Some notes (optional reading if you like to read):
Protections:
O'Reilly, Tarasenko, Schenn, Perron, Thomas, Kyrou, Schwartz
Parayko Faulk Dunn
Binnington
Seattle takes: Barbashev or Walman probably. I'm exposing Krug, I would expose Faulk if pushed hard enough, but either is far too expensive for what they are versus the other options Seattle will have to work with this year so why even bother protecting them? We have a ton of solid options in house (Mikkola, Perunovich, Walman) and on the open market (Mike Rielly, Larsson, Murray, maybe Hamilton even) if Seattle goes off the board, but the chances they will are so small, and honestly? Having a Krug or Faulk contract off the books opens up a lot of interesting possibilities to me.
Scandella trade: He doesn't have to go to Vegas but they'll need an extra lefty if they intend to let Martinez walk (and Martinez is due for a hefty raise per Evolving Hockey, which is weird since he's ancient). Anyway, Scandella could also go to Winnipeg, Montreal if they move on from Kulak, Arizona, Dallas if they move on from Oleksiak, LA, or Vancouver or maybe somewhere else idk he's perfectly fine. Obviously if we lose a Krug or Faulk you don't need to trade him, it's more about opening up a roster spot than anything else.
Contract extensions (mostly) done through Evolving-Hockey:
I'm probably underselling what Ryan and maybe Tatar will command on the open market but like they're both really good and I feel like I never hear about either one? I'm clipping a bit on their Evolving-Hockey contract projections but Craig Smith is my Tatar comp and Nate Thompson is my Ryan comp, and they both came in less than expected. If Tatar is too expensive, Coleman/Hyman are other options to fill that role, and we have picks in play to make a trade. All other contracts done using Evolving-Hockey's model. Sign Bozak as he's been really good and give Kostin a shot with Thomas and Kyrou. I didn't qualify Sanford.
Halak had a down year, the Bruins aren't keeping him, and he is 36 so he should come pretty cheap. I'm not too worried. Husso is still in the system and unlikely to be claimed off waivers due to, you know, being bad most of the year. I'm not opposed to giving him a second chance at the backup crease but we're in the throes of our window and our goaltending was baaad this year, so why take the chance? Best case scenario, Husso has a Nedelijkovic like resurgence, Halak and Binnington are solid, and we can run three or trade one of Husso or Halak at the deadline. Worst case, you've got depth for injuries or someone pushing if things go south with the two guys playing games. Goaltending is all over the place, so the smart play is get a bunch of probably fine options together and that is what this is.
2022 Offseason: Things start to get tight. Parayko hasn't played exceedingly well to earn much more than somewhere between Ellis and Spurgeon's contract, but that's still a decent 1.5-2mill raise. Halak will be gone, Husso will probably be gone and you can run Hofer in backup role by then. Perunovich and Kostin, unless they really break out, shouldn't cost much. Perron likely won't get a huge raise, despite his insane seasons, due to his age. Neighbors should be ready to step in. The path of least resistance is trading Sundqvist. I know that's an unpopular opinion to most Blues fans, but he's vastly overrated by this fanbase and he's got value around the league. He's fine, but not an integral must-keep part, and we can see that by our performance since he's been out, which has arguably been better than when he was in. Rosters have to evolve, and that's part of it.
Critique away.
McDavid, Connor
$250,000)
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