St. Louis Blues: Colton Parayko Arbitration Nothing To Worry About

The St. Louis Blues are one step closer to signing one of their cornerstone players. It might not seem like it in this moment, but they are.

The St. Louis Blues might have put themselves in a sticky situation the way many fans view it. However, there is little if anything to worry about with their current situation.

Colton Parayko filed for salary arbitration on July 5. That upsets some fans, but there is little to fear.

Obviously, when there is not ink dry on a contract there is always a tiny bit to worry about. That does not mean that Parayko will be playing anywhere else next year.

Quite the opposite is true. If anything, Parayko did the Blues a favor.

Once a player files for arbitration, other teams can no longer send offer sheets Parayko’s way. He is effectively still a member of the Blues until a judge hears the case.

That gives the Blues exclusive negotiating rights for almost a month. Really, they were likely to be the only team involved anyway, but it takes away even the remote possibilities.

Parayko’s hearing will take place anywhere from July 20 to August 4. Once it begins, the hearing will be decided and a ruling handed out within 48 hours.

There is still almost nothing to worry about though.

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Fans want the Blues to offer the sun and the moon to Parayko. The kid is talented and will likely ascend to the top pairing defensively long before his career comes to a close. That doesn’t mean the Blues need to give him stupid money.

Kevin Shattenkirk just got stupid money. ESPN’s writers can say he took a hometown discount, but as good a player as he was in St. Louis, he is not worth $6.6 million.

Would Parayko be worth that kind of money? Quite possibly. That does not mean he should automatically get it.

The Blues don’t need to be stupid either. If they allow this to get all the way to the hearing then they might need some sense knocked into them.

Parayko, whether by choice or by simple accident, has given them a window. They can now sit down and iron things out.

St. Louis has no worries about offer sheets or some crazy GM throwing a ton of money at Parayko just to force the Blues to pay more. It’s up to Doug Armstrong and Parayko’s agent to simply get the details worked out.

The only remaining worry is whether the deal will be a short-term “bridge” deal or if the Blues can get something long-term worked out. Parayko is going to be with the Blues in 2017-18.

Even if it goes to arbitration, he’ll end up with a one-year deal to cover whatever the judge awards. It just better not get there.

For all the praise/hate we send Armstrong’s way, he’s not dumb. He knows he can’t toy around in this situation.

If he can get the number down to around $5 million, so be it. $5.5 million would be ideal. Anything higher might be deserved, but becomes stickier for the Blues to sign other players in the future.

The Blues need to get this guy locked up. You don’t want to handcuff yourself though since he’s only two years into his career.

I am not a fan of these bridge deals since there is always the chance of paying more in the next deal. I have no worry that there will be a contract soon. After all, there were 20 that filed arbitration on the same day and at least two already signed deals.

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