It’s being reported on Twitter and at the P-D website that the Blues have come to a two-year contract agreement with defenseman and former number one pick Erik Johnson.
The deal is worth $5.2 million over two years, and the cap hit will be $2.6 million each year. The Blues have bucked a leaguewide trend of late and begun signing their young players to shorter-term deals, instead of trying to lock them up long-term. Johnson’s agent described it like this in an interview with the Post-Dispatch:
“Being the first overall pick, you still have to prove yourself,” Brisson told the Post-Dispatch. “Unfortunately, he got hurt, but you can see his progression. Normally after two years, whether he has offer-sheet rights or not, the trend is to explore a longer-term deal and lock up your core players. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the Blues.”