Tkachuk Wants To Stay. Will The Blues Have Him?

by gallagher on May 4, 2009 5:17 PM CDT Comment 16 comments

Not bad for a 37-year-old; Big Walt shows off his vert late last season.

In an article on the team's website by our buddy (in an internet sense, you know) Chris Pinkert, Keith Tkachuk admits that he wants to stay with the team and chase a Stanley Cup.

The interview, which mentions that he was considering retirement, also catches a couple quotes from team president John Davidson (who seems to indicate that the Blues could have gotten 'an important pick' for Tkachuk at the deadline) and from Brad Boyes, who seems to take on the mantle of speaking for all of the players in saying they want him back.

It's an interesting read and seems, in our opinion, to set the table for the team to re-sign Big Walt. But the questions continue to remain about throwing another couple million at the once-dominating power forward who may see his numbers slip and his icetime reflect more like a fourth-liner than a second-liner.

If he comes back to the Blues he'll be expected to be the grizzled veteran with leadership and experience to help guide a young team. He'll likely still be on the power play, but will probably play fewer minutes at even strength than he has in the last couple years.

The downside that most will point to are his continued high expense compared to his diminishing returns (it's widely speculated that the numbers will have to be around $2-$2.5 million on a one or two year deal in order to work for both sides). The Blues have thrown too much money at players who should probably be earning less than they do (Jay McKee's $4 million a year, Barret Jackman's $3.6 million a year and Eric Brewer's $4.25 million a year immediately leap to mind) already and will need to manage their salary cap better going forward as the youngsters start to be eligible for new contracts (Erik Johnson's is up after next year, as is David Perron's; TJ Oshie, Patrik Berglund, Lars Eller and Alex Pietrangelo are all up after the following season).

Call us fans of Tkachuk, but we feel like if he's let go the Blues will be looking to acquire a guy in the near future who has veteran leadership and experience, can play on the power play and who can pot 20-plus goals a season. Seems like ol' No. 7 already fits that bill, doesn't it?

Poll

Should the Blues re-sign Keith Tkachuk?

Yes, but only for one year.

120 votes

Yes, but only for two years.

47 votes

No, it's time to move forward and the team needs to open slots for the youngsters in the pipeline.

6 votes

No, Tkachuk is overrated by the homer fans. He can be replaced for less money.

3 votes

176 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

2 years at $2 million each.

He wants to be here. The fans want him here. The players seem to want him here. What reason is there to not resign him?

Someone here said recently that if you let him go then come deadline time you’ll be looking for a Tkachuk-type player on the market anyway. Why not just keep the real deal?

by smashthesymbols on May 4, 2009 6:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

im torn on this

on one hand, tkachuk is a proven leader who, even in decline, can still score goals. if the blues can get him to sign a reasonable one year deal, i dont see the harm. it wont hurt the future cap and he can only help the team.

on the other, the dude is in serious decline. he is not keith tkachuk top-line guy. frankly, i’m not sure he’s even a power play guy — id rather see backes take his ass in front of the net spot. his leadership is overrated because its really easy to lead when things are going well. no one was fawning over walt when the team was in dead last.

i guess you sign him, but im wary of him having a huge drop off.

by averagejoe on May 4, 2009 7:19 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Not to call you a

dickhead; dickhead, but unless you were in the Blues dressing room in February, I don’t really see how you can say that Walt wasn’t helping to lead when things were going shitty. I don’t think Brad Boyes would just make up leadership talk for shits and giggles, ya know?

