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Scott Perunovich Named 2020 Hobey Baker Award Winner

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Late on Saturday night, the NCAA announced (Twitter link) the winner of the 2020 Hobey Baker Award for the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player.  Blues prospect Scott Perunovich took home the prize, beating out Bruins prospect Jeremy Swayman and undrafted free agent Jordan Kawaguchi.

Perunovich becomes the sixth player from Minnesota-Duluth to win the award which is a record among NCAA teams.  The 21-year-old was named the NCHC’s top offensive defenseman for the third straight season after recording six goals and 34 assists in 34 games this season for the Bulldogs.

It has been an interesting journey for Perunovich when it comes to his NHL path.  Initially undrafted in his first two years of eligibility, he was vaulted onto the radar after his first college year which convinced St. Louis to pick him in the second round (45th overall) back in 2018.  Since then, his stock has only risen and he now stands as one of their top prospects.

Last month, Perunovich agreed to terms with the Blues on two separate entry-level deals, foregoing his senior season in the process.  Which contract ultimately gets signed will depend on what happens to the current season which is on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  If play resumes, Perunovich will burn the first year of his deal this season and will be eligible to play for St. Louis in the playoffs if they want to use him.  If not, the contract will begin in 2020-21.

PHR Panel: Prospect Pontificating

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We’re now several weeks into an NHL postponement and there is still no clear timeline on when professional hockey will return. While fans of the sport have received small tidbits of news over that time, including college signings and contract extensions, the thirst for discussion has rarely been quenched.

With that in mind, we’re happy to continue our new feature: The PHR Panel. Three times a week, our writing staff will give our individual takes on a question many hockey fans have been wondering about. If you’d ever like to submit a subject for us to discuss, be sure to put it in the comments. This series will run each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

To catch up on the previous edition, click here.

Today, we’ll each give our thoughts on a prospect that hasn’t yet made his NHL debut.

Q: Which already-drafted prospect outside of the NHL excites you the most?

Brian La Rose:

The question of when Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov will sign with Minnesota has been ongoing for a while. The first season PHR covered was the 2016-17 campaign where his contract in the KHL was expiring and there were questions as to whether or not he’d come to North America. Fast forward to today. His contract in the KHL is expiring and there is hope that he’ll finally cross the pond. I’m excited to see if he lives up to the hype.

There is plenty of reason for optimism. In recent years, he has progressed from being a good KHL winger to a legitimate star and actually led the KHL in goals (33) and points per game (1.09) this season. A few years ago, the thought was that he could come in and play right away. Now, the hope is that he can come in and play on the Wild’s top line right away.

Over the last few years, Minnesota has been a decent team but is missing that key piece or two to prop them up from being a bubble team. Kaprizov has the ability to help them do just that. Assuming he plays next season (even this year is a possibility if regular season games resume), he could be the player to help spark their turnaround. It seems we’ll soon find out if he winds up being well worth the wait.

Holger Stolzenberg: 

I find myself quite intrigued by the prospects in this upcoming draft, but that doesn’t answer today’s question. Considering that I’m German, I’ve always been fascinated by German prospects and with the continuing improvement in German-born players that last few years (very interested to see how Tim Stuetzle develops), I’m always watching prospects ready to come to the U.S closely.

The guy I’ve been most interested in the last couple of years is Carolina Hurricanes prospect Dominik Bokk. He was originally drafted 25th overall in 2018 by the Blues and was a key part of the trade which brought Justin Faulk to St. Louis. Bokk is considered to be quite the talent, joining the SHL at age 18, but has struggled to play among men, scoring nine goals in two seasons with Vaxjo. He then went over to top-ranked Rogle where he struggled even more, but after a dominating performance for Germany at the World Juniors this last year took off, scoring 10 goals since returning, while only averaging 12-13 minutes per game.

He’s expected to arrive and spend a season in the AHL where the Hurricanes already moved out a bunch of prospects out of their AHL system, including Julien Gauthier, Janne Kuokkanen and Eetu Luostarinen to give some playing time for incoming players, including Bokk. I wouldn’t be surprised if he dominates in his first AHL year and we’ll see how he develops, but I just get excited about Bokk as a prospect.

Zach Leach:

There are a number of talented future stars among the selections from the past couple of years—and even more in the upcoming draft class—but in my opinion “excitement” for a prospect peaks the closer he is to making an NHL impact.

