St. Louis Blues Joel Edmundson Will Get Paid, But How Much?

The St. Louis Blues and Joel Edmundson are going to be together for 2018-19. How much he will earn and for how long are merely the questions still remaining.

The St. Louis Blues are flirting with disaster, just a tiny bit, regarding their situation with Joel Edmundson. They have done this similar tactic before and it worked out just fine, however.

Fans, myself included, forget that the Blues actually went all the way to the arbitration hearing for Colton Parayko. The two sides worked out a deal before the judge actually heard the cases, but it was at the thinnest part of the wire.

St. Louis might be doing a similar thing with Edmundson. Despite fan sentiment to the contrary, the Blues are not trying to delay things. But, you don’t want to just bring up a wheelbarrow full of money and say “here you go!” either.

It is called a negotiation for a reason. The only trepidation I have regarding this scenario is that neither side has really talked to each other. From what we know, it seems like neither party has thrown a figure toward the other to see what might sick. So, what will Joel Edmundson get paid?

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If this case goes all the way before a judge, and that is actually somewhat rare these days, Edmundson will likely receive a one-year contract. A judge can also suggest a two-year deal, but Edmundson has likely done enough to prove himself that a one-year contract with a decent raise would be a bridge deal.

In that scenario, I see his salary being about $2-2.5 million. That is doubling his salary from the previous season, but not completely taking into account other contracts from around the league.

If we do some comparisons, the Blues might be seeking something in a similar range. Trevor van Reimsdyk has a close similarity score on Hockey Reference, is only one year older and makes $2.3 million. The Blues would probably like to get Edmundson signed for longer than 2020, but they would be thrilled with that number.

Of course, the player has some say in all this too. Edmundson’s point totals have gone up each season he has been in the league.

His time on the ice has gone up each season, his defensive numbers are decent and his possession metrics are on par. The major knock against him has been positional awareness, but that can be a slow developing skill.

With that in mind, Edmundson’s camp could be saying that the Blues have over $3 million in cap space, so he is worth at least $3 million. He has every right to argue that and perhaps even want something closer to $4 million.

Edmundson had a mediocre 2017-18 and still put up career numbers. His defense was spotty at times, but he kept his givaway totals to career average. He had a fantastic World Championships with Team Canada, leading defensemen in points.

The bottom line to all of this is that Edmundson will be a Blue for 2018-19. The only question is whether this actually goes before a judge, how much the deal is worth and whether something is worked out long-term or a one-year deal happens.

In a dream scenario, the Blues lock up Edmundson with what I would call an escalating contract. In that event, he would get a multi-year deal. That would start with a lower salary this season to help the team’s cap issues. Then, his salary would increase in year two or three, perhaps both, as a reward.

For my money, I think Edmundson gets right around $3 million. Parayko is getting $5.5 million and, in my opinion, Edmundson is not as good a player. It is hard to compare, since they are completely different styles of player. Still, Parayko should get more.

So, $4 million would be a bit high for me, but stomachable if you have that tier contract I spoke of. If it is simply for now and worry about later later, then you cannot go higher than $3 million due to the cap.

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At this point, it is all about crunching numbers and figuring out loopholes since the Blues will be up against that ceiling. July 25 is the date which it will all be done by, but I think it never sees the judge. This will get done. Only the terms are still up in the air.

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