St. Louis Blues Taking Their Sweet Time With Jordan Schmaltz’ Contract

The St. Louis Blues made all of their signings and player movements rather quickly this summer. That is to say, all except for one Jordan Schmaltz.

The St. Louis Blues moved fast and made some furious moves when free agency began. They snatched up several players and made one blockbuster trade.

It seemed as though their roster was set and they were done making moves. That was fine, on the surface, but in the meantime we have forgotten about Jordan Schmaltz. As the summer has gone on, you almost wonder if the team has done the same.

Schmaltz is the only Blues player left without a contract. This is only a big deal since, as of writing this, training camp is about a week away. It also feels like a big deal because the team has claimed they have every intention of bringing Schmaltz back.

With the clock ticking on the 2018 offseason, you simply wonder when then will be now to reference a Spaceballs quote.

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There are several factors going on in any potential negotiations. First and foremost is the team’s financial situation.

None of us knows how much money the ownership group actually has. All we know is how much they are putting into the team.

According to CapFriendly, the Blues only have $284,845 to the salary cap. Now, before you say there is no way Schmaltz would take a contract that low, that is not the amount of money he has to be paid.

What that number means is that is that is the wiggle room the Blues have for roster transactions, which is not much. For example, let us say that the Blues give Schmaltz a deal worth $1 million per season. If St. Louis puts him on the main roster at any point, they have to demote or put through waivers a player that is making $715,155 or more to keep under the salary cap.

Having that little room leaves little freedom for experimentation. The Blues basically know that the 22-23 players they keep on the main roster are going to be their main players unless someone gets injured. There just will not be enough cap space and enough two-way contracts to see a lot of roster movement.

Circling back to Schmaltz himself, he has kept extremely professional over the summer. It was not until August that we even heard a peep from him.

Schmaltz, a North Dakota native, spoke to the Grand Forks Herald. He basically echoed the team’s sentiments regarding this entire situation.

"“For me, I’m just basically waiting to sign a contract, to agree on a deal,” Schmaltz said after Thursday morning’s skate. “It will get done before camp.”"

So, if the contract is coming, all we have to wonder is what to expect from Schmaltz. We’ve only seen 20 games or so and it has been a mixed bag for the former all-National Collegiate Hockey Conference defenseman.

In 22 games, he only has three assists. While nobody expected Schmaltz to be an offensive powerhouse, you’d like to see the points per game average a little higher than that. Schmaltz does know he has to break out sooner or later.

“I think I can definitely prove something this year and go in and show that I can do it,” Schmaltz said in the Herald article. “I think I have to go and break out of my shell and prove that I can play.”

So, we just continue to sit here and wait. And wait.

It’s an odd situations, to be sure. The team is still interested in having Schmaltz around. He clearly wants to be with the Blues, or at the very least has not gotten enough interest from anywhere else to make it worth leaving. So, we still have to wonder what the hold up is.

It is understandable that the blues have to figure out a contract that will fit in their salary cap if Schmaltz needs to be called up on an emergency basis. These details should not be taking the entire summer.

So, eventually, Schmaltz will sign a deal and start the year in San Antonio. It’s just weird that it has taken this long.