The Fourth Period: David Pagnotta on The Latest on options that Brandon Saad will have after his contract is mutually terminated by the St. Louis Blues.
** Update – Saad signs a pro-rated $1.5 million deal with the Vegas Golden Knights
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Kate Pettersen: “Let’s shift over to St Louis. Brandon Saad put on waivers. He cleared. They’ve agreed mutually that they’re going to terminate his contract. So he’ll head to unconditional waivers and that’s tomorrow, hopefully clearing by Friday and becoming a free agent. What contenders do you think would be in the market for a player like him?”
Pagnotta: “Yeah, well, he’s going to look, obviously, to see what options are available to him once he officially becomes a free agent after that contract is terminated tomorrow, so for Friday. He get put on waivers on Thursday. So we’ll see, kind of what options become available to him. But there are going to be teams that are looking for secondary scoring in that mid-six, even bottom-six level, that want a veteran presence in their lineup.
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And yes, Brandon Saad has not had the type of offensive season that he expected, that the Blues expected. But you know, for a team that has some depth and is looking to add more to it, he could be a fix. Whether it’s a team that’s looking for some extra punch, like the Toronto Maple Leafs. That are going to look at a team, at a player to come in to, say, a third-line role on one of the wings, this could be an option for them at basically a $1 million pro-rated contract. It’s kind of what it’s going to come down to.
So you look at the team, like as I mentioned, the Leafs, you look at a team like Dallas that’s looking at different options. Carolina isn’t done yet either, although I think they might focus a little bit more at the center position. But he’s going to have options available to him. Washington is another one. A lot of your top-tier contenders that are looking to add primarily in their mid-six. Brandon Saad will be an option for them. He’ll, I believe, have some options to decide where he wants to go.
Also, this frees up $4.5 million in cap space for St Louis this year and next. The Blues are going to continue to look around to make some moves. They tried trading him and obviously did more, but they’re another team that’s out there looking to see how they can tweak their lineup quite substantially. Having that extra space will help.”
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