The rumors have been confirmed. The St. Louis Blues have signed Brenden Morrow to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. The 34-year-old will join the Blues after spending his 850-game career with the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins.
As discussed when this story was just speculation, the Blues will now have to make a difficult decision concerning the fourth line.
Morrow’s signing means one of 4th liners won’t make the roster. #stlblues have 15 forwards either on 1-way or locks like Schwartz, Tarasenko
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 23, 2013
As Jeremy Rutherford points out, Morrow’s signing means that we’ve likely seen the end of the CPR line. If Morrow skates on the fourth line, you have to imagine either Adam Cracknell or Chris Porter will be moved in some fashion. Rutherford later speculated that a Morrow-Sobotka-Reaves line with Lapierre cycling in may be a possibility, but that’s just a best guess.
Morrow’s signing is pretty unexpected. The Blues appeared to have a set roster and they already had plenty of depth prior to Morrow’s new deal. However, you can never have too much offense and in the case of the St. Louis Blues, offense can sometimes be awfully tough to find. Morrow may be nearing the end of his career, but he has proven he can be a big offensive contributor.
The news is bittersweet. Morrow is an offensive upgrade, but it will come at the cost of one of the fourth-line skaters.
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