For that reason, to me Kaprizov has to be the most exciting prospect outside of the NHL. The 2015 Minnesota Wild pick has been teasing North American fans for years with stunning numbers in the KHL for such a young player. The 22-year-old could be the second coming of Artemi Panarin and I believe he finally makes the jump this summer and takes on a top-six role for the Wild right away next year. Kaprizov is simply a dynamic offensive talent and gifted scorer who I would be surprised to see struggle with translating his penchant for points to the NHL. He would be my 2020-21 Calder Trophy favorite the minute he signs in Minny.

As for more recent picks, I continue to be impressed by Buffalo Sabres prospect Dylan Cozens. A player that I was high on when he was drafted last year, I feel Cozens was an outstanding value at No. 7 overall. For the sake of development, he was better off back in the WHL this season, where he again proved to be one of the league’s best players, rather than with a struggling Sabres squad. However, I expect the well-rounded power forward to break camp in Buffalo next season and make an impact for a team desperate for more talent, compete, and IQ in their forward corps.

Gavin Lee:

There’s no doubt that Kaprizov will get the juices flowing again when he finally does come over, but the will-he-won’t-he of the last few years has me drained of any excitement.

A really good case could be made for Alex Newhook, who has just oozed top-line NHL potential while dominating his NCAA competition. The Colorado Avalanche draft pick—16th overall in 2019—scored 19 goals and 42 points in 34 games for Boston College and was just named the Tim Taylor Award winner as NCAA Rookie of the Year. Newhook was somehow left off the Canadian roster at the World Juniors this year (they won gold, so I guess it was the right choice?) but you can bet he’ll be at the next one, before making his mark at the NHL level down the road.

Still, as much as this may cause some chuckles in the back, the prospect that excites me the most is still Joe Veleno. The QMJHL star and Detroit Red Wings prospect jumped to the AHL last season and recorded just 23 points in 54 games, but that performance comes with a few caveats. First, and most importantly, Veleno played a good chunk of the season as a teenager—something that isn’t normally allowed for a player drafted out of the CHL. His case was different because of the exceptional status he was granted to enter the CHL a year early; five years of junior meant he was eligible to jump to professional hockey.

The other was the overall scoring ineptitude of the Grand Rapids Griffins. Amazingly, Veleno’s 11 goals actually tied him for third on the team, behind only AHL veterans Chris Terry and Matt Puempel. Five of those goals actually came in his final 16 games of the season, hopefully pointing to a higher level of production next year.

It’s hard to explain exactly why Veleno excites me when I watch him play, but he does. At the World Juniors I thought he was arguably the most well-rounded forward in the tournament, and perhaps that’s why I have such high hopes. I think he can be a star offensively in the NHL if he’s put in that role, but I also think he could be one of the league’s best shutdown forwards. What better organization to be in than one helmed by Steve Yzerman.

PHR Panel: Expansion Draft Considerations

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We’re now several weeks into an NHL postponement and there is still no clear timeline on when professional hockey will return. While fans of the sport have received small tidbits of news over that time, including college signings and contract extensions, the thirst for discussion has rarely been quenched.

With that in mind, we’re happy to continue our new feature: The PHR Panel. Three times a week, our writing staff will give our individual takes on a question many hockey fans have been wondering about. If you’d ever like to submit a subject for us to discuss, be sure to put it in the comments. This series will run each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

To catch up on the previous edition, click here.

Today, we’ll each give our thoughts on the upcoming 2021 expansion draft.

Q: Which team should be most afraid of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft?

Brian La Rose: 

This is a tough one to answer a year out as a lot will change between now and then. Who is added over the offseason in trades and free agency can certainly affect things. So too can teams deciding to sign players to early extensions or holding off in order to leave them exposed to protect someone else.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that teams with strong defensive depth are the ones that should be the most worried. With a 7-3-1 protection system, anyone with a fourth defender worthy of keeping either risk losing them or their fifth-best forward if they switch to the alternative eight skater protection list.

Using that mindset, Carolina comes up as a team that should be concerned about Seattle’s draft.

Their surefire protectees at this point on the back end are Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei. But does Haydn Fleury take another step forward next year and become tougher to leave exposed? Are they able to get Dougie Hamilton signed to an extension? If so, he’s another must-protect player. What about Jake Bean, a well-regarded prospect that will be eligible to be picked. It’s reasonable to think that they may want to protect four defensemen which means only four forwards could be protected. But with a strong and relatively forward corps as well, they’re setting up to lose either a strong defenseman or a top-six forward. Having depth is great but a year from now, they’re going to lose an impact player.

