St. Louis Blues 2010 Offseason Thread

[Lesson]

The Blues have finally answered the debate about which enforcer they will keep.

The club, which re-signed Cam Janssen earlier this offseason, has re-signed D.J. King and now has a trade pending to send him to the Washington Capitals.

The deal is expected to be announced soon. The player(s) the Blues are getting in return is not yet known.

King, who was a restricted free agent, apparently signed a two-year contract extension with the Blues in order for the trade to happen. Terms weren't immediately available.

King, 26, was a sixth-round draft pick (190th overall) of the Blues in 2002. He's played in 101 NHL games, posting four goals, nine points and 185 penalty minutes.

King has played in only 13 games the past two seasons. In 2008-09, he suffered a shoulder injury in his first game of the season and required season-ending surgery. Last season, in his first game of the year, he broke his hand in a fight with Dallas' Krys Barch. He returned to play 11 more games down the stretch.

King's departure means the Blues will employ Janssen as their top enforcer. The Eureka native recently signed a one-year, $600,000 contract extension.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/p ... 2bc8b.html

[MrCrowesGarden]

The Blues are getting back Stefan Della Rovere, rated as the Caps 11th best prospect from Hockey's Future. Looks like he's a good agitator with at least a little scoring touch.

[Popeye_Card]

IMO, the Blues chose...poorly.

[Lesson]

IMO, the Blues chose...poorly.

So, you wish they would have traded Cam instead of D.J?

[Popeye_Card]

Yes. Though it has been pretty clear all along that they'd keep the local kid, which is probably what made King a little ticked.

King is a difference maker as an enforcer. A guy teams are actually afraid to fight. He also hits better than Cam, while both of their games outside of that are poor.

If you are going to skate an enforcer, then have a real enforcer. Cam is little more than an agitator, but that is of little value if he provides 0 offensively or defensively. Sure, Cam fights, but he isn't in DJ's class.

[thrill]

How about just not wasting a roster spot on someone who can't skate, shoot or pass.

[Popeye_Card]

I'm good with that too.

But if you're going to carry an enforcer, then my choice would have been King.

I will freely admit that while it didn't make much hockey sense, I loved when King was in the lineup. Always a chance of seeing a classic ass-whooping.

[MrCrowesGarden]

They might have kept the wrong guy, but they did get a good return at least.

[TheoSqua]

I'm good with that too.

But if you're going to carry an enforcer, then my choice would have been King.

I will freely admit that while it didn't make much hockey sense, I loved when King was in the lineup. Always a chance of seeing a classic ass-whooping.

I'd rather have Janssen + this new guy. Especially considering that King was being difficult about signing a contract and Janssen was pretty easy to sign. I bet if King had been OK with a 1 year 600k deal a month ago like Cam this deal would look a bit different.

[st.lewis11]

I'm good with that too.

But if you're going to carry an enforcer, then my choice would have been King.

I will freely admit that while it didn't make much hockey sense, I loved when King was in the lineup. Always a chance of seeing a classic ass-whooping.

I'd rather have Janssen + this new guy. Especially considering that King was being difficult about signing a contract and Janssen was pretty easy to sign. I bet if King had been OK with a 1 year 600k deal a month ago like Cam this deal would look a bit different.

If we could've pulled it off, I would've preferred King + the new guy. I agree with Popeye about King as an enforcer. Janseen is not an enforcer, he's an agitator. Players aren't afraid of him, at least not as much as King.
But Theo was also right in his points over the situation of the contract issues.