QUESTION: How is it that the Blues couldn't find a way to bring back Pat Maroon for one more run when the price turned out to be $900,000?

TOM T.: That Maroon signed for $900,000 in Tampa tells you what the market was like for him, though I for one would be willing to take a little less to play in Tampa than I would to play in, say, Ottawa. (But that's just me. Some people like Ottawa.)

As much of a bargain as Maroon may have been, the bigger issue was going to be that he was just going to get in the way of the young forwards that the team wants to play and who look to be factors beyond this season. And it's not just a spot in the lineup he takes, but a spot on the roster. The Blues are pretty much at the time where guys like Blais and Sanford and Kyrou don't have any more to learn at the AHL level. So they need to have them with the big club.

... Ultimately, I think Armstrong and the Blues thought that they had better options going forward than Maroon. Time will tell if that's right or not, but the team is high on Kyrou and this is his chance.