Colton Parayko Avoids Arbitration

The St. Louis Blues and defenseman Colton Parayko, looked like both sides were going to go to arbitration. The Blues and Parayko had been said to be far apart from agreeing to a long-term contract. That all changed on Thursday morning, with Parayko signing a five-year contract extension worth $27.5 million. That's a sweet contract for both sides. If Parayko can stay healthy, and devolping into the player he can be then it's great for both sides. Parayko could end up out perform his contact.

Parayko, 24, was drafted by the Blues in the third round of the 2012 NHL draft (86th overall). He ended up on the Blues roster in 2015-2016. In his first full NHL season, he played in 79 games, scoring 9 goals, with 24 assists. He ended up having 33 points, and finished as a plus 28. In his second season, last year he showed more promise than he did in his rookie year. He played in 81 games, scoring 4, with 31 assists, and 35 points. For the season he was a plus 7.

His game currently makes him seem like he's developed into a late bloomer. Lot's of teams passed him up in the 2012 NHL draft. For the 2012 draft, he was the the 28th defenseman picked. Why didn't other teams pick him earlier?

Parayko is known for his offensive talent at best. He's showed he's a cornerstone piece for the Blues future. The Blues had been holding off on signing other free agents, so they could get Parayko taken care of first. That was a smart move by Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. Armstrong is in a contract year, but he's had one of his best offseason's in along time. Is a lot of it from Martin Brodeur maybe waiting in the wings, or is it that both seem to work well together? Maybe it's both.

It looks like the Blues are done as far as the offseason, even though they still have a little cap space if they feel they need to keep a player like Scottie Upshall.