Also…was anyone fawning over any of our players when the team was in dead last? If they were, I sure as hell don’t remember which player(s) it was.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are? - Satchel Paige

by Dan. on May 4, 2009 10:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

you are correct

i was not in the room in feb. but i always find it odd how when a team is doing well, its because of chemistry and leadership. i think winning brings on those things. going to work is fun everyday when things are going well. when they aren’t work sucks.

i guess my point was this “walt is a great leader” talk started right around the time when the blues got hot. i dont recall hearing much about how great he was in the room pre-2009. if he was so great, how come he was not named captain instead of eric brewer? how much is his “leadership” worth in terms of wins and loses?

i think things like leadership and chemistry and overrated by fans. reggie jackson was a grade a prick, but you cant argue that he didn’t help his teams. same with barry bonds. true, his teams never won anything, but its hard to blame him.

i just think that all this talk that the blues cant dump tkachuk because of his leadership is funny, when dan hinote, who is also held in high regard as a leader, is being shoved out the door. why is walt’s leadership more important than hinote’s? is it because tkachuck is a better player?

by averagejoe on May 4, 2009 10:22 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Sign him . . .

to a 1yr/$2MM deal.

Throw in some incentives.

Put him on the 3rd line with Steen and Crombeen (if he sticks around).

Grind away.

"The world is getting to be such a dangerous place, a man is lucky to get out of it alive." -- W.C. Fields

by Donut King on May 4, 2009 7:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

do hamburgers count as incentives??? (im only joking)

Never forget Philo T. Farnsworth

"I want to fucking break it. I want to crush you from the inside."~ Static X
"Turned into a monster I'm a motherfucker!!!" ~ Static X

by Carnie on May 4, 2009 9:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

shouldve gone with donuts

mmm donuts.

by averagejoe on May 4, 2009 9:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

oh yeah thats what he likes isn’t it… my bad

Never forget Philo T. Farnsworth

"I want to fucking break it. I want to crush you from the inside."~ Static X
"Turned into a monster I'm a motherfucker!!!" ~ Static X

by Carnie on May 4, 2009 9:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep, it's donuts.

There’s nothing donuts CAN’T do.

"The world is getting to be such a dangerous place, a man is lucky to get out of it alive." -- W.C. Fields

by Donut King on May 5, 2009 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

2 years, 2 mill seems about right to me.

Get him as the veteran leadership, top line player or not, he’s someone all the young guys know and apparently like. Even if he’s just a 3rd or 4th line guy going forward, he would double as a coach of the team.

by Novacain on May 4, 2009 7:38 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

yes

http://www.stlouisgametime.com/

by cold on May 4, 2009 8:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

holy crap

ovechkin vs crosby, round 2…

http://www.stlouisgametime.com/

by cold on May 4, 2009 8:40 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

the blues stumbled onto the right way to use tkachuk late in the season. stick him down on a third/fourth line for five on five action through the first and second, throw him into the mix more in the third if we need a goal and give him first unit power play time throughout the game to camp out in front.

two years at two million each seems about right, the blues are going to be in cap hell after that (way to draft three potential top pairing defenders three years in a row) and while i don’t really think the window will be closed at that point, it makes sense to try to make a run in the next season or two.

by bzgea2 on May 4, 2009 9:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Re-sign him

I think that using Reggie Jackson as an example isn’t necessarily relevant; baseball and hockey are two different sports. Teammates don’t necessarily play with each other; it’s a team of 9 in a relatively non-contact sport where your teammates don’t always have to have your back.

Who would replace him?

by The Goalie Guy on May 4, 2009 11:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I say keep him. You will not find a player of his caliber and expertise for 2mil. Especially not that is liked by everyone in the lockerroom.

Barret Jackman is my hero.

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.

by BluesTiger on May 5, 2009 1:36 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Of course he...

…should stay.

At least for 1 year, at 2 million. Here you have a guy who is dedicated and wants to stay and can still be that leader in the locker room.

If you let him walk, then certainly you will have somebody else coming in to fulfill this role. So that would be a veteran player from the outside, of whom you don;t know if he will take 2 million and you don’t know if his commitment will be the same and if he will be just as accepted as a leader in the locker room as Big Walt.

So?

Keep Walt. Make him a fourth liner (he says he wouldn’t mind) and on the PP. And let him stay the mentor of this young group for 1 more year.

AMEN :)

The Netherlands may be famous for its capital Amsterdam... But there are St. Louis Blues fans as well... ME! Cya.

AND SUBJECT OF A STORY IN GAMETIME..... GREAT :)

by FanFromEurope on May 5, 2009 10:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs