Troy Brouwer doesn't want to be one-and-done in St. Louis.
The 30-year-old, who's set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, expressed a desire to remain with the Blues following Wednesday's season-ending loss to the San Jose Sharks.
Troy Brouwer said he loved playing for #stlblues and would love to return. But doesn't know what other signings/cap issues will be.
The problem is, he may have priced himself out of St. Louis with his postseason performance.
With eight goals and five assists in 20 games, Brouwer certainly upped his value as a free agent and will have plenty of suitors on the open market who could offer a raise over his 2015-16 cap hit of $3,666,666.
Whether general manager Doug Armstrong will invest in his veteran presence or move towards a younger roster remains to be seen.
While the San Jose Sharks' core has been in place for some time, it's the 2016 roster that has finally jumped over the hump and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.
In recent years, general manager Doug Wilson was believed to have been floating the likes of Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau - both of whom served as team captain in the past - on the trade market, with a view to building around the likes of Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture.
Wilson wisely stayed the course for at least one more run with this group, deciding instead to part ways with head coach Todd McLellan in favor of new bench boss Pete DeBoer.
He also made three significant additions to the roster, all of which are paying off when it matters most.
Martin Jones
The Los Angeles Kings didn't want Martin Jones suiting up for a division rival, so they sent him straight out of the Western Conference last summer, trading him to the Boston Bruins.
Before he could even contemplate life in black and gold, Jones was dealt to the San Jose Sharks for a first-round pick in 2016 and forward prospect Sean Kuraly.
Eleven months later, Jones will become the first goalie in franchise history to appear in a Stanley Cup Final game.
The 26-year-old has been consistent in net for the Sharks all season long, with a playoff success rate basically on par with his regular-season performance.
Games
Record
Sv%
SO
Regular Season
65
37-23-4
.918
6
Playoffs
18
12-6
.919
3
Four more wins and that trade will go down as one of the best in team history, joining another "jumbo" deal made with the Bruins over a decade ago.
Joel Ward
The Sharks knew Joel Ward had a knack for coming up big in the postseason, and, true to form, he's continuing that trend in San Jose.
Joel Ward has been part of six series-clinching win in NHL career. He has pts in all six (5G (includes 2GWG) & 2A) pic.twitter.com/o7o0itBNsb
Ward was signed to a three-year, $9.825-million contract and has brought a measure of veteran depth that is key to any championship-caliber team.
Through 18 games, he has recorded six goals and five assists, with four of those 11 points coming in series-clinching games.
Paul Martin
The other big offseason free-agent addition was defenseman Paul Martin, who signed a four-year, $19.4-million deal after five solid seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins but without any playoff success to show for it.
Paul is a versatile, puck-moving veteran who enhances our younger group of talented defensemen. He comes from a winning environment, is capable of playing heavy minutes and is accustomed to playing with high-end players. He was a player that we had targeted and this is a place that Paul wanted to come play.
With the Sharks, the 35-year-old has proven capable of locking things down in his own end while chipping in offensively and playing on both the penalty kill and power play.
Most importantly, he has proven to be a perfect defensive partner for Brent Burns, who continues to post elite numbers for his position.
The core was never the problem in San Jose; credit Wilson for finding the right parts to complete the puzzle.
Through three rounds of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Logan Couture has already put himself in elite company.
In Wednesday's Game 6 victory over the St. Louis Blues, the San Jose Sharks forward posted his third three-point game of the postseason, all of which have been earned in series-clinching wins.
Only two others players in NHL history have accomplished the same feat.
And with 24 points in 18 games, Couture has produced more than any player in the 2015, 2012 or 2011 playoffs, and he's only two points behind the postseason scoring leaders in 2014 or 2013.
His point total through 18 games has also put him in elite company.
Logan Couture's only needed 18 GP to hit 24 pts. For comparison, others with as many or fewer GP to get such a total pic.twitter.com/3iA91nIvQd
Couture, who was drafted ninth overall by the Sharks in 2007, had recorded 36 points in 56 postseason games prior to this year.
Add it all up, and the 27-year-old has emerged as the top Conn Smythe Trophy candidate on a team that features three top-10 regular-season scorers in Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, and Joe Thornton.
Looking back, that Couture missed 30 games this year due to injury may have been a blessing in disguise, as he certainly seems to be playing with fresh legs.
