Larry's Moves
by Mike Rainey
July 18, 2000
The NHL free agency period is now three weeks old but Blues
GM Larry Pleau didn't need more than a few hours to make the necessary
upgrades to his team. On the first day teams were allowed to talk
to free agents the Blues landed two of the more attractive, and
youngest, players on this year's market. They signed winger Dallas
Drake and defenseman Sean Hill, who both received four-year deals
worth $9 million apiece.
Drake played for the Phoenix Coyotes last season and recorded
a career high 45 points playing on the Coyotes' top line for a
majority of the season. He brings much needed grit to the Blues
forward ranks. Drake is like a more skilled version of current
Blue Tyson Nash in that he hits everything that moves and annoys
the opposition into taking penalties. Unlike Nash, Drake is a
player the Blues envision playing on their top two or three lines,
likely with either Pierre Turgeon or Marty Reasoner. The Blues
lacked a gritty forward who would go to the net and pay a price
to score a goal or make a play in the playoffs, and they hope
Drake will add that element to their team. He definitely should.
Hill has been a solid defenseman in the NHL for years, but
enjoyed a breakout offensive season last year with the Carolina
Hurricanes. He notched 13 goals and 44 points in only 62 games,
and led the 'Canes in hits with 246. Hill is expected to take
some minutes away from Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis, helping
them stay fresher for the playoffs. He moves the puck well, is
solid in his own end, has a nice shot, and will be an asset on
the Blues second power play unit. With steady veterans Jeff Finley
and Marc Bergevin returning in addition to Pronger and MacInnis,
Hill rounds out the Blues defensive corps nicely.
Another defenseman who could make a splash in St. Louis in
2000-01 is 21-year old Mike Van Ryn (rhymes with fine). Van Ryn
was a first round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils (26th overall)
in 1998 and a loophole in the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement
allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent. Several teams
were in the bidding for his services and the aggressive Blues
were able to ink him to a three-year contract on June 30. This
is essentially like getting a bonus first round pick since the
Blues didn't have to give the Devils any compensation. Now with
Van Ryn and 1999 number one pick Barret Jackman, the Blues have
two blue chip defensive prospects to complement their stable of
talented young forwards. Nice work Larry. Blues fans now want
to know if the team is done with movement for the summer. As far
as free agents go the answer seems to be yes. Aside from Claude
Lemieux there isn't much left of interest to a deep team like
the Blues on the free agnet market. Lemieux's insistence on a
four-year contract at age 35 will probably scare off the Blues,
and many other teams for that matter. The Blues could still look
to swing a trade or two, but Pleau has until the trade deadline
in March to go that route. Why not look at your youngsters in
training camp and early in the season to see which one's can play
and help out this season? If a hole emerges then a trade is possible.
Finally, after publicly stating that he would like to acquire
a veteran goaltender to either backup Roman Turek, or play as
a number 3 goalie at Worcester, the Blues signed Dwayne Roloson,
who played in 14 games for the Buffalo Sabres in 1999-2000. The
Blues like young Brent Johnson, but they think he may need more
seasoning in the AHL, and it wouldn't do his development any good
to sit at watch Turek start 65 games while he rides the bench.
