The Blues and forward T.J. Oshie were both hopeful that they could get some sort of a deal worked out before the end of the month, and before Oshie was set to meet with an arbitrator over his salary. I had predicted the deal would be around what David Perron's four year, $15.25 million deal was, but the Blues saw that and raised Osh a year and a few bucks:
Oshie's contract is worth an average of $4.175 million per year. Official press release will be available Friday. #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) July 20, 2012
Not half bad for Oshie. This deal comes on the heels of a one year, "show us what you got" style of deal. Oshie showed the Blues 19 goals and 35 assists, which apparently translated into a nearly $2 million pay raise per year. The thing is, $4.175,000 is a lot of money for someone who has never cracked 20 goals in his career. Oshie's matured -- you can't argue with that -- but his points and his new salary don't mesh. He brings a lot to the game and is a vital part of the Blues, but it's a tiny bit of an overpayment.
Of course, when you have a team that is a little under $17 million under the cap with 23 players signed, you have money to burn.