The ice down, the skates are sharpened, and the players have hit the ice here in St. Louis.
David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Jori Lehtera are among those who've started skating at the Blues practice facility at the Mills Mall.
Lehtera was drafted by the Blues in 2008, has finally joined the Blues in North America, as he signed a two year deal this off-season. Lehtera, if you remember, joined the Peoria Rivermen a handful of season's ago after his season in Finland ended and played a few games. He then headed to Russia for four more season's in the KHL. He feel's that he is a more complete player now than he was back then. You can check out his interview after his first day on the ice in St. Louis.
The Blues announced Tuesday that they have signed Robby Fabbri to a three year entry level contract. Meanwhile, fans await a contract for forward Jaden Schwartz.
Schwartz, 22, is coming off a 25 goal, 56 point season with the Blues. Schwartz is coming off his entry level deal and is due for a raise. Blues GM, Doug Armstrong, is known for giving out bridge deals to players coming off their rookie contracts. However, after the season Schwartz had, he might be looking for a longer contract. The Blues currently have $2,783,333 in cap space. So Schwartz isn't likely to be getting more than that on a new deal. A comparable player to Schwartz and his potential contract is Tampa Bay forward, Ondrej Palat. Palat is set to make $3.3 million next season. If Schwartz is looking for a contract similar to Palat, the Blues might have to make a move to sign him. Currently, the two sides are said to be "significantly apart", according to Schwartz's agent. You can read more on that in Jeremy Rutherford's Morning Skate blog.
The Traverse City prospect tournament is right around the corner. The tournament consists of eight teams, including the Blues, the Detroit Red Wings, the Columbus Blue Jackets, the New York Rangers, the Minnesota Wild, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Dallas Stars, and the Buffalo Sabres.
The Blues will have a lot of talent on the roster this season, including Fabbri, Ivan Barbashev, Petteri Lindbohm, Jordan Binnington, and Niklas Lundstrom. You can see the full roster here.
Speaking of Niklas Lundstrom, his new mask is ready for his first season in North America. It's simple, and very elegant. The mask was painted by David Gunnarrson, or as you might know him, as DaveArt. Check out his website right here.
I'm also pleased to announce that I'll be covering the Blues games live this season. So I'll be bringing you a lot more quotes and news from mouth of the players and the coaches.
Thanks for reading, you can follow me on twitter @Blues_Buzz for all your Blues news.