Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Blues Announce Training Camp

On Wednesday, the St. Louis Blues released their training camp roster and schedule, giving us all a look at what to expect going into this weekend.

The Blues' Summer roster that I have had posted filled up awfully quickly at forward and in net, leaving some holes on the blueline yet to be filled.  They currently are sitting with five defensemen on their Summer roster, so you would have to expect that they will be looking to find adequate skaters to fill the other two spots for the season.  I have a feeling that we'll see Alex Pietrangelo earn himself a full-time spot on the team, while the other spot will likely be left to a depth player, who will either play in the 7th spot or be in the press box every other game.

Some of the forwards may be on a shorter leash, working on the bubble, especially with talent like T.J. Hensick waiting in the wings, since he has plenty of experience already, coming from the Avalanche.

ForwardsDefenseGoalies
Andy McDonaldErik JohnsonJaroslav Halak
T.J. OshieCarlo ColaiacovoTy Conklin
David PerronRoman Polak
David BackesBarret Jackman
Alex SteenEric Brewer
Brad Boyes
Jay McClement
Patrik Berglund
B.J. Crombeen
Vladimir Sobotka
Brad Winchester
Matt D'Agostini
Cam Janssen
Adam CracknellDean ArseneJake Allen
Stefan Della RovereDaryl BoyleBen Bishop
Nick DrazenovicIan ColeGerald Coleman
T.J. HensickMark Cundari
Nick MacNeilBrennan Evans
Philip McRaeNikita Nikitin
Graham MinkNathan Oystrick
Anthony NigroAlex Pietrangelo
Anthony PelusoBrett Ponich
Chris PorterTyson Strachan
Ryan Reaves
Dave Scatchard
Tyler Shattock
Brett Sonne
David Spina

Salary CapThe Blues are definitely operating under a team-enforced budget this year, since their current number is just above the salary cap floor at the moment.  With 20 players on their Summer roster, one buyout on their books, they are currently sitting at an annual salary cap hit total of $44.2 million, only $800,000 over the floor.  Of course, adding in the projected cap hit of Pietrangelo and one more defenseman should bump that number up to a better projection, the Blues may still have some sort of flexibility, if the season calls for a little more help.

The additions the Blues made in this off-season were very few.  Jaroslav Halak proves to be the only big name picked up and it was a move that should help out the side greatly.  Halak put in some solid minutes for the Canadiens in 2010, especially in the playoffs, which is possibly a little more credibility than what Chris Mason was giving them in the past couple years.  This upgrade behind a hard working team might instill some confidence in the blueliners and forwards, which could translate into some more points. 

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