St. Louis Blues: 2012 - 2013 Stanley Cup Odds

The Blues ended the regular season as the No.2 seed in the West after winning the Central Division. Pounding their way past San Jose in five games in the first round of the playoffs, they then ran into a L.A. Kings juggernaut in the conference semifinals.

It was a quiet week in St. Louis as far as any major player personnel moves, but Blues’ Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong did announce a few personnel changes in the team’s front office. Dave Taylor will assume the role of Vice President of Hockey Operations and Al Macinnis was named as Senior Advisor to the General Manager. For the past two seasons, Taylor served as the club’s Director of Player Personnel, which is a role he previously held with the Dallas Stars. Macinnis was the previous VP of Hockey Operations since 2006, but is best known for his Hall of Fame playing career that spanned 23 years with both St. Louis and Calgary.

Bovada has opened the Blues at 16/1 to win next season’s Stanley Cup title, making them the fifth-favorite in the West behind Vancouver, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit.

Blues and Oshie avoid arbitration

On the eve of what would have been an arbitration hearing between St. Louis and one of its top scorers, forward T.J. Oshie, the two sides came together on a new five-year contract that is worth a reported average of $4.175 million a year. The restricted free agent filed for arbitration several weeks ago after both sides could not come to terms on a new deal, but when push came to shove, General Manager Doug Armstrong stepped up to keep the 25-year old in St. Louis for the foreseeable future.

Oshie appeared in 80 games during the regular season and tallied 19 goals and 35 assists to tie team captain David Backes for the team lead in scoring with 54 points. In his first four years in the NHL (all with the Blues), he has recorded 63 goals and 112 assists. Oshie averaged 19:31 minutes of ice time this past season, which was second-most among all the Blues’ forwards.

Porter, Pelusa, and Sonne all ink new deals

In an effort to keep last year’s highly productive roster as intact as possible and to keep building for the future, St. Louis came to terms with forwards Chris Porter, Anthony Peluso, and Brett Sonne on a one-year deal. Porter skated in 47 games last season for the Blues and had four goals and three assists. Peluso spent much of the season for St. Louis’ AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen and scored four goals and five assists while leading the team in penalty minutes. Sonne played in 70 games for the Rivermen in 2011/2012 and posted eight goals and nine assists.

Perron signs a 4-year deal to remain in St. Louis

Another key offseason signing by the Blues was restricted free-agent David Perron. The up and coming 24-year old forward has had some health issues in the past, but GM Armstrong is more than confident that he is well worth the risk. The result is a new 4-year deal that will keep Perron with the team through the 2015-2016 season.