St. Louis Blues fans could talk for weeks about the new team they will be watching this season. Thanks to general manager Doug Armstrong, Blues fans have a lot of reasons to be excited for the upcoming season.
St. Louis Blues Off-Season Acquisitions
Signing David Perron
As the first of many moves for the Blues on July 1, they signed former Vegas Golden Knights left wing, David Perron, to a four-year, $16 million deal. Does that name sound familiar? It should because this will be Perron’s third stint donning the Blue Note. Last season, he went to the Stanley Cup Final with the Golden Knights. He had 66 points in 70 games, a career high. He also added nine points in 15 playoff games. While many Blues fans may not be thrilled that he is back, he is playing the best he ever has in his career and he knows what it takes to make it to the Final, something many Blues players do not know. Also, his love for the city of St. Louis is inspiring.
If he can play as well as he did in Vegas, this will be a great signing. The Blues could always use more scoring.
Signing Tyler Bozak
Signing centre Tyler Bozak to a three-year, $15 million deal was another great move the Blues made on July 1st. Bozak spent nine seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 594 games, he has scored 365 points. His career high in points is 55. Last season, he had 43 points. Realistically, he will be the third line center for the Blues this season. Getting 40 or more points out of a third line center would be great for the Blues, who before this off-season, needed all the help they could get scoring wise. Once again, if the Blues top three centers are Schenn, O’Reilly and Bozak, this season should be fun.
Trading for Ryan O’Reilly
In the last move made on July 1, Armstrong impressed even the hardest to please Blues fans. The Blues traded a 2019 first round draft pick, a 2021 second-round draft pick, forwards Tage Thompson, Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka to the Buffalo Sabres for centre Ryan O’Reilly. Five players for O’Reilly may seem like a lot, especially considering the unpredictability of what the draft picks will turn into. However, let’s compare just Thompson, Berglund and Sobotka’s numbers to O’Reilly’s. Last season, the Blues forwards combined to have 66 points. They also had a combined $8.275 million cap hit. O’Reilly had 61 points with the Sabres, just five less than Thompson, Berglund and Sobotka. O’Reily had a $7.5 million cap hit. Imagine what O’Reilly could do centring a line with better talent, like Vladimir Tarasenko, and for less money. After trading away center Paul Stastny at the trade deadline, the Blues needed a top center and they got one. Having O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn as the Blues top centres could make their first and second lines unstoppable. O’Reilly has five seasons left on his contract.
Re-signing Robby Fabbri
Forward Robby Fabbri, who missed all of last season and almost half of the 2016-17 season due to two different ACL injuries that required surgeries, re-signed with the Blues for one year, making $925,000. Before his injuries, Fabbri played in 123 games for the Blues and had 66 points. In his only full season in 2015-16, he had 37 points. If Fabbri comes back from injury and plays like his old self or even better, this signing was a steal. If not, the Blues aren’t wasting too much money on him.
Signing Patrick Maroon
Patrick Maroon was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He went to Oakville High School and played hockey for the St. Louis Bandits. This season, he is coming home to play for the St. Louis Blues. In 375 NHL games, Maroon has 178 points. His best season was in 2016-17 in which he had 42 points. What’s the best part you ask? The Blues got him for only $1.75 million. Maroon could be the hometown hero that leads the Blues to the ultimate victory.
Get excited, Blues fans. With all of these off-season additions, this just might finally be the year the Cup comes home.
Main Photo: NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 23: Ryan O’Reilly #90 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center on December 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Islanders defeated the Sabres 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
