St Louis Blues: Marco Scandella extension means the end for Pietrangelo
The St. Louis Blues are going to have a very hard time keeping team captain Alex Pietrangelo after signing Marco Scandella to a four-year deal.
Even though the NHL is on a hiatus, teams are getting business done. On Thursday, the St. Louis Blues got an extension done with a player they got at the trade deadline. They signed defenseman Marco Scandella to a four-year deal worth $13.1 million. Scandella will have an average annual value (AAV) of $3.275 million.
He’s done a good job with the Blues since they traded for him. Scandella came from the Montreal Canadiens after the Buffalo Sabres traded him there earlier this season. Since coming to the Blues, he has one assist in 11 games. He has effectively replaced Jay Bouwmeester, who suffered a scary episode when he collapsed on the bench.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
This extension is far more meaningful than it initially sounds. When you combine it with the fact that the Blues traded for, and extended, defenseman Justin Faulk just before the start of the season, it’s hard to see how team captain Alex Pietrangelo is going to be able to stay in St. Louis.
Pietrangelo will become a free agent whenever free agency starts. It was scheduled to begin on July 1, but obviously, the novel coronavirus pandemic has put that date in question. There could be hockey going on around that time, which would delay free agency.
But whenever free agency begins, Pietrangelo will surely be one of the top targets available. He currently has a $7.5 million AAV, but will likely command a fairly significant raise from that. At the very least, Pietrangelo should have no problems getting over $8 million. He can easily point to the deal Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson signed in 2018.
Re-signing Pietrangelo will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the Blues. The Scandella extension leaves them very close to the salary cap ceiling. Even if the salary cap goes up to $84 million (and it likely won’t because of lost revenue), they’d have just under $5.5 million of cap space.
A decent portion of their cap space will likely be dedicated to re-signing young defenseman Vince Dunn and forward MacKenzie MacEachern. This would leave very little left for Pietrangelo and even less if the cap ceiling remains stagnant at $81.5 million.
That said, there’s still a slither of hope the Blues could somehow squeeze in Pietrangelo. But he’d probably have to take a substantial discount. Also, it would require the return of compliance buyouts. The Blues could use it on backup goaltender Jake Allen to create $4.35 million of cap space or Alexander Steen to create $5.75 million of cap space. That might allow the Blues to re-sign their captain.
Next. Every NHL Team's Greatest Player Of All-Time. dark
However, the writing is on the wall. Blues fans should start preparing for life without Pietrangelo because right now, it seems next to impossible at best that they keep him.