Afinogenov worth a look
It’s no wonder that the rumormongers at HockeyBuzz.com suggest you connect these dots:
As we all know, the Blues would love to move defenseman Jay McKee and his remaining contract.
The Sabres want to unload winger Maxim Afinogenov, who no longer has a primary role in the Buffalo offense.
Once upon a time, McKee was a popular and important defenseman for the Sabres.
The Blues still have a surplus of defensemen and a dearth of established scorers.
Afinogenov scored just 10 goals in 56 games last year and finished with a -16 rating. But he scored 73 and 61 points during his previous two seasons and he will be just 29 years old when the season starts.
Surely he has more miles left than free agents Mark Parrish, Glen Murray or Bryan Smolinski.
Should he Blues roll the dice on this guy? Sure, why not. He will make $3.5 million this season, which the Note could afford after off-loading McKee.
By the way, here is an interesting breakdown of the Blues’ payroll situation.
Nice to see Eklund recycling his rumours from last summer. I believe this exact one was an “e2 or e3″ last year. I just don’t see it happening, McKee is an important piece to the defense not only as a shot-blocker, but as a mentor to EJ and the other young guys. Do you really want Eric Brewer mentoring them if McKee is traded?