St. Louis Blues Have To Settle Vladimir Sobotka Situation Now

The St. Louis Blues find themselves embroiled in one of the strangest player personnel situations in quite some time. Both sides need to just lay their cards on the table and get this figured out.

The St. Louis Blues and Vladimir Sobotka have been playing footsie this entire offseason and it’s getting more than tiring. It’s a situation that, for all we really know, may have been ironed out weeks ago or may still be up in the air. There is no definitive answer from any party involved and that needs to change fairly quickly.

To borrow a phrase from the Rock, who in the blue hell does Sobotka and his agent, Petr Svoboda, think they are? At this stage, they are coming across as either petty, greedy or unprofessional at best.

Sobotka is more than entitled to make his living where he wants. There were no issues with him wanting to ply his trade in Russia.

Sure, there were some hurt feelings by fans, but it made sense. He wasn’t worth the money the KHL was willing to dole out, so the Blues were wise not to match it. He was smart to take the payday because there was no way he was ever going to get those figures in the NHL.

However, now Sobotka wants to return to the NHL and it’s going about as smoothly as a stressed out teenager’s skin right now. Nobody knows what the truth is and there are conflicting reports everywhere.

If you believe the player and his agent (or at least what they’re telling the Blues), he’s still returning to play out the final year of his deal with St. Louis.

On the flip side, his team in the KHL seems to think he is going to return once the World Cup of Hockey is over with.

I’m not trying to start any international incidents, but Russians tend to be a very proud people and will sometimes say things that aren’t true because if people believe it, it puts them in a good light and the player in a bad one if he does leave.

At this point, the problem is not whether he is staying in Russia or returning to the U.S. It’s to a point where the fuss is unworthy of a player of his stature.

He’s a talented guy who plays his guts out most nights. However, he’s a bottom six forward that isn’t going to contribute statistically. He’ll do the intangibles, which is something the Blues do need, but he’s not going to light the lamp more than a dozen times or so.

He’s a valuable asset. While many fans are sick of hearing his name, there are those who still see the value in what he can bring to the table.

The problem with all this back and forth becomes the Blues almost need him to show up now. They still have an option or two within their own ranks to fill the spot, but they’ve wasted time and potential free agent money by waiting on him.

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It is more than within the realm of possibility that the Blues would have made no more moves even if they knew he was not coming back. Yet, the simple fact that they could have had some salary cap space available to utilize on an additional piece if he would have made up his mind already is frustrating.

St. Louis is cash strapped as it is. So many fans have failed to realize this with some of their wishlists.

They have between $3.3 and $3.9 million, depending on which site you read, in cap space and Sobotka will eat up $2.75 million and some change of that. That’s not a ton of money, but it might have made a difference in whether the team made a run at a late free agent or a trade that was nixed due to the numbers not meshing.

Nobody outside the Blues’ offices knows for sure what their plans were. As fans, we are left to wonder whether the team has been held hostage by a role player though.

At this stage, it just seems like something should have been decided. If he wants to stay in Omsk for the money, then do so. If he wants to play in the NHL, then come back and get ready.

If this is just another ploy to attempt a contract extension with the Blues, then they need to get lost. Sobotka has value to the Blues but he’s not an integral part. The last two seasons proved that.

They do need his talents as a defender to replace some of what has been lost over this offseason. Even so, the Blues have to stand firm with Sobotka finishing out the remainder of his deal.

Given the fickle way in which most of this has transpired, a sign and trade would be the only way I would consider an extension prior to him suiting up for the Blues and proving himself again.

It’s just gotten to be a sad and aggravating situation. I have nothing personal against Sobotka. I loved his hustle and fire when he was on the team.

He’s a third line player at most though. There simply should not be this much consternation over one player when they aren’t a top-line player.

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Both sides need to get it figured out quickly. The Blues need to know going into camp, if they seriously need to look at some tryout players to fill the void or if they know their roster ahead of time. Sobotka needs to know, if for no other reason, so he doesn’t come to North America for the World Cup only to have to leave again for the KHL.

Stop this insanity already. The KHL is its own beast, but this has dragged out way too long. Get it done, one way or the other.