The St. Louis Blues might be able to parlay Vladimir Sobotka into a valuable, usable piece heading down the stretch this season.
Unwilling to sign a one-year, $2.7-million dollar deal from the Blues that was awarded to him through arbitration, Sobotka decided to sign with KHL club Omsk this past summer.
As Pierre LeBrun of ESPN reports, the forward has a one-month window after the KHL season in which he can opt out of his three-year deal and return to the NHL.
LeBrun continues:
If he does, he'll have to play out the one-year contract he was awarded in arbitration last July, a deal that would pay him $2.725 million. No question in my mind the Blues will get offers on him before March 2. There will be non-playoff teams trying to sell assets that could help the contending Blues in return for Sobotka.
General manager Doug Armstrong is believed to have received many a trade offer for Sobotka's services during the contract negotiations during the offseason, and the market could remain hot and heavy as the deadline approaches.
But, the possibility remains that Armstrong could sway Sobotka back to the Blues, complementing the Stanley Cup-contending core he's built in St. Louis.
