The St. Louis Blues are in a transition period of leadership. That doesn’t mean all the old guard needs to go and Alexander Steen is one that should stay.
The St. Louis Blues have slowly, but surely transitioned their team. Almost yearly, the old core of the team has been removed in order to find who the bad seeds were. Ok, bad seed is a bit harsh, but there needed to be changes and changes came, if only slower than fans would have liked.
The Blues need to keep Alexander Steen around though. Yes, they are still in the transition period of attempting to swing the team more in the image of younger stars like Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Tarasenko. Even so, Steen is worth keeping around if he isn’t going to break the bank.
Steen hasn’t been a superstar in terms of point producing. He’s been no slouch either.
Surprisingly, he seems to have gotten better with age. Despite a few injury problems, he’s managed to score 50 points or more the last three seasons. He had only had one season in his previous eight that had 50 or more.
Additionally, he was one of the best two-way players in the playoffs for the Blues in 2016. Ken Hitchcock was so impressed with his play during that particular postseason, he labeled Steen as the best player on the Blues.
That could be debated, for sure, from various angles. It can’t be denied that he put in tremendous effort in all aspects of the game. He was put against all the top lines. He was used on the penalty kill and the powerplay. He also managed to score 10 points while fans were saying he needed to do more even though he was using up so much of his energy defensively.
The interesting thing is how things turn around so quickly with some players. In 2015, fans couldn’t wait for the Blues to blow up the team and get rid of every single veteran, including Steen, David Backes and the like. In 2016, the fans couldn’t even imagine the team without Backes.
Steen, is still somewhere in the middle. Some fans assume he is gone because he will be in the same situation as Backes was in his contract year. Others are fine if he goes and still more want him to stay.
He should stay and the Blues should keep him – if he is willing to take a team-friendly contract. That doesn’t mean he has to give up money or have a huge hometown discount. However, he can’t ask for the moon at age 32 either.
Fans saying he has to go if the Blues couldn’t afford Backes need to understand each situation is its own animal. Backes didn’t really leave due to money. From everything reported, the money was agreed upon, but Backes wanted assurances of guaranteed years and the Blues wanted to give fewer years and then transition to a yearly deal.
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Perhaps they’ll try the same tactic with Steen, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem like there will be as much issue between the sides. Also, Steen has come out and said he wants to get a deal done before the season if possible. While there was never any statement that it was purposefully put off, the Backes negotiations seemed to just get pushed back each time it came up.
Steen will be 33 by the end of the 2016-17 season, so his time is getting a little short but he still has good years in front of him. Unlike Backes, he plays a hard game but not an intensely physical one. While Steen had 50 hits, a high in his time with St. Louis, he doesn’t play the kind of game that wears men down like Backes does.
He fights in the corners and doesn’t back down, but he’s not constantly getting blasted in front of the net like the former captain. He is also very versatile.
While Backes was pretty much going to be a third line player from here on out, Steen could be anywhere from a third line man to a top line player. He can center or be on the wing. Depending on the team the Blues roll out, he could be inserted just about anywhere.
Again, term and dollars will be key. If he is looking for five or more years like Backes was, then an extension may be unlikely. The Blues are likely to be willing to give players close to the money they want and Steen has earned a decent contract, but players need to be more realistic in terms of knowing how the Blues like to structure contracts.
Getting wrapped up in long contracts just because we want a player today isn’t the best idea for tomorrow. However, if certain concessions are made, then there is no reason the Blues should not bring back Steen.
Steen still has a lot of value. He’s a good two-way forward that fits in well with Hitchcock’s style for now. If extended, he may have a different role that allows him a little more offensive freedom under Mike Yeo.
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The only way we’ll know is if he is brought back. While it would be understandable if he is not, given the Blues just letting go two quality players this offseason, they do need to have some veterans that will give a little cushion for the younger guys coming through.
His point totals are still high and his penalty minutes low. Steen still represents the type of player that fits in with the style the Blues say they want to play and the kind that can play the way they have been playing.