Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
St. Louis Blues
Current Cap Hit: $72,569,167 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Robby Fabbri (One year remaining, $894K)
F Zachary Sanford (Two years remaining, $875K)
F Ivan Barbashev (Two years remaining, $742K)
Potential Bonuses
Fabbri: $425K
Barbashev: $183K
Sanford: $50K
Total: $658K
Much of the attention of the youth will fall on Fabbri, who many are hoping will have a breakout season this year. The former 2014 first-round pick has already played two full seasons with the club and combined for 29 goals, but many people feel this might be the year where he takes that next step. He looked to be having a solid year last year, but tore his ACL in February and missed the rest of the season. Now healthy, many believe the Blues will move him to center to take control of a top line.
Sanford and Barbashev are two youngsters who many feel may also take on regular roles in St. Louis this year. Sanford, a second-round pick in 2013 by the Washington Capitals, came to St. Louis in the Kevin Shattenkirk trade at the trade deadline last season. The 22-year-old joined the Blues for the final 13 games and scored two goals and five assists and many believe he should make a solid fourth-line center as he develops his game. Barbashev is a second-round pick from the 2014 draft and got a promotion for the season’s final 30 games. The 21-year-old picked up five goals and seven assists and showed that he deserves a chance to start, but may have to settle for a wing position to start the year.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Paul Stastny ($7MM, UFA)
G Carter Hutton ($1.125MM, UFA)
D Joel Edmundson ($1.05MM, RFA)
F Dmitrij Jaskin ($1MM, RFA)
F Kyle Brodziak ($950K, UFA)
F Magnus Paajarvi ($800K, UFA)
F Oskar Sundqvist ($675K, RFA)
F Beau Bennett ($650K, RFA)
Obviously the team has to make a decision on what it plans to do with Stastny as he’s the biggest name amongst the team’s pending free agents next season. Stastny has been a solid contributor at center, but hardly spectacular and is probably not worth the $7MM AAV that he has received from St. Louis when they signed him in 2014. Injuries have played a major role for the 31-year-old veteran as he has missed 42 games in three seasons. On top of that, he only took 112 shots, one of the lowest of his career and his 22 assists last year is his career low, not including the strike-shortened 2012-13 season. The team has put some effort into developing some of their youngsters at the center position, including Fabbri, Barbashev and Sanford likely in hopes of eventually finding a replacement for Stastny in the near future.
After Stastny, the talent level drops, but the team will have several restricted free agents who will be in line for more money next year. Edmundson, entering his third full year in the league, who has struggled with injuries in his two years. He played in 67 games in 2015-16 and just 69 games last year. He put up three goals and 12 assists last year, but should get more playing time with Shattenkirk gone and if he can stay healthy, should put up even better numbers. Sundqvist also came to St. Louis in a recent trade. Acquired from Pittsburgh in the Ryan Reaves trade, Sundqvist hopes to break camp with the Blues. He couldn’t crack the lineup in Pittsburgh, managing just 28 games over the past two years, but he did score 20 goals for the Penguins’ AHL squad this year. The center has a good chance to win a bottom six center position this year.
Jaskin has had trouble staying in the lineup for the Blues. The 24-year-old has been with the team now for four seasons, but has never been able to a steady contributor. He only managed to get into 51 games last year, for one goal and 10 assists. If he can’t put together a solid season, it may be his last in St. Louis. Bennett, who was signed as a free agent this summer, must prove he can make the team first. The 25-year-old wing scored eight goals in 65 games for the New Jersey Devils last year.
Among unrestricted free agents, the team may want to bring back Hutton, who has served the Blues well as their backup goaltender. The 31-year-old played 29 games and finished the year with a 2.39 GAA and a .913 save percentage. The 33-year-old Brodziak makes for a good fourth-line player, but this could likely be his last year in St. Louis, while Paajarvi split time between the Blues and the Chicago Wolves and also could be at the end of the line if he can’t make the team out of training camp.
