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Blues sign Brandon Saad to five-year deal |
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After a quiet day one of free agency, the St. Louis Blue went out and got their man on day two, signing left-winger Brandon Saad to a five-year, $22.5 million contract ($4.5 million AAV).
The deal comes with a no-trade clause for the first four years and then transitions to a modified no-trade clause in year five. The Blues now have around $8.5 million left in cap space. Of course, this could increase depending on what a Vladimir Tarasenko trade looks like.
Playing for the Colorado Avalanche last season, Saad recorded 15 goals and nine assists in 44 games while averaging 14:06 of ice-time. In a normal 82 season, Saad is typically good for scoring somewhere close to 20 goals a year. He helps address the team's need for a quality left-winger that can play top-six minutes for the Blues. It also assures that Pavel Buchnevich can play on the right side.
Especially in the short term, it is hard to dislike this deal from a St. Louis perspective. They receive an established goal-scorer with over 600 games of NHL experience. The friendly AAV allows the team the necessary cap space to sign their RFA's. Additionally, they can now afford to retain some of Tarasenko's salary if need be.
Even though it could not get down on the flashy "free agent frenzy" day, Doug Armstrong made the right move with this deal.
Boston Bruins Blogger • 
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