One free agent every NHL team should sign this offseason
By C.L. Kohuss
St. Louis Blues: Anton Khudobin, Goaltender
We’ve yet to add a goaltender’s name to this free agency list, so we’ll do it here for the St. Louis Blues. The Blues already have an excellent backup in Carter Hutton, but he’s also a free agent. If Hutton goes, the Blues will need someone in net to backstop starter Jake Allen, who wasn’t wonderful with a 2.75 goals against average. This despite the fact that St. Louis allowed the third fewest shots on net per game.
To be clear, adding Khudobin is not an admission that the Blues are fine elsewhere. They need scoring depth and to fix the penalty kill. This is simply a move that has to be made for Allen’s sake and for the team. Khudobin made $1.2 million this year backing up Tuukka Rask in Boston, and his numbers were solid. He posted a 2.56 goals against average with a .913 save percentage in 31 games. With $18 million in cap space, this is a move that ensures having someone not only with experience, but a player forcing competition with Allen.
Allen wasn’t so great down the stretch. While he had spurts of good play, he also faltered just as much in March which all but eliminated the Blues playoff hopes. Again, this is dependent on what happens with Hutton. If the Blues are able to keep him, that’s the smart move. In 32 games he came up with a .932 save percentage and 2.09 goals against average. Yet those numbers are likely to net him a much larger contract than what Khudobin receives.