Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Blues Reward Elliott

The St. Louis Blues announced a mid-season contract extension for the goalie who has kept them among the Western Conference's elite teams this season, as Brian Elliott signed a 2-year contract extension, reportedly worth $3.6 million, which works out to be a $1.8 million cap hit per season.

The Blues signed Elliott in the off-season to a 1-year deal, worth $600,000, with the impression that he would be backing up Jaroslav Halak.  Fortunately for the Blues, this deal has paid off for them in spades, since Halak faltered early on and Elliott was ready to step in.

Going into Wednesday night, Elliott was ranked 39th in pool scoring overall, 12th among all goalies, with 15 wins and 5 shutouts for 40 points this season, to this point.  Last season, between Colorado and Ottawa, he only ranked 32nd amongst all goalies, but the teams he was playing behind were not as driven as this year's Blues squad and I think that is the greatest reflection of what he's done with the skill he has.

Salary CapWith both Halak and Elliott locked in, the Blues do potentially have a pretty good pairing under contract for at least the next couple of seasons.  Combine those two with eight signed forwards and five signed defensemen ready to go at $34.7 million for the 2013 season, the Blues are in fantastic shape going forward.  They will have their work cut out for them with RFAs like T.J. Oshie, Chris Stewart and David Perron, but they'll have space to work with and that is exciting.

ImplicationsThis contract extension shouldn't have a real impact on the pools this season, but it does look good on the Blues, possibly Elliott to get taken a little higher next season in the pool draft.  Elliott is the number one goalie on the top team in the draft, which says a lot about him and it will sell going forward.  When the playoff pool gets drawn up, Elliott will give Halak a good run for his money for the Blues starting goalie spot as well.

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