Friday, June 27, 2014

Blues Core Retains Berglund

On the heels of a new salary cap ceiling number being announced in the next day or two, the St. Louis Blues didn't hesitate to re-sign Swedish forward Patrik Berglund, giving him a new 3-year deal worth $11.1 million.

By his own scoring standards, Berglund did have somewhat of a down year in 2014, finishing 257th overall in pool scoring with 14 goals and 32 points in 78 games.  Berglund had previously been fairly consistent, staying in the top 200 of pool scoring, but did see his numbers tail off a bit.  Obviously, the Blues are not terribly concerned with his numbers, caring more for his value as a solid teammate and useful cog in their machine.

Berglund was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1st, but was kept from any poking or prodding from other teams that may have been able to sign him to an offer sheet.

Salary CapThis now brings up the St. Louis Blues' projected roster up to 17 players and their overall cap hit to be about $51 million. On the plus side, the Blues have their goaltending and defense already sorted out, so no matter how badly the projected salary cap ceiling number gets hit, the Blues have the key parts of their line-up already sewn up. The only two key free agents to look after now are Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Sobotka.

No comments: