Speculation: Steen's next contract

[Deko]

I think it's now safe to say that Steen won't sign an extension with an AAV of less than 5 million. It's weird to think that he only needs to score 25 goals in the remaining 68 games in order to hit 40-goal mark and if he does so, he has a realistic chance to get +6.5 million on the open market.

I would be extremely happy with 8 years and 43 million (AAV 5.375).

 

[bleedblue1223]

He's going to be 30 at the start of next season, he'll get 5 years tops.

 

[TheOrganist]

I'm not particularly worried about Steen hitting the FA market. You don't need to have a media pass to observe the guy despises the press and any type of notoriety. That's probably his least favorite aspect of having a letter on his sweater. I could never in a million years picture him going to a fishbowl market. Or going to a much lesser team that only had money to offer for that matter. It would have been nice to get him locked up during the offseason when his great playoff showed he was truly back to the old Steen and perhaps the front office made an overture but were rebuffed. Regardless, I think he stays, with term of the contract being the biggest thing the Blues and his representation haggle over. He'll want seven years.

 

[LightSoundGeometry*]

Steen should be locked up for a long time! get it done army .

 

[42]

The way he's going (and of course he'll slow down) he'll end up with at least 60 points and quite likely more. UFA, brings a lot more than just points to the table, he'll get 6 mil in the open market, Blues better be prepared to pay that much or he's going somewhere else.

 

[BlueDream]

5 years would be ideal but I wouldn't complain at all with 7 honestly. I think he has a lot of good years left for a few reasons. One because I think he was kind of a late bloomer. He just hit his prime a couple years ago. And also he's such a hard worker, keeps himself in good shape, and he's good at literally pretty much everything, that I don't see him declining anytime soon.

 

[bluesman11]

Great start but it's only been 14 games, for his career he has shown if he plays the full season he's about a 55 to 60 point guy, that plays a good two-way game. In the playoffs he has shown to be disappointing like the rest of the team.

I really think there's no reason to worry, he should be here for 4 to 5 more years, but I wouldn't sign him for anymore than 5 years, and at the beginning of the deal I don't think he deserves more than Backes so I think the average per year should be somewhere between 4.5 and 5 million.

The other factor when calculating what he'll get is this forum, with the exception of a few, most always over value these contracts. Armstrong consistently comes in with a contract that starts a thread DA is the best GM ever and he got another great deal.

 

[42]

Wait, why is everyone assuming Steen re-signs? He's a UFA after this year. Makes sense that he explore the open market, no?

 

[Alklha]

Why wouldn't Steen want to be here? He is on a contender that fits his playing style perfectly and it's been made clear to him how important he is to the team. He's said to privately and publicly that he wants to get a deal done. The only issue might be his personal life, which isn't worth speculating about.

I'd guess the only reason a deal hasn't been done is because he has consistently missed time in the past seasons. If he had a healthy season this year then he would have had a better case for another year or 2 on his deal. The numbers he is putting up are just a bonus.

 

[42]

Why wouldn't Steen want to be here? He is on a contender that fits his playing style perfectly and it's been made clear to him how important he is to the team. He's said to privately and publicly that he wants to get a deal done. The only issue might be his personal life, which isn't worth speculating about.

I'd guess the only reason a deal hasn't been done is because he has consistently missed time in the past seasons. If he had a healthy season this year then he would have had a better case for another year or 2 on his deal. The numbers he is putting up are just a bonus.

Why wouldn't Steen want to explore his options as a UFA? Likely will get more money elsewhere. Not saying he will sign somewhere else, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did wait to see his options next summer.

 

[bluesman11]

Why wouldn't Steen want to explore his options as a UFA? Likely will get more money elsewhere. Not saying he will sign somewhere else, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did wait to see his options next summer.

Don't you think you could be a little optimistic about what his numbers will be at the end of the year? There's 68 more games...

 

[Alklha]

Why wouldn't Steen want to explore his options as a UFA? Likely will get more money elsewhere. Not saying he will sign somewhere else, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did wait to see his options next summer.

Your argument can be applied to every single player approaching UFA in the League. The money available in UFA is almost always going to be more than what a player signs for with his current team. Players get overpaid in UFA, but when you are earning millions of dollars the majority of players will sacrifice earning the absolute maximum in order to live and work somewhere that they enjoy.

Bouwmeester signed a 5 years, $27m deal to stay here. It is safe to say that he'd easily have got 6 years, $36m in UFA but he decided he'd rather be here than look for the most cash.

 

[BlueDream]

Great start but it's only been 14 games, for his career he has shown if he plays the full season he's about a 55 to 60 point guy, that plays a good two-way game. In the playoffs he has shown to be disappointing like the rest of the team.

