With the loss of Cam Janssen, the Blues' tough guy situation boiled down to B.J. Crombeen and possibly Barrett Jackman if someone ticked him off enough. Obviously, that's not a hole in your system that you want gaping for too long, especially not for a team that lead the league in fighting majors last season. Some Blues fans saw Ryan Reaves as the successor to Janssen as early as last season, when Reaves played 28 games with the big club. Reaves scored twice in those 28 games, which matches Janssen's total with the Blues in four seasons. To consider Ryan Reaves an "offensive upgrade" to Janssen should tell a person how offensively challenged Janssen was.
The Blues announced today that they signed Reaves to a one year, two way contract. The contract is an interesting one, because while it's a $35,000 paycut at the NHL level, it's a $10,000 payraise at the AHL level. Reaves obviously expects to be in the AHL more than the NHL this season, and with the way that the roster's shaped up, that should be a reasonable expectation for fans to have as well.
For more Blues coverage, please visit SB Nation's St. Louis Blues site, St. Louis Game Time. For more hockey coverage, please visit SB Nation's hockey hub.