny signed with us, but I dont see what else they hate the Blues so much?

Is it Backes punching their golden boy McKinnon? Or Hitch calling out Roy for being the Dbag he really is? Or was it that they are mad that Shattenkirk is better than EJ? That might be stretching it...hehehe. Or maybe because they gave Tarasenko a concussion and thought it was clean? Or was it because we dominated them pretty much all year?

None of those seem like hate worthy offenses, anyone else got a reason for the hate?

(looking at the worm can) hmmm....Shatty...EJ...hhhmmmmm not right now.

 

[Majorityof1]

I had a thought. If Colorado is as salty as their fans, there is an easy way they could get a lot of revenge. They have $10M in cap space, and could probably create some more if necessary. The seems enough to make an offer sheet for Schwartz that would put us in a terrible position with our cap crunch. I don't know how negotiations are going with him. If they start to falter, Colorado could swoop in and offer a contract as bad as Calgary did for ROR. Hit us with a $4.5+ cap hit and a bloated back end. You know we will match it. Then we will have to dump players, maybe more than we planned. Roy is a VP of hockey operations and he doesn't exactly like us, and is a very fiery guy. I can see him wanting to screw us over.

 

[simon IC]

I had a thought. If Colorado is as salty as their fans, there is an easy way they could get a lot of revenge. They have $10M in cap space, and could probably create some more if necessary. The seems enough to make an offer sheet for Schwartz that would put us in a terrible position with our cap crunch. I don't know how negotiations are going with him. If they start to falter, Colorado could swoop in and offer a contract as bad as Calgary did for ROR. Hit us with a $4.5+ cap hit and a bloated back end. You know we will match it. Then we will have to dump players, maybe more than we planned. Roy is a VP of hockey operations and he doesn't exactly like us, and is a very fiery guy. I can see him wanting to screw us over.

If we didn't counter offer, wouldn't that be Schwartz for 5 1st rounders, including 2015? Not saying I'd do it automatically, but, hmmm.....

 

[2 Minute Minor]

I had a thought. If Colorado is as salty as their fans, there is an easy way they could get a lot of revenge. They have $10M in cap space, and could probably create some more if necessary. The seems enough to make an offer sheet for Schwartz that would put us in a terrible position with our cap crunch. I don't know how negotiations are going with him. If they start to falter, Colorado could swoop in and offer a contract as bad as Calgary did for ROR. Hit us with a $4.5+ cap hit and a bloated back end. You know we will match it. Then we will have to dump players, maybe more than we planned. Roy is a VP of hockey operations and he doesn't exactly like us, and is a very fiery guy. I can see him wanting to screw us over.

Schwartz would have to sign the offer sheet. I really doubt he'd do that. I think the players have a relationship of trust with Armstrong, and its very clear the Blues are on the cusp of something special in the next couple years. A guy like Schwartz would probably think its dumb to jeopardize his role in that, unless Armstrong was screwing him over (which is hard to imagine).

 

[Majorityof1]

If we didn't counter offer, wouldn't that be Schwartz for 5 1st rounders, including 2015? Not saying I'd do it automatically, but, hmmm.....

1st and a third for $3.5-5M. $5-6.72M only gets you a first, 2nd and 3rd. That would be Colorado's first, so not very good, especially if they had Schwartz. No way in hell we let them take him. Most you can get is 4 1sts and that is for contracts over $8.4M, so if Subban gets an offer sheet.

 

[simon IC]

1st and a third for $3.5-5M. $5-6.72M only gets you a first, 2nd and 3rd. That would be Colorado's first, so not very good, especially if they had Schwartz. No way in hell we let them take him. Most you can get is 4 1sts and that is for contracts over $8.4M, so if Subban gets an offer sheet.

Agreed. I wasn't up to date on my compensation. What you are projecting is pretty scary. Let's hope Patrick Roy isn't a lurker here!

 

[Majorityof1]

Schwartz would have to sign the offer sheet. I really doubt he'd do that. I think the players have a relationship of trust with Armstrong, and its very clear the Blues are on the cusp of something special in the next couple years. A guy like Schwartz would probably think its dumb to jeopardize his role in that, unless Armstrong was screwing him over (which is hard to imagine).

Agreed, but we are operating on a tight budget. Armstrong is tight fisted with contracts. Schwartz came off of a break-out season. He is young. All the ingredients for drama. I don't think Schwartz would do it, but it would be tempitng and a hell of a negotiation tactic for him. Imagine if discussions stall and they are at an impasse. Army is stuck at 3 years, $3.3. Schwartz wants 6 years at $6 or 2 at $4. Neither side has budged for days. Along comes the Avs and offers 2 years at $5 with the last year being $6 so he'd be guaranteed that on his next offer sheet. He knows the Blues will match so he won't switch teams. It would be tough to turn that down.

 

[LGB51]

Agreed. But that is the only way we can get it done without shipping someone out. We can leave Jaskin in the AHL and save 3/4 million. We could also trade Leopold or Paajarvi, or demote Paajarvi. Leopold would require us to sign another 7th D. There are options, but if Schwartz and Sobe sign cheaper than we expect, we don't need them.

I was all for moving Berglund when I thought we were getting an upgrade at wing. Now that we are just doing it to cut salary, I don't like it. Losing Berglund and slotting up Jaskin or Paajarvi makes us worse. I like doing something with Paajarvi or Leopold for cap relief.

How about moving MPS ($1.2m) and Reaves, his $1.125m moved might be enough on cap relief right?