It’s well established by now that the Western Conference is generally superior to the East, but with Dallas and St. Louis loading up today, it’s getting out of hand.
The St. Louis Blues won the Paul Stastny sweepstakes, giving him an average of $7 million per for four years. The Blues were an exceedingly tough team to play this past season, but they lacked that offensive pop that Stastny can provide.
Stastny simply makes his teammates better. He’s a cerebral player with great vision, who may not overwhelm you with speed, size, or a heavy shot, he just makes plays before most people see them. That brain power helps him defend well, and allows him to face top competition without getting eaten up.
He’s exactly the type of player St. Louis needed. The cap hit is more than you’d like to give him, but if you’re hoping to add in free agency that’s almost always going to be the case, and word is he left money and term on the table for the chance to play with a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. It’s great to land a talent that wants to play specifically for your team.
In all, St. Louis did what they had to do. They’re better today than they were yesterday, and they were already pretty darn good.
