The St. Louis Blues have plenty of tough choices they may need to make in the offseason of 2019. A rather interesting one will be what to do about Carl Gunnarsson.
It is interesting how something as small as winning a Stanley Cup can change perception so quickly. Many St. Louis Blues fans, including myself, would have shed no tears if Carl Gunnarsson‘s contract had be shred as part of any offseason cleaning prior to now.
Suddenly, you win a championship and things get a little harder. We all know it is a business and sports can be rather cruel, but there just seems something so unsavory about letting a player walk or buying out a contract right after winning the ultimate prize. However, these are the possibilities facing Doug Armstrong in the coming days and weeks.
The Blues have the bulk of their team under contract. Those that are not under contract are mainly still under team control as restricted free agents.
Overall, the Blues only have four unrestricted free agents. In truth, only two of them are likely to be players the team will concentrate on and that is Gunnarsson and Pat Maroon. Nothing against them, but Michael Del Zotto and Chris Thorburn are not likely to get much attention, even from within.
At this point, we all know that Maroon is the likeliest to return as long as he wants to and the price is right. He filled a valuable role and can still provide a spark at 31/32 if he stays in shape. The main issue will be whether another team is willing to throw more money at him.
However, the more interesting situation may be that of Gunnarsson. Some fans were upset when the Blues re-signed Gunnarsson back in 2016, even though he took a paycut to stay.
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While he has never drawn the ire the way some of the other defenders have, Gunnarsson has long been viewed as expendable. For the last three-plus seasons, his contract has been seen as money that could be spent other places, even if nobody really has any ill will toward the player himself.
Suddenly, the Blues are on the verge of being without the veteran Swedish defender. However, though it is something we have all wanted at some point in time, the question is whether it is actually beneficial for the Blues yet.
Jeremy Rutherford was on The Fastlane on 101 ESPN on June 24 and brought up the idea that the Blues might not be done with Gunnarsson yet. His point was Niko Mikkola and Jake Walman being at least a year away from NHL ready and perhaps longer in Walman’s case.
Mikkola already drew interest from the Blues during the 2018 Prospect Camp and preseason. He survived cuts a lot longer than many of his compatriots and is on Army’s radar.
“Mikkola, a young Finnish player, went to the Worlds,” Armstrong said as reported by Jim Thomas in the Post-Dispatch. “His team beat Canada, won the championship. I think he was voted one of the top three players. He’s someone that we think is really ready to push. He’s done two World Championships now.”
Mikkola was one of the featured players for the Finland team that took the gold at the 2019 World Championships. It might be hard to hold him back, but Rutherford is usually pretty tuned into these things, so perhaps he has word that the team thinks the Finn is still unready.
The issue is how long can you wait. Though there have been no solid reports, there are rumblings that teams are looking at Gunnarsson once free agency begins. If that is true, it seems hard to believe Gunnarsson will not get a multi-year deal from someone. Even if multi-year only means two years, that is probably longer than the Blues need to wait.
St. Louis should only need a one-year deal to bridge the gap for some of their prospects or to get a little more breathing room for free agency. However, nobody could fault Gunnarsson if he wanted a little more certainty.
So, a defender that so few even noticed in the past suddenly becomes somewhat of a linchpin to the team’s offseason. Does Armstrong cave in and offer a multi-year deal, knowing it might become a hindrance to ascending youth? Or does he let the veteran walk and roll the dice with unproven talent?
If I could shed myself of my sentimentality, I would pick the latter. If Mikkola is not ready to play a good chunk in the NHL, you still have right handed defenders that can fill the void in Robert Bortuzzo and possibly Mitch Reinke.
Gunnarsson is not old at 32 and would only be 34 at the end of a two-year deal. Nevertheless, despite his heroics in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, we forget that he was pushed out of the lineup during the playoffs, so it is not as though his presence is absolutely necessary for this team to thrive in the coming years.
Gunnarsson has been a steady presence, but we have seen plenty of times he turns into a ghost and you would not know he played if you did not see his name in the game sheet. You do run the risk of rookie mistakes with young players, but that is a bridge you have to cross eventually. It might be easier to do under the shine of a team that just won the Stanley Cup and a fan base that will be more forgiving.
Thankfully, these decisions on men’s futures and that of their families are not in our hands. It is not an unwavering trust, but I still trust the judgement of the general manager that brought hockey’s holy grail to St. Louis. Hopefully, he makes the right decision.