For injury news on the Blues as well as more news on the NHL please go to www.truehockey.com
You knew at some point Blues GM Doug Armstrong was going to make a move and add a forward.
28 year old Marek Svatos is the guy, for now anyway, as he and the Blues have agreed on a two way contract. The deal will play the former 30 goal scorer a pro-rated NHL salary of $800,000/$105,000 in the AHL.
What kind of player are the Blues getting?
Svatos experienced immediate NHL success scoring 32 goals his rookie year. He’s proven in the past that when given the opportunity, he can bury. The Slovakian native has always been a player with dynamic hands who can finish within ten feet of the net. He’s willing to go to the heavy traffic areas to score which is something the Blues can certainly use more of.
In recent years Svatos saw his minutes decrease and as a result his production level took a dip. He played primarily with Pierre Turgeon his rookie year when he reached the 30 goal mark and was able to pump home 26 goals two years later playing on a line centered by Tyler Arnason. Last year in Colorado Head Coach Joe Sacco used Svatos on the fourth line playing with the likes of tough guy David Koci. Nothing against Koci, but he’s not a guy you want to play with if you’re looking to score goals.
Before taking over behind the bench, Sacco was the head coach of Colorado’s farm club in Lake Erie and was familiar with a number of prospects who had come through the system. It didn’t take long for guys like Chris Stewart and T.J. Galiardi pass Svatos on the depth chart.
Signing in the summer with Omsk didn’t exactly work in Svatos’ favor. In 19 KHL games he was able to only generate three goals and five assists. He probably picked the worst situation to walk into by signing with this particular club. There’s a guy by the name of Jaromir Jagr who happens to play right wing on the top line and the second line consists of three Russian players who have played together since the world was formed. Some of his lack of offense can be attributed to not playing a top six role or receiving any power play time.
There was limited dialogue between the Blues and Svatos this past summer as he didn’t receive a single one-way offer from an NHL club. Interest in Svatos began in early December after Andy McDonald went down with a concussion. The parameters of the deal were almost immediately put into place after his release.
When you track the career of Svatos it’s easy to identify how effective he can be when he gets minutes. According to sources close to Svatos, there was a three year period when he was one among the NHL leaders in terms of goals per minutes ranking in the top five behind guys like Kovalchuk, Ovechkin, and Gaborik. He’s proven in the past that when he plays 12:00 plus minutes a night he can give you some offense. Are there 12-13 quality minutes a night available to Svatos? I would think there will be. Last season he averaged about 9:00 of even strength hockey per game.
At the end of the day it’s up to Svatos to go out and do it if he has any hopes of re-establishing himself as an NHL player. One of the biggest knocks against him in the past has been his inability to stay healthy. He’s overcome shoulder surgery, ACL and MCL operations, and as recent as last season a groin and rib injury.
He’s certainly young enough where if he can achieve some success he could stay here beyond 2011. The Blues have mapped out a plan that should give him an opportunity even after they get some pieces back in the lineup.
There was some talk of him being dealt last season at the trade deadline but nothing ever materialized. Svatos will need to clear waivers on Wednesday before being added to the Blues roster.
For injury news on the Blues as well as more news on the NHL please go to www.truehockey.com
More to come,
Andy Strickland
[email protected] 
St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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