Examining the Options for Pietrangelo
So we’ve finally reached that all important 9th game played for Alex Pietrangelo. As expected the Blues spoke about what would happen with Pietrangelo now that he’s about to play the game that starts his NHL contract life. What was unexpected, to many, was that they said they have yet to decide what will happen with Pietrangelo.
There are a number of situations that could play out in this case. One thing that appears certain is that he will play his 10th game and have his contract kick in. This will cause him to be a restricted free agent in the same summer as Lars Eller.
I’m not one to really worry about entry level contracts kicking in, even though it does have an effect down the road. My biggest concern, and what appears to be the biggest concern of the Blues management is the overall development of a young player. If that means keeping him up here for 40 games and sending him back down, than so be it. Even though I wouldn’t go that route if it was my choice.
There are three possibilities that likely may play out between the Blues and Pietrangelo;
The first being, that Pietrangelo stays with the Blues club and plays regularly, sitting out the odd game.
The second being, he sticks with the club all year but is released to Team Canada for the World Junior tournament in Saskatoon this winter.
The third option is to keep Pietrangelo for a while longer and release him to his junior team later in the year for the latter part of the OHL season and playoffs.
There are plusses and minuses to each of these options. If I had the choice, I’d choose either option 1 or option 2. Option 1 appears to be the most likely, especially with the way it worked with David Perron in this organization. Playing as a 6th, sometimes 7th defenceman in the NHL will help progress Pietrangelo faster than 30 minutes a night in the OHL, on what currently is a very weak team in Niagara. Learning on the fly may cause some headaches for both Petro and the fans, but the benefits of playing and practicing with NHL players are huge.
The second option is a very desirable one as well. It would allow him to get the majority of the NHL season while experiencing the intense pressure of playing in the World Juniors on home soil. He didn’t play a prominent role on the team last year, and a leading role this year could give him a big boost of confidence. It’s a long stretch of time for the Blues to release him (roughly a month), but it would be very good experience.
The third option is one that most fans don’t seem to want to see. Pietrangelo going back to play in the OHL would make it appear that the 4th overall pick is not developing as quickly as most would have hoped. I don’t want to see him go back to junior, but I still wouldn’t give up on the player.
Besides the severe drop in competition that Petro would face in the OHL compared to what he currently deals with, he’d also be returning to a very weak Niagara team. An uber talented player wouldn’t gain a lot of valuable experience playing against lesser talent, while playing with even lesser talent. If Niagara were to trade Pietrangelo’s rights to another team, a late season push and a playoff run would alter the view on Pietrangelo going back to junior. A Memorial Cup tournament experience would be something similar to a World Junior experience.
It will be interesting to follow this story, and we appear to have the opportunity to follow it for some time as the Blues don’t appear to be in a hurry to announce their intentions one way or another.
As Blues fans, lets hope that Pietrangelo forced the Blues to only have one option…..to keep a very productive, mobile defenceman in the lineup on a regular basis. I’m expecting him to do just that.
