St. Louis Blues Free Agent Signings Signal An Eye Still On Future

The St. Louis Blues made some noise on the first day of free agency in the NHL. It was not what fans wanted, showing the team is still looking to the future.

A certain section of St. Louis Blues Nation was hoping the team would signal a switch to win-now mode with their 2018 offseason. The team made some waves on the first day of free agency, but they proved they are still looking to the horizon.

St. Louis did make some interesting moves in free agency. Instead of making the big splash, via the rumored trades, they instead made some prudent signings.

The Blues brought in Tyler Bozak to be a second line center. They signed Chad Johnson to battle for the backup position and also brought back David Perron for some reason.

The Bozak signing is probably the biggest boost to the team. The Blues did have to overpay, due to the market being flooded with cash by the higher salary cap. However, that does not mean Bozak will not or cannot contribute.

When healthy, Bozak has been a regular 40-point scorer. His goal totals fluctuate, but he’s good in the faceoff circle and a decent defensive player with good possession metrics.

Johnson is a bit of an odd choice. We will look into his background further later on this week, but he’s been incredibly up and down in his career. Even as a Jake Allen apologist, it seems you would want someone a little steadier for the Snake’s backup.

Last, and possibly least, you have Perron returning for the second time. Perron was definitely a better player for the Blues the second time around, but the issues were still there.

He did not score regularly enough to be considered a clutch player. His defensive lapses were still there, especially when in Vegas.

There is nothing wrong with the acquisition of Perron in a vaccum, but we have to be realistic. Vegas’ system and the players he was with allowed Perron to accumulate his 66 points in 2017-18. Even if you are bullish on the squad the Blues have, there is simply no reason to believe Perron will duplicate those numbers.

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With all that in mind, clearly the Blues knew they had to make changes, but they are still focused on the future. The problem with that is many fans are willing to accept that if management was up front about it. However, there was too much talk of having money to spend and assets to burn and then no deals.

It must be said that Doug Armstrong tried. There were simply too many phone calls during the draft and at the trade deadline to think he was not trying to make trades. The Blues were just not willing to give up the pieces required to make those deals.

Case in point – St. Louis was linked heavily with Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly. However, the price was rumored to be Colton Parayko, Robert Thomas or Jordan Kyrou and some draft picks. The Blues would have gotten more than the center in return, but it was a heavy price. Armstrong was not willing to pay it.

The Blues feel like they have a future number one center in Thomas. Thus, they were unwilling to part with the potential of a top line player with cost control for one that is proven but would cost $7.5 million per season.

Kyrou was a wild card as well. There are no guarantees with junior phenoms, especially if they are slightly undersized. However, the prospect of his speed and scoring ability just has too many people excited at this moment.

You also have guys like Klim Kostin and Tage Thompson on the way or building up their NHL career at the moment. Armstrong and the organization clearly feel that their window is in a year or more with all this young talent. They were not willing to burn the assets for someone right now.

Going forward, the question is how far in the future we are talking about. If this is still three years or more away, it’s slightly depressing. It’s fun to watch kids come up and grow together, but fans are getting anxious. The Blues are not bad enough to get players that can help immediately in the draft, so their future is constantly years away. Conversely, St. Louis never seems good enough where that one big trade would put them over the hump.

The Blues made the right decision by keeping their prospects and spending less on some needs, like a center and right-handed shots.

It is just frustrating that Armstrong seems to always have his eye on the future. Eventually, you would like to feel like the time is now.

In his defense, there is no reason that the future might not be in a few months time. While Buffalo is under no pressure to trade contractually, the O’Reilly story won’t go away. St. Louis could acquire him at the deadline and perhaps for far less.

By then, maybe the Blues are in contention for the division lead or making the push toward the playoffs and need some added punch.

Even if that trade never happens, the Blues do have space remaining for the summer of 2019 since they have cap room now and will have several contracts ending for themselves. Many of the big names are expected to re-sign prior to free agency, but the Blues have to make a play on Artemi Panarin, despite his rumored interest in big markets. Maybe you have another John Tavares situation, but you have to try.  Jeff Skinner and Matt Duchene could also be UFA’s next summer.

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If nothing else, the Perron and Bozak deals give the Blues contracts to put up when Seattle inevitably enters the league.  It seems a sure bet Armstrong had that in mind with some of the money he doled out.

Regardless, it is clear that the Blues were not willing to go all-in on 2018-19 just yet. Now, it’s up to the kids to show what they are made of. Only they can make the future sooner rather than later.