Two Years Remaining
D Jay Bouwmeester ($5.4MM, UFA)
D Carl Gunnarsson ($2.9MM, UFA)
D Robert Bortuzzo ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Chris Thorburn ($900K, UFA)
D Nate Prosser ($650K, UFA)
This will be the year where the Blues will have to make some defensive decisions, especially with Bouwmeester, who will be 35 years old when his contract comes up. The deal he signed back in 2014 looked good, but three years later, he isn’t nearly as good and despite contantly being handed a role on the top defensive line, his time is fading quickly. Gunnarsson and Bortuzzo are bottom-line defenders and will likely be replaced by younger options.
Three Years Remaining
D Alex Pietrangelo ($6.5MM, UFA)
F Brayden Schenn ($5.125MM, UFA)
F Vladimir Sobotka ($3.5MM, UFA)
The team does have most of its top players already locked up for a significant amount of time and that includes Pietrangelo, who remains the team’s top defenseman. Of all the defensemen that benefitted when the team dealt Shattenkirk to the Capitals, the 27-year-old took advantage of the extra playing time. He had 30 points after his first 60 games, but after the trade, his numbers took off with 18 points in the next 20 games. He could have a breakout year. Schenn, acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers at a costly price of two potential first-round picks along with Jori Lehtera, should provide the team with some scoring. He has scored 51 goals over the last two seasons. Sobotka is the wildcard whose future is hard to project. After playing four years for the Blues, he left the NHL and played three years in the KHL before returning at the end of the season, signing a new three-year deal in April. He played in the team’s final regular season game, scoring a goal and then added two goals and six assists in 11 playoff games. The 30-year-old wing should be able to contribute to the team’s second or third line for a few more years.
Four Or More Years Remaining
F Vladimir Tarasenko ($7.5MM through 2022-23)
F Alex Steen ($5.75MM through 2020-21)
D Colton Parayko ($5.5MM through 2021-22)
F Jaden Schwartz ($5.35MM through 2020-21)
G Jake Allen ($4.35MM through 2020-21)
F Patrik Berglund ($3.85MM through 2021-22)
Most of the team’s top talent is already locked up long-term. Tarasenko is signed for the longest and fortunately for the team, he’s also their best player. The 25-year-old has scored 116 goals over the past three years and still has the potential to get better. Many believe that despite having Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester, Parayko might be their best defenseman of the future. Already locked up for five more years, the 24-year-old blueliner is coming off a 35-point season and many feel he will only improve. Schwartz, who will likely team up with Tarasenko, is coming off a 55-point season with 19 goals. At 25, he should continue to develop alongside of Tarasenko.
Allen has steadily developed into a quality goaltender over the past few years and he really took off as the starter this year. He played in a career-high 61 games last year, putting up a 2.42 GAA and a .915 save percentage. However, he got even better once new coach Mike Yeo came aboard in February. In his final 25 games, he was 16-7-2 with a .938 save percentage. He should continue to put up good numbers for the next several years. The team took a hard loss earlier this offseason when Berglund underwent surgery on his left shoulder and will not return until December. The 29-year-old wing had a career-high 23 goals last year. Perhaps one of their worst deals, Steen still has four years at 33 years old. He has had a couple of down years after putting up 31 and 24 goals, respectively, but has managed just 33 goals in the last two years combined. Still, he put up 51 points last year and did have a broken bone in his foot during the playoffs, so maybe he deserves a break.
Buyouts
None
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
None
Best Value: Tarasenko
Worst Value: Steen
Looking Ahead
This will be Yeo’s first full season in St. Louis, so he should have even more control than last year’s team that survived a round of the playoffs before losing in the second round to the Nashville Predators. With the additions of Sobotka and Schenn as well as the continued development of Tarasenko, Fabbri, Parayko and Pietrangelo to name a few, the Blues seem to have a bright future ahead of them. They are in solid shape cap-wise and should still be able to pick up a few free agents in the future if they can keep things going.