I really think there's no reason to worry, he should be here for 4 to 5 more years, but I wouldn't sign him for anymore than 5 years, and at the beginning of the deal I don't think he deserves more than Backes so I think the average per year should be somewhere between 4.5 and 5 million.

The other factor when calculating what he'll get is this forum, with the exception of a few, most always over value these contracts. Armstrong consistently comes in with a contract that starts a thread DA is the best GM ever and he got another great deal.

I don't think this season even changes much to the fans on here, and also to the Blues. Steen has been a great player for several years now, easily one of the best on the team. His goals just give him more league-wide recognition. But in St. Louis nothing has changed, he's just a good hockey player at basically every facet of the game. He always deserved at least 5 years.

 

[bluesman11]

I don't think this season even changes much to the fans on here, and also to the Blues. Steen has been a great player for several years now, easily one of the best on the team. His goals just give him more league-wide recognition. But in St. Louis nothing has changed, he's just a good hockey player at basically every facet of the game. He always deserved at least 5 years.

Like I said I wouldn't go more than five, he'll be in his mid 30's and the dings could become more frequent. I'd like for the team to be careful, I'm always a Blues fan first. Deserve is a strong word even though he's one of their top forwards, contracts are business.

 

[Celtic Note]

People also forget that the cost of living in St. Louis is substantially lover than most other NHL cities. I realize players often live elsewhere in the offseason, but they also pay taxes in STL and have a home there.

Also Steen doesn't seem to fond of the press and STL is pretty mild in that regard.

 

[bleedblue1223]

When you're making that much money, cost of living isn't going to be much of a factor.

 

[42]

Your argument can be applied to every single player approaching UFA in the League. The money available in UFA is almost always going to be more than what a player signs for with his current team. Players get overpaid in UFA, but when you are earning millions of dollars the majority of players will sacrifice earning the absolute maximum in order to live and work somewhere that they enjoy.

Bouwmeester signed a 5 years, $27m deal to stay here. It is safe to say that he'd easily have got 6 years, $36m in UFA but he decided he'd rather be here than look for the most cash.

True that. Only Steen knows (and maybe even he doesn't at this point) what he's gonna do.

 

[byrath]

I'd be perfectly content to give Steen 7 years if thats what it takes to keep him here at 5.25mil or less.

 

[SteenMachine]

It really depends on what Steen wants out of his career, if nothing else in St. Louis he has incredible job security and a major role on a team that's winning games because of it. Regardless of how confident he is there's no guarantee he can accomplish that on another team just because they're willing to pay him more.

It's not like he can possibly get more ice time and in a lot of cases he'd probably be pushed back into the middle 6 forwards and lose some quality of linemates.

I think he's been in St. Louis more than long enough to have made his mind up about living here and would / could have addressed that ages ago if he was unhappy or yearning for something more metropolitan or in a certain region.

 

[Colt 55]

Steen definitely seems like the type of player who is willing to take a little less money so can retire here, though I know that rarely happens in sports these days.

 

[CreeksideStrangler]

I agree with Steen sticking with the Blues. No reason for him not to. As a leaf fan I watched him play for years and always thought he had elite potential. Happy to see him getting to that next level.

 

[90sKid*]

If he finishes the season with 40 goals and 80points this seasons, he will be 30years old. Sign him to 3-4 years @ $4.5-5 million/per year. If he maintains 30goals and around 65-70+ points those few years, then another few years with similar amount of salary as a reward.

 

[Swedish playmaker*]

If he gets to 60-65 pts (which he will, perhaps even 80-90 pts) he'll be able to get a big fat paycheck on the free market. The Blues should obviously resign him, the only issue is his age. Human males reach their physical prime at 26-27 years of age, and he's turning 30.
I would expect this year to be his peak, and not expect him to top it the coming season/s. If he gets to about 75-85 this season, I'd say he gets to 60-65 the next one.

Wouldnt sign him to more than 3-4 years. Signing 30+ players on huge contracts spanning over 6-10 years rarely end up well. Brad Richards, Ilya Bryzgalov etc.

 

[Swedish playmaker*]

If he finishes the season with 40 goals and 80points this seasons, he will be 30years old. Sign him to 3-4 years @ $4.5-5 million/per year. If he maintains 30goals and around 65-70+ points those few years, then another few years with similar amount of salary as a reward.

If he gets 40 goals and 80 pts this season, he will probably a top 10-15 guy, and with his defensive play, he'll be as valuable as a top 5-10 guy.

4.5 mil is 2 cheap.

 

[Alklha]

There is no way in hell that I imagine Steen looking at a 3 or 4 year contract offer.

If he does have a big year, and considering his play over the course of his time in St. Louis, at 30 I'm sure he'll be looking for term & a NMC.

I don't think the caphit will increase too much if he does manage to somehow end the season as a PPG player, but it will be adding term onto the contract we could have expected a couple of months ago.