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St. Louis Blues Free Agent Frenzy: A Rangers FA To Boost The PK

By Kate Cimini

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With the third round underway for four lucky (and good) NHL teams, a number of soon-to-be free agents are making hte most of the opportunity to showcase their talents in hopes of leveraging a contract with a healthy cap-hit from either their current club or any of the ones that are shopping around. The St. Louis Blues number among those teams who are closely watching the playoffs for potential additions to the roster.

The fans are calling for change, and it looks like they won’t get it in the coaching arena. With that option out, we are in for big roster moves this summer, and this series addresses potential players the St. Louis Blues organization could benefit from adding to their bench.

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This series selects one free agent (restricted or unrestricted) from each team that made it to the second round of the playoffs and examines how they would fit on the St. Louis Blues, both play-wise and cap-wise.

We have already gone through Minnesota, Washington, Tampa Bay, Montreal and Calgary. Next, we examine the Rangers for potential additions to the Blues. One of the teams that made it to the third round this season (and to the Finals in the last) the Rangers might play a very Eastern-Conference game as a whole, but they have a number of future free agents who could complement the talent the Blues already have on the ice.

What’s Available

According to NHL Numbers the Rangers have some pretty big names hitting RFA status, among them Carl Hagelin, J.T. Miller, and Derek Stepan. All of them are solid players in the league and would benefit nearly any team or system. Stepan clearly takes the cake points-wise among these particular Rangers, and although the Rangers ran very close to the cap this year (and will again next year with less than $10 million in cap space to spare) they will do all they can to re-sign these particular names, though Hagelin may be on the trading block now that Mats Zuccarello has been signed to a four-year, $4.5 million-per deal.

The Blues certainly have more cap space available than the Rangers with nearly $3 million more just sitting around, but Hagelin could push for more than some thought he would warrant earlier in the season. Hagelin has had a strong postseason, netting two goals and two assists, one goal of which was the overtime goal to send the Rangers to the second round past the Penguins.

Warren Tobin writes at fellow FanSided site, Blue Line Station, and in early January took on the topic of the Rangers re-signing Hagelin or Zuccarello. He points out Hagelin’s positive qualities in the following paragraph:

"The super Swede has had a good career with the Rangers. In 220 career games, Hagelin has 111 points with 49 goals and 62 assists. His best season was 2013-2014, when Hagelin had 33 points on 17 goals and 16 assists. Carl Hagelin is recognized for his ability to kill penalties on the penalty kill. Hagelin has been paired with Dominic Moore when he is not in the sin bin. Hagelin has had an average Corsi rating of 53.8% and an average Fenwick of 54.4%. He also has had 98 takeaways in his 3+ seasons in the Big Apple. Hagelin’s speed and ability are both undeniable."

Hagelin and Zuccarello filled a similar role for the Rangers, small (though Zuccarello is significantly smaller), speedy and used to improve possession. While that alone poses an interesting picture of the Blues with Hagelin on the second or third line, what really sticks out is Hagelin’s work on the penalty kill.

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The Blues finished the regular season with the seventh-best penalty kill in the League at 83.7, right behind the New York Rangers with a PK percentage of 84.3. Rob Parker over at Japers’ Rink took on analyzing the Rangers’ PK when they first faced off against the Capitals in the second series and noted that the Rangers took away passing lanes rather than focusing on taking one dangerous player (in this case, Ovechkin) out of play, a choice that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t.

But that tactic, used all season long against opponents, combined with their aggression coming out of their zone meant that they tied Anaheim for third in shorthanded goals over the regular season.

The Blues came in at 28th on that list. There’s definitely room to improve.

If Hitchcock is back next season (and it seems likely) the Blues will not change up their system too much. The Blues had one of the best power plays in the league over the regular season, leading the League for a large chunk but falling to fourth on the list by the mid April. The Blues regularly have strong special teams; even during rebuilding years they never dropped below 81% on the PK.

Adding Hagelin to the mix to beef up the penalty kill (and the forward momentum coming off the penalty kill back to five-on-five) could only help St. Louis in its quest for a win, especially with players like Backes and Ott on the team, who take penalties like water breaks.

What do you think, Blues fans?

Next: St. Louis Blues News: Hitch A Likely Return

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