Holger Stolzenberg: 

When looking at the upcoming expansion draft, there are a number of teams that may have to give up some very good players to the incoming Seattle franchise. While I can easily point to teams like Toronto and Tampa Bay as franchises that have a lot of talent, the team that seems to currently have the most talent at risk is the St. Louis Blues. Granted, there are still quite a few questions that need to be asked, including what will the team do with Alex Pietrangelo? If they re-sign him, then the team is overloaded with defensemen and might have to consider the 8 players and a goalie scenario as opposed to 7-3-1.

However, I sense that even if the team does find a way to bring Pietrangelo back—which I think is likely—then the team will have to ship out a blueliner (maybe Justin Faulk) to give the team some salary cap relief and keep a 7-3-1 scenario, considering all the talent. The Blues have quite a bit of offensive firepower with a lot of young talent. The team will obviously keep Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz if he is extended, likely Brayden Schenn–maybe David Perron, maybe not. That’s the veterans. What about Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Sammy Blais? They are key young pieces with a ton of talent. That still leaves quite a few players exposed, including Oskar Sundqvist, Ivan Barbashev, Zach Sanford…

So, no matter what moves they make, the Blues should lose a quality player. Don’t forget in goal…before Jordan Binnington came along, Ville Husso was considered their goalie of the future. Could he be the goalie of the future in Seattle now?

Zach Leach:

The expansion draft format, which will be the same for Seattle as it was for Vegas, is designed to hurt every team. The protection schemes combined with the exposure requirements ensure that each club must expose at least one or two players of value. However, the rules are most unfavorable not to the teams with the most high-end talent, but to the teams with the most depth, specifically those with considerable youth and homegrown talent signed long-term.

While rosters are sure to change before the Expansion Draft occurs—meaning projections will become much more accurate following the upcoming off-season—there are several teams who already look like they could be in trouble protecting their top assets from exposure. In my opinion, the standouts are the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals. Each of these teams have strong depth in both forwards and defensemen, including valuable young players. The Flames, Hurricanes, and Predators will all have to make tough calls on the blue line between established veterans and budding young standouts, while the Islanders, Lightning, and Capitals won’t have much choice but to expose young defenders but will also face a crunch at forward that could cost veteran difference-makers.

However, at least each of these teams has a chance at postseason glory this year (hopefully) and next before their rosters take a hit. The Sabres should be the team most afraid of the expansion draft because they look primed to lose a key young player before they are even done putting together a contending squad. With many strong defensemen and a growing core of impressive forwards, Buffalo will have to expose notable names. On defense, only two of Rasmus Ristolainen, Henri Jokiharju, Brandon Montour, and Colin Miller can be protected alongside Rasmus Dahlin, while upfront the team must protect centerpieces Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, Sam Reinhart, and Victor Olofsson, not to mention the presumed top-six forward they have long been rumored to be seeking this summer, leaving few spots for a large group of up-and-comers including Casey Mittelstadt, Tage Thompson, Rasmus Asplund, and Dominik Kahun.

Gavin Lee:

When this year’s trade deadline was approaching and rumors started swirling around the Minnesota Wild, a few interesting names hit the news. The team was apparently considering a move of either Mathew Dumba or Jonas Brodin, two players who seemed to be core contributors that were still young enough to be part of a retooled competitive window.

The reason may well be the expansion draft, where new Wild GM Bill Guerin will still be in tough thanks to his predecessors.

Remember that players who have no-movement clauses require automatic protection from the draft, eating up precious spots. The Wild have four such players: Zach Parise, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Suter, and Jared Spurgeon. If the draft rolls around and all four players are still on the roster (and refuse to waive their clauses), it’s going to be hard for the Wild to protect all of their young talent. Remember, even Zuccarello will be turning 34 just a few months after the draft.

Brodin is an unrestricted free agent in 2021, meaning he may end up on the trade block no matter what, but if they had any inkling of extending the reliable defender it would only complicate things further.

No doubt this was also a consideration when Guerin almost traded Parise to the New York Islanders at the deadline. Moving the veteran forward would really be a blessing for the team, despite how difficult it would be to see a franchise (and Minnesota) legend leave town.

Poll: If The Season Ended Today, Who Would Win The Norris?

