The St. Louis Blues wrapped up one of their budding star forwards who would have hit salary arbitration thanks to David Perron’s four-year deal. They still have some work to do to make sure that T.J. Oshie doesn’t hit that awkward process, but GM Doug Armstrong seems determined to sign Oshie, as he told Jeremy Rutherford.
“Obviously we’re hoping to be able to work out a contract with him. We have had dialogue. I think the good thing for all Blues fans is to realize that everyone will be in training camp now and there will be no contract holdouts,” Armstrong said. “Our goal is to work out a long-term deal. We think that he showed us last year that he’s a very good NHL player.”
If he actually does hit arbitration - not a single player did last summer - it might be tough to really gauge his value. He registered career-highs in games played (80), goals (19), assists (35), points (54) and time on ice per game (19:32) last season. Still, he’s never scored 20 goals and doesn’t have boffo numbers, so the question is: how much higher is his ceiling?
Chances are, the Blues and Oshie’s agent will determine his value instead of a mediator. Salary arbitration can be a very uncomfortable and contentious experience, which is probably not the ideal scenario for a rising team and a promising 25-year-old forward.
How much do you think Oshie is worth?