Former Nashville Predators forward Paul Kariya wasted little time finding a new home, signing late Sunday evening with the St. Louis Blues to a three-year contract, $18 Million contract.
Kariya stated he enjoyed his time in Nashville but the uncertainty over the Predators future drove him into the UFA pool.
After re-signing Keith Tkachuk on Saturday the Blues weren’t expected to be major players in this year’s UFA market, expected to perhaps have some interest in acquiring a second-tier forward.
Instead, they’ve snapped up Kariya, one of the bigger names in the 2007 UFA pool, who was believed being pursued by the Islanders, Oilers, Kings and Canadiens on Sunday.
He doesn’t post up the 100 point seasons that he used to a decade ago in Anaheim but Kariya is still a lethal offensive talent, racking up 85 points in 82 games in 2005-06 and 76 points in the same number of games this season with the Predators.
Kariya’s offensive skills will provide a significant boost to a rebuilding Blue offense that made considerable improvement under head coach Andy Murray last season and should be even better next season.
Kariya still is a dangerous offensive tallent, but it's his character that I like the most. This guy carries himself well wherever he goes and he'll definatly make a positive impact in St. Louis.
Sounds like L.A. is once again hoping that their collection of promising players and has-beens over achieve so they can "make it" to the playoffs. (no offense to those promising players and has-beens)
I was really hoping they could get Mathieu Schneider back for some more offensive punch. Plus a proven clutch player and scorer like Chris Drury would have given the team some much needed grit. Instead, they let the Ducks re-load.
The long and short of it is that the Kings won't have anyone the other team can be scared of. No punch means teams get to walk all over you.
So let's see... Ryan Smyth, Drury, Gomez. all gone. Plus they haven't even addressed that gigantic hole in goal... (sigh)
Why do I have this distinct feeling Sean Avery is on his way back?....
It's day one of free agency so i'll be patient. (like the other 17 years past) and being a and true Kings fan... I'll stand by them no matter.
Since the post is about Kariya, I'll say this. The Blues are very fortunate to get a player like him. High class all the way. He's one of those players you hate, but you just can't halp but appreciate his skill.
I was hoping(like most Kings fans) that DL would have signed him. Oh well.
I don't want to get off topic anymore than this so....I'll just vent elsewhere....
Signing Modry is a positive move but in comparison to what the Rangers or Red Wings, or even the ducks have done?
I'm still giving Dean Lombardi all the latitude because he hasn't had the time to prove himself. (despite signing Dan Cloutier to an extension) And if patience is indeed a virtue, we Kings fans must be saints by now....
.. and before I ramble on. This thread is about Paul Kariya signing in St. Louis. So congrats Paul. Andy Murray must be smiling....
cloutier isn't his fault. That was the coach's decision. But I've gotta agree with you guys. The kings have some young guys that I like, but they were in a position at the begining of the day where fans had to expect something out of them.
The only thing I would counsel to Kings fans is a reminder that it's one day of free agency. Believe me when I tell you, I understand the frustration of seeing the bigger names move off the market without so much as a whimper from your club, but you can't really judge the offseason until the end, and there's a lot of moves to be made until we get there. As for Kariya, I'm a bit surprised that he chose St. Louis, but six million might be the best offer he got, and it's a good one. This signing doesn't solve all of their issues, but it's big news and a huge step in the right direction for them.
Darn i was hoping he'd would want to return to play with Teemu. No offense to Kunitz but Kariya, Mcdonald and Selanne would've been hella fun to watch. Oh well i hope he likes losing at St. Louis.
Well, this is certainly a positive for the Blues, but I still don't think that they're a playoff team. I noticed near the end of the season or during the playoffs that the Blues did sign his 25 year old brother, martin, who had been playing in Europe, so he must have had something to do with it.
If Kariya is coming to the Blues to Lose than he will be doing it with the following players...
