Although he has yet to sign his new contract, the Blues shouldn’t have to move anyone once defenseman Joel Edmundson puts pen to paper on a new contract, suggests Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Given GM Doug Armstrong’s comments following the season that suggested a long-term contract wasn’t likely for any of their RFAs, a short-term pact for the 25-year-old is likely. That shouldn’t cost more than their roughly $4MM in cap space so while they once again don’t project to have room for in-season moves, they shouldn’t be forced to subtract anyone from their roster. If they decide that they want some extra flexibility during the year, Gordon suggests veteran defenseman Carl Gunnarsson could be a candidate to be moved. He has one year remaining on his contract with a $2.9MM cap hit.
More from the Central:
- Blackhawks defenseman prospect Adam Boqvist was interested in playing with London of the OHL last season but the GM in Brynas shot down the idea, notes Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. That played a role in their decision to sign him already as doing so gave Chicago much more control over the development of their top 2018 draft pick moving forward. If he doesn’t crack the NHL roster next season, he has already committed to playing for the Knights at the junior level.
- The Jets announced that they have renewed their affiliation agreement with the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL for next season. 2017-18 marked the inaugural year for the franchise and they struggled in the standings, finishing fifth in the South Division. There are still several teams that have yet to announce affiliations and with only 27 in the league, at least four NHL teams won’t have an affiliate for next year. While teams without specific affiliates can loan their players elsewhere via a working agreement, they can’t technically share an affiliation with another NHL team.
Blues Trade Gunnarson for a 4th and 5th round pick to a team looking for a dman on the 3rd or fourth line.