Why Move On Pronger Now?
If the Ducks don’t want to sign Chris Pronger to a contract extension, the Blues should wait a year and take their chances in free agency.
In a year, the Blues will be positioned to invest in another veteran player. Jay McKee and Paul Kariya will be headed to free agency, giving the Blues the option to reallocate some or all of that $10 million. (Moving either guy before then will be difficult, given their high pay.)
In a year, the Blues could free up lots of salary cap room while other teams face severe cap crises.
In a year, the Blues will know what they have in Alex Pietrangelo – a potential power-play quarterback currently lacking the strength to play at this level.
In a year, the Blues could make a decision on Carlo Colaiacovo, who has a year and about $1.3 million left on his deal. Could he add long-term skill as a No. 5 or No. 6 defenseman? Or is he just a stopgap?
In a year, the Blues will have a better idea of what collegiate prospects Ian Cole and Cade Fairchild could offer. Will they be impact guys, like Roman Polak, or will they be depth guys, like Steve Wagner?
And, finally, in a year the Blues will have a better sense which young forwards will merit big investments and which won’t.
If the Blues trade for Pronger now, the front office would have to quickly decide which young players didn’t fit their long-term goals. That would be difficult.
Also, the Blues would have to make a long-term commitment to Pronger to make this deal work. And that commitment would preclude other investments in the looming buyer’s market.
AROUND THE RINKS: The Ducks will have an interesting summer. Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne are pondering retirement. Back-up goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere will make $13 million the next two seasons and he has no-trade protection. (HockeyBuzz.com suggests the Ducks could get him to consent to deals to either Toronto or Philly) If Niedermayer and Selanne retire, the Ducks could have the dough to re-up Pronger – who is quite comfy in SoCal . . . Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli, vows to get bigger up front for next season. But the Boston Globe notes that potential long-term salary cap shrinkage could make that difficult. This could make speedy scorer Phil Kessel available, since the Bruins can’t get everybody. Boston could make a play on Keith Tkachuk, giving him a chance to finish his career back home . . . KFNS reporter/host Andy Strickland believes the Blues have zeroed in on Scott Clemmensen and Ty Conklin as their free-agent goaltender targets . . . Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was amazing against the Blues, but less so against the Blackhawks. Still, Vancouver would be wise to lock him into a long-term deal and keep him a long ways away from free agency . . . Chuck Fletcher is one of the frontrunners for the Minnesota GM job . . . Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke is trying to move from seventh in the first round to second overall. That would give them a clean shot on one of the Big Three in this draft, John Tavares, Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene. The Lightning hold the second overall pick and the “braintrust” of that franchise is definitely dumb enough to deal down. The Toronto Globe and Mail notes Tampa Bay may look to added a young impact player as part of such a deal, since it may move Vincent Lecavalier before his 11-year, $85 million contract extension kicks in . . . Alexander Radulov starred at the World Championships, making the Predators regret his departure all the more. The wayward winger took the big money in Russia even though he still had a year left on his Nashville deal.
I agree, Blues better not rush things and make a trade for Pronger. At the very least, lets wait and see where this team is at next years trade deadline before pondering such a deal. It makes a lot of sense to keep building with the kids, and add the missing pieces to the puzzle thru free agency. I’d like to see Winchester and Crombeen replaced with power forwards who can actually score. Accomplish that and acquire a strong goalie thru free agency and now you got something. Let the kids fight it out on defense and see how that is shaking out, then you can address the needs on defense during the season and at the same time get a better feel for the prospects in your system and thus be better equipped to make a trade.
I totally agree on Pronger. This team largely overachieved in 2008-09. A back-up goalie is a priority in the offseason, but with several key names either returning from injury or having a chance to jump to the big club in 2009-10, there is no reason to go out and try to reel in a big name on offense or defense. Especially when the Blues can wait one year and try to sign Pronger without giving up any of their young talent. It just wouldn’t make any sense.
Well BillP, who exactly would you replace those guys with? The NHL isn’t fantasy hockey where you can plug in guys at will. Winchester and Crombeen both chipped in 10-15 goals last year and for what they are, serve a purpose on this team. I mean you’re right, I’d like to be like Detroit and be able to roll four lines out there, but in reality those guys don’t grow on trees.
