Brian39
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- Apr 24, 2014
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Husso and Mikkola Get 2 Year Deals
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bleedblue1223
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- Jan 21, 2011
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Good that Mikkola should be in the group of 7 next season. I wonder how we handle Husso now.
GoldenSeal
Believe In The Note
Bloody impressed. Army's setting us up for the near-future quite nicely. Absolutely love where we're at! All hail Army and Stillman!
That’s not surprising for Mikkola, but I think it’s more interesting for Husso. Maybe they’ve learned from how Binnington was handled?
Husso’s entire salary can be buried if he’s not NHL material. What are the chances Husso can perform as well in the backup role next year as Allen has this season?
Husso’s entire salary can be buried if he’s not NHL material. What are the chances Husso can perform as well in the backup role next year as Allen has this season?
Send Allen to Sweden. Berg-dog can babysit Allen.
I think it’s very likely they sign a cheap backup to compete with Husso for the job in camp. Whoever loses gets sent down. That assures we have depth at the position too.
Majorityof1
Registered User
Possibly but not necessarily. We need to shed cap for next year, and Those two guys are prime candidates to be shed. However, this does not guarantee they will be shed next year.
Both Husso and Mikkola's new contracts are 2 years. We are able to completely bury the cap hit from both in the AHL with no cap-penalty. The players though, will both get full $700k+ salary in the AHL, which may be important to them. They are both Finnish, and could probably earn a comparable salary to the AHL salary in the Finland's league. These new contracts could be a way to tell them we value them and they are in our long term plans. We just need one more year before there is a spot.
This may especially be true with Husso. I don't think he is ready to be a 30 game back-up on a contender. I don't think we want to give Binnington 60+ games. Even if we shed Allen, I still see us signing a capable NHL backup to take some games while working Husso into a few games when convenient.
- Jul 4, 2014
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One thing that I found interesting with respect to Husso's extension is that it is a 2-year deal, taking him one season beyond the expansion draft. This is consistent with what a lot of teams have been doing with their backups to ensure that they have someone to expose in the expansion draft, but Husso hasn't played in an NHL game. I believe the magic number is 28 NHL games with 30 or more minutes played for qualification as an exposed goalie, so is this an indication that they intend to get Husso 28 NHL games between now and the end of next season, or is this a commitment that was necessary to keep him from going back to Finland? Maybe a little of both? Neither?
Brian39
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I agree with most of this. Husso's numbers have dipped below .900 again, so he is by no means a lock to take the backup job. However, I do think that plan A is for him to be the backup next year. Army is not a GM who enters training camp without a plan B, so I expect there to be some competition there.
This isn't going to be a popular sentiment, but I'm to the point that I will not be surprised if Allen is the backup next year. Extending Petro is looking like less than a sure thing at this point (although I would still bet my money he is a Blue next year) and I'd argue that Allen has been a bigger piece to the puzzle than Bozak or Steen this season. If Husso doesn't bring up his numbers in the AHL, I could see Army exploring ways to move Bozak/Steen to shed cap space and just bite the bullet on spending $9M to ensure the goaltending remains among the league's best. The team has played at a 103.8 point pace with Allen in net and his .926 has been a legitimate contribution to that pace. I'm not confident that Husso is capable of filling that contribution as well as our cost controlled depth forwards/prospects can fill the void created by losing Bozak and/or Steen.
This is all super premature and I think plan A at the moment is still for Husso to be the backup. This contract reflects that he will be given a genuine shot at an NHL job next year.
Brian39
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There is no games played requirement for goalies for the Expansion Draft:
"In addition, all NHL teams must meet the following minimum requirements regarding players exposed for selection in the draft:
* One defenseman who is a) under contract in 2021-22 and b) played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.
* Two forwards who are a) under contract in 2021-22 and b) played at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.
* One goalie who is under contract in 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021-22. If a team elects to make a restricted free agent goalie available to meet this requirement, that goalie must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the team's protected list."
Seattle 2021 NHL Expansion Draft rules same as Golden Knights followed
Robb_K
Registered User
He's got a one-way $800,000 NHL contract. Therefore, the only choices are to play him in The NHL as Binnington's back-up, play him in The AHL, but at his NHL salary, or trade him. and trade for a veteran NHL back-up. I think it is most likely that Allen will be traded away early in The Blues' short off-season, or latest, at the draft. Husso will then be given the chance to "keep" his back-up position, and if he does well enough in pre-season, he'll start the season with The Blues. If NOT, he'll be sent down to San Antonio, and a veteran back-up will be signed of the street, or be acquired in a minor trade. I expect Husso to be The Blues' back-up next season.
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I don't believe there is any games played criteria for the goalie, all you need is to expose one goalie who is signed through 2021/22 or a RFA who has already received his qualifying offer.
When it comes to the goalie situation, it's likely viewed in a similar way to it was in 2011. Husso will get the chance to play himself into the backup role, but we'll sign an expereinced goalie to fight it out with him. We just won't send down the goalie that plays better in camp this time...
Two year deals make sense. One good year in the NHL for either of them could see them looking for a $250k-$400k salary bump if they were on a one year deal, two years at this number gives us no cap risk and cost certainty. I wouldn't read more into it.
WeWentBlues
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- May 3, 2017
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Mikkola still retains his waiver-exempt status. The one-way contract just ensures that he gets paid his $788,000 salary, regardless if he plays in the NHL or AHL.
I see the one-way contract as an incentive to get them to sign but wouldn't much into it beyond that.
- Mar 22, 2012
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Good for both guys. Doesn’t hurt the Blues cap in any way and both guys get financial security for being good soldiers and cheap depth. I’m pretty sure Mikkola will be one of our 7 next year. I’m less sure about Husso being the backup, but he’s good insurance.
WeWentBlues
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I wouldn't draw that conclusion from this news.
Gunnar i think has to be traded to find cap space for petro to be resigned.
Additionally we probably will either need to trade allen or bozak or buy out steen.
The cap is gonna be tight if we get petro back
For some reason when I read this my first thought was of @Ranksu breaking into Armys office, mission impossible style and forging the contracts. Lol
All kidding aside good for those two. Mikkola is going to be a every game player sooner than later. Husso still has some work to do but I still believe in the kid. With Allen's resurgence thus year and our cap situation it makes this summer an ideal time to move him. Husso is the heir apparent to the backup role.
All kidding aside good for those two. Mikkola is going to be a every game player sooner than later. Husso still has some work to do but I still believe in the kid. With Allen's resurgence thus year and our cap situation it makes this summer an ideal time to move him. Husso is the heir apparent to the backup role.
- Jul 4, 2014
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That's good to know that there are no games played requirements. I'm not sure where I got such a specific figure stuck in my head on that.
You're thinking about the exact requirements regarding a goalie becoming a Group 6 UFA. We traded Bishop to Ottawa because he was going to be a UFA at 25 since he hadn't played the games needed to retain RFA status.
