The St. Louis Blues have extended forward Mackenzie MacEachern. The new contract is for two years and will have an average annual value of $900,000. The deal will take MacEachern through 2021-22. The Blues announced the extension early Friday afternoon.
Mackenzie MacEachern has agreed to a two-year contract extension. https://t.co/X0YetyBdBj #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 17, 2020
Blues Extend Mackenzie MacEachern
MacEachern has been a bottom-six option in 2019-20. The 25-year-old has seven goals and 10 points in 51 games while averaging just 8:57 of ice time. He has also contributed with 82 hits credited. MacEachern doesn’t offer much total offence but he is an effective two-way player who can help manage possession; his 51.6 Corsi For percentage is 12th on the team which sandwiches him between Ryan O’Reilly and Tyler Bozak.
The Blues originally selected MacEachern in the third round of the 2012 Draft. Most of his time since then has been in college or the AHL but his role expanded this year. The Blues have had several forwards suffer injuries this season which gave MacEachern a chance to play more than he would have otherwise. He isn’t the most exciting option but he did enough to secure an extension in uncertain times.
What This Means for the Future
MacEachern will continue to fight for bottom-six minutes. He is a fine option as a two-way player but St. Louis is very deep at the moment. Their top-six is loaded and there are several young prospects aiming for more playing time in the next two seasons. MacEachern will need to keep scoring and throwing his 6’2″ frame around to continue playing regular minutes.
The Blues now just have four pending free agents left on their NHL roster. The biggest name left is Alex Pietrangelo but recent deals for Marco Scandella and Sammy Blais mean a large chunk of money is no longer available. St. Louis might need to get creative to be able to afford its star defenceman if he doesn’t take a discounted deal or the salary cap remains at $81.5 million.
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