Jake Allen re-signs with Blues

The St. Louis Blues and goaltender Jake Allen have agreed to a two-year contract. Allen gets a two-way contract this year, which will pay him $750k, and next season it's a one-way contract which will pay him $850k. What's the difference between a two-way contract and a one-way contract? A two-way contract allows that player to go to the AHL (American Hockey League) without being put on waivers to be sent down. And a one-way contract the player pretty much is on the team, and if sent down needs to clear waivers to go to the AHL. Allen, 23, was drafted by the Blues in the 2008 NHL draft, overall he was picked 34th in the draft.

Allen's first season was, last season when he played in fifteen game for the Blues. He went 9-4, with one shutout, and finished with a goals against average of 2.46. He also finished with a save percentage of .905, which ranked second among NHL rookie goaltenders. The nine wins made Allen, post the best winning percentage for a Blues rookie goalie in franchise history, which was .692. Allen also became the first rookie goalie for the Blues to win at least nine games, since former Blues goalie Curtis Joseph back in the 1989-1990 season.

I see this as a win-win for both sides. Allen has a chance to be a number one NHL goalie. Will it be with the Blues? Time will tell. The other two Blues goalies, Brain Elliott and Jaroslav Halak's contracts are up after this season. So, that could help Allen make the team for sure after this season, unless one of them ends up traded this season to let Allen be on the team. Allen has proved that he can play in the NHL. I hope he becomes the Blues number one goalie in the future, as I'm sure there are other Blues fans who hope the same. Now the Blues only have two remaining players to get under contract, those two players are defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and forward Magnus Paajarvi.

It's nice to see the Blues almost having their offseason complete.

Chris Stewart re-signs with Blues

The St. Louis Blues and forward Chris Stewart have avoided going to arbitration. Stewart has re-signed with the Blues for two years. The two year contract for Stewart is worth a total of $8.3 million. He'll make $4.1 million in the 2013-2014 season, and $4.2 million in 2014-2015. He was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2006 NHL draft in the first round, overall he was picked 18th in the draft. He played for the Avalanche for two and a half seasons.

Stewart would end up being traded to the St. Louis Blues during the 2010-2011 season. When he first joined the Blues after trade in his first game as a Blue, he scored two goals. That made the the fifth Blues player in franchise history to score two goals in their debut. He also got off to the best start in franchise history, scoring six goals in his first five games with the Blues.

As of now Stewart has played in 319 career games, scoring 100 goals, 102 assists, 202 points, and is a minus 19 (even though that has gotten better since joining the Blues). In the playoffs, he's played 19 games, scoring 5 goals, with 1 assist, 6 points, and is a minus 2. His best season was in 2009-2010 for the Avalanche, he played in 77 games, scoring 28 goals, 36 assists, 64 points, and finished with a plus 4.

Stewart has made himself into a better player on the Blues, even though he hasn't had 64 points yet. But he is capable of it, last season he came into camp in his best shape of his career after having a bad season in 2011-2012. That helped him out a lot last season, and he ended up leading the Blues in points with 36.

For a player who is still young at 25, and knowing what he can do if he plays up to his ability during the season, this is a perfect deal for the Blues. Stewart would have gotten more money if he and the Blues had gone to arbitration. Now the Blues need to go get defenseman Alex Pietrangelo signed long-term, and get a deal done with forward Magnus Paajarvi.

Blues trade David Perron to Oilers, for Magnus Paajarvi

The St. Louis Blues have traded left winger David Perron to the Edmonton Oilers for left winger Magnus Paajarvi and a 2nd round pick in the 2014 NHL draft. Perron, 25, was drafted by the Blues in the first round of the NHL draft in 2007 (26th overall). He's played six seasons in the NHL for the Blues and played in 340 games, scoring 84 goals, 114 assists, with 198 points, achieving a plus 45. He's also played 19 playoff games, scoring 2 goals, 7 assists, with 9 points, receiving a minus 4. His best season points wise came in his 2nd NHL season playing in 81 games, and finishing with 15 goals and 35 assists (that's good for a total of 50 points).

During Perron's fourth season, Joe Thornton gave him a hit to the head. Even though Perron was able to come back and play the rest of the game, he later got a concussion from the hit. Perron ended up missing the rest of the season, and the total of games Perron missed was 97 games total. Thornton was only suspended for two games. Since then, Perron seems to play like he's scared that he'll get another concussion. He also tends to think he's Wayne Gretzky at times, as in he'll think he can do almost everything himself. But, hockey is a team sport. He should pass the puck more, and not try to do everything himself. He seems to get into trouble a lot of the time when he does that.