Here here, Gordo. Keep the kids in tact. I’m going to flip out if they trade Perron for Pronger which was the rumor before. If we’re that close to a Stanley Cup, then you consider it. But we’re not so let the kids play.
How is it that Carlo Colaiacovo is “a #5 or #6 defenseman”, when he outplays and puts up better numbers than Eric Brewer? Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see the Blues so deep on the blueline that Colaiacovo falls to the low end of the depth chart… but if he’s 5 or 6, Brewer is in the press box or on waivers.
Why is everyone in St. Louis so down on Brewer. Oh wait he was traded for Pronger. I feel so sorry for this guy. He will never be good enough as long as he is in St Louis. The fans here have never accepted him. To me he has played good enough. He is a leader on the ice and a leader to the young guys. The people in St. Louis are spoiled with the likes of MacInnis and Pronger. Most teams in the NHL do not even have one D-man as good as these two. It would be best if Brewer ended up somewhere that he can be appreciated as that will never happen in St. Louis. (as sad as that is). The Blues are a better team with him in the lineup though…(oh and I don’t want to hear any of that the Blues record last year was better with him out of the lineup…because the bad start was not Brewer’s fault “throw Legace under bus here” the whole team played better for the second part of the year)
“Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was amazing against the Blues, but less so against the Blackhawks. Still, Vancouver would be wise to lock him into a long-term deal and keep him a long ways away from free agency”
Why? To take up $7-8 million in cap space so they can fold in the playoffs each year? What is your and the media’s fascination with this guy? He’s easily the most over-rated player in the game today thanks to your kind’s slobering over his lanky limbs and padded regular season stats. “Over-rated” does NOT mean “he sucks” - he’s a very capable #1 goalie. But he’s a terrible puck handler and has a fragile psyche (folds when the going gets tough). Why do you think he’s been traded twice already? When has he made a decent (i.e. 2 series wins) playoff run?
Replace the words “Roberto Luongo” with “Curtis Joseph” and suddenly we’re recycling clips from the 90’s: both goalies with flailing limbs and empty resumes, but media darlings nonetheless.
What they should do is rip off some sucker team at the trade deadline who believes his inflated press clippings , then turn it over to Cory Hodgson, and use the savings for a stud defenseman instead.
Tommy wrote, “The Blues are a better team with him in the lineup though…(oh and I don’t want to hear any of that the Blues record last year was better with him out of the lineup…because the bad start was not Brewer’s fault “throw Legace under bus here” the whole team played better for the second part of the year) ”
So… you don’t want to hear that the Blues were 12-13-3 when Brewer ended his season? You don’t want to hear that the Blues went 2-8-0 in the first ten games after Brewer got hurt? Or is it the 27-10-7 record after that that sticks in your craw?
I think it’s absolutely hilarious that Brewer’s defenders trot out the Pronger trade again and again and again. It’s the only card left in the deck, and it’s worn out. It’s been four years; shouldn’t Brewer have produced some stats to support his own case by now?
Eric Brewer is not the problem. Eric Brewer being heralded as an elite defenseman is the problem. When the Blues (and their lapdogs like the Last Amigo here) stop pretending that Brewer would be the #1 defenseman on two-thirds of the teams in the NHL, he’ll find himself becoming much more accepted by the fans.
Back to the original topic: If Pronger wants to come back to St. Louis, he can wait a year and sign as a free agent. The Blues are still in the early stages of building; now is not the time to trade prospects for veterans.
Hey netboy65, you’re right, the Blues would have a hard time signing 2 power fwd free agents this year. But next off-season when salary cap frees up, they can play with free agency. I haven’t checked to see who’s available this year, but I do know Knuble is a free agent, and if the Blues can work him in and sign him up this year that would be a plus.
In a year, there will be world peace. In a year, we’ll all be rich. In a year, all the NHL’s problems will be solved.
Come on. No one can predict where Pronger or the Blues will be a year from now. We canuse Pronger now, tomorrow, yesterday, whenever. GRAB HIM and quit spilling ink debating what’s obvious.