Blues Re-sign RFA Erik Johnson; Draft Him

After two solid seasons in St. Louis, the Blues and Doug Armstrong finalized a two-year contract extension with young defenseman Erik Johnson. This comes of course as no surprise as Johnson will be controlled by the team for five more seasons, three after this current deal expires.

Essentially we wanted an excuse to explain why you should love this kid.

He is a former first overall pick who in no way looked out of place against the top competition in the Olympics. In addition, he improved his point totals last season and should do the same this season as well. His path to NHL stardom will take longer than say Drew Doughty but he could be a similar player to Duncan Keith as soon as next season.

Last year he was available in the latter rounds because he missed a full season with injuries. If you took him late (like I did) you would see that only 24 other defensemen outproduced him, making him a solid option as a 2, 3 or 4th d in standard leagues.

If he improves from last year’s totals he should be more than adequate in your two spot and worth a pick within the first ten rounds– if he lasts that long.

Trust in EJ, the pedigree, skill and ability is too much to ignore. Especially on a revamped and improved St. Louis Blues team