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With the NHL season getting suspended and little idea of when it may or may not resume, there are a lot of experts who are beginning to wonder if there is any point in bringing back the remainder of the regular season. Many feel it makes more sense that when the NHL is ready to return, the league should start immediately in playoff mode. If that’s the case and the regular season ended on Mar. 11, then who would win the Norris Trophy?

PHR has already conducted similar polls on the Calder Trophy, the Hart Trophy and the Vezina Trophy.

There are a number of interesting candidates for the top defenseman in the league, but it really falls to a two-man race between Washington Capitals’ John Carlson and Nashville Predators’ Roman Josi. Both players had dominant seasons with their respective teams.

The 30-year-old Carlson had a breakout year back in the 2017-18 season when he tallied 15 goals and 68 points, leading the Washington Capitals to their first Stanley Cup victory that year. He signed a long-term deal and duplicated another impressive season last year, boasting a 13-goal, 70-point season. However, what he’s done this year is nothing short of amazing with 15 goals and a career-high 75 points and that’s in just 69 games, averaging an impressive 1.17 points per game that would rank him among the top 10 in points-per-game for a defenseman over the last 30 years.

Josi, however, isn’t far behind. The Predators’ blueliner also had career highs in a (currently) shortened season. The 29-year-old has 16 goals and 65 points in 69 games and the Nashville Predators are a better team on shot suppression and save percentage when Josi is on the ice than Carlson.

While Carlson has the edge with offensive dominance, voters are expected to judge Norris candidates by their overall skill, which includes their defensive dominance, which is where Josi has the advantage who played even better on the defensive end of the ice when Nashville was without one of their other top blueliners in Ryan Ellis.

If you’re looking for a third option, the best candidate might be St. Louis Blues’ captain Alex Pietrangelo, who has had one of the best offensive performances of the season as well. The 30-year-old currently has career highs in goals and points with 16 goals and 52 points, which has propelled the Blues back into first place after a Stanley Cup victory.

So the question is, which defenseman should win the Norris Trophy if the season doesn’t continue?

If the season ended today, who would win the Norris?
Washington's John Carlson 56.60% (613 votes)
Nashville's Roman Josi 23.64% (256 votes)
St. Louis' Alex Pietrangelo 19.76% (214 votes)
Total Votes: 1,083

For Pro Hockey app users, click here to vote.

Snapshots: League Timeline, 2021 Draft, Bouwmeester

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UPDATE 4:45pm: The Toronto mayor’s office clarified the ban to TSN radio, indicating that it does not include sporting events, only “city events and event permits.”

4:00pm: As mentioned in the earlier story about the NHL extending their period of self-isolation for players and team staff, even April 15th—the new end date the league announced—seems very aggressive given the much longer bans that states, provinces, and cities have already instituted. This afternoon Toronto, one of the league’s biggest markets,  announced a ban on all public events through June 30th. That would seemingly include playoff hockey games, making it quite difficult to resume any action that includes the Maple Leafs in the next three months.

While there could be ways around a ban like this for regular season games—neutral venue sites could potentially be used—it’s hard to see a world where the Maple Leafs would be forced to play playoff contests somewhere else. Revenue from the playoffs in the league’s big markets is crucial, especially so in a season cut short. At this point, fans can only wait and see what happens, but the NHL season is just getting further and further away.

  • Another major market that has already lost an NHL event is Montreal, where the Canadiens were stripped of the 2020 Entry Draft—or at least the full scale of it. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Montreal can expect to have a full draft either in 2021 or 2022, though there is another interesting option for next year. LeBrun tweets that the new Seattle franchise has shown interest in trying to bring the entry draft in next season to pair with the expansion draft, though it isn’t clear if it will be feasible at this point.
  • Among all the disruptions and distractions, it’s sometimes hard to find any good news these days. Alex Pietrangelo of the St. Louis Blues gave us some of that today, when he told reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com that teammate Jay Bouwmeester is doing well in his recovery from a cardiac episode he suffered in February. The Blues captain noted that teammates have checked in on Bouwmeester and that he has seen him walking about their shared neighborhood recently.

Perunovich Contract Likely To Open Up Deals For Other Top Collegiates

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While many undrafted college players have already signed in the last couple of weeks, only a handful of top collegiate players have inked new deals. One of the reasons is due to questions surrounding whether players could sign contracts for this year, since it the rest of the season remains in limbo. However, with the recent signing of defenseman Scott Perunovich with the St. Louis Blues to two different contracts, that could open up a flood of players who are ready to sign contacts, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required).

