The Blues continue to negotiate contracts with a number of their own players most notably cornerstone pieces Erik Johnson and David Perron.
The Blues want both of these guys to define who they are as hockey players before they make any long-term financial commitment. There’s nothing wrong with dangling the carrot in front of a young player’s nose to keep them hungry and motivated. The trend nowadays is to hand over big time money to players coming directly out of entry level deals. For a team working off a budget the Blues are fortunate to have the rights to both of these players for the next several years. Neither one has much leverage considering they don’t have arbitration rights and in the case of Johnson he isn’t even eligible to receive an offersheet after missing an entire season to a knee injury. The former first overall pick had no issue bouncing back nicely this past season.
Is there a risk though by not signing Johnson to a long-term deal now? Could the organization save some money down the road by locking him up today? The best time to lock Johnson up to a cap friendly number could very well be right now. When you see the money some D-men are getting in free agency, just what kind of contract will a player like Erik Johnson be in position to command in a few years?
In today’s game D-men who play minutes and produce points are being paid very, very well. Johnson should be a top pair D-man next season that plays 25-30 minutes per game and racks up 45-50 points. Take a look, there aren’t too many defensemen in the league that record 50 point seasons.
The Blues internally still project Johnson as a future franchise player. Of all the young players in the organization many believe Johnson has the best chance of developing into a true NHL superstar. One would think there is limited risk in committing long-term dollars to a player of his ability. The worst case scenario for Blues fans is for the organization to be forced to dismantle the club a few years from now after working the last four years building it up. What are the chances Johnson, at the very least, isn’t a top four D-man four or five years from now?
Probably zero.
The Blues have short-term as well as long-term budgets they’re working off of and I think a majority of the fan base understands the Blues financial predicament. The team wants their young players to earn any long-term commitment they receive from the organization which is obvious with both Johnson and Perron.
Doug Armstrong has told me numerous times that he won’t negotiate out of fear. He’d rather see their play dictate whether or not they receive long-term money. In other words it’s up to the players to go out and earn it.
Rink Rats!
Mike MO-town?
Mike Modano is taking his time before making a final decision on his future as an NHL player. The last couple of years in Dallas left a bad taste in his mouth and those around him believe signing with the Red Wings would allow Modano to end his career on a high note.
Modano is looking to get back to playing hockey and having fun again. There is no doubt the combination of having the Captaincy removed from his jersey along with being relegated to fourth line duty has left the future Hall of Famer down mentally. He still averaged .5 points per game playing with linemates who had a better chance of running him over than getting him the puck.
As we sit right now Detroit is the only team to put money on the table. He recently implied that Detroit was the only option he’s considering but sources close to him tell me that’s not the case. He made the statement in reference to the Red Wings being the only team who has made a formal offer.
Modano is keeping a close eye on teams like the Los Angeles Kings and possibly even the Phoenix Coyotes to see what moves they might make to create an opening.
Those close to Modano believe Detroit would be a great fit for him to play a puck possession style that suits his game and where he’d have a chance to win. Right now he’d be penciled in between Jiri Hudler and Daniel Cleary which is far superior to the players he spent most of last season playing with in Dallas. He’d also be right down the road from USA hockey and could eventually take on an “Yzerman” like role in the future. Detroit has not given Modano a deadline but he is well aware that a decision needs to be made sooner than later. Other teams have expressed interest in Modano as well including Washington and St. Louis who contacted Modano directly.
In my opinion Ilya Kovalchuk’s decision to come right out of the gate asking for the moon backfired on him a bit. As a result the market ran away form him and he’s been left with just a few teams bidding for his services. There is no doubt his less than impressive performance in the playoffs didn’t help his cause either. It appears he has no interest in a Marian Hossa like deal which would keep him at a cap friendly number.
Word is Toronto, Anaheim, LA, San Jose, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Boston are all looking to move bodies via trade.
How bad is Brian Burke trying to pry Bobby Ryan away from Anaheim?
The Ducks still need to replace Scott Niedermayer.
Don’t be shocked if Mike Kitchen is reunited with Joel Quenneville behind the bench in Chicago as an assistant coach. The two go way back to their playing days but also worked nearly a decade together in St. Louis. Kitchen has worked the last few years behind the bench with the Florida Panthers.
Jamal Mayers remains a veteran player who’s available to help a team. Here’s an energy guy who brings leadership, toughness, and can take important face-offs. He also keeps himself in tremendous shape and can still skate with the 25 year olds in the league. Teams shouldn’t make the mistake of judging him based on his experience in Toronto where he clearly was not Ron Wilson’s favorite player. He performed his role well when given the chance in Calgary.
Don’t rule out the possibility of Chicago goaltender Christobal Huet playing next season in Europe. There is a decent chance Chicago could loan him to a European club as opposed to him spending next season in Rockford, Illinois. At the same time if he tears it up in the AHL a team could potentially take a flyer on him. Chicago still would have cap issues bringing him up through reverse waivers at half his salary.
Any NHL team out there looking for a good scout to join their staff should contact former AHL MVP Eric Boguniecki who is in the process of talking to several teams.
I found it interesting that the number Philadelphia offered goaltender Marty Turco was less than the $1.550 million dollar number they gave Michael Leighton.
Pavol Demitra has yet to turn his back on the NHL as he continues to talk to a few NHL teams. He has received multiple offers from Russian teams in the KHL.
Do the Rangers really need $3 million locked up in tough guys next season?
Blues Clues!
The Blues expressed interest in D-man Denis Grebeshkov in the early portion of free agency. Grebeshkov played in Nashville last season, he remains unsigned.
David Perron has agreed to an endorsement deal with Reebok.
Erik Johnson has endorsement offers from both Easton and Warrior that he is mulling over.
Looking at the contracts many free agent D-men have received, it’s hard to argue with the deals Barret Jackman and Eric Brewer currently are playing under.
Cam Janssen’s recent contract doesn’t guarantee that he’ll begin next season in a Blues uniform. Things remain quiet on the D.J. King negotiations but it remains unclear if or which player will be moved before the start of the season. If anything, Janssen has sent a clear message to the Blues that he wants to be a part of things moving forward.
Training camp is expected to start around September 17th. With the Blues playing five pre-season games in six days Armstrong tells me he may lean away from the traditional daily training camp scrimmage format. Armstrong does not want to wear his players out in camp.
Armstrong did a nice job in locking up Jaroslav Halak to a four year deal. The Blues and Halak’s agent Allan Walsh basically split the four year contract in half between his RFA and UFA years. They determined he would have likely earned a two year salary in the $3 million dollar range if he were to go to arbitration and they used the recent contracts of Ilya Bryzgalov and Jonas Hiller to determine his salary for the last two years of the deal. Halak would have been eligible to be an unrestricted free agent after the first two years of the deal.
Mike Weaver is closer to signing a contract as he has attracted the interest of multiple NHL teams.
This past week the Blues hosted the 2010 NHL exchange show on the Scottrade Center floor. The show is the annual retail trade show which gives all 30 NHL teams the opportunity to explore consumer products and retail trends for the upcoming season.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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