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Blues’ Alex Steen breaks down Jonathan Drouin decision on 1st day as GM
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- Blues’ Alex Steen breaks down Jonathan Drouin decision on 1st day as GM
Blues' Alex Steen breaks down Jonathan Drouin decision on 1st day as GM appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The St Louis Blues have officially named Alex Steen the new general manager of the club. His appointment was announced over two years ago, when Doug Armstrong said he would step down from the role. On his first day running the Blues, Steen bought out the contract of Jonathan Drouin after just nine games with the team. He explains why he made that move, per Lou Korac of NHL.com.
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"Obviously a tough decision; we waited a lot," Steen said, per Korac. "I think 'Dru' is a very defined player and at the end of the day, we didn't feel like we were going to provide him with a position to excel, so we landed at that decision."
The Blues picked up Drouin from the New York Islanders in the Brayden Schenn trade . New York signed the veteran to a two-year deal before the 2025-26 season, but they made the upgrade to land Schenn. Immediately upon landing in St Louis, Drouin missed time for injury. In nine games with the Blues, Drouin scored just one point.
Drouin was slated to make $4 million for this season before hitting free agency again. Instead, he becomes a free agent now and costs the Blues $1.33 million against the cap for the next two years. That is a savings of $2.67 million this year and a total of $1.33 million across the length of the deal.
The Blues have made a lot of changes since the trade deadline. They have dealt Schenn, Justin Faulk, and Jordan Kyrou while bringing in Connor McMichael, Brandon Carlo, and McTavish. They could not find a spot on the roster for Drouin, so they'll take the cap savings instead.
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Drouin was dreadful for both the Islanders and Blues last year, so his market may be limited. Which team should give him a shot in free agency?
