St. Louis Blues Could Build Defense With A Hab

The second round of the playoffs is quickly wrapping itself up and free agents who are still in the playoffs are in the midst of upping their value both to their current management and to those who are looking to acquire new players in the offseason. The St. Louis Blues number among those whose management teams are combing through lists of unrestricted and restricted free agents, re-reading more recent scouting reports and rethinking their roster as it currently stands.

With the upheaval we are certain to see in the St. Louis Blues club come this summer, the team that pulls on the Blue Note next season may look drastically different from the one we cheered for and watched faithfully this season.

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This series selects one free agent (restricted or unrestricted) from each team currently still in the race for the Cup and examines how they would fit on the St. Louis Blues, both play-wise and cap-wise.

We have already gone through Minnesota, Washington, and Tampa Bay. Next, we examine the Canadiens for potential additions to the Blues.

What’s Available

Hold the presses, folks. Because the Canadiens have a player reaching RFA status that any team would be thrilled to have: Alex Galchenyuk, a natural center who went third overall to Montreal in 2012.

Galchenyuk’s got size, speed, and strength on his side, and he’s great at passing the puck. He hasn’t quite hit his stride yet, points-wise, only reaching 46 this year, but this has also been his first year in the NHL he’s played regularly at center.

Prior to this season Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien eased Galchenyuk into the center position by first letting him get adjusted to the game at the NHL level from the wing.

Galchenyuk has slowly but steadily improved, and he’ll be one of the best centers in the league by the time he’s 26, and as dearly as I would love to steal him for the St. Louis Blues, the likelihood of the Canadiens letting him get away — even as close to the cap as they run — is minimal. He’s one of their building blocks for their future and they’ve invested a lot of quality time and capital in him.

Additionally, the Blues have quite the build-up at center at the moment, with seven players on the roster who regularly spend time between the wings. Galchenyuk would be a great get if the Blues could afford him, but it’s more likely they would have to focus their attention elsewhere.

When they do, right-handed defenseman Jeff Petry is worth taking a good, hard look at.

Jeff Petry

May 1, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (91) skates with the puck around Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry (26) during the second period in game two of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Based on his history, Petry would be a good, solid contributor at the St. Louis Blues blue line. He might not be a top-ten scoring defenseman, but he doesn’t need to be. The Blues already have Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo for that role and they’re not looking to move those pieces anytime soon. Petry is exactly what they need: a defender who can contribute in points offensively as well as in blocked shots.

Petry was with the Edmonton Oilers for most of his NHL career until he was traded to the Canadiens in March at deadline. He didn’t miss a step; his even-strength TOI/game went from almost 19:30 a night to nearly 22:00, thanks to the rash of injuries that went through the Montreal Canadiens.

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He notched seven goals and 15 assists over the regular season, and has added two goals and one assist to that tally in his first appearance in the postseason. He’s proving to be not just a strong regular-season player, but someone who can step up come playoffs as well. This, we know, is an element we want more of on the St. Louis roster.

Petry’s price is well worth negotiating for the Blues; he’s an unrestricted free agent whose cap hit was a little over $3 million this season. (The Canadiens took on approximately $700,000 of that this season when they traded for him.) A brief look at his advanced stats courtesy of Behind The Net shows us he’s a top-three defender in the quality of player he’s matched up against, and starts the majority of his shifts in the defensive zone, indicating he’s trusted to suppress any potential shots and force turnovers against some of the best forwards in the league.

This is where some data on turnovers would be really handy, NHL. Just saying.

Petry’s age is a good indicator that he’s got, at a conservative guess, another four to five years of high-level defense left in him. While forwards tend to peak around 26 or 27, defenders have another couple of years tacked on to that due to the different kinds of demands placed on their bodies. In the meantime, Petry’s strong skating ability and his eye for a good breakout pass could be a great way to stack the deck on the right side of the rink.

Edit: An earlier version of this article incorrectly And inexplicably claimed Claude Julien was still the coach of the Canadiens. Please excuse the error. The writer was going on far too little sleep.

Next: Is 'Get Better' The Best Answer To St. Louis Blues Woes?

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