Keys to the Blues offseason, plus updates on the Bruins and Rangers roster plans in your NHL rumor mill. What next for the Blues? ESPN.COM: Craig Custance believes the St. Louis Blues should re-sign head coach Ken Hitchcock to another one-year contract, re-sign captain David Backes and consider trading either Kevin Shattenkirk or Jay Bouwmeester […]
Sharks advance to the Stanley Cup Final, Panthers ship Gudbranson to Canucks & more in this morning’s collection of NHL headlines. THE MERCURY NEWS/STLTODAY.COM: For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks are heading to the Stanley Cup Final. Joel Ward scored twice, Logan Couture had a three-point game and Martin Jones made 24 […]
His San Jose Sharks became the first team since the 2012 New Jersey Devils to reach the Stanley Cup Final after missing the playoffs, and DeBoer was the head coach of that Devils team, too.
The similarities don't end there. DeBoer took New Jersey to the final in his first season behind the bench with the club, and did the same this year with San Jose. Whatever he's selling when he arrives, his guys are buying.
But DeBoer is far from satisfied. His 2012 Devils came up short in the Stanley Cup Final, so he knows what it's like to get so close to the Cup, only to watch another team lift it.
"I've been this far once before," DeBoer said. "As great a night as this is, if you don't win the next round, it's still not a great summer. I think we'll enjoy this (Wednesday night) and our focus will turn to the big prize."
More than anything, DeBoer said, he's the product of good timing.
"(The Sharks) were coming off a down season, but they were coming off a decade of great hockey. They'd been well-coached," DeBoer said. "Todd McLellan and the previous staff are as good as there are in the business. These guys had a great foundation. Right place, right time.
"Everyone was ready for something a little bit fresher and newer, not anything that much different. The additions that (general manager Doug Wilson) made, it just came together. I inherited a similar team in New Jersey when I went in there. First time they missed the playoffs for a long time the year before I got there.
"I think when you go into that situation, when you have really good people like there was in New Jersey when I went in there, like I was with this group, they're pissed off, they're embarrassed by the year they just had, and they're willing to do and buy into whatever you're selling to get it fixed again. I think I was the benefactor of that."
This one's going to hurt a long while in St. Louis.
The Blues' season ended Wednesday night, the San Jose Sharks eliminating the Western Conference finalists in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, and tears were shed.
"I see the devastation in our locker room right now," head coach Ken Hitchcock said in his postgame presser. "Guys aren't even able to speak. I'm more worried about our guys right now, to be honest with you. We got some guys that are pretty shook up right now, so ...
"They need their space with each other. They've bonded together better than any team I've coached in 10 years."
Hitchcock said a post mortem won't take place for a couple of days, once the shock wears off.
"We'll talk at an appropriate time. But right now they need to be with each other."
Steen and Pietrangelo had a tough time talking about it because of how close they came. Hurts more than past three years. #stlblues
Captain David Backes was visibly emotional after the loss when he met the media, especially so as he recounted a story about teammate Steve Ott and how tight the Blues were as a group.
"(Ott) will kill me for telling you this story," Backes said, according to NHL.com's Lou Korac, "but Game 5 I'm not feeling well. Ott brings me something to help me feel better. Knowing that he's the guy coming out of the lineup if I can play. That's pretty selfless, and that's the kind of guys we have in here."
I've covered David Backes since he's been in St. Louis and first time I've seen him break down in tears. These guys knew how close they were
After 18 seasons, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their careers.
The San Jose Sharks clinched their first appearance in the final in their history Wednesday night, ending two long droughts for the Canadian veterans. Marleau played 1,411 regular-season games before reaching the final, while Thornton played 1,367.
"I can't imagine the crap that's been written about them," head coach Peter DeBoer said after his team's big win, according to Yahoo Sports' Josh Cooper.
Patrick Marleau has played more playoff games (165) than anyone in NHL history before their 1st Stanley Cup Final. pic.twitter.com/IE2qusEhw9
"These guys have been waiting 25 years for this," Thornton said of the organization and fans. "Obviously I've been waiting a long time, too. It's pretty sweet."
Worth the wait, we're sure everyone involved would say.
With the Sharks advancing to the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, a conditional 2018 fourth-round draft pick San Jose traded to Toronto for James Reimer becomes a 2018 third-round pick.