Weight, Tkachuck, Kariya, Mayers, Hinote, Johnson, Stempniak, Backes, Boyes, Metropolit, Cajanek, Mcclemment, Rucinsky, Backman, Jackman, Brewer, Mckee, Salvador, Walker, Woywitka, Legace, Bacashihua... That line up just looks dangerous and I can not wait to go west...
All under Andy Murray's Coaching...
I think I have got everyone there so if Kariya loses in St. Louis he will lose with some pretty good company and I for one will be willing to watch every loss...
I agree that last seasons goaltending did not breed any cup confidence...
I believe that now that management has said legace you are #1 and Bacashihua you are #2 this will start the season off on the right foot. Last season we had Legace, Sanford, Bcashihua battleing all thru the season just to see who would be here this season. They even had Marek Shwarz up for a few games and he played well...
I mean we both understand that a goalie is only as good as the guys in front of him and in todays new style hockey you have to have guys that understand and can play the transistion game very well... If you do not then your goaltending is a moot point no matter how good they are... We will have to see though I think Legace still has it, and I have watch Bacashihua make some amazing saves. Heck I believe it was Detroit last season that had like 63 shots on him and we won 4 to 3 in the shoot out so he does have it in him...
I thought Karyia would go to a team more in contention to make a deep playoff run (like the Pens or Dallas) Dont get me wrong i like what Murray is doing. I thought honestly he would end back in Anaheim.
It is not just Murray taking the steps to get this done it is the whole management staff... John Davidson came in said this is what we are going to and he has stuck to his guns and done it. He promised St. Louis fans a cup run and he seems to putting the pieces in place to try and get there.
Will it be this year, hard to say but I'm liking our chances more and more...
I follow Kariya around. So I'll probably end up cheering for the Blues. When I found out about this last night, quite frankly I was disgusted. But when I sat down this morning and actually looked at the team, it is reasonably good. They stand a good chance at making the playoffs. And the goaltending wasn't bad, Legace had a .907 S%.
Also, McKee will be back, and Murray will have from the start of the season to work with the team.
If Murray teams Kariya with Backes and Stempniak I think you will be some what pleased...
Think About this Legace had .907 and at one point we had no D-men at all... They were all out injured and we were playing with Jackman and Wideman and the rest were minor leaguers... I am not saying that Legace is a be all end all goalie but I think he has a cup in him yet and is pretty darn good in the shootout...
If Murray teams Kariya with Backes and Stempniak I think you will be some what pleased...
Think About this Legace had .907 and at one point we had no D-men at all... They were all out injured and we were playing with Jackman and Wideman and the rest were minor leaguers... I am not saying that Legace is a be all end all goalie but I think he has a cup in him yet and is pretty darn good in the shootout...
I can not wait to see Mckee for a whole season all though the Blues may have to give up one of our veteran D-Men to make Kariya's salary work if I understand it right. So Mckee or someone else just might be leaving the Blues... Spector have you heard anything like floating around...
Well the Blues are a young team, they're about a season or two away. Very few players in their prime. And you got some aging veterans in Weight and Tkachuk.
They certainly won't be winning the Cup this year, but I do think they can make the playoffs in a lower seed. Eric Johnson will be nice to see. Do you know what their salaries are at Duck?
The dust I mean The DUCK. You think they signed Kariya to play with David Backes?? Haha thats funny. They signed Kariya so Tkachuk can bury his 500th goal by february. Kariya Tkachuk Stempniak first line and 1st unit PP 07-08 Bluenotes. Tell yur friends
I think picking up Paul is a great move. The team overpaid him maybe about a mil but he's worth it.... he brings not just scoring but also a great personality. I'm hoping he will help our other talented young forwards grow... if he works hard n develops some chemistry with the guys then he'll easily get 80 or more points
TheDuck: i think its okay if the blues give some salary away in the D-department because you you have Erik Johnson coming in on an entry level contract. the kid is only 18 and he is 6-4 230. He will be good.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
