The Blues just ROBBED the NHL...

The St. Louis Blues have just robbed the NHL as they've locked up one of their newly acquired stars to a brand new contract extension and with the cap continuing to rise and teams around the league dishing out insane contracts, this one looks fantastic for the St. Louis Blues and Connor McMichael is going to be a major factor for this team for years to come. We're going to break down the contract signing, the implications that this contract has on the team long term, with the rising salary cap, all in this episode of Blues Digest. But guys, before we go any further, a quick reminder to hit that subscribe button. We've noticed that about 60% of you guys who watch these videos are not subscribed to the channel. So if you're new around here, make sure to hit that subscribe button and you won't miss a single thing to do with the Blues. Mark and I are going to keep you guys updated all through the summer, all through the season, just like we have for the last year or so. And the support on the channel has been unbelievable. Thank you so much, everybody, but it is official Connor McMichael. We were waiting for this and I didn't think, and I mentioned this in a video before, I didn't really think it would get the arbitration. I was hoping it wouldn't. And also I'm glad it didn't like some of the guys are settling outside of arbitration. And here we are with Connor McMichael. He's a finally extended with, I guess, or signed a new contract, I guess, because he was an RFA with the just acquired from the Washington capitals for Jordan Cairo. So they avoid arbitration and it is six years, $6.75 million, which falls pretty much exactly where we thought it was going to fall. Mark and I were doing videos a couple of weeks ago about his projection. This is about bang on for what we thought, again, it's not exactly what we thought he was going to get based on the projections, but it's very, very close, like almost right there to what we were talking about. So in a world and a league where the cap continues to rise and it's going to rise $10 million every summer and guys are getting $18 million out there in these crazy contracts, 6.75 million is not so bad for Connor McMichael and let's get into it. So of course the contract sign it's done, uh, six years and they have him for the foreseeable future. He's a guy that can play the left wing. He's a guy that can play center. And while he is a center, so he's going to be versatile for this team in that way. The biggest thing, uh, with this contract is that he needs to return to his 2024 2025 form. And I'll get to what I mean in a second, uh, exactly by what I mean by that. But before I do this video is brought to you by prize picks and prize picks is America's number one sports picks app. And it brings you closer to all the action on a daily basis. We're going to bring you some fun picks and promotions later on in this episode. So stay tuned for that, but make sure to download the app using the link in the description and using the promo code digest when you do so as new users get $50 instantly in their lineups when you play your first $5. But special, thank you to prize picks for sponsoring this video. But what do I mean by that? Well, Connor McMichael last season had the exact same point production as Jordan Cairo. He had 46 points on the air. Now it's not bad for the amount of games played that he had. It's not bad, but moving forward, you would like him to return to form of two seasons ago where he really broke on the scene. You can see this with the Washington capitals in 24, 25 and 82 games get 57 points. So if he can be more like that, where he's, you know, around a 60 point player, this is going to end up being a really good move for the blues, because first of all, this is a guy that's more versatile than Jordan Cairo. This is a guy that can play center. And this is a guy who can play the wing. He can win face offs. He also is a little bit better defensively than a guy like Jordan Cairo. And the only reason I'm comparing them is because they were traded for each other, but just in terms of what he's going to bring to the lineup over another guy and keep in mind with Jordan Cairo out the door, Justin Carbono presumably comes in, maybe not right away, but you're going to find your goal scoring elsewhere in the future. So of course I would have to go right and everything would have to go right for that to, uh, for that to happen. But, that is what we're, you know, looking at, at this point and hoping happens, but last season, 46 points, not bad, but again, he's just more versatile player that I think is going to be able to log a lot of minutes for this team. And if he's able to put up those types of points while still being responsible defensively, he can play center. Uh, I think it's a recipe for success for the St. Louis blues when you're adding more scoring coming up with some of the younger guys, like a guy like Justin Carbono. Now we're going to have another video on Justin Carbono specifically, uh, in, you know, maybe a day or two at this point, or maybe tomorrow. So stay tuned for that. But, uh, again, if you look at Connor McMichael, this to me is a good contract. It really is. I mean, guys are getting eight, nine, $10 million for like the same point production. I mean, the top players in the league now we're getting 15, 16, 17, $18 million. So for him to be signed six years at 6.75, I like the contract. It's somewhat safe with the cap rising. They still have more cap space to use. And I'll get to that in a second, the implications this contract has on the rest of the team. But again, I, I like it. And I think that the trade was good. And Alex Dean spoke out, uh, you know, around free agency when they had the media availability, when he officially took over as GM and said, Hey, I do share some of the same thoughts as Doug Armstrong, but this is my team now. And I want guys who want to be here. So, uh, McMichael signs for six years and, uh, that's that now take a look at this. When I say responsible defensively, uh, you know, the analytics from last year don't necessarily lend to that. So that is a bit concerning and he took a major dip last season, but just think about how good the capitals were a season ago. Of course, I think that skews things a little bit, but you know, uh, he has a high upside offensively still. He is only 25 years old as well. So still very young too. Uh, and just responsible defensively, but I would like to see that, uh, number of those percentages go up this season more so to his numbers closer in 24, 25. Now he was never really been like, uh, listen, I'm not trying to make him out to be a defensive stalwart is my point, but, uh, I think that he can be just okay. And if they want to utilize him as a winger, because if you take a look at the lineup right now, you have a couple of guys like even a Mason McTavish, you just traded for that can play center too. And right now they have McTavish at the second line center position and my Mick, uh, McMichael third line winger. So of course these are not set in stone. We'll see what happens when training camp comes. That first line was dynamite to end the season, right? But anything can change. Uh, and chemistry is going to be a big part of this moving forward. So it's going to be interesting, but I did want to touch on what this means for the team moving forward. Now, if you take a look at this from cap wages, this seems to be with all the percentages with the cap rising a very even deal for both parties. The player gets what he's owed basically. And the team is not giving up too much and gets a good player for that dollar amount. So that's perfect. That's what you want to hear. So now the blues have $4.3 million to play with heading into next year. Now there's also some interesting stuff with LTIR that's going to kick in. So keep that in mind heading into the new season. So they're going to have quite a bit of cap space to work with still, and some flexibility heading into the season. Pretty much everyone is signed now at this point, which is great. If you look up and down the lineup, really the only guy we were waiting for besides maybe some ELCs, uh, was Connor McMichael. So that's all sorted. Now, uh, Mason McTavish has been sorted. You know, a lot of the guys have been sorted. You have to look towards the future for a guy like snugger root as well. Uh, he's going to be owed money. We know, uh, what happened with, uh, Jonathan, Jonathan Bergeron as well. He resigned. So everyone's pretty much locked up. Now you have a vision for what the team is going to look like. And let me tell you, I think it's a lot better than last season. It's younger. It's still pretty fast. Uh, they've made some moves here that you knew were going to be made for a long time, including the Jordan Cairo trade. Uh, I like where they're at and this doesn't include some of the young players that are going to be coming up through training camp and see if they can find or earn and win jobs is what I should be saying. Like a guy like Justin Carbonyl, we'll be touching on that in a video as well. And I wonder what feel Linstein plays into all of this as well. And we know the blues are still actively in trade talks for Alexander Nikishan as well. So it's going to be a pretty crazy summer. I still think for the blues heading into next year, but guys, this video is brought to you by prize picks prize picks is America's number one sports picks app brings you closer to all the action on a daily basis and the world cup wrapping up on Sunday. Very exciting. Get your picks in now, take advantage of it before the world cup is over. I am picking Spain to win the world cup this year. Out of these two, I'm going to go more on shots on target for Laminia mall. This is a game where he needs to come up big. He has not had the most flashiest tournament. He has not had, you know, too many games where you're like, this guy is the guy he needs to have a game where he is the guy. So I want to take more on goals for Laminia mall as well. And then Leon all messy on the other side, you know, he's going to want to show up big in the big moment. He's been putting up goals, assists all tournament long. I don't think Argentina's played particularly up to their potential. I guess I don't, I don't want to say they haven't been playing well or poor, but they haven't been playing up to their potential, but neither is Spain. So this is going to be a very, except for the last game against France. So this is going to be a very interesting matchup. So it's going to be a lot of fun to watch and you can make your picks on price fix. So make sure to download the app using the link in the description guys, and the pin comment and using the promo code digest when you do so, because you get $50 instantly in your lineups when you play your first $5. But guys, let me know how you feel about the, uh, contract for Connor McMichael. He officially resigns. I think it's a, and listen, we're always usually optimistic here on the channel, but I think it's a very good signing moving forward. Now, if he continues to dip or it's something similar to last year, every single year, that could become a problem. Maybe the contract doesn't look great, but Hey, that's thinking pessimistically. And I want to think about it optimistically. And I think he's going to get back to doing what he did in the 24, 25 season and for the cap hit where the cap is going. I think it makes a lot of sense for the blue. So the blues officially re-signed Connor McMichael or sign him to a new contract extension. I should say Connor McMichael, let me know how you feel in the comments below a new era of blues hockey is upon us.