It’s a busy week in hockey.
The NHL Expansion Draft was held on Wednesday, the 2021-22 season schedule will be released Thursday, the NHL Draft is set for Friday and Saturday and free agency opens on July 28 at 11 a.m.
St. Louis Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong and his staff have a lot to balance, especially with rumors abound about Vladimir Tarasenko and whether he could be traded, and will the team’s unrestricted free agents such as Jaden Schwartz, Mike Hoffman and Tyler Bozak still be with the Blues come next week?
Armstrong shared some insight into all of those topics during a media conference call on Thursday morning.
Here are some of the things we learned:
What’s up with all those Vladimir Tarasenko trade rumors?
Armstrong: A couple days after the year ended, (Tarasenko’s agent) Paul Theofanous called me and said Vladi had talked to him and felt it would be best if we could find a different opportunity for him and for us.
Vladi obviously had a full-no trade clause, so he gave me a list of teams that would be a preference destination for him. I informed all the teams that Vladi had requested a trade, that there was a list of teams he would prefer to go to but if anyone has any ideas or thoughts, I would work with them and take something to Vladi and he would have the 100% opportunity to accept or reject that concept. I want to thank Paul, we were able to keep it sort of under the surface for six to eight weeks. It came out a couple of weeks ago and sort of grabbed a life of it’s own.
Going into the Expansion Draft, understanding Vladi’s desire was to see if there was a different opportunity, we (decided to) expose him, understanding that if he got claimed in Seattle, it would give him the fresh start he was looking for and also free up some cap space for us… Seattle made it’s decision to go with Vince Dunn.
As of today, Vladi is a member of the Blues. This is not something I’m going to be updating after this (media) call today. Whatever we do will be done behind closed doors. Vladi has to prepare like he’s coming back to St. Louis, he has to get ready to play. He’s a 30-year-old, I’m sure he wants to play for a number of years in the NHL. He has to come back and have a great season, and our focus is on what’s best for the St. Louis Blues.
If we can do something that accommodates the player and the team, we’ll certainly put our best foot forward, but my responsibility is to the St. Louis Blues and its fan base.
Could Tarasenko be back with the Blues next season?
Armstrong: I see there is certainly an outlook where I envision him putting on the jersey again. There’s many players in the NHL that have requested trades (that haven’t been traded). You always try to keep it below the surface, but our responsibility is to do what’s best for the St. Louis Blues, and if that means he comes back and plays for us, then that’s the outlook that it has.
Trades are difficult in the NHL. You don’t see many of them anymore, and certainly in a flat-cap system and also with the structure of contracts, it’s difficult to make moves. This one is no different. Obviously we’re dealing with a player that’s coming off an injury, too, which I’m sure affects the way other teams view it and what risks they’re willing to take. I view Vladi as a healthy player, a guy who has scored 30 goals in the past on numerous occasions and a guy who should continue to score.
Like I said, I’m going to do what’s best for the St. Louis Blues in making any decisions to part ways.
What about Jaden Schwartz, who will become an unrestricted free agent. Is there a possibility he could still sign with the Blues?
Armstrong: Based on where we are today, there is always a chance we can get something done. My understanding is Schwartzy wanted to see what free agency was like. That can change with one phone call. With that, it gives him an opportunity and gives us an opportunity to look around. We have the options of going with Ryan O’Reilly and Robert Thomas down the middle. Then you have Vladi, David Perron, Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn – you have a group of guys there that can fill the void or we can get into free agency.
Would you say you’re interested in keeping unrestricted free agents Mike Hoffman and Tyler Bozak?
Armstrong: We’ve had conversations with our own guys. July 28 is the drop-dead date. I thought Mike came in and once he found some solid footing in our group, I thought he was a really good player for us. I have a lot of respect for him and if he came back, I’d have no issues with that.
Certainly Bozie has been a really good player for us for three years. I would say our depth in that area is a little bit stronger than it is in the Top 6, so both players I really respect and will certainly keep the lines of communication open.
Do you feel the best opportunity to improve your team is through free agency or trade? Or is it a balance of the two? How do you look at the next couple of weeks here?
Armstrong: I’m not as concerned on the next couple of weeks as probably other people are. What I think we need to protect ourselves against is making a mistake right now. You get into a situation where you get nervous and all of a sudden, you see long-term contracts given and you’re a little uncomfortable but you do it and then you wonder what you did. It has to make sense for the organization for today and tomorrow, whether it’s via free agency, whether it’s via trades or whether it’s just giving your young players an opportunity, you have to be honest with yourself and make sure you’re doing what’s best for the organization. Not just a splash on July 28 or 29, but something you can live with.
On losing Vince Dunn to the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft
Armstrong: We knew we were going to lose a player of value to our organization. I think that’s the part and parcel with bringing in a 32nd team. I think the NHL has done a great job of making sure that these new teams coming in are competitive off the get-go, or have the ability to be competitive… We lost Vince Dunn. First I’d like to thank Vince for his time here, a second-round pick our guys did a nice job of developing, coming in, being part of a championship team and always pushing to get better. I think he has a really bright future ahead of him and I want to thank him for his time here.
