Well, the drama seems to have come to an end - after days of hearing that Tarasenko was talking to SKA in Russia, this tweet from Alessandro Seren Rosso suddenly appeared this morning:

As per agent @i_de_al Tarasenko is going to sign with #stlblues.

Of course, that's not really confirmation - so breath was held...twitter was searched and scoured until finally, a few moments ago, the ever reliable Jeremy Rutherford, tweeted:

GM Doug Armstrong confirms that Vladimir Tarasenko has agreed to a contract in principal with the #stlblues. He will sign it on July 1.

I take it league rules mean he can't officially sign prior to 1 July? Or if not NHL rules then maybe the KHL rules. Never mind...Tarasenko will be playing for the Blues next season.

I, for one, am highly excited about this!!

EDIT: Dmitry Chesnokov on twitter has tweeted: Tarasenko is giving up a lot to join the Blues. Only his KHL "bonus" equaled NHL's entry level contract; + salary, + low tax rate

And JR has said: Armstrong on Tarsenko agreement: "We’re excited to have a player of his caliber come to our team at this age."... More coming in blog soon

Great excitement here as the Coventry Blaze have confirmed - after days of rumour - that ex Blues player, Mike Danton, has signed to play for them next season. This is terrific for those of us in UK - I've been looking for a UK team to support and what better than one with an ex Blues player in the lineup? Here's the official release from Coventry Blaze:

CPP Coventry Blaze are pleased to confirm the signing of former National Hockey League forward Mike Danton for the 2012/13 Elite League campaign.
The 31-year-old Canadian made 92 appearances in ‘TheShow’ with New Jersey Devils and St Louis Blues, posting 15 points and 184 penalty minutes.
Danton, also drafted in the fifth round by Devils in 2000,racked up 213 points and 640 penalty minutes in 175 games in the Ontario Hockey League as well.

After a five-year absence from the sport, Denton returned to play for Saint Mary’s University in the CIS before splitting last year with IFK Ore in Sweden and Orli Znojmo in Austria.
Coach Paul Thompson could not hide his delight with the capture and said: “I am well aware of Mike’s past but he has served his punishment and all I am interested in is Mike Danton the hockey player. He will make us a better hockey club.
“Being 5ft 9in you have to have something about you to play in the NHL. He played a role there and he is a tough cookie.
“I want a grittier, in-your-face team next season who will compete at a high level night in and night out. Mike absolutely brings that to our side.
“He makes himself accountable every night and, more importantly, he holds others around him accountable.
“I am really excited to have Mike on board and I believe he is going to be one of the best players in the league.”

Danton joins Robert Farmer, Shea Guthrie, JamesGriffin, Ross Venus, Sam Smith, Russell Cowley, Peter Hirsch, Matt Selby andJerramie Domish on the roster for next season.

An author is collecting submissions about the experiences of NHL fans who are based in Europe - and far away from the teams they support. This is from the blog:

“My NHL Team My Passion” is a new book to explore the relationship that European based ice hockey fans have with ‘their’ team. It is a book about the thoughts, feelings and emotions that fans have and the passion they feel for their team. We would like contributions from fans of all 30 current teams to truly demonstrate the passion, and reach, of ice hockey in Europe.

Each week, a “question” will be posed to fans about their passion for their team and contributions are invited.

The book will, hopefully, be published in September 2012 and we are looking at producing an electronic version as well as a printed version.

Please note: This book is not sanctioned or associated with the National Hockey League or associated companies in any way.

The first question has been posted - "Who is your NHL Team and why?". It's just a great idea - I've already submitted my "answer" to that and I'm looking forward to the next questions. I figure the more Blues fans contributing the better. So - to those of you from Europe I've chatted with in the GDT then here are the links you'll need:

Blog - My NHL Team, My Passion

Facebook: My NHL Team on Facebook

Twitter: My NHL Team on Twitter

Email address: My NHL team - email

Go to it - get the Blues heavily represented in this. I'm actually hoping lots of fans from various teams will contribute - and show the NHL they really do have a worldwide game on their hands.

As per Jeremy Rutherford on twitter, Oshie is day to day with a wrist injury and the Blues have called up Brett Sterling from Peoria.  I'm guessing this is just in case Oshie can't play on Tuesday against LA.  Still, pretty neat for LA born Sterling to have a chance to play against his hometown team.

He seems to have been tearing it up a bit in Peoria - 18 games, 12 goals, 10 assists so I guess he was the logical call up choice. 

According to Strickland, the Blues have signed Jonathan Cheechoo to a one year, two way contract.  I'm sure I read somewhere that Cheechoo had been working extremely hard to get himself in the best shape he could - whatever the circumstances, this seems to be a very low risk move for the Blues.

Start him in Peoria and see what happens.  It just struck me as strange that a guy goes from a 50 goal season down to practically nothing.

I must admit I have my fingers crossed that he'll make it.

I recently swapped two trading cards - a Mike Eastwood Jersey card and a Doug Weight Jersey card - for a David Perron 2007/2008 Upper Deck Future Watch autographed card and an Alex Pietrangelo 2010/2011 UD Artifacts autographed card.

The guy I swapped them with then said he'd include a Jaroslav Halak card for free - he said it was part of a "wholesaler only" set.  I've never heard of those - and having looked around, I can't find any details about the Halak card.

It's Upper Deck.  And apparently is 2010/2011 Biography of a Season.  Here are pics of the front and back of the card:

via i19.photobucket.com

via i19.photobucket.com

Any information about this card would be greatly appreciated!  I'm sort of anal about knowing stuff about the cards I have - and I don't want to simply file it away without knowing some "history" about it.  The Upper Deck website and Hockeydb.com don't seem to have anything about this set at all.

Thanks for any info you guys can provide.

Not sure if you guys are aware of this, but one of Ian Cole's sticks - signed by him - is currently up for auction on twitter.

The auction is run by Ian's "fan Club" on twitter run by a 7 year old girl called Hailey and her twin sister Hannah - who have Aspergers Syndrome and PDD respectively (their dad helps of course!)  All proceeds will go to "autism speaks". 

To bid, you'll need to follow @IansBlueLiners on twitter and then bid by messaging Hailey from twitter.  Current high bid is $120.

A photo of the stick is here - Twitpic

It's for a good cause - and has Ian Cole's blessing so give it a go.

Bidding ends 6pm tonight (I'm assuming that's St Louis time!).

The Blues have announced that they have signed former Colorado Avalanche forward, Marek Svatos, to a one year deal.  Svatos was playing in the KHL until recently.

Although he will practise with the team today, Svatos will not be eligible to play until Friday.  He also has to clear waivers first.

Here's the full press release from the Blues Official Site:

St. Louis Blues Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Tuesday the club has signed free agent forward Marek Svatos (MAIR-ehk, SVA-tohs) to a one-year contract.

Svatos, 28, has made 19 appearances with the Kontinental Hockey League’s (KHL) Omsk Avangard this season recording eight points including three goals and five assists.

In 2009-10, the 5’10, 185-pound forward tallied seