Thomas signed

[theohall]

https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/thomas-a ... -325906252

2 years, 2.8 AAV. So more than the Blues wanted to pay, less than he was asking. If he starts performing up to expectations, that's a steal. But we haven't seen that, yet.

This is also pretty much a guarantee Sundqvist starts the season on IR, which we already knew.

[WaukeeBlues]

I would imagine $2.8 was Thomas' rock bottom ("I'm not signing for less than what Kyrou got") and that's just where he landed. I'm sure Blues probably didn't want to go that high but it's a 2 year deal for less than $3 AAV let's get it done and move on...

[theohall]

While that may be the case, Thomas was outperformed significantly by Kyrou last season. Contracts are supposed to be based on performance. So... While Thomas didn't get as much as he wanted, his performance wasn't worthy of what he actually got. Just sayin'.

[JCShutout]

Yeah, kyrou deserved more based on production… hmm…

Glad Thomas is signed but the cap isn’t pretty atm

[WaukeeBlues]

Yeah, kyrou deserved more based on production… hmm…

Glad Thomas is signed but the cap isn’t pretty atm

Won't be a problem until Sunny is ready to come back. Per JR:

Sundqvist had surgery on his left knee in March and six weeks later underwent an operation on both hips, which have been bothering him for years. The recovery time on the hips is four to six months, which is shorter than the rehab for his knee. He began light skating in August and told The Athletic that he won’t be ready for camp and may miss the first several weeks of the season.

I hope we don't, but maybe somebody else is hurt by then or maybe Tarasenko starts the year hot and gets his trade wish... there's a little time to figure it out.

Even if something drastic doesn't happen, if the Blues go from a 23 man roster down to 21 (sending down MacEachern and Walman, for example) that would leave us 13 forwards, 6 D and 2 G with $356k in cap space (all according to capfriendly).

1 healthy scratch player in the building isn't optimal but Blues can still put a full 20 guys on the ice and be cap compliant even with Sunny healthy.

[JCShutout]

Yeah, kyrou deserved more based on production… hmm…

Glad Thomas is signed but the cap isn’t pretty atm

Won't be a problem until Sunny is ready to come back. Per JR:

Sundqvist had surgery on his left knee in March and six weeks later underwent an operation on both hips, which have been bothering him for years. The recovery time on the hips is four to six months, which is shorter than the rehab for his knee. He began light skating in August and told The Athletic that he won’t be ready for camp and may miss the first several weeks of the season.

I hope we don't, but maybe somebody else is hurt by then or maybe Tarasenko starts the year hot and gets his trade wish... there's a little time to figure it out.

Even if something drastic doesn't happen, if the Blues go from a 23 man roster down to 21 (sending down MacEachern and Walman, for example) that would leave us 13 forwards, 6 D and 2 G with $356k in cap space (all according to capfriendly).

1 healthy scratch player in the building isn't optimal but Blues can still put a full 20 guys on the ice and be cap compliant even with Sunny healthy.

Thanks, I hadn’t kept up with sunny’s time frame, so yeah, we will need to juggle, but it’s doable. (More so now that Sanford is gone)

[theohall]

Well, trading Sanford means the Blues don't have to LTIR Sundqvist. While he isn't "ready for camp," he's already skating and will likely return sooner than we expect. They likely will LTIR Sundqvist until he's ready, but that's just extra space now.

Kinda nuts Neal getting a hat trick (one empty netter) in the Blues 1st preseason game. He was on a line with Neighbors and Barbashev.