St Louis Blues
The novel coronavirus shutting down the NHL may be most disappointing to the St Louis Blues who looked poised to defend their title. If the league doesn’t get the opportunity to play for the cup this year, the Blues might lose a key piece to their success without being able to fully maximize having Alex Pietrangelo on the team.
Alex Pietrangelo
Perhaps the most coveted free agent this offseason will be the longtime Blues defenseman, Pietrangelo. He has been with the organization for 12 years and proved himself to be a bonified star.
Now at age 30 years old, Pietrangelo will be able to test the open market if he so desires. Every team in the league will want to acquire Pietrangelo’s services including the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not only is he a great puck mover and an offensive weapon from the blueline but he also has a right-handed shot, making him even more valuable.
Doug Armstrong, the Blues GM will certainly try and re-sign Pietrangelo. This season, in 70 games he picked up 52 points. That came on 16 goals and 36 assists.
Marco Scandella
Marco Scandella has also been an important part of the Blues blueline. He logged big minutes for the Blues but his possession metrics were poor. Playing even-strength hockey Scandella had a Corsi rating of 49.3 which was -5.9 relative to his teammates.
Jay Bouwmeester
Jay Bouwmeester is also set to become a UFA. He scared the hockey world when he collapsed on the team bench in the middle of a game in February. The incident shone a spotlight on how to save a life at the hockey rink.
Bouwmeester had a heart procedure and is in recovery. He underwent a successful Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). Unfortunately, at this time, his future in the game is uncertain.
Troy Brouwer
Troy Brouwer is the last UFA on the Blues roster. On Mar. 10 the team actually placed him on waivers. He had a very frustrating season, often becoming the odd man out and made a healthy scratch multiple times. Brouwer will have to battle hard next year to find a spot on an NHL roster.