The St. Louis Blues made a move a day after the draft. However, despite it being a smart deal, it won’t make many fans, if any, happy.
The St. Louis Blues are known for overvaluing their current players and giving them too large an extension, whether that’s via term or money or both. So, when they make a smart deal, they should be applauded.
However, given the way the last few days have transpired, their current re-signing won’t make many happy. In fact, it might actually make people mad.
The news is that the Blues re-signed potential restricted free agent Nikita Soshnikov. Despite only having a brief time to audition for the Blues, he did enough to spark some interest.
St. Louis acquired Soshnikov for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2019 draft. He joined the roster in mid-February when the Blues were struggling with injury.
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Unfortunately for him, injuries kept him out of the lineup. He only featured in 12 games for the Blues and only managed one goal and two points in that time. That is not the stuff of legends.
Still, he played with a solid energy. He was a constant on the forecheck and showed some speed that the team lacks, especially lower in the lineup.
From a production standpoint, there is nothing we have seen previously that makes us believe Soshnikov will come alive and start scoring. That does not mean he’s a useless player.
He will bring plenty of pace and skill to the fourth line, which is where he seems best suited. Given what we’ve heard, it seems likely the Blues will not bring back Scottie Upshall, so Soshnikov will be a good replacement for him on an energy line.
Additionally, he’s going to keep money free. He is reportedly only going to cost $800,000 against the cap.
So, you get a player that fits a certain role for a relatively cheap price. That’s rare in today’s game, even for fourth line guys.
The converse of that is that his signing will touch a nerve for Blues fans. People are going to accuse Armstrong of being cheap and say that all he can do is sign third and fourth line players.
People are upset that no trades were made. While you cannot fault them for being frustrated, too many people overlook the reports that discussions were going on like crazy. You can’t force other teams to give you their players.
Nobody needs to be over the moon about Soshnikov’s re-signing. Him being with the team does not preclude the team from making any further moves though.
We need to be able to separate moves. We may not get the huge name we all wanted, but that does not mean that upgrades won’t be coming.
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Soshnikov will be a solid addition to a team that will look quite different next season, whether that is just adding prospects or making a trade. Having a more dynamic fourth line player makes sense and adds a different element to the team.