No official word from the Blues or TSN yet, but some rumor-minded folks and likely fake Twitter accounts are burning up the internet with news that Roman Polak has been re-signed by the Blues.
EDIT: as averagejoe noted, per Jeremy Rutherford at the Post-Dispatch, it's a done deal.
Polak, 23, and who is neither Roman nor Polish, proved he could play in the NHL last year with a break-out 69-game campaign. He logged major minutes on an injury-decimated blueline and managed to add a goal and 14 assists. While he too often put himself out of position while joining the rush, more often than not he played with the confidence of a veteran. In the playoffs, Polak stepped up his game and was one of the team's better players.
With Polak back in the fold, the blueline corps looks to be shaping up with these six defensemen under contract to play in the NHL this year:
- Roman Polak
- Barret Jackman
- Eric Brewer
- Erik Johnson
- Carlo Colaiacovo
- Mike Weaver
The questions that remain are whether Brewer will indeed be fit to play come September and whether younger players like Alex Pietrangelo, Steve Wagner or Jonas Junland make make enough of a case to play in St. Louis.