St. Louis Blues Resign Zach Sanford To Well-Deserved Contract
The St. Louis Blues continued their offseason agenda by resigning forward and restricted free agent Zach Sanford to a two-year, $1.5 million deal.
St. Louis Blues forward Zach Sanford had an emotional 2018-19 season with St. Louis and it all culminated into a Stanley Cup championship. Now, he will be a Blue for at least the next two years.
Sanford’s new two-year deal leaves the Blues with an estimated $12.4 million in cap space. With five restricted free agents still to sign, St. Louis will still need to be very creative if they want to make any moves outside the organization.
The $15 AAV for Sanford is an excellent deal for both the Blues and the player. Despite being on the bench for long stretches during the season, Sanford proved to be a valuable asset at different points during the year.
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The 24-year-old Massachusetts native played in 60 regular season games and just eight postseason games.
Injuries and lack of opportunities marked the beginning of Sanford’s Blues career. Sanford was brought to St. Louis via the Kevin Shattenkirk trade in 2017 but struggled to find playing time with the Blues.
Along with teammate Sammy Blais, Sanford stood out among the crowd at training camp before the season and was virtually penciled into the Blues third or fourth line to begin the year.
However, tragically before camp broke, Sanford’s father passed away, and he stepped away from the team just weeks before the regular season was set to begin.
As a result, Sanford was sent to the Blues AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage to begin the season, though it did not take long for Sanford to see NHL playing time as he was called up to St. Louis just six days after the season had started.
When recalled, Sanford made an immediate impact, earning points in five of his first six games in his first full season in the NHL. This was a result of playing alongside Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron.
The Sanford-O’Reilly-Perron line proved to be one of the driving forces in the Blues recovery from the basement of the NHL standings. Most of their success can be attributed to the consistent play of O’Reilly, but Sanford was just as excellent at times.
Sanford finished the year with just 20 points in 60 games in the regular season and tallied four more points in eight games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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Expect Sanford to play in a similar role for the Blues next season. There could be times he is a healthy scratch for weeks at a time, but he has shown the potential to be a regular in the Blues’ top-6.