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Blues goaltender Jaroslav halak signs a 4 year contract worth $15 million.
We all knew it was just a matter of time before the Blues and Jaroslav Halak would come to an agreement on a long-term deal. We originally speculated it would take a four year deal in the $4 million range to get the Montreal hero inked. The two sides began formal negotiations about a week ago with no bumps in the road. Allan Walsh wanted to get his client paid in the range of what other undisputed number one goaltenders are being paid. When you look at recent goaltenders who have signed even in the unrestricted market this contract is right up there.
The Blues are hoping to benefit by having Halak locked up for the first two years he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency which would begin in July 2012. The contract will pay Halak more in the bottom half of the four year deal compared to the first two years.
Halak did not ask for a no-trade clause therefore the idea was never discussed.
Halak is the third signing the Blues announced today with D-man Carlo Colaiacovo and tough guy Cam Janssen being the other two. The Blues have had discussions with D.J. King and have offered the heavyweight a one year deal in the neighborhood of what Janssen signed what Janssen signed.
Preliminary talks with David Perron have begun and we should hear about some progress being made on this front in the coming days.
Breakdown of Halak deal is as follows…
$2.75 2010-2011
$3.50 2011-2012
$4.25 2012-2013
$4.50 2013-2014
Earlier story...
It appears the Blues and agitator Cam Janssen are closing in on a 1 year deal that will pay the St. Louis native a salary in the neighborood of $600,000. Over the weekend Janssen filed for arbitration after the Blues offered a 1 year contract in the $560,000 range.
Raise your hand if you wish Ilya Kovalchuk would just sign already so we can and the rest of the NHL can move on.
There is no doubt Kovalchuk is holding up a portion of the rest of the UFA market. While the Russian star takes his time he’s impacting a number of NHL teams. Certain teams in the hunt like New Jersey can’t really focus their attention on other players until the Kovalchuk situation is resolved. There is some talk of some trades in the works to allow teams to clear up some cap space but at the end if there was an option that Kovalchuk found overly attractive he would have signed by now.
In the meantime, as Kovalchuk keeps his fingers crossed hoping he’ll get a 10 year $100 million dollar deal other players continue to wait.
I respect Kings GM Dean Lombardi for coming out and saying C’ya to Kovalchuk. If he’s not interested in the deal they’ve presented then you should move on. The Kings showed last season they can win hockey games without this guy while the Devils showed everybody that Kovalchuk doesn’t even guarantee you to get out of the first round.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Kovalchuk is a superstar player with superstar ability but at the end of the day I can’t see a scenario in which I would pay him $10 million a year. Is he a $10 million player? I could justify paying the guy $7 million as he’d put people in the seats and likely give you 40 goals a year, but has he proven to be a player who can lead a team deep into the playoffs?
Has he been using the Islanders in attempt to drive up the price from other teams or is he really interested in signing there? I almost feel bad for the Islanders. This is not the first year they’ve offered players the most money yet can’t get anyone to sign there. They used their Captain Doug Weight to recruit free agents and that tactic hasn’t worked either. Maybe if they can sign a star player like Kovalchuk it would help them land other players down the road. Their track record in signing players to long term deals is nothing to write home about. It’s safe to say things didn’t exactly work out as planned with goaltender Rick Dipietro or forward Alexei Yashin who they are still paying to this day.
Word broke earlier that a decision form Kovalchuk can be expected today. That's good to hear!
Blues fans feeling Blue?
There seems to be a sense of disappointment among Blues fans with their lack of free agent signings. I’m confused why fans expected a blockbuster off-season when the team has publicly said they won’t be in the market for high priced free agents.
With 75% of the team currently up for sale the St. Louis Blues are not in position to spend big money on free agents which shouldn’t come as a shock or a surprise. You can easily look at the Jaroslav Halak trade as a free agent signing. They still need to get a number of players signed including Halak, David Perron, and Erik Johnson.
The marketplace in St. Louis can’t support a high payroll period. They would have to significantly raise ticket prices just to beak even. Several years ago when the building was full every night and former Owner Bill Laurie was spending over $60 million on player salaries the club was still citing losses of over $20 million. His pockets were deep enough to sustain some losses but after a while you get tired of losing money no matter how wealthy you are. The Blues have budgets in place and have no choice but to stick to them. As I often say, the Blues are a cash team, not a cap team.
If the team is sending out false signals then they should take the heat but I can’t say in any of my own personal dealings did I get the sense they were going after a high priced free agent. The last person deserving any heat whatsoever is new GM Doug Armstrong who’s is trying to be as creative as possible under the obvious circumstances.
It is what it is.
The cap has gone up so quickly we are close to being where we were five years ago. Considering the fact the floor is higher today than the ceiling was in 2005 it’s safe to say a number of clubs are trying to be creative in a an effort to stay above water.
Next summer is sure to be the bigger test for this organization with guys like David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, Roman Polak and possibly a Perron or Erik Johnson (If Perron or EJ sign 1 year deals) all up for extensions.
Rink Rats!
Things should definitely pick up on the free agent market following the American holiday weekend and after Kovalchuk signs.
Still trying to figure out why New York would give Derek Boogaard a four year deal worth $1.6 per. That’s a decent commitment for a giant with back issues who is useless when he’s not fighting. Oh by the way, no one will fight this guy either.
Blues Clues!
The Blues have made similar one year offers to both D.J. King and Cam Janssen. I get the feeling there will be some negotiating with both players before a deal were to be signed.
Cam Janssen has filed for arbitration.
I’m told Jaroslav Halak will not file for arbitration by the 5:00 eastern deadline today.
Good decision on both sides for Carlo Colaiacovo to return. The deal is expected to become official once the contract is signed on Tuesday, with the 4th of July holiday the Blues offices have been shutdown the last two days. Colaiacovo’s 2 year deal will pay him $1.75 next season and $2.5 million the following year.
Word is D-man Mike Weaver will not be brought back next season. This guy will have no problem landing on his feet somewhere as several teams have expressed interest.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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