To date, the Blues have relied on their youth to get them through some tough times while key players have missed time due to injury. Things have gone well and the Blues have picked up a ton of points while their best players were on the shelf. Unfortunately, injuries keep piling up (Steve Ott is now day-to-day) and the reliance on youth resulted in the Blues giving a tryout to Martin Havlat and ultimately a one-year, two-way contract.
The Havlat signing is a solid one. The trend around the NHL is a youth movement, but this has resulted in many serviceable options struggling to find work. Havlat’s deal, a one-year, two-way contract which will pay $600,000 at the NHL level, is a manageable price to pay for a veteran who could bring some stability to a lineup which was a bit too green.
Havlat isn’t the offensive weapon he once was. At 34, he’s pretty far removed from his best days. He scored 14 points in 40 games with the Devils last season and 22 points in 48 games with the Sharks back in 2013-14. Those aren’t overwhelming totals, but they’re more than enough for a player expect to appear on the third or fourth line in a cameo role.
The Blues have been fortunate to pick up points while rolling out a ton of youngsters, but now that another veteran in Steve Ott might miss time, the club was wise to add another veteran. Havlat won’t take a spot from the younger players who deserve playing time, but he can fill in when players such as Ty Rattie (who was sent down) or Magnus Paajarvi underwhelm or when a different skater needs a night off.
So far, the professional tryouts have given the Blues some pretty serviceable options in Scott Gomez and Scottie Upshall. Gomez has been the better of the two and it’s most likely due to the fact the Blues have the option to play him on a limited basis. Havlat may prove to be the same way which would give the Blues a boost they definitely could use.
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