The negotiations between the St. Louis Blues and forward Keith Tkachuk have ended for the Day.
Bob Murray, the agent for Tkachuk met face to face with GM Larry Pleau.
The Blues have offered Tkachuk a multi-year deal in the neighborhood of 3.5 million per season.
If it’s all about the money Tkachuk will move on.
We’ve heard for months how much he and his family love it in St. Louis. The St. Louis Blues have stepped up in a big way by giving Tkachuk the opportunity to keep his family in St. Louis and to continue his playing career in a Blues uniform.
If Tkachuk really wants to stay he will sign the offer on the table.
On the flipside Tkachuk has never been an UFA in his career. I’m sure he would love to hear from other clubs and get an idea of what his value is. Free agency can be a neat process when you have all these clubs attacking you and offering millions of dollars. It can be a big ego boost for a lot of guys.
I know Tkachuk was completely caught off guard when St. Louis acquired his rights. He was looking forward to hitting the open market. I don’t see Tkachuk receiving many offers more than what the Blues are offering. I highly doubt a team is going to offer him 4.5 million, and he may not even see a four million dollar offer come his way. Sometimes you have to look at your age and realize where you are in your career. It doesn’t mean you can’t play anymore; it’s just reality that teams are not going to throw big money at veteran players. When Tkachuk was 28, 29, 30 years old he was making 10-11 million per year.
He is now 35.
I do know Tkachuk still wants to win and I can’t blame him if he wants to see if a contending team makes an offer that he is overwhelmed with. If he plans on taking that offer back to St. Louis, and assumes he has the Blues to fall back on he is likely way off sides. I’m hearing if Tkachuk does not accept the Blues offer by July first, the Blues will move in a completely different direction.
My point here is that the Blues have stepped up and have given Tkachuk a chance to stay in St. Louis where he’s said he wants to be. If he wants to play for the Blues, he has the option to stay, if his decision is based on money, he will move on.
The Blues have shown they want Tkachuk back by making the deal with Atlanta in the first place, they've reached out to him by making him feel wanted.
One Blues player told me today, Tkachuk is crazy if he doesn’t take this deal.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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