The St. Louis Blues announced the re-signing of Magnus Paajarvi. It was a team friendly deal, but as usual, has pros and cons.
The St. Louis Blues have re-signed Magnus Paajarvi. The deal is reportedly for one year and worth $800,000.
The funny thing is the reasonable reaction to the signing. It’s a complete turnaround from the reaction the same transaction would have garnered a few months ago.
Personally, I’m fine with the re-signing. The Blues have to have depth and the contract is team friendly.
$800,000 is not going to break the bank. It is extremely unlikely to be the difference between signing a free agent or not either. And just for clarification, the one-way part of his deal does not mean he cannot be sent to the minors. It simply means he will be paid his NHL salary no matter where he is playing.
So, in that aspect the deal is fine. It’s nothing to get excited over though. It is Magnus Paajarvi though.
It’s not something people should enjoy pointing out. However, his career year with the Blues came in last season.
We saw a whopping eight goals and 13 points. Not exactly numbers to make one salivate over.
On the flip side, he put those numbers up in 32 games. Eight of those 13 points came in his final 16 appearances.
There was a notable turnaround for Paajarvi during his time with the Chicago Wolves, under Craig Berube. He managed to keep that confidence and talent flowing once called back up to the Blues.
Now, we are forced to hope that Berube’s influence will continue to help Paajarvi reach his potential. Like so many that came through the Edmonton organization at the beginning of their careers, Paajarvi was full of promise that never came to fruition.
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His rookie season was his best ever. He had 15 goals and 34 points in 80 games. It’s never been that good since.
Like many on St. Louis, he shows flashes of brilliance. You can tell the talent is somewhere in there, beneath the surface.
He has just never found a way to keep it going consistently at the NHL level. What few supporters he has will say he has never gotten a sustained look. They will say he might live up to his talent ceiling given a full season of improved play given his small sample size from last year.
That sounds great and even I want to believe it. However, we have seen enough of Paajarvi to know the turnaround is likely not going to last.
At best, Paajarvi is a third or fourth liner. 10-15 goals would be fantastic. That would make him a valued member of the team and a huge contributor given his previous statistics.
All in all, the deal is fine. I’m not here to put it down because it makes sense.
Paajarvi knows the Blues system, so you don’t have to teach a prospect or free agent what is expected of them. His contract is short, which will make him more apt to play for a bigger deal the following year.
As previously stated, the money given is not going to make the difference in the free agent market. Some might argue his presence takes away a spot from a prospect, but I don’t see it that way.
The Blues don’t have anyone pushing on the door on the wing. Most of their touted prospects are up the middle and would best help the team there.
Additionally, we might need to brace ourselves for the possibility that Scottie Upshall will not be brought back. If that happened, the Blues would have two wing positions open on that last line. Paajarvi could be a good fourth-line player given the shift in how the Blues want to play.
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The news of his contract was not unexpected or a surprise. It just sort of is.
Given the waves the Blues made at the draft, this was barely a ripple. Sometimes you still need those ripples to help win.