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The Blues and D-man Carlo Colaiacovo will be parting ways at least for now anyway.
Some proposals have been exchanged but as we sit right now no agreement has been reached. There is still a chance the two sides talk beyond July first if he doesn’t find a fit elsewhere. Colaiacovo will likely take any offers he receives back to St. Louis before signing any deal as the Blues remain his number one choice. Like every other NHL player, Colaiacovo is seeking long-term security following back-to-back 30 point seasons. There’s a good chance the Blues don’t believe he’ll be able to get the money he’s looking for in the open market.
Some people I've spoken to that are involved in the inner workings of the NHL suggest the Blues could easily go against what they’ve been saying all along and attempt to do something big. This all depends what you consider big, outside of a Bobby Ryan or Ilya Kovalchuk is there truly a big prize sitting out there? They have a ton of money to spend and have been pretty laid back in their approach with their current free agents. Are they looking to land a prize? Larry Pleau was given a chance to land a $6 million dollar player, will Doug Armstrong be awarded the same luxury? Based on the players available I’m not convinced this would be the year to do it but who am I to say?
Mike Modano is receiving a decent amount of attention from Blues fans after news broke the future Hall of Famer won’t be returning to Dallas. While there is a connection between Modano and Blues GM Doug Armstrong, it appears him landing in St. Louis is a bit of a stretch. I would never rule it out though as the Blues organization has a great reputation among NHL players and the team is filled with young talent. Those who know Modano feel if he’s going to continue to play it would likely be in a bigger city with much brighter lights such as Los Angeles or New York. It’s hard to put a finger on where he might land and the Blues have little reason to not at least entertain the idea. One could only assume if he was interested in St. Louis he would have already reached out to his buddy Darryl Sydor to get the inside scoop on the organization. Sydor was in Modano’s wedding a few years back.
Sydor by the way still wants to play next season and is staying in shape in preparation to do so.
The rumor that former Nashville D-man Denis Grebeshkov is in negotiations with a KHL team over in Russia is completely false. His main focus is to play in the NHL.
Speaking of the KHL, I’m told longtime NHL blueliner Chris Chelios would consider taking his game to Russia if the money was right.
Billy Guerin remains hopeful to return to Pittsburgh. If he were to leave the Penguins he’ll look to land with a contender or consider hanging up the skates.
When referring to D-man Anton Volchenkov, GM Bryan Murray has been quoted behind the scenes as saying “Why would I pay $5 million for a guy who blocks shots but can’t move the puck”?
By the way the Blues don’t appear to have any interest in Volchenkov.
The Islanders still haven’t ruled out the possibility of trading veteran goaltender Dwayne Roloson.
Toronto GM Brian Burke apparently is asking for a top six forward in exchange for D-man Tomas Kaberle. Expect Burke to wait and find a team that struck out on guys like Dan Hamhuis and Sergei Gonchar.
Sheldon Souray is almost certainly on the move as Edmonton is looking to get younger. There has been some talk about St. Louis who would certainly need to move money the other way to get a deal like this done. If I’m St. I wouldn’t be too eager to pull the trigger on a deal like this one. He does have a huge weapon with his powerful shot but he can’t always be trusted inside his own end of the ice. I’m told his wrist is fine after breaking it last season.
Blues Captain Eric Brewer by the way has been mentioned as a player that would go the other way to Edmonton but he hasn’t been asked to waive his NTC. Word is he’s perfectly happy in St. Louis and wouldn’t exactly jump at an opportunity to return to Oil country. DJ King was also a name that’s been “rumored” in this deal.
The Blues could use a forward to replace Keith Tkachuk. The Blues have some guys up front who aren’t afraid to play inside but outside of David Backes they really don’t have a guy that can take a guy with him in the crease who demands a great deal of attention.
Rangers D-man Marc Staal is hopeful an offersheet comes his way as negotiations with Glen Sather have taken a turn in wrong direction.
Manny Malhotra wants to stay in San Jose and the Sharks want to keep him but as we sit right now the two sides have yet to agree on a price.
Blues D-man Mike Weaver will be officially hitting the open Market.
Same can be said for Devils D-man Mike Mottau.
Cam Janssen's side has spoken to the Blues and is expected to talk further later this week.
Vladimir Sobotka is in town to have his shoulder examined by Blues Doctors and to check out the team facility.
Sharks first round pick Charlie Coyle took accelerated coursework in high school which allowed him to graduate a year early. He’s the second cousin of former NHL sniper Tony Amonte as well as Reebok stick representative Rocco Amonte. Coyle has already enrolled in summer school classes at Boston University.
Blues first rounder Vladimir Tarasenko already has a decent grasp on the English language thanks to a recent study abroad he did over in England.
Could the retirement of Scott Niedermayer free up the necessary funds to re-sign Bobby Ryan? If you’re ever going to sign a guy to an offersheet wouldn’t this be the guy?
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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