St. Louis Blues Sign Danny Kristo to One-Year, Two-Way Deal
The St. Louis Blues fortified their forward depth on Thursday, signing minor-league free agent Danny Kristo to a one-year, two-way contract. The 25-year-old Kristo, a 2008 second-rounder of the Montreal Canadiens, was traded to the New York Rangers in 2013 and spent the past two seasons in their system.
Unlike many minor-league free agents, Kristo really seems to have the ability to be a decent NHL contributor, and he may become one of the first options for a call-up in the 2015-16 season, especially with the Blues having less of an ability to utilize veteran depth players due to the increased salary that restricted free agents like Vladimir Tarasenko and Jake Allen will command this offseason.
More from St. Louis Blues
- An early projection of the St. Louis Blues’ opening-night roster
- St. Louis Blues sign Klim Kostin to three-year, entry-level contract
- St. Louis Blues: Nail Yakupov signs with Colorado Avalanche
- St. Louis Blues: An homage to Chris Butler
- St. Louis Blues agree to one-year contract with Oskar Sundqvist
Hockey’s Future gave Kristo a 7.5 prospect rating, indicating that he has the potential to be an above-average second line forward. They raved about his NHL-quality athleticism and indicated that he has the skills to put it together, saying:
"At times, Kristo lacks the consistency and the work ethic needed to play at the NHL level but definitely not the skills. He has quick acceleration, a powerful stride and uses his explosive speed to help make space for him offensively. The talented winger is equally fast with or without the puck and has developed the ability to shoot the puck while in full stride toward the net with a quick, accurate release."
Based on his statistical performance over two full AHL seasons, it certainly seems that Kristo could have a future in the NHL. The 6-foot, 195-pound winger had 22 goals and 24 assists over 72 games in 2014-15, a season after scoring 25 goals with 18 assists in 65 games. Kristo also had three goals and three assists in 15 playoff games this year for the Hartford Wolf Pack, who advanced to the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Kristo, who played at the University of North Dakota, is yet another addition to the Blues’ collection of players from the team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux. Forwards T.J. Oshie and Chris Porter (currently an unrestricted free agent), as well as newly-signed former first-rounder Jordan Schmaltz. Kristo and Schmaltz were teammates at UND during the 2o12-13 season, and they’ll likely reunite this year with the AHL Chicago Wolves.