Perunovich agreed to two contracts Friday, one that would start this year (assuming the season continues), while the other would start in the 2019-20 season, although both contracts would be two-year deals. The scribe notes that St. Louis had to get NHL approval of the two contracts, which now could open up possibilities for several college players, including Chicago Blackhawks’ Ian Mitchell, Vegas Golden Knights’ Jack Dugan and Winnipeg Jets’ Dylan Samberg.

Powers uses the example of Mitchell, who wrapped up his junior season at the University of Denver and has to sign a three-year, entry-level contract due to his age. Mitchell would prefer to sign starting this season as it would immediately burn that first year.

“Right now we are waiting to see what happens with the NHL season,” the 21-year-old Mitchell wrote. “There is a freeze on contracts being signed for this season. If I were to sign a contract now, I wouldn’t be able to play this year if the season resumes. So right now it is just wait and see.”

Technically, Perunovich has not signed either contact, but will sign one of the two once it’s decided on whether the 2019-20 season will continue or not. That could be the case for any other college prospects who are eager to sign, but would prefer to sign for this year and not wait an extra year.

Mitchell continues to wait on whether there is a season this year, but is suddenly more open to signing soon after Perunovich’s deal.

“Yes, all options are on the table,” said Mitchell in a text when asked about signing a similar deal.

Powers believes that the contract itself has already been worked out, especially since Chicago has been willing to hand out “A” bonuses to their top prospects in the past and with Mitchell having the ability to threaten to return to Denver for his senior year, he is likely to get that, although it’s believed that he is leaning towards signing a pro contract.

Scott Perunovich Agrees To Terms With St. Louis Blues

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The St. Louis Blues have convinced one of their top college prospects to turn pro, agreeing to terms with Scott Perunovich. Interestingly though, this deal comes with a twist according to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. Perunovich has agreed to two different versions of his entry-level contract. One would start in the 2019-20 season if it resumes at some point, and the other would be starting in 2020-21. The deal is for two seasons either way, though obviously would expire at different times.

Perunovich, 21, was the 45th selection in the 2018 draft and has continued to dominate at the college level. As a junior this year for the University of Minnesota-Duluth, he recorded 40 points in 34 games—as a defenseman mind you—and was named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the country’s top college player.

Should the season resume at some point, Perunovich would actually be eligible to play for the Blues right away. Just as other college prospects have in recent years like Charlie McAvoy, Brock Boeser and Cale Makar, the young defenseman could be an impact player right away at the NHL level.

The 5’10” 175-lbs defenseman has won almost countless awards during his time at UMD, including the Tim Taylor Award as the NCAA’s best rookie in 2018. Add in two national titles with the Bulldogs, a World Junior bronze medal with Team USA and a potential Hobey Baker and you have a player that’s ready for the next level.

St. Louis Blues Sign Hugh McGing

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The St. Louis Blues have found some common ground with one of their college prospects, agreeing to terms with Hugh McGing on a two-year entry-level contract. McGing recently finished his senior season with Western Michigan University, where he served as an alternate captain.

Selected in the fifth round two years ago, the undersized forward was actually a Hobey Baker nominee this season and last as one of the best college players in the country. Standing just 5’9″, the 21-year old has relied on his hockey instincts and offensive ability to carve out an impressive career for Western Michigan, scoring 117 points in 147 games.

Fans of international hockey at the junior level should also recognize McGing’s name, given that he has competed for Team USA at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup and been a participant in the selection camp for the World Juniors—though he failed to make it through the final cut. With his college days over he’ll have to see what kind of production he can come up with in the minor leagues, before chasing the dream of becoming an NHL player.

College Notes: Perunovich, Poolman, McLaughlin

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Among the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker award, there are several seniors that don’t have much of a decision coming for them this summer. Their college careers are over, and they’ll be starting their professional careers in one fashion or another. Some of the others however, including St. Louis Blues draft pick Scott Perunovich, still have college eligibility remaining and could return.

The potential Blues’ prospect is one of considerable intrigue, especially after making a post on Instagram yesterday thanking his teammates and the Minnesota-Duluth program. For a player as accomplished as the UMD junior, signing his entry-level contract for 2019-20 and making his NHL debut was a possibility. With the season now up in the air, it’s unclear how the negotiations will proceed. The 21-year old defenseman had 105 points in 115 games at the college level and could be an impact player quickly for the Blues.

  • Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that the Calgary Flames are a frontrunner for the services of Colton Poolman, an undrafted collegiate defenseman out of the University of North Dakota. The younger brother of Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tucker Poolman, Colton captained UND this season and recorded 17 points in 31 games. Not quite as big as his brother, the younger Poolman is also already 24 and will have to cover a lot of development ground quickly if he wants to become a regular NHL player.
  • Jake McLaughlin, another undrafted college defenseman about to turn 24, has minor league contract offers from six different teams according to AHL reporter Mark Divver. McLaughlin recently finished his senior season at UMass, scoring 14 points in 34 games. UPDATE (3/19): McLaughlin is officially off the market. The Amherst standout, who was one of the NCAA’s best defensive defenseman this season, has signed an AHL deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, per Divver. Seeing as this is a contract beginning in 2020-21, McLaughlin could technically be considered the first ever signing by the future Henderson Silver Knights, the soon-to-be-relocated version of the San Antonio Rampage, who were purchased by Vegas last month.

Stretch Run Storylines: St. Louis Blues

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As things stand, the NHL is planning to have games resume at some point over the coming weeks.  Assuming the regular season continues, there will be plenty of things to watch for over the stretch run.  Over the coming weeks, PHR will examine the top stretch run storylines for each team.  First up is a look at the Central Division, beginning with St. Louis.

The Blues had a bit of a sluggish start to their season with just three wins in their first eight games but since then, they have been the top team in the Western Conference and as a result, they sit atop the division as well as the Western Conference.  That has the defending Stanley Cup Champions sitting in good shape whenever play resumes, even more so considering one of their top players will return which highlights their top storylines to watch for.

Tarasenko’s Return

Shoulder injuries have plagued winger Vladimir Tarasenko for a while now and another one suffered in his tenth game of the season has caused him to miss most of the year.  However, at the time he underwent surgery, the projected timeline for his return was late March or early April which made GM Doug Armstrong decide not to use LTIR relief to acquire a replacement, a move that seems particularly prescient now.  If they had acquired someone using LTIR, they wouldn’t be able to activate Tarasenko until they found a way to get in cap compliance and with the trade deadline now long passed, that would be next to impossible.

Barring any unexpected setbacks, Tarasenko should be able to return to the lineup whenever play resumes which will give a team that already has hovered around the top-ten in scoring this season its top scoring threat back.  There is bound to be some rust although some of that will be offset by this extended layoff for everyone.  Getting his timing back before the postseason gets underway would be a big boost to a team that’s certainly going to be capable for another long playoff run.

Pietrangelo’s Increasing Value

The contracts given to Erik Karlsson ($11.5MM) and Drew Doughty ($11MM) have helped place the spotlight on defenseman Alex Pietrangelo who is now pegged to get a significant raise on his current $6.5MM AAV.  Heading into the year, some had suggested a deal in the $9MM range could be his target but that may very well be on the low side.

Very quietly, the captain has put up a career year offensively.  He already has a new top mark in goals (16) while his assists per game and points per game marks are also the best of his career.  If the NHL resumes with some regular season action, he will almost certainly set new highs in those categories as well.  After having a bit of a quieter year offensively in 2018-19, he has rebounded quite nicely and that’s only going to help his value.

As things stand, the Blues can’t afford to re-sign him and fill out the rest of their roster even if the Upper Limit of the salary cap goes up slightly.  (And with everything that’s happening, that’s not as likely as it was just a few weeks ago.)  As a result, it is a distinct possibility that Pietrangelo is playing out his final days in St. Louis.

Scoring Race

The battle for the top spot in the division should be tightly contested as Colorado is only two spots behind them and this layoff gives them a chance to get some of their players healthy as well.  But there is another race that is certainly intriguing, the battle to lead the team in points.

While St. Louis doesn’t have anyone near the point per game mark, they have four players within four points of each other for the team lead in Ryan O’Reilly (61), David Perron (60), Brayden Schenn (58), and Jaden Schwartz (57).  Four points isn’t a big gap so it’s quite possible that this particular race could go down to the wire.

O’Reilly and Perron are signed for two more years after this one while Schenn signed an eight-year extension back in October that kicks in for 2020-21.  But Schwartz will be entering the final season of his deal this summer which makes him eligible for a contract extension.  A strong finish to his campaign will certainly bolster his bargaining power.  If he can get that team lead, it’ll be even stronger.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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