Sorry Blues fans for the long gap between blogs. I enjoy doing this and should have found time to get one done. No excuses and thanks for all your support since I started in March. This summer in St. Louis has been up and down in my opinion from a managerial standpoint within the organization. This blog will be about the positive, negative, and the grey area outlooks on the events that Doug Armstrong and his staff have completed this summer (so far).


Positives: The biggest deal of the summer so far made budding superstar Vladimir Tarasenko the richest Blues player in the history of the franchise. Doug Armstrong not only locked him up at a maximum eight years, but at a decent cap hit at $7.5 million annually. This deal could look as good or better than Kevin Shattenkirk’s current deal in a few years with the contracts being handed out these days. I love the deal. I honestly thought the Ryan O’Reilly deal would jack the price up. Tarasenko loves playing here and is a complete team guy. He finally looks completely adjusted to the North American game and he is one of the few that actually have shown up in the playoffs.


Signing Jake Allen was also a positive contract for the Blues. A two year deal with a little over two million on his cap hit is a team friendly deal. He showed positive signs last year in the regular season and in the playoffs. He let in some bad goals at some bad times but the team didn’t help his case most of the time. He could finally become the number one over Brian Elliott this season.


Jori Lehtera received a three year contract extension that begins in 2016 and Robert Bortuzzo resigned on a two year deal to be a bottom pair defenseman. Lehtera started off the year with great chemistry with Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz and then hit the wall that most players new to the league usually do. Now that he has a year under his belt and knows the conditioning that it takes, he should be primed for a big season. Bortuzzo, as of now, looks to be on the third defensive pair playing alongside Petteri Lindbohm. That’s a lot of size and nasty on the back end that we haven’t seen in a while. They could have their moments that make us cringe, but what third pair hasn’t done that to us over the last few years? At least this group will take a body with them.


Prospects Robby Fabbri and Colton Parayko both looked very good in camp and both have a shot at cracking the lineup this year. I don’t think either will make the roster yet, but could be called up if and when an injury occurs.


Negatives: The Blues didn’t make any significant moves at the draft to help their cause. There were plenty of rumors going around but it concluded uneventful. My guess would be that not knowing how the Tarasenko deal was going to turn out could have influenced Armstrong to stand pat, but my guess is as good as anyones.


Signing Chris Butler as a depth defenseman. It’s not like I think that Butler is a terrible defenseman. There were just better depth defenseman available. Like a few of you fans mentioned, I also believe Matt Irwin would have been a better fit for basically the same price. The Bruins got him at a good price.


Only locking down Dmitrij Jaskin to a one year deal is a negative in my opinion. The kid is a beast on the halfway and the boards and he began learning to take the puck to the net much like much of us wish Patrik Berglund would finally figure out. I believe the kid is only going to get better and has earned his spot on the roster.


Not trading Vladimir Sobotka’s rights in a package deal to improve the team. It has become obvious that he doesn’t want to play for either Hitchcock or the Blues organization in general. I enjoyed what he brought to the team every night and wish he did want to play a bottom six role here, but he doesn’t and the Blues should get value for him. Many teams around the league have shown interest in him but Armstrong has no intention of letting him go.


Grey Areas: Armstrong bringing back head coach Ken Hitchcock on yet another one year deal could go either way. He put his own job on the line by agreeing to this deal. He must heavily believe that Hitch is the right coach and that he can find the missing pieces to find success in the playoffs. Hitch wants to win and will prepare the team to the maximum to be successful. The onus is on the players to execute the plan he sets in place.


The Big Deal: Armstrong traded T.J. Oshie to the Capitals for Troy Brouwer, goalie prospect Pheonix Copley, and next year’s third round pick. It is a decent return for sure, and saved about a half million in cap space. I feel like the deal didn’t improve the team in ways that management wanted to. Speed was a must and that deal didn’t add any speed. The team is not any faster than it was and that is troubling. It makes me think that Armstrong isn’t done this offseason and with only about $1.5 million in cap space, trades are the only way to improve the speed. Brouwer will be a good character guy and will give the Blues everything he has.


Resigning Magnus Paajarvi to a one year, one way deal is interesting. He could add speed and skill to the roster if he has finally figured out how to use his size and be more consistent. The problem is he is stuck down in the depth of the forwards and has never had a chance to progress in the NHL. He will either turn the corner or be waived by the trade deadline in my opinion.

If I were to grade the Blues offseason so far, I would give them a C. Nothing has really improved or worsened. Only time will tell but right now, I still feel like there is work to do. More this week.

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» Random Notes and Breaking Down the Forward Lines

» More Moves on the Way?

» Blues Sign Kyle Brodziak, Oshie Traded to Caps

» Blues Resign Jori Lehtera and Chris Butler, Tarasenko Still Unsigned

» On the draft, Shattenkirk rumors, Tarasenko's future