3 pending free agents in the Western Conference the St. Louis Blues must stay away from
The St. Louis Blues will have quite the selection of free agents to choose from in the Western Conference (and Eastern Conference), but many will come with the ‘buyer beware’ tag. Even if a contingent of players enjoyed productive seasons elsewhere, there are a few reasons why they wouldn’t be a good fit for the Blues, and general manager Doug Armstrong would do himself a favor to refrain from bringing them into town.
This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be productive players in Gateway City or that they would end up on those infamous “Free Agent Busts” lists. But given the current situation the Blues find themselves in, the following three unrestricted free agents from the Western Conference wouldn’t make the Blues any better off long-term.
Matt Roy, D/Los Angeles Kings
Matt Roy has been one of the league’s more solid players for some time. And while he hasn’t excelled in the scoring realm, he’s still more than capable of logging top-four minutes, and he would add more physical play to the Blues.
St. Louis should also be losing Marco Scandella this summer, and they must also bring back restricted free agent Scott Perunovich. But they would be better off going the younger route if they decided to roll with a blueliner this year. Or, if they wanted a middle-aged (as in the case of Roy) or an older player, they would ideally sign them to a shorter-term deal.
One reason is that they don’t need to sign anyone else so close to age 30 long-term, as they already have Justin Faulk (32), Torey Krug (33), Colton Parayko (30), and Nick Leddy (33) already in the lineup. More youth is needed, and Roy, 29, doesn’t quite fit that mold.
He’s a good hockey player, but Roy and other players like him wouldn’t give the Blues much value. A new name or two should be coming to the blue line this summer, and someone with the potential to play sound in Gateway City for the next five-to-seven seasons makes for a more ideal signing. If not, then they can sign a more established talent to a much shorter contract length.