T.J. Oshie going to arbitration

Former Fighting Sioux forward T.J. Oshie looks like he will be going to salary arbitration this Friday if he is unable to agree to a new contract with the St. Louis Blues. Oshie is coming off a career year (19g-35a-54pts) where he tied for the team lead in points with former Minnesota State University Mankato Maverick David Backes (24g-30a-54pts).

Jeremy Rutherford, stltoday.com --- In a sign that the Blues aren't expecting to reach a contract extension with forward T.J. Oshie before Friday's arbitration case, general manager Doug Armstrong is headed to Toronto on Tuesday three days in advance of the hearing.

"We're going to Toronto to work with our counsel on preparing for the case," Armstrong said Monday.

Oshie was one of 16 restricted free agents who filed for salary arbitration July 5, but since then seven players, including the Blues' David Perron, have re-signed extensions with their current club.

The Blues and Oshie's agent, Matt Oates, could still reach a resolution before Friday's hearing, but are now down to just three days of potential negotiations before an arbitrator hears the case.

In a text message to the Post-Dispatch on Monday, Oates indicated that he was gearing up for Friday's hearing but added that he was "open and looking to continue talking."

With the Wild picking up Ryan Suter and Zach Parise - some fans have suggest to me that the Minnesota Wild should go after T.J. Oshie and try to sign him to a contract.

While I do think that Oshie would look really good in a Wild uniform, I don't know if the Wild could afford to lose a bunch of draft picks if they signed Oshie to an offer sheet. It would be counter productive - based on how good the Wild have drafted lately. The Wild are also up against the cap with the signings of Parise and Suter. I also don't see the Blues wanting to lose Oshie, who is one of the faces of their organization.

Oshie to file for Arbitration

Former Fighting Sioux forward T.J. Oshie is going to file for Salary Arbitration, according to Andy Strickland Oshie is still a restricted free agent so he really isn’t able to rest the free agent market as of yet.

Andy Strickland, TrueHockey.com --- Sources close to Blues forward T.J. Oshie tell me he will file for arbitration before today’s 5:00 eastern deadline.

This is often nothing more than simple protocol to protect a player’s rights. Oshie, who tied Captain David Backes for the team lead in scoring, enjoyed career highs last season in goals, assists, points, penalty minutes, and games played. His 19:31 minutes per game were second among Blues forwards while leading the way with 1:48 per game shorthanded. He also averaged over 2:00 per game on the power play.

Considering Oshie’s versatility it’s hard to put a number on his actual value. He does much more than what you find on the scoresheet and head Coach Ken Hitchcock has referred to him as one of the better defensive forwards in the NHL today. With that being said he’s also among the Blues more talented offensive players as well.

Brian Elliott's sick save against the Sharks.

Check out this really sick goalies save by former Badger goalie Brian Elliott on San Jose Shark Dan Boyle. I am sure that will probably be a candidate to be on of the top ten saves of the week. Elliot was making his season debut for the Blues and stopped 34/36 shots to give the Blues the win.