As the summer rolls along, the St. Louis Blues made a couple of signings on Monday afternoon to help fill out the depth of the AHL affiliate Springfield. Defenseman Hunter Skinner, forward Matt Luff, and goaltender Vadim Zherenko all signed two-way contracts for next season.
These are some great deals, even though it does not directly affect the parent NHL club, St. Louis. Of the three, Skinner has the best chance of making it up to the big leagues this season, depending on what happens in the Bowen Byram sweepstakes and what happens with Ryan Suter and his possible retirement looming.
Both Luff and Zherenko still have a log-jam in front of them to make the Blues roster, but anything can happen. An injury here, or a trade there, could see their arrivals sooner rather than later.
There is a sense that the Blues are still actively looking for help on the defensive end, and these prospects could be put to use. It is too early to tell at the moment, but you cannot rule out anything at the moment.