A couple a quick hits as I get my feet back on the ground following my bachelor party in California over the weekend.
As we get down to only four teams remaining, this is usually the time of year NHL GM’s begin making phone calls as they turn their focus towards the upcoming draft. Some teams will obviously be trying to swing deals in an effort to either move players or picks or attempt to slide up a spot or two.
The Blues are certainly in this mode as sources confirm GM Larry Pleau has contacted multiple Restricted Free Agent’s he and the rest of the Blues organization are looking to lock up to multi year contracts.
One of these players is Jay McClement who will be looking for a three year deal in the neighborhood of $1.1- $1.4 million per season. After having a career year in which he was handed more responsibility the Blues should feel rather comfortable making this investment. The Blues respect the fact that McClement is one of the more professional and conditioned athletes they have in the organization. After learning from quality pros such as Dallas Drake, Ryan Johnson, and Jamal Mayers, McClement has learned how to take care of his body playing the demanding role that comes with being a quality penalty killer/shutdown player in the NHL. It’s not too much for the Blues to ask McClement to give 25-30 points a year either.
Roman Polak is another player the Blues are looking to lock up to a multi-year deal. This guy is proof that when you have time to groom your game in the AHL it only makes the adjustment to the NHL pace that much easier. Polak is an absolute beast who really impressed at the recent World Championships representing his native Czech Republic. His performance may allow him to already punch his ticket to the upcoming 2010 Olympics.
Look for the Blues to submit a qualifying offer to forward BJ Crombeen as well.
The Blues have had countless meetings over the last several weeks and have narrowed down their search for a goaltender to backup goaltender Chris Mason.
For those who are hoping Ben Bishop will compete for the backup job I wouldn’t suggest holding your breath very long. Bishop needs to play and not very often in the NHL do teams go to camp without two goaltenders already solidified. With this being said the Blues still feel Bishop has a chance to be a very good NHL goalie and without question remains in the organization's plans moving forward.
Obviously the Blues will needs to wait until July first to talk to unrestricted free agents but you can expect the Blues to show significant interest in several goaltenders including New Jersey’s Scott Clemmensen as well as Detroit’s Ty Conklin.
The Blues need a goalie that is capable of playing at least once a week, so you can figure in the range of 25 games or so. When you’re looking at potential candidates to backup Chris Mason I would highly recommend focusing on guys with above .500 records over the last few seasons.
The Blues will wisely shy away from goaltenders that don’t have a winning track record.
Several teams will be interested in Swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson including Toronto and Vancouver. Expect the Blues to offer the World Championships standout a one-year entry level deal.
One player Blues fans can officially cross off the list is former Blue Hannu Toivonen who will stay in Finland where he recently signed a two year extension. The Blues continue to hold his rights but have little interest in bringing him back at this time.
Rink Rats!
How good has Martin Havlat been for Chicago down the stretch and in the playoffs? This guy led his club offensively during the season even though he primarily was playing a matchup role on the third line along with his second unit PP responsibilities. He, along with Andrew Ladd and David Bolland, have consistently played against opposing teams best players while contributing offensively nearly every game. I spoke to Head Coach Joel Quenneville on Thursday and it goes without saying he’s hopeful Havlat returns to Chicago next season.
Sources confirm Tampa Bay is asking for Thomas Kaberle and Luke Schenn from Toronto if the Leafs are looking to jump up to the #2 spot in this June’s draft.
Look for Montreal to make a push for the Sedin twins this summer as well as Toronto and possibly Edmonton. Don’t rule out teams such as Atlanta who will need to spend to get to the floor. In many cases like this it’s about the mice chasing the cheese and only a certain number of teams will be able to satisfy the Sedin’s from a financial standpoint.
This is how Sheldon Souray ended up in Edmonton. There weren’t too many clubs looking for a $6 million dollar D-man once Montreal went in a different direction.
The Lightning are telling teams they are willing to move Ryan Malone who has six more years and more than $25 million left on his whopping seven year deal. Who in the right mind is looking to take on this contract?????
Pittsburgh Assistant GM Chuck Fletcher has emerged as the leading candidate to become the next GM in Minnesota.
I’m hearing Craig Billington is a serious candidate to become the next GM in Colorado.
It kills me how some amateur scouts over analyze want to manufacture reasons why they shouldn’t draft certain guys, in this case were talking about Johnathan Tavares. There’s an old saying an NHL executive once told me which is “If he’s done it don’t forget it.” If memory serves me right he scored something like 50 goals in the OHL when he wasn’t even supposed to be the league yet.
Are scouts seriously questioning this kid because of a poor (by his standards) playoff performance? Oh yeah and Ryan Getzlaf fell to #19 in his draft year because he was too cocky (the Blues had him rated as the 5th best player his draft year). Scouting amateur players may be the most difficult thing to do in the hockey business, but sometimes scouts make it more difficult than it should be.
NHL players should receive a least a portion of their escrow money back sometime in either June or July. Players are expected to get back 5-7% back of the 17.5% (on average) that was taken away from the players.
Can somebody please check on Bruins broadcaster Jack Edwards to see if he’s doing ok!!!!
Sources say the balloting for the Jack Adams trophy is neck and neck between Bruins Head Coach Claude Julian and Blues bench boss Andy Murray.
Blues Clues!
Congrats to Ben Bishop who is walking with his class this weekend during graduation ceremonies at the University of Maine. Bishop, who is majoring in Business Management, is taking two classes this summer and two classes during the fall semester before officially receiving his degree.
Jarmo Kekalainen has been hired by Finnish Television to be their main studio analyst during the upcoming 2010 Olympics. I guess Jarmo can always pick up the phone and call John Davidson if he needs any pointers.
Anybody else miss hearing Davidson break down NHL games on TV?
Word is David Backes was Team USA’s best player during the recent Worlds.
How lucky are the Blues to have Doug Armstrong working with Hockey Canada as he gets a head start in evaluating potential free agents.
Word is Andy Murray and Keith Tkachuk enjoyed breakfast together last week.
Cam Janssen is working with a personal skating instructor this summer to improve his overall game. The Blues have told Janssen they want him to improve his ability to play with the puck during the off-season.
The Blues are looking to lock up both Roman Polak and Jay McClement to multi-year deals.
The NCAA Ice Breaker tournament will be played at the Scottrade Center in 2010 and 2011. The STL Sports Commission is in the process of negotiating with several of the top programs in the country to determine who the teams will be. The NCAA games games will just be part of a huge weekend of pucks in St. Louis. An enormous National Youth hockey tournament (boys and girls) will also take place in St. Louis at the same time of the event. Official details of the Ice Breaker will be announced this coming October. It’s good to see he St. Louis Blues as well as the Scottrade Center showing the necessary support to make this event possible. The games will be televised on ESPN.
I love how people recently are trying to compare the Blackhawks today vs. where the Blues are as an organization. Put it this way, considering this is the first time Chicago has made the playoffs in ten freakin years I would certainly hope they are ahead of St. Louis when it comes to development. Come and see me in three years!!!
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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