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.

Ian Cole suspended three games for hit on Justin Abdelkader

After blowing a bunch of calls against the Minnesota Wild since November 30th, 2011, but that's another story, Brendan Shanahan the NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations has finally made the right call again. This suspension was a no-brainer and Cole had to suspended or Shannahan would have lost all of his credibility. The Blues General Managers didn't think the hit was a reckless hit.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said he respected the NHL's decision, but he disputed the notion that Cole's play was reckless.

"I don't think it was a reckless play...I think it was a hockey play that was legal 12 months ago that's not legal today," he said. "I understand the sensitivity on hits to the head and we respect that, but I support Ian in the sense that it was a play that (Abdelkader) coming across the middle has to be aware, and unfortunately he wasn't. [stltoday.com]

Here is the suspension video.

Related articles

• Blues Ian Cole Suspended For Three Games For Hit To Justin Abdelkader (stlouis.sbnation.com)
• Blues D Cole suspended three games for hit to the head (tsn.ca)
• Blues' Cole delivers head hit to Red Wings' Abdelkader (aol.sportingnews.com)
• Blues defenceman Cole suspended 3 games (cbc.ca)

Former Sioux T.J. Oshie and St Louis Blues agree on contract extension

Image via WikipediaFormer Fighting Sioux forward T.J. Oshie has agreed to a one year deal with the St Louis Blues. T.J. Oshie would have been a restricted free agent if he had not signed a contract extension. Last season Oshie (12g-22a-34pts) missed 31 games with an ankle injury.

St Louis Today --- the Blues have agreed to a one-year contract extension.

The deal will pay Oshie $2.35 million for the 2011-12 season.

"We're excited to have T.J. in the fold for another season," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said in a statement. "His energy and versatility make him an integral part of our club."

By agreeing to the deal today, Oshie will not become a restricted free agent tomorrow at 11 a.m., avoiding the possibility of the forward receiving an offer sheet from other teams.

In April, Oshie wrapped up his third season with the Blues, in which he has 44 goals and 121 points in 182 games. Last year, while missing 31 games because of a broken ankle, Oshie totaled 12 goals and 34 points in 49 games and had a plus-minus rating of plus-10.