No comment from Mikheyev’s camp
Lance Hornby: Ilya Mikheyev‘s agent Daniel Milstein wouldn’t comment on Elliotte Friedman’s report that they requested a trade at the end of the season. He was assured by the Toronto Maple Leafs that he is a big part of their plans for this season.
Limited cap space for the Blues
Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: (mailbag) The St. Louis Blues still need to re-sign RFA forward Robert Thomas and get cap compliant before the season starts. They could go with a 22-man roster to start the season and someone will likely be put on the LTIR.
Have a hard time seeing Vladimir Tarasenko playing for the Blues when the season starts as it’s sure to be a distraction. The closer it gets to the start of the season, the more it becomes a possibility though.
The Blues could get some cap room by releasing Steven Santini and his $750,000 contract. They would still have seven defensemen under contract. That would leave them with about $2.3 million to go towards re-signing Thomas. Oskar Sundqvist could start the season on the LTIR but his time there may not be long.
Zdeno Chara signing with the Blues seems unlikely. If he does play this season it’s believed he’s looking to play on the East coast.
As long as Vladimir Tarasenko is with the Blues, it’s hard to see them having the money to re-sign Tyler Bozak. It might take around $2 million on a one-year deal for Bozak and they currently don’t have the room.
Don’t see the New York Islanders being a landing spot for Tarasenko since they are already over the salary cap by about $85,000. They’d need to move some money even if the Blues retained money.