The St. Louis Blues made a shocking move as they put 38-year old captain Dallas Drake on waivers with the intention of buying him out and clearing a little bit of cap space if he goes unclaimed.Given how hard Drake worked night in and night out for the Blues, and given their lack of leadership, it's somewhat strange that they would boot their captain out the door.
The Blues say the move wasn't about saving money. Rather, they need the roster spot heading into training camp. Several of the Blues' young players, such as D.J. King, will need to clear waivers this season to be sent to Peoria, and the Blues don't want to risk losing them.
"We tried to make deals during the draft to open up roster spots, and we couldn't make any deals," Blues President John Davidson said. "If we could have found ways to open up more spots with certain deals, then we wouldn't have to worry so much about our 23-man roster. If you look at our roster, there's only a couple of spots open for free agents and we need a couple of free agents, if we can."
Dallas Drake's offensive production slipped to a mere 12 points in 60 games last season, and it was clear that he was a one-dimensional defensive forward. Still, he led the Blues' forwards in PK ice time, and was still able to get under the skin of many opposing scoring stars. It's not as if he wasn't without SOME value.
Fine, the Blues want to clear a roster spot for a younger player with more upside. I understand that. But, DJ King? A goon that had just 9 points in 38 AHL games? What's the use?
Drake would make a good 4th liner on a team willing to give him a spot, but the old fart may want to retire, instead of making the league minimum and playing a greatly diminished role.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-26-2007 @ 6:41PM
E said...
so now if martin st. louis gets traded to the stars, does that restore balance to the universe?
Reply