St. Louis Blues Tender Qualifying Offers to Jaden Schwartz, Seven Other RFAs
The St. Louis Blues officially expressed their desire to retain Jaden Schwartz and seven other restricted free agents.
The St. Louis Blues announced on Monday afternoon that they have tendered qualifying offers to eight of their pending restricted free agents: forwards Jordan Caron, Jacob Doty, Magnus Paajarvi, Ty Rattie, and Jaden Schwartz and goalies Jordan Binnington, Pheonix Copley, and Anders Nilsson. Every player among the group except Doty spent time with the Blues last year, though Schwartz was the only one that didn’t play at the AHL level during 2015-16. By giving them qualifying offers, the team retains their negotiating rights and maintains the ability to match an offer sheet should there be one from another team.
Schwartz quite obviously will be the biggest challenge to sign, and Blues GM Doug Armstrong has said that the organization’s top priority this offseason is to get him signed to a long-term deal. Despite missing most of the previous season with a broken ankle, Schwartz is expected to command an annual salary in the neighborhood of $6 million. Any new deal that he gets could definitely have an impact on whether the Blues are able to bring back veteran forwards David Backes and Troy Brouwer–or any other impactful forwards in free agency–this offseason.
Rattie is also considered a sure thing to be brought back, and after making an NHL salary of $832,500 during the final year of his entry-level deal in 2015-16 (albeit on a two-way contract), he’ll likely get a slight raise next season as he spends the entire season in the NHL. Paajarvi, who played 48 games with the NHL club in 2015-16, and Caron, who played in four, are more questionable bets to return. Both will probably have to be willing to accept two-way contracts, as there may not be space for either of them on the NHL roster if the Blues bring back all the forwards that they’re hoping to.
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Doty, a 6-foot-2, 212-pound 23-year-old, is a player who plays a game somewhat similar to that of Ryan Reaves in that he’s ultra-strong, provides aggressiveness, and mixes in a little bit of offensive potential. In 53 games last year, he had four goals, four assists, and 163 penalty minutes.
Nilsson, Binnington, and Copley are three important players who factor into the vastly increasing goalie depth that the Blues have accumulated over the past year. After Brian Elliott was traded to Calgary last week, the 26-year-old Nilsson seems to be the front runner to back up Jake Allen next year. The 22-year-old Binnington and 24-year-old Copley also figure to return as the two-headed goaltending monster in the AHL, serving as depth in case Allen or Nilsson go down. Both players made their respective NHL debuts in early 2016 and are considered solid prospects.
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Five players who were part of the Blues organization in 2015-16 were not tendered qualifying offers. Forwards Cody Beach, Ryan Tesink, Yannick Veilleux, and Zack Phillips and defenseman Richard Nedomlel will all hit unrestricted free agency after being non-tendered on Monday.
With the exception of Tesink, a 2011 sixth-rounder who played exclusively in the ECHL over the past two seasons and posted mostly disappointing results, all of those players played for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, in 2015-16. The 23-year-old Veilleux was viewed to have the most NHL potential, as he showed flashes during training camp and had a solid season with the Wolves, collecting eight goals, 15 assists, and 79 penalty minutes in 72 games. Veilleux was going to be nothing more than a fourth-line player at the NHL level, though, and with Kyle Brodziak, Ryan Reaves, and Dmitrij Jaskin locked up long-term and Scottie Upshall in place for next year, there wasn’t a logical reason that the Blues would ever need him on the NHL club.
Beach, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound 23-year-old, was also viewed to have marginal NHL potential at one point, as there was hope that he’d grow into his frame and become an enforcer with some offensive skills. As the NHL has moved significantly away from fighting over the past couple years, while Beach simultaneously failed to improve as an offensive player, his NHL potential quickly evaporated.
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Nedomlel, who came over from the Detroit Red Wings, and Phillips, who started the season in the Bruins organization, were both acquired in midseason trades, and both were around mainly to serve as injury replacements. Nedomlel and Phillips both spent time with the Quad City Mallards, the Wolves’ AHL affiliate, after being acquired.