The Blues’ decision to let restricted free-agent defenseman Roman Polak enter Day 1 of free agency is evidence that the two sides aren’t close to an agreement.

Polak, 23, is now free to receive offer sheets from other NHL clubs. Remember last summer, the Blues allowed forward David Backes, a restricted free agent at the time, to enter free agency unsigned, and he received an offer sheet from Vancouver that the Blues had to match.

Polak’s situation is interesting. He had played in only 25 NHL in two years prior to the 2008-09 season. He suffered a broken ankle while playing in Peoria in 2007-08, and therefore missed significant ice time that he certainly would have received in St. Louis.

But this year, Polak played in 69 games and, because of injuries, found himself in the Blues’ top defensive pairing at times. He was a minus-15, but the Blues liked his physical play and they think of him as a top prospect in the organization.

Polak made $475,000 last year, which was the final year of his three-year entry-level contract. I wrote in the Post-Dispatch and Stltoday.com this morning how NHL teams are having a tough time re-signing players after their entry-level contracts.

It’s not known how far apart the Blues and Polak are in negotiations, but it’s enough that the team is unwilling to pony up and set a precedent for other players coming out of their entry-level contracts.

With the Backes’ situation last year, the Blues were offering the forward in the neighborhood of $1.7 million per season for two years. Backes wanted more than $2 million per year. The Blues let him go into free agency and Backes received the offer from Vancouver for $2.5 million.

That situation cost the Blues, but the team was still confident in the philosophy that it carried to the negotiating table. They might spend a few dollars on one or two players if, like Backes, they receive an offer sheet. But in the long run they’ll save on more contracts by not offering a salary they deem not to be prudent.

The Blues are aware that Polak could receive an offer sheet in free agency, but at this point, the team appears to have the attitude: “Go get one.” If and when an offer sheet comes in for Polak, they will evaluate if it makes sense to match it. If not, they weren’t going to pay him the money he wanted anyway.

This situation should get interesting, and of course, I’ll be monitoring it throughout the day today. Stay tuned.

JR