Even thought there hasn't been much press coming out of St-Louis, some major changes are going on. In the past few days, 2 major deals happened which triggered an important anoucement today.
First came the Latendresse deal. With the arrival of a new management team in Carolina, Blues' GM didn't lose any time with useless greetings and happily acquired promising 19 year old power-forward, Guillaume Latendresse. Even though the cost was that of both Bruno Gervais and Mark Stuart, 2 young defensemen that were supposed to have a regular shift next season, the Blues finally put their hands on a player they have very high hopes for. Adaptation time in a new country and around a new langage shouldn't be that huge of a problem for the young french canadian, considering the presence of Martin St-Louis and Marc-Andre Bergeron. A few days later, rumours about the team's first round choice being shopped around were confirmed when the 5th overall pick in this year's draft got sent Columbus' way. In return, the Blues add to their line-up Rostislav Olesz, a 21 year-old versatile forward who's strong 2-way play will be more than welcomed.
The addition of 2 new players that'll fill top6 roles next year triggered a surprising move today. Veteran center Sergei Fedorov got a call from coach Bill Barber this morning telling him that he should expect to fill out an important role.. at the team's blueline. With the number of available centers on this year's free market, and the rarity of talented defenseman, Fedorov should find his new niche as the team's #1 defenseman, sharing the important minutes with Jay Bouwmeester.
The team is slowly shaping up for next year but other moves are expected. With the emergence of Rick DiPietro as an elite puckstopper, backup Antero Niitymakki becomes expandable. Teams looking for a young goaltender with a whole lot of untapped potential should be picking up the phone anytime soon inquiring about him. Other rumours have Tomas Plekanec being offered around in several packages in hope of upgrading at the center position. Things should be interesting in St-Louis for the rest of the off-season.