Chicago Free Agents A Smorgasbord For St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues, who bowed out in the first round of the postsesason for the third year in a row, will be watching the remaining four teams in the playoffs for potential additions to their roster. With Hitchcock back as head coach for another year and no changes made in the front office (aside from the retention of Martin Brodeur as Assistant GM) there need to be significant changes made among rostered playeres.

And the first place to look is among the teams that are still in competition. St. Louis Blues fans want to see change in their club, having been disappointed one time too many. This series addresses potential players at which the St. Louis Blues organization could take a long, hard look.

Next: Blues Free Agent Frenzy: Ducking Defense

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, Calgary, New York and Anaheim. Next, we examine the Chicago Blackhawks free agents. The Blackhawks face down Anaheim in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals Saturday night. This is their third trip to the WCF in as many years.

Should the Blackhawks make it out of the Western Conference Finals this Saturday, regardless of whether or not they bring the Cup to Chicago a number of their free agents will move to new teams at higher prices as Chicago runs so close to the cap ceiling, and only has so much room. It’s the perfect opportunity for the Blues to snipe away an RFA with loads of potential, or an under-appreciated UFA.

What’s Available

An astonishing number of players (12) on the Blackhawks will become UFAs or RFAs this summer. Among them are standouts Brandon Saad (left wing), Brad Richards (center), Andrew Desjardins (left wing), Antoine Vermette (center) and Marcus Kruger (center).

Brandon Saad

I already wrote on the possibility of adding Brandon Saad to the St. Louis Blues lineup over at The Hockey Writers:

"Regardless of how the Blues end up juggling their lines, Saad could be a relatively cheap get [I now retract that statement] for a player who will have a massive amount of longevity in the league, and who is continuing to improve, three years into his first contract. He’s a first-line winger on the Blackhawks, a team that has wings the like of Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, and Patrick Kane to contend with. Essentially, he’s worth an attempt at.Speaking to the longevity: Saad is currently 22, and as such, still hasn’t yet hit the age where developed skills take over for reflexes slowing down. With forwards peaking between ages 27 and 28, he has a good five to six years left before he can no longer be relied upon to net approximately 50 points per season, as he has the past two. This is something the St. Louis Blues need desperately.[…]"

"Saad could push the Blues’ points totals even further during the regular season. And, let’s not forget, he’s never disappeared during the postseason."

While I’d love to see Saad join the Blues, the fact remains that the only way to steal him away from the Blackhawks is to invest about $5 million in him per year over four or five years. The Blues simply don’t have that kind of capital just lying around, what with Tarasenko hitting RFA status, the likely re-signing of new player and RFA Robert Bortuzzo, and a number of other players (seven, in fact) joining them in free agency.

Lest you forget, the Blues are a cap team themselves, with only $14.5 million left to them to reach a full roster. If St. Louis spent that much money on Saad, you can bet he’d be replacing Lehtera on the STL line, which is more or less the Blues’ top line — they just come out second.

Antoine Vermette

If Saad isn’t a possibility for the Blues, Antoine Vermette, a center, is a strong contender.

Vermette is about a decade older than Saad, so he wouldn’t have the same impact for years to come, but with age comes a certain ability to work with and mentor the younger players that Saad won’t have for a while, maturity or no. Vermette may not boast the same number of points as Saad, but his consistent performance and work ethic throughout the regular season and the playoffs is highly desirable for the Blues at this juncture, as are his postseason goals.

Vermette is defensively capable, and his +/- of -25 should not be read as anything other than a reminder that he spent most of this season with the Arizona Coyotes. Enough said.

Vermette’s price could be a little higher as his performance with Chicago has been stellar, winning Game 4 in double overtime against Anaheim for Chicago in overtime, but given his age it’s likely that his next contract will be his last. That gives the Blues a little something to work with, if they can offer a no-movement or no-trade clause in exchange for a little off the top.

David Rundblad

David Rundblad (defense) is also a possibility, and would be cheaply gotten, given his performance during his few postseason appearances, which took place after Michael Roszival broke his ankle in a play against the Minnesota Wild. Rundblad has not been particularly effective, however, playing only two games, the first of which he took 17 shifts for a total of 10:47 of ice time, and came away with no points, no shots on goal, and was a -1, not to mention a couple of goals that went in on his side that were eminently preventable. In his second postseason game he took only 8 shifts and registered 5:53 time on ice, coming away with 1 shot on goal and no points when stepping in for Kimmo Timonen, who has found his comeback after a year of rest and recuperation difficult.

Rundblad, however, may be a player who could fit on the Blues. Originally drafted 17th overall by St. Louis in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Blues saw something in then-18-year-old Rundblad they liked.

From his Elite Prospects bio, way back when:

"Rundblad is an offensive minded defenseman with very good size and puck skills. He has impressive vision and likes to move the puck into the offensive zone with slick stickhandling and good speed. Handles the puck with confidence and has very good poise. A great option from the blueline, where he releases a fairly accurate shot and also find his teammates with tape-to-tape passes. Size and strength is good.In his own end, Rundblad tends to not play it simple enough at times. He is a tad too creative and could also be more aggressive and determined in his play. If he develops his defensive game, he will be a high-scoring two-way defenseman. If not, he will still be a capable power play quarterback, but a potential liability in his own end."

At the moment he has developed into that liability for the Blackhawks, but on a defensive team like the Blues that drills its players on and allows for very little creativity within the system he might soar. His positioning offensively is good, and his shot from the point is quick and strong.

For Rundblad it might simply be a matter of finding the system that works for him. If it’s not Chicago, it may be St. Louis.

What say you, Blues fans? Any favorites among the Chicago free agents?

Next: Blues Must Make Roster Changes

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