St. Louis Blues: Free Agents to Consider Part III

Welcome to the third part in our series of looking at free agents that might interest the St. Louis Blues. The list of potential candidates that would interest the masses is growing thin, but there are still some intriguing names.

Continuing our peek into free agents, which you can find the last two week’s here and here, we look to some names from the east.  The list of players that would actually be a logical fit for the St. Louis Blues is actually growing a bit thin. While finances are always the paramount concern, it’s beginning to look more like our own unrestricted free agents might be the most valuable for the team.

Even given that, it’s not a bad idea to look outside for help. As we have been doing, we’ll take a look at three players that fit to varying degrees.

Pipe Dream – Kyle Okposo

Kyle Okposo would be a fine addition to the Blues. He’s not quite the scorer that many people want him to be in terms of goals. He’s never had 30 goals in a single season. His point production is almost always very high though.

His career best is 27 goals and 69 points. He’s also coming off a 64 point season just last year.

So, if his stats are sort of in that upper tier of the middle of the pack, why would he be a pipe dream? Money, as it almost always is, is the answer.

Okposo earned $4.5 million last season. Although his cap hit over the course of his contract was only $2.8, he is bound to want a raise as almost all players do.

Just for an idea of the maximum Okposo could get, Claude Giroux had 67 points last season and will earn $9 million with a cap hit of just over $8 million. Now, Okposo is not likely to get that kind of money, but he’s bound to get a raise.

The Blues already seem to be planning life without David Backes or Troy Brower. The price tag for them will probably be around the same or perhaps a tiny bit less than it could be for Okposo.

Okposo has been a bit injury prone and the Blues don’t have a lot of luck with that to begin with. He has a lot of skill and is still young enough to keep getting better, especially if he could last a full season. Money will likely be the deciding factor that keeps a lot of teams away though with a decent amount of teams near the cap ceiling. He’s not nearly as far out of reach as guys like Eric Staal or Johnny Gaudreau will be, but still might have a hefty price tag.

Sure you could, but why? – David Legwand

If you had asked about David Legwand even two or three years ago, he might have been more in the category of option that makes sense. Now, not even close.
He’s been a steady player for a lot of years. He’s not a huge guy, but he’s not small either at 6’2 and 207 lbs. He’s also a center, which the Blues are almost always looking for help at.

However, he’s 35 and will be 36 when the season begins. His stats have taken the kind of dip that if it was stock, people would be pondering the end like they did when the stock market crashed in the 20’s.

Legwand went from 51 points in 2013-14 to 27 in 2014-15 to 14 in 2015-16. If it was only one season with a drop off and it had only been 50 to 40, you could make a case.

Two straight years of a huge drop in points do not instill confidence in his remaining skills. Players in their mid-to-late 30’s don’t typically have bounce back years either.

Money would also be an issue. If someone wants to stay in the league, they have to realize what is realistic. However, Legwand got paid $3.5 million last season. How much of a pay cut would he be willing to take.

The Blues could being in Legwand for veteran leadership and perhaps a fourth line role. However, it makes zero sense if he doesn’t take a major pay cut. You could bring back Kyle Brodziak or Scottie Upshall and give them raises from their 2015-16 salaries and potentially pay less than Legwand might receive if he even took a $2 million cut.

Option that makes sense – Andrew Ladd

Die-hard Blues fans may wonder what I’ve been taking to suggest Andrew Ladd making sense. Take out of the equation that he’s played for Chicago and just look at the sense of it though.

He’s not Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour or Chris Chelios. He’s not Andrew Shaw or Duncan Keith. Sure he’s been a thorn in the side in years past, but he doesn’t have that long standing history of negativity that would make it hard to cheer for him.

As with all the players the Blues will likely look at, the price will be the key. If you can get him to sign for right around what he’s been making ($4.5 million), then it is worth it.

He’s a consistent goal scorer and would be a good fit for the second or third line. He hasn’t failed to score over 20 goals since 2009-10 (excluding the lockout year, when he still scored 18 goals in 48 games).

He fits in with the physical style that the Blues like to play. He can provide on the second powerplay unit. He is coming off his highest powerplay goal total of his career at age 30.

He’s basically the same age as Brouwer and has proven to be a more consistent goal scorer over his career. Brouwer proved to be an invaluable piece to the Blues run last season. Ladd could prove to be just as important of an addition.

Word going around is that both Ladd and Winnipeg are open to reforming their partnership. If that happens, the Blues aren’t likely to figure into the mix. The Jets are likely to provide the biggest contract.

If Ladd isn’t looking to make a huge payday and is willing to take a contract that is worth what he provides, then the Blues would be a good fit. If Ladd wants to win, the Blues would be even more attractive.

Final Look

As I said, the list is getting a bit thin. There really aren’t a ton of free agents in this class that are going to burn up the stat sheets.

Okposo would be a good addition, but he is injury prone and a tiny bit inconsistent. He’s also not overly physical. That’s not a huge deal, but Okposo had a career high of 90 hits last season. To put that into perspective, Robert Bortuzzo had 93 in 40 games. Kevin Shattenkirk had 82 and Jay Bouwmeester had 71.

Money could also be an issue with him. He’s 28 and will likely be looking for a long-term, big money deal and that might not be a fit for the Blues.

Next: Is Yeo The Right Fit For St. Louis?

Legwand just doesn’t make any sense at this point in his career. The Blues have players from last season’s roster that would be a much better fit and would likely be cheaper too. The dropoff for Legwand has been too vast for his signing to make any sense unless he basically took the league minimum.

Ladd makes the most sense. He’s a consistent goal scorer, a physical player and a powerplay performer. Price tag is always key, but I just don’t get the sense that his price would exceed what the Blues can afford for his production.