The St. Louis Blues have come to terms on a new deal with defensman Colton Parayko, signing him to a five-year, $27.5 million deal. Parayko has spent the first two years of his career with the Blues.
STL and Colton Parayko have a five-year deal
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 20, 2017
Colton Parayko Re-Signs With the St. Louis Blues
When the Blues traded Kevin Shattenkirk at the deadline, it further indicated that a new one-two punch on the blue line was going to occur. Alex Pietrangelo is the clear number one defenseman on the Blues, but Parayko is one of the leagues’ brightest up-and-coming defenseman and will embrace the added responsibility and production expected out of him.
Drafted 86th overall by the Blues in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, it may still be early to refer to him as a steal, but in the early stages of his career he has impressed many and is well on his way to becoming one if he keeps this up. Parayko was the 28th drafted defenseman that year, and is already making teams look back on a possible mistake.
Colton Parayko (STL) contract breakdown.
2017-18: $6,500,000
2018-19: $6,500,000
2019-20: $5,525,000
2020-21: $3,250,000
2021-22: $5,725,000— Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) July 20, 2017
Last season he registered 35 points, with 31 assists over 81 games in the regular season. In 11 Stanley Cup Playoff match-ups he tallied five points and, more impressively, had zero penalty minutes in the Nashville series. His game goes beyond the offensive side, however. Among defensemen that have played at least 2000 minutes since the start of 2015 (Parayko’s rookie year), the St. Albert, Alberta native ranks 16th in overall Corsi-for percentage at 53.01%, posting a 49.77 Corsi-against per 60 to rank ninth.
At just 24 years old he has already suited up in 31 Stanley Cup Playoff games with 12 points. It is important for playoff contending franchises to have their young cornerstone players get that playoff experience early in their career, and Parayko has had some modest success to go along with crucial experience.
Parayko has only played in 160 NHL games and is entering his third year in the league, where he will look to reach the 100 point plateau, currently sitting on 68 career points. Before he made a name for himself in the NHL, Parayko played in the AJHL, the NCAA, and even a single season in the AHL.
During his time in the AJHL Parayko played in 95 games for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, scoring 12 goals and adding 42 assists. Parayko went on to commit to the University of Alaska – Fairbanks, playing in 104 games, scoring 17 goals and adding 49 assists during his time in the NCAA. During his lone AHL season with the Chicago Wolves Parayko had four goals and three assists in 17 games.
His previous contract was for two years and $1.81 million.
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