In one sense, the St. Louis Blues were big winners on July 1. In Paul Stastny, the team signed the top forward available in the summer's free-agent market, a player that a lot of general managers would have been willing to pay dearly for.
And while the Blues did have to pay in a fairly big way, they were able to add Stastny without giving him a massively long-term deal:
As exciting as it is to win the race for one of the summer's most sought-after players, the real question is what this does to the St. Louis Blues' Stanley Cup chances.
For three consecutive seasons, the Blues have entered the postseason as Cup contenders, only to run straight into either the Los Angeles Kings or Chicago Blackhawks and suffer an early exit.
The acquisition of Stastny is aimed at addressing that and does so in two significant ways—one direct and one indirect.
First, it adds an offensive centreman capable of playing against any opposition to the mix, which will help ease the load on No. 1 pivot David Backes. Second, it creates a logjam down the middle, which frees the Blues up to move on ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
How Much Does Paul Stastny Signing Improve St. Louis Blues’ Stanley Cup Chances?
July 1st, 2014 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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