Does Perron still have the potential to be a good player? Yes. The thing is that he pretty much needed a wake-up call, to notice that he has great talent if he learns to use his talent and become a better player. The Oilers have lots of talented players on their team. So, that could help Perron become a better player. If he doesn't do that I'm not sure how long he'll stay in the NHL. I like Perron, but he needs to improve. It wasn't going to happen on the Blues, pretty much because, he doesn't fit current Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock's system. I hope Perron learns how to become the player that he wants to become on the Oilers.

Who is Magnus Paajarvi might you ask? Paajarvi was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2009 NHL draft (10th overall). Paajarvi, 22, has played three seasons in the NHL. His best season was in the rookie season (2010-2011). In that reason he played 80 games, scoring 15 goals, 19 assists, with 34 points, receiving a minus 13. He later fell off after his rookie season, due to not doing well. Last season, he improved his game somewhat. I think lots of that was playing in the AHL for part of the season, due to the NHL lockout. While, in the AHL he figured out how to use his speed and size.

Is there a clear winner in the deal as of right now? If I had to choose right now, I'd say no. Because, both players needed a change. So, as of right now it's a win-win for both Perron and Paajarvi. It might take a season or two too see which team won the trade. I hope both players end up improving, both of them have the potential in them to become better players.

Derek Roy joins Blues

What!? I thought the Blues weren't said to do anything, after not doing much on their first day off free agency. Well anyway, the St. Louis Blues and free agent center Derek Roy have agreed to a one-year deal, worth $4 million. Roy 30, was drafted in 2001 in the 2nd round of the NHL draft (32nd overall) by the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres had Roy for seven seasons, his best season came in 2007-2008. During the 07-08 season, he scored 32 goals and got 49 assists. His most points in the NHL in 81. He finished the season as a plus 13. The Sabers ended up trading Roy in 2012 to the Dallas Stars for forward Steve Ott and defenseman Adam Pardy.

He didn't do that great while playing for the Dallas Stars in 2012-2013, and ended up being traded off to the Vancouver Canucks for defenseman Kevin Connauton and a 2nd round pick. Roy has been healthy for the most part of his NHL career except for one season, which was in 2010-2011. Last season though, he didn't do that great, and pretty much had an off year. Roy scored only 7 goals, and had 21 assists.

The signing by the Blues looks like a low risk move, with a chance for Roy to bounce back. Roy could have gotten more money in free agency, if he had played a lot better than he did last season. Roy also could give the Blues a number one center, which is something that the Blues need. He wouldn't be asked to do everything also, like he was asked to do on the Sabers.

So far for Roy's career, he's played in 591 NHL games, scoring 168 goals, 287 assists, 455 points, and is a plus 43. He's had 43 power play goals also. In the postseason, he's played 45 games, scoring 7 goals, 19 assists, 26 points, and is a plus 9.

Roy is capable of getting 70 points. If the Blues can get anything close to that, this deal ends up being a big win for the Blues. He also knows two current Blues on the current roster. Both of the players who he knows are: defenseman Jordan Leopold (knows him from their days on the Sabers) and center Maxim Lapierre (spent time with him on the Canucks).

Jordan Leopold staying in St. Louis

The St. Louis Blues and defenseman Jordan Leopold have agreed to a two-year deal, the deal is worth a total of $4.5 million over the two years. He would have become a free-agent on July 5th. Leopold 32, was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2nd round of the NHL draft in 1999, overall he is picked 44th. He never played for the Ducks in the NHL, and ended up being traded to the Calgary Flames in 2000-2001 for forward Andrei Nazarov and a 2nd round pick. His first NHL season came in 2002-2003 for the Flames. He played for the Flames from 2002-2006, before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche had him for two full seasons, and had him for half a season in 2008-2009, but ended up trading him back to the Flames. He was traded back to the Flames for defenseman Ryan Wilson and a 2nd round pick.

After the 2008-2009 season, the Flames traded his free agent rights to the Florida Panthers for the rights to defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. During the 2009-2010 season, he was traded again this time to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2nd round pick. Leopold ended up leaving the Penguins as a free-agent by signing a three-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. In the final year of his contract with the Sabers, around the trade deadline in 2012-2013, the Sabers ended up trading him to the Blues for draft picks. He ended up playing 15 games for the Blues, while getting 2 assists. He also played in all six of the Blues postseason games.

For his career his career so far, he's played 625 games, scoring 65 goals, 139 assists, 204 points, and is a -32. Leopold has played 65 postseason games, his most were in 03-04 while with the Flames. He played in 26 games that postseason, the Flames ended up going onto the Stanley Cup but lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Leopold has played ten season in the NHL.

I like the deal for Leopold and the Blues. At that price that he signed for it looks like a steal, he also played well for the Blues down the stretch run at the end of the season. Leopold can also be used on the power play, if need be.
He seemed like he fit in well with the players who were in the Blues locker room.