The St. Louis Blues are heavily rumored to still be interested in a free agent this summer. However, given their salary cap room, they are probably not done in the trade market just yet either.
By now, it is no secret that the St. Louis Blues are making a big pitch to free agent Pat Maroon. He fits the Blues need for a net-front presence and a bigger body that can create space for their playmakers. The fact that he is from St. Louis is just icing on the cake.
However, something forgotten by many in the team’s pursuit of Maroon is the dreaded salary cap. The Blues still have room, with a projected $5 million in cap space. However, they still have restricted free agents Joel Edmundson and Jordan Schmaltz to sign.
Yep. They’re about $5 million under the cap with Edmundson and Schmaltz still to sign. The club is still interested in Maroon, so apparently planning to make a move if he signs with them. #stlblues https://t.co/AcuavQjAqf
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) July 7, 2018
Trying to figure out space, we have to make some assumptions about potential salaries. If the Blues give Schmaltz the safe contract, he’d probably get a one year deal worth around $1 million, give or take.
Edmundson’s contract will be a little more difficult to figure out. Both sides want to extend him for quite awhile, assuming it does not have to go to arbitration.
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Edmunson’s last deal paid him just over $1 million. The hard part is he could theoretically cost anywhere from $2 million to $5 million, depending on what he is asking for and how the Blues value him.
For the sake of argument, let us say he gets a decent raise but not an overwhelming one. So, we will say Edmunson gets a deal worth $3-3.5 million. So, if Schmaltz gets around $1 million, that is $4-4.5 million gone from $5 million.
Needless to say, that is not enough room left over for Maroon’s contract. Even if Maroon settled for the $2 million he got from Edmonton, which he will not, St. Louis would not have the space.
That leads us to the conclusion that someone is still on their way out. From a purely dollars and cents perspective, there are three players that make the most sense.
The first one, yet the least likely, would be Carl Gunnarsson. Gunnarsson’s deal would probably be a straight up swap of money. He’s making $2.9 million, but only for one more season. The Blues would be back in a potential cap crunch in a year’s time.
Another option would be to find a team to take Jay Bouwmeester off the Blues’ hands. Bouwmeester is coming off hip surgery though and still has one year left at $5.4 million. Likely, the Blues would need to find a team trying to get above the cap floor. There are only a handful of those teams and most might not be interested in a 34 year old defenseman.
The last option could be Alexander Steen. Steener is the best option in terms of dollars and term. He still has three seasons left on a contract that pays him $5.75 million per season. That is probably more than he is worth and was given more as a reward for all he’s done for the team in the past.
The other positive idea behind trading Steen would be opening another forward slot. If Maroon came in by just signing, then there would be almost no room for any of the prospects. Dealing off a forward gives Maroon a spot while still allowing for a younger player to earn a place.
Conversely, the downside of trading either Steen or Bouwmeester is the fact that it would mainly be a salary dump. You can’t get a roster player back or you create the log jam all over again. It could be a necessary evil, but it seems a shame to trade players that are being paid $5 million or more for a draft pick.
The other reason it would almost have to not include a player coming back in a trade is the idea that you cannot have too much turnover. Fans are excited about the new additions, but most teams need more than one training camp to come together. If you have replaced half of your top-12 forwards, that might be too much turnover.
Also going against the idea of dealing off Steen is the fact that he is still productive. Steen is coming off his worst season in almost a decade and still had 46 points. While Maroon would provide some much needed net presence, he is coming off his best season, but only had 43 points.
The only other viable option would be to trade Dmitirj Jaskin. That seems a bit of a slap in the face to sign someone to an extension and immediately deal them off though.
However, at this point, we should likely prepare ourselves for the departure of someone. It seems unlikely for the Blues to get this far in the process with Maroon without knowing someone was going to go to make room.
Time will tell with all these, but we should not have to wait long. Maroon’s agent seems to be drawing this process out a bit, but it can’t last forever.
Maroon update: Agent @BenHankinson tells The Athletic that no decision is expected tonight, and that while the Blues remain a “strong option,” there are other teams still in the mix. #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) July 9, 2018
Next: Blues Sign Two RFA's And Switch Two Numbers
If and when the Blues sign him, they can’t wait for long to make the dollars work elsewhere. So, though Armstrong hinted the team was done after acquiring Ryan O’Reilly, that might be anything but the case as more moves would be needed.