With 4 hours to go before the trade deadline, lots of rumors but no action (yet?). Your St. Louis Blues are largely done (barring something unexpected), though with 9 defensemen on the roster it's quite possible someone moves between now and 2pm Central. If not, then Armstrong is going to have to make a decision on what to do with someone.
In the meantime, the big news out of the Blues today is that prospect Dmitri Jaskin has been signed to an ELC. While details have not been announced yet, I would say that it's unlikely Jaskin's contract starts this year - but then again, I didn't think Armstrong would sign Jaden Schwartz to a contract that started last year and let him play just a few games and burn the 1st season of that ELC off. Now that Moncton has been knocked out of the QMJHL playoffs, Jaskin is certainly available - but I would expect him to get signed to an ATO and go to Peoria for the balance of the season.
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Personally, I expect a lot of talk and not much action today around the league. Much of the action has already taken place in the several days prior to today, and I think that's a trend you can expect in the future - GM's don't want to try and wait until the last moment to get a deal done and get squeezed either way on returns and risk not getting a deal into Central Registry in time. I've seen and heard "well, they want the guy in there earlier for team chemistry" - but that's really silly when you think about it. With the deadline generally happening at about 16 games to go (more like 12 this season due to the compressed scheduling and the later date of the deadline), do you really think team chemistry is going to be [u]that[/u] much better if you get the guy you want with 18 to play as opposed to 17 to play or 16 to play? If he's going to fit, he'll fit quickly; if he's not going to fit, you'll know that quickly as well.
The draft this summer? I think that's going to be fascinating to watch, both for who gets selected and who gets dealt. The draft is June 30, free agency opens July 1, the cap likely moves down this season (putting pressure on some teams), there will be compliance buyouts available, ... I expect [b]a lot[/b] of action in the days leading up to (and including) the draft.
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The Blues
put T.J. Oshie on IR yesterday, and as expected recalled Jake Allen from Peoria. They also recalled Adam Cracknell to take Oshie's spot. Halak's injury sounds like the same thing he had earlier in the year, which means he'll miss a few weeks -
or as Hitchcock termed it, "a while." In other words, the Elliott/Allen tandem is going to carry the S.S. Blues 2013 to (and through) the playoffs, for better or for worse. Those of you not wanting to see Elliott in net again for the 'Note, ... you may want to seek counseling now.
Jay Bouwmeester appears to be on track to be available for Thursday's game vs. Chicago, which would keep his ironman streak alive (currently at 621 games).
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Later tonight: a recap of what happened (if anything) around the league today, and a look at the Blues roster going forward this season. Of course, if the Blues make a trade I'll try to update here accordingly.
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