The St. Louis Blues already have two of the best goaltenders left in the playoffs. Despite this depth, the Blues added to it by inking one of their draftees.
The St. Louis Blues signed their 2014 draft pick, Ville Husso, to a three-year, entry-level contract on Tuesday morning.
This continues to add depth to an already strong position, potentially curing something that has long been thought of as a position of weakness with the Blues. The key word there is potentially.
With the signing of Husso, the Blues still have plenty of decisions to make this summer regarding the position. It is unlikely they want Husso in the NHL right away, though not out of the realm of possibility.
The problem, though maybe a good one, is every young goaltender the Blues currently have currently signed outside of Husso will be a free-agent this summer.
The Blues eventually need to make decisions on Brian Elliott, Jake Allen, Pheonix Copley, Jordan Binnington and Anders Nilsson. Some of those decisions might wait as Allen and Elliott are both still signed until 2017.
Nilsson, Binnington, and Copley are all restricted free-agents, which makes the likelihood of them returning higher. The odd man out would likely be Nilsson as he was brought in this season as insurance when the Blues main roster was beset by injuries.
More from Bleedin' Blue
- St. Louis Blues Prospects Shine And Fizzle In Prospects Showcase
- St. Louis Blues Giving Nick Ritchie A Look Is No Lose Situation
- St. Louis Blues Torey Krug Already Injured Before 2023-24 Season
- St. Louis Blues Need Kasperi Kapanen To Be On Best Behavior
- Former St. Louis Blues Forward Going Into Hall Of Fame
Clearly the biggest decision the Blues will have to make is whether to continue with the Elliott/Allen tandem, hand the reigns over to Allen and leave Elliott unprotected in a potential expansion draft or possibly even reward Elliott for this postseason and let Allen walk next year. How NHL ready Husso is will determine much of that.
Binnington has long been a name the Blues have held in decent regard, but he hasn’t made any significant push toward the main roster. Copley is another highly touted prospect and the Blues clearly had interest in him by including him with the TJ Oshie swap, but how much they value him as a future goaltender is mainly unknown.
Husso definitely has plenty of upside. He’s spent all of his career in Finland, but has put up some pretty good numbers. This last season he helped HIFK Helsinki to their league finals with a 1.91 goals against average in the season and a 1.55 goals against in the playoffs.
Again, the chances of him immediately making the NHL roster right away are somewhat slim. However, fans are already looking forward to the future and debating who will remain.
What if Elliott wins you a cup this season? Do you still protect Allen over Elliott knowing you have Husso coming? https://t.co/YFtgeAcTmL
— Joey Palazzola (@Palazzola_RTN) May 10, 2016
That debate is better shelved for the offseason with the Blues knotted up at three games apiece with the Dallas Stars. There is enough discussion over the goaltending duo right now without complicating it with future posibilities.
Next: Elliott Deserves To See Out Playoffs
One thing is for sure though. If all of these players play up to their potential, which admittedly is rare, then the Blues’ future in net is quite solid going forward. That’s something that hasn’t been said in quite some time.