St. Louis Blues Joel Edmundson Gets Raise, But Not What He Wanted

Joel Edmundson did end up with a raise after helping the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup. It was not as much as he hoped for.

The St. Louis Blues had one left nut to crack for the 2019 offseason. That was the arbitration contract of Joel Edmundson.

His deal was holding up the rest of their particulars since they needed to know how much of the remaining $5 million they had in cap space would be spent on him. Now they know and now they can begin real negotiations with Ivan Barbashev.

Edmundson will be getting $3.1 million on a one-year deal. We might be going through this entire scenario again next offseason, but at least it is done for now.

For those that have not paid attention, Edmundson was a restricted free agent. Whether by design or by circumstance, the negotiations got all the way to an arbitration hearing and the judge saw fit to award, wisely I might add, the $3.1 million.

This is a small bump up from Edmundson’s previous contract, which was $3 million in 2018-19. The funny thing is the Blues might have shot themselves in the foot by jumping from $1.05 to $3 million, since they might have gotten away with a lower deal this time around, but that is the price of business.

To start off the arbitration proceedings, the Blues threw out the number of $2.3 million and Edmundson’s camp countered with $4.2 million. While Edmundson no doubt would have loved to get that much money, he had to know that was simply a negotiating tactic so the total would come down in the middle.

I think the Blues knew that too since there was no way they could believe they’d get a $700,000 discount on a Stanley Cup winner. Maybe any other year.

In my own head, I had to tell myself the $4.2 number was just for arbitration. As an outsider, there was no way Edmundson deserved that kind of a raise.

In fact, the 2018-19 regular season was the worst in his short career. He had less shots taken than 2017-18, more penalty minutes (not always a bad thing), less ice time and the second fewest points of his career.

Doubling his troubles, Edmundson’s turnover totals almost doubled. Even in the playoffs, when you need guys to make fewer mistakes, he averaged just over a turnover per game.

That might have been what cost him a lot of money. The turnovers were not the only reason, but a big reason Edmundson was scratched for several games in the playoffs.

If he was truly an indispensable player and deserving of a big boost in salary, he would have played all 26 playoff games. The regular season, you can’t fault him for games played as much, though not being able to get out of the 60-plus range is a bit worrying as his career progresses.

In the end, this is a win for the St. Louis Blues. They get to keep a player that is prominent in their top-six defenders, sometimes playing a top-four role, and they really spend no more money than they did prior to this.

It sets things up nicely for the Barbashev contract, though any mention of Vladimir Sobotka with these proceedings makes you wonder if that deal gets done. However, if nothing else, it gives the Blues flexibility down the road.

If Barbashev signs, depending on the price, you could still have as much as $1 million left in salary cap. That gives you freedom to use prospects throughout the year and flexibility at the trade deadline.

If Barbashev does not sign, you still have the money to bring back Pat Maroon and also have a little bit of cap space left to breathe.

As an observer, it’s a win-win. Edmundson gets a raise, even if very small. The Blues pay him what they likely intended and get a bit of financial freedom.

Given the cap situations of several teams around the NHL, having any kind of space is a huge bonus right now.