Chris Porter will become a UFA on July 1st and at the moment it seems like the Blues will let him walk. I have always liked what Porter brought to the Blues on and off the ice. He has always been a professional. There are reasons to keep him and reasons to look elsewhere to improve the depth on this talented team. He could be very beneficial to the Blues at the right price if he would want to stay.
Reasons to Move On: One of the biggest determining factors is the offensive depth that the Blues possess. Not only is their top nine pretty loaded with skilled players, the fourth line has a plethora of guys trying to lock down the last forward spot, both players with NHL experience and prospects. Ryan Reaves is going to play almost every night. Steve Ott is the same story, like it or not. Dmitrij Jaskin has solidified his roster spot after his improvement this past season. That would leave Porter, Magnus Paajarvi (RFA), Ty Rattie, and top prospects, Robby Fabbri and Ivan Barbashev all fighting for the last roster spot. All of these players are going to get a good look this fall to crack the roster, some of them have a good chance if the Blues decided to trade away a forward for draft picks.
Another reason for the Blues to move on is that Porter is not much of an offensive threat. He has 27 career points in 173 career NHL games. It isn’t that he is horrible offensively, he just can’t hit the net with a one-timer or bang-bang play in the crease. His doesn’t have soft hands and the puck explodes off of his stick when he tries to receive a pass. At this point, it is probably best for Porter and the Blues to go their separate ways, but there is still a lot of summer left and much can change.
Reasons to Re-Sign: If Porter is willing to come back to the Blues for cheap, dollars and term (less than 1.8-2M, one year deal), it may be worth bringing him back. However, that is a big if. He is the type of player that is going to give the team everything he has. He plays with a ton of heart and it shows through on the ice. Going back to before this past season and through it, Porter has been in and out of the lineup. Never once has there been a rift coming from him about not playing. Total team first guy and I respect him for that. His speed is something the Blues use to their advantage when he is in the lineup. He is very effective on the forecheck and board battles in all three zones. Yet, every time he starts to string his game together, he ends up a healthy scratch. The only way he fits with the Blues is a cheap fourth line player. If he wants more than that, it just won’t work.
With the draft coming up on Friday, Doug Armstrong and the Blues have many decisions to make. It should be an interesting weekend for the Blues and the rest of the league. Unfortunately Blues fans, I will be out of town this weekend and will not be able to post about any Blues trades/picks until Sunday night. Here’s to a good weekend for hockey. The ’15-’16 season has begun.