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Scottie Upshall

Scottie Upshall Signs With St. Louis Blues

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The St. Louis Blues have officially brought back a familiar face while they deal with several injuries, signing Scottie Upshall to a one-year, $800K contract, according to Fox Sports Andy Strickland. Upshall had been in Vancouver Canucks’ camp on a professional tryout, but will return to the Blues to help give them some forward depth. The team is dealing with injuries to Robby Fabbri, Patrik Berglund, Alex Steen and Zach Sanford up front.

Scottie UpshallUpshall never did quite live up to his sixth-overall draft position, but has nevertheless put together an excellent career. With 696 games under his belt, Upshall has been one of the more consistent bottom-six wingers around the league, providing some physicality and secondary scoring touch. A career-high of 37 points makes his addition far from enough to replace the lost offense from Fabbri, but his experience might be able to help what is suddenly looking like a very young roster. Upshall has always been lauded for his leadership qualities and work ethic.

The Blues will be relying on players like Ivan Barbashev and even perhaps Klim Kostin, but will at least have some more NHL experience on the roster with Upshall. He’ll likely serve as a sort of 13th forward, moving in and out of the lineup whenever needed. Still, he did register 10 goals last year and was one of their key penalty killers. For less than $1MM, it poses almost no risk.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vancouver Canucks Sign Scottie Upshall To PTO

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The Vancouver Canucks have decided to bring in another veteran forward on a professional tryout, signing Scottie Upshall to a PTO according to Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy. He’ll join Ryan White in Canucks camp trying to force themselves onto an NHL roster. For a team looking to rebuild, either one could provide another deadline asset.

Upshall is one of the most interesting draft stories of the last few decades. Selected sixth-overall by the Nashville Predators, Upshall was a do-it-all player for the Kamploops Blazers who mixed goal scoring with physicality and defense. His WHL team had winning records in all three seasons, and he was one of the stars for Team Canada in both World Junior Championships—one in which he served as captain. He was expected to become a premiere two-way forward in the league, capable of contributing 20-25 goals while handing out punishing checks. Comparisons to Michael Peca were made.

Upshall never did grow into his offensive potential, capping out at 18 goals and 37 points during his career so far. But, instead of fading into the distance like other draft “busts” he has remained in the league as an important player for several franchises. Suiting up in 696 games so far, Upshall was a welcome addition to the St. Louis Blues most recently, scoring 10 goals and being a grade-A pest every night. It’s surprising that he has only earned a PTO, as even at 33 there is definitely enough left to help a team’s fourth line. We’ll have to wait and see if he gets an NHL deal or has to settle for an AHL pact. The latter would allow him to play in the Olympics for Team Canada if they’re so inclined.

Snapshots: Blues, Trade Targets, Radulov

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St. Louis Blues beat writer Norm Sanders analyzed the situation the Blues find themselves in as the draft and free agency approaches. After signing both Scottie Upshall and Dmitrij Jaskin, the Blues still have a number of decisions facing them. Sanders writes that Jaden Schwartz will be signed first as he’s been dubbed a “priority signing” by general manager Doug Armstrong. He also names defensive Kevin Shattenkirk as a candidate to be traded since he’s approaching the final year of his contract. Sanders also makes note that his name has constantly been floated as being moved to another team. As for captain David Backes, Sanders writes that unless an agreement is had, Backes would be a much sought after free agent.

  • Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury must feel like he’s either back in high school or in a hockey soap opera. Fleury has been the subject of trade rumors ever since the emergence of Matt Murray during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoff run.  Interesting then that his name only comes up as #14 on Frank Seravalli’s TSN Top Trade Bait mentions. Fleury’s name was all over the hockey world as being moved to Calgary until Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford announced that he wasn’t aggresively shopping the former #1 overall pick. Seravalli put the aforementioned Shattenkirk as his #1 target to be dealt while Pavel Datsyuk’s contract sits at #2. The Edmonton Oilers stand as having the most targets likely to be moved with Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Jordan Eberle, and their 4th overall pick in this year’s draft being tagged.
  • NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk’s Ryan Dadoun scouted free agent Alexander Radulov and what it would take to land him. Dadoun writes that Radulov is purportedly looking for a 2-year/$15MM deal but that might not happen for a player who left the NHL for the KHL and was reported to be a locker room liability. Most teams are comfortable with a 1-year deal to see if Radulov’s KHL successes transfer across the ocean. PHR ranked Radulov as the 11th best free agent on the market and predicted that he would land with Capitals for just over $5MM.

Blues Ink Scottie Upshall To One-Year Deal

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Per a team release, the St. Louis Blues announced that forward Scottie Upshall was re-signed to a one-year deal. Frank Seravalli reports that the deal is for $900,000.

Upshall was a training camp invitee for the Blues last season and made the most of that invite. After an injury plagued campaign with the Florida Panthers, Upshall rebounded in St. Louis, posting 14 points (6-8), and adding a wrinkle to a stingy Blues penalty kill. For $900,000, Upshall is a bargain signing for a team that has a number of names still looking to be signed.

Those names include Steve Ott, captain David Backes, Troy Brouwer and Kyle Brodziak.

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