Free Agent Frenzy 2011: St. Louis Blues
The NHL Free Agency period opened on Friday July 1st and with it came the annual frenzy of signings. The St. Louis Blues, cash strapped and looking for a new owner, didn’t participate as some would have hoped for but they did fill holes that needed to be filled.
TJ Oshie: Technically this deal happened before free agency opened but it still had significance for the Blues. Oshie inked a 1 year deal worth $2.35 million, slightly more than Patrik Berglund signed for.
Oshie participated in 34 games last season and recorded 12 goals and 22 assists. Oshiemissed significant time last year with a broken ankle he suffered in a fight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Over three seasons in St. Louis, Oshie has played in 182 games with 44 goals and 77 assists. Unfortunately he has also suffered some odd injuries which has limited his play in each of those seasons.
This one year deal will allow Oshie to prove he can stay healthy and earn the longer contract. If he fails to do that, the Blues are nor tied down to a ridiculous contract like the one Brad Boyes signed after his one season of brilliance.
Matt D’Agostini: D’Ags was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Blues before free agency but the Blues and his agent stayed in contact throughout and were able to strike a fair deal on the first day of free agency. A 2 year deal worth $3.3 million was reached mid way through the day on Friday.
D’Agshad a career year with St. Louis last season, he played in sll82 games and his 21 goals and 25 assists were both career highs. The Blues acquired D’Agostini in 2010 from Montreal for Aaron Palushaj at the trade deadline and he has proved to be a great pick-up.
Brian Elliot: Elliot was signed to a 1 year, two way deal to back up Jaroslav Halak and push Ben Bishop to be the Blues back up. Terms of the deal were not disclosed at this time.
Elliot split time between Ottawa and Colorado last year. He was dealt to Colorado straight up for Craig Anderson, as both struggled with their respective teams. Elliot finished the season 15-27-9 with a 3.34 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. Elliot was not helped much by an anemic offense and a shoddy defense.
In 2009-10 Elliot helped lead the Senators to the playoffs and posted a 29-18-9 record with a 2.57 GAA and .909 save percentage. Elliot can hopefully be a solid back up to Halak and if needed a started in Peoria if Allen falters.
Kent Huskins:The Blues shored up their defensive line with the addition of the rough and tumble Huskins. The veteran d-man signed a 1 year $1 million deal after spending last year with San Jose.
Huskins appeared in 50 games, with2 goals and 8 assists but did miss the last 32 regular season games and 13 playoff games with a upper body injury. Huskins does have a Stanley Cup to his credit, winning it with Anaheim.
Huskins will likely be a 6/7 defenseman and should rotate with Cole and Nikitin as the team sees fit.
Adam Cracknell: Cracknell was signed by the Blues on July 1st and terms were undisclosed. Cracknell spent most of the season withPeoria, playing in 76 games with the Rivermen and posting 17 goals and 21 assists.
Cracknell did make it up to the NHL this year and appeared in 24 games with the Note. He notched his first career NHL goal against the team he grew up rooting for, the Red Wings. In all, Cracknell finished with 3 goals and 9 assists as a Blue.
Cody Beach: Beach was a 5th round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2010. Beach played in Moose Jaw last season in the Western Hockey League.
In 40 games Beach netted 6 goals and 28 assists. Over the past three seasons, Beach split time between Moose Jaw and the Calgary Hitman. Beach will likely fill a forward position opened up by Nick Drazenovic leaving.
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