Cardinals land fromer closer John Axford from Brewers

The St, Louis Cardinals have acquired John Axford from the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later. Axford, 30, is a former closer for the Brewers. He came up for the Brewers back in 2009, and pitched in seven games, with 1 save and no blown saves. In 2010, he became the Brewers closer saving 24 games, with 3 holds, and 3 blown saves. Then in 2011, it was Axford's best season in the MLB. He had 46 saves, and two blown saves. That included with an era of 1.95. He also lead the NL in saves in 011, and won the NL Rolaids Relief Man Award (that award is given to the top relief pitchers in the AL  and NL).

In 2012, he pretty much fell apart as the Brewers closer, getting 35 saves and blowing 9 of them, with an era of 4.67. So far in 2013, Axford has been a little bit better than he was in 2012 even though all of his stats may not show it (some of them do show it though). He has 19 holds this season, even though he's blown 6 games, with an era of 4.45. Lots of his problems seem to be giving up the home run ball in Miller Park and at The Great American Ballpark. Sometimes players need a change of scenery after falling off a team. He's under team control through 2016, he's arbitration eligible. So if he doesn't do well, he could end up being non-tendered in December by the Cardinals.

If Edward Mujica needs a day off or two, Axford could get a chance to save, because he has closer experience in the MLB level. It also could end up being a nice pick up if, Mujica's arm problems are worse than thought of. Time will tell if Axford can do well on the Cardinals, I have a feeling that he can if given a chance. He also won't have Ryan Braun as a distraction.

For Axford's career his stats as of now are: 268 games played, 263.1 innings, 21 wins, 19 losses, 106 saves, 20 blown saves, a whip of 1.33, and an era of 3.35. In his postseason career, he has an era of 1.29 and has 3 saves, and 1 blown save.

He'll be in no.34 for the Cardinals starting tonight in Pittsburgh. He's making $5 million this season. He also could end up being a nice help with Trevor Rosenthal leading to closer Edward Mujica. Looks like a good move for the Cardinals bullpen, again time will tell if it is or isn't.

Magnus Paajarvi re-signs with Blues

The St. Louis Blues and forward Magnus Paajarvi have agreed to a two-year contract. He'll be getting paid $1.2 million over those two years. The Blues got Magnus Paajarvi in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers that sent forward David Perron to the Oilers. Both Paajarvi and Perron were former first round picks, who didn't fit their teams systems that well.

Paajarvi, 22, has a chance to see if he can improve his game on the Blues. He's shown flashes that he can be good when he played for the Oilers. He also comes from a hockey family; that might be a good thing. His dad, Gunnar Svensson, played hockey over in Sweden. He's currently a sports agent, one of the players who he's an agent for is Henrik Zetterberg. Having a family with history in hockey can help players at times. As of right now, Paajarvi is expected to be on a line with Blues center Patrik Berglund. Berglund is also from Sweden, and both have played on the same line for team Sweden before. Could that help both Berglund and Paajarvi during the season? That will soon be answered if they do end up on the same line.

In his career as of now he's played in 163 games, with 26 goals, 32 assists, 58 points, and is a minus 21. He's scored 5 power play goals, 1 shorthanded goal, and 2 game winning goals. The two game winning goals came last season, along with the shorthanded goal.

I'm interested in seeing if Paajarvi can improve as a player on the Blues once the season starts. And there's a chance that he could. That's pretty much because he is still young and has been learning how to use his skill better. Now all the Blues need to do is get defenseman Alex Pietrangelo signed to a long-term deal and then their offseason is complete. Could they end up trading one of their goalies in Brian Elliott or Jaroslav Halak to clear some cap space? Time will tell. The Blues have had a nice offseason from what it seems like. Will that transfer onto the ice once the season starts? We'll find out soon once October comes! One thing for sure is that the Blues got bigger in size.

Jay Bouwmeester lands contract extension with Blues

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to a five-year contract extension, worth $27 million. Bouwmeester,29, would have become a free agent after this season. He'll make $6.68 million in 2013-2014. This seasons salary is the last of a five-year deal that he signed when he played for the Calgary Flames. After the 2013-2014 season, he'll make $5.4 million a year. He took a pay-cut to stay around as a Blue, if you look at the salary compared to this season.

Bouwmeester was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2002 NHL draft and was 3rd overall. The Blues traded for him last season, when he was a member of the Calgary Flames. To get him the Blues traded prospects Mark Cundari, Reto Berra, and a first round pick in the 2013 NHL draft. He currently owns the NHL's record for most consecutive games played and counting by a defenseman. Last season, he played in 47 games, fourteen of them as a Blue and thirty-three for the Flames. He scored 7 goals (one came with the Blues), 15 assists (six came with the Blues), and 22 points (seven came with the Blues). He also played in all of the Blues six postseason games, and has one assist. That was his first time he reached the playoffs in his career.

Jay Bouwmeester's career stats so far are: 764 games played, 72 goals, 235 assists, 307 points, and is a minus 60. The minus 60 is dropping, due to Bouwmeester playing better hockey. I think lots of that is because he was counted on a lot on the Panthers, who aren't that great of a team. It can also take players awhile to develop; not all of them become the player they are said to be on the team who they are drafted by. And then sometimes others fail to live up to expectations after they are drafted.

I'm glad that the Blues were able to get Bouwmeester signed to a long-term deal. Even though he likes St. Louis a lot, there's no way of knowing if his price may have been higher during preseason or the regular season. The Blues current ownership kind of reminds me of the way Bill Laurie's ownership group spent money, except this group seems to be better at working contracts out. They aren't afraid to spend money when it needs to be spent. And they seem to spend money the right way.

All the Blues need to do now is get defenseman Alex Pietrangelo under contract, along with forward Magnus Paajarvi. Paajarvi shouldn't cost much once he signs.

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).