Did the Blues make a mistake not re-signing Pietrangelo?

[BlueKnight]

Did the Blues make a mistake not re-signing Pietrangelo?

Every game is looking worse and worse. Lost to the Avs tonight. And if they make the playoffs they'll get steamrolled by the Avs and Vegas.

Curious what others think.

Click to read more...

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

They just won a Cup so it's probably wrong to wonder what their GM is doing but not paying Pietrangelo to give a contract to Krug and insane money to Justin Faulk seems like a bad decision. Why not just bring back Pietrangelo over them?

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

I imagine Pietrangelo just didn’t want to be there

 

[Big Phil]

Unless he was going to leave regardless of what they said, then yes it was a bad choice to let him walk.

 

[majormajor]

They definitely made a mistake by being so tentative about re-signing Pietro. As I recall the final decision was his.

The Faulk deal came a year earlier. He's a fine player but that made three big minute RHD's on one blueline. Players don't like awkward fits like that.

They then waited until very late to make their big offer to Pietro, when he already has interviews with other clubs lined up, days before free agency. That alienates the player. Krug is then just the next best thing they can get for
the blueline.

I'll let a Blues fan correct my account of events. It does strike me as a screw-up by the Blues FO.

 

[Sky04]

He didn't want to re-sign

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

St. Louis was skittish on bonuses and the full NMC for the duration of the deal.

https://theathletic.com/2128810/2020/10/10/alex-pietrangelo-era-ends-blues-sign-torey-krug/?source=user_shared_article

The former is understandable under the circumstances, but the latter is putting organizational philosophy ahead of what’s best for the current iteration of the club. The Blues’ window wasn’t going to stay open for long. Who cares if Pietrangelo can’t be bought out easily 4-5 years later? The team would be rebuilding/retooling anyway.

 

[BlueMed]

I wish Blues fans would stop acting like Army either "didn't want Petro to come back" or "didnt care" or "waited until the last minute" or "let him walk away." All of those statements represent a fundamental misunderstanding of contract negotiations in the sense that TWO parties are always involved. I understand that athletes have every right to ask for their worth, but if you turn down 40+M dollars for a job, you either dont like the city, want more money, or let your ego in the way because lack of financial security is never a plausible reason.

 

[BlueMed]

St. Louis was skittish on bonuses and the full NMC for the duration of the deal.

https://theathletic.com/2128810/2020/10/10/alex-pietrangelo-era-ends-blues-sign-torey-krug/?source=user_shared_article

The former is understandable under the circumstances, but the latter is putting organizational philosophy ahead of what’s best for the current iteration of the club. The Blues’ window wasn’t going to stay open for long. Who cares if Pietrangelo can’t be bought out easily 4-5 years later? The team would be rebuilding/retooling anyway.

That is a valid question that I think should be entertained.

 

[Iapyi]

He is the kind of player you win SCs with. I can't say whether or not it was a mistake because I was not parley to the conversations and intricacies of negotiations but they would most certainly be a better team with him. Frankly any team in the league would be though.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Generally letting elite talent walk away is a bad idea. Only year 1 though. Could be AP and his agent just saw a better situation in Vegas for him.

 

[Son of Petter]

Agreed! The Jordan Binnington contract was a huge mistake.

 

[nbwingsfan]

No but Krug is definitely getting exposed outside of Boston's system

 

[jetsforever]

Well obviously it would have been better to re-sign an elite #1D but it seemingly wasn't totally up to them.

 

[BlueDream]

He didn't want to re-sign

That’s not factual.

 

[thadd]

ALEX PIETRANGELO #7

Vegas Golden Knights

Alternate Captain

Right Defense

Cap Hit: $8,800,000
Daily Cap Hit: $75,862
Accumulated Daily Cap Hit

: $7,586,207
Remaining Daily Cap Hit

: $1,213,793
Estimated Career Earnings

: $52,718,222
BORN:January 18, 1990
BIRTHPLACE:King City, Ontario, Canada
NATIONALITY:Canada
HEIGHT:
6'3"191cm
WEIGHT:
210 lbs95kg
SHOOTS:Right
AGE:31
ELC SIGNING AGE:18
WAIVERS SIGNING AGE:18
DRAFT YEAR:2008
DRAFTED OVERALL:4
DRAFT ROUND:1
DRAFTED BY:

STL

SEASON	CLAUSE	CAP HIT	AAV	P. BONUSES	S. BONUSES	BASE SALARY	TOTAL SALARY	MINORS SALARY
2020-21	NMC	$8,800,000	$8,800,000	$0	$3,000,000	$2,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000
2021-22	NMC	$8,800,000	$8,800,000	$0	$3,000,000	$2,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000
2022-23	NMC	$8,800,000	$8,800,000	$0	$7,000,000	$1,000,000	$8,000,000	$8,000,000
2023-24	NMC	$8,800,000	$8,800,000	$0	$8,000,000	$4,300,000	$12,300,000	$12,300,000
2024-25	NMC	$8,800,000	$8,800,000	$0	$8,000,000	$4,500,000	$12,500,000	$12,500,000
2025-26	NMC	$8,800,000	$8,800,000	$0	$6,000,000	$4,000,000	$10,000,000	$10,000,000
2026-27	NMC	$8,800,000	$8,800,000	$0	$0	$8,800,000	$8,800,000	$8,800,000
TOTAL		$61,600,000	$61,600,000	$0	$35,000,000	$26,600,000	$61,600,000	$61,600,000

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

That doesn't look like a mistake.
Why the hell would teams sign this contract?
Rear loaded contracts are toxic.
He'll be 38 at the end of this contract.
The dude does a pretty good job of staying healthy and he's consistently productive, but he's on the wrong side of 30 and this contract looks totally dumb from a sane GM's perspective.

 

[bobholly39]

He didn't want to re-sign

By free agency, maybe. Lots of other opportunities calling, he was excited, wanted to test market, etc. But that's on the Blues. Negotiate and re-sign him one year out. Like they did with Doughty in LA. If they had been more committed to get a deal done and pay him his due, he'd still be a Blue.

Yes, they made a mistake. He's a good player, should have kept him

 

[centipede2233]

I’m not surprised. Listen, the blues won the cup because piet was a 6.75 mil cap hit, Binnington was on his ELC. Those 2 contracts go a long way to success in their cup run. The krug and Hoffman signings are not good.
Also add in the fact tarasenko isn’t the same player. The blues won their cup, that’s great for the city and the fans, cherish it as it’s going to be a long time before you sniff another one.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Of course they did. This was their cup window, now its gone.

 

[Black Kevin]

GM Army prioritized guys like Faul over Pietro, then gave him a low ball offer and signed Krug.

No way Pietro wants to move. Mans got 4 kids lmao.

 

[lawrence]

I haven't really followed the standings, but man , I am shocked they are a 500 club just like Vancouver. I think they made a huge mistake not signing him.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

St. Louis was skittish on bonuses and the full NMC for the duration of the deal.

https://theathletic.com/2128810/2020/10/10/alex-pietrangelo-era-ends-blues-sign-torey-krug/?source=user_shared_article

The former is understandable under the circumstances, but the latter is putting organizational philosophy ahead of what’s best for the current iteration of the club. The Blues’ window wasn’t going to stay open for long. Who cares if Pietrangelo can’t be bought out easily 4-5 years later? The team would be rebuilding/retooling anyway.

Blues fans would care. I've seen what happens with contracts like that with the Red Wings and if Army had overpaid Petro you all would be calling for his head. Krug and Faulk have their faults but they are not the main reason the Blues have been slipping this year, nor would Petro have made a significant difference. In hindsight the only thing Army could have done differently that might have had better results would have been trying to swap Petro for Schmidt, but you can't dwell on that.

Blues need a new PP coach, period, having or not having Petro doesn't change that. Marc Savard left in the offseason and the Blues PP went from 3rd to 18th despite them bringing 'PP Specialists' like Krug and Hoffman. That is literally the difference between the Blues being a contender and struggling to make the playoffs.

 

[LeafGrief]

It's definitely weird that they gave their goalie a "thanks for everything contract" but looked to play hardball with Pietrangelo.

 

[LOFIN]

Probably yes, but it's not like having him on that team fixes their problems this year.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Well, the avs are a pretty good team, so losing to them isn't an indication of a mistake.

I haven't seen him play this year, but I felt that contract to Binnington was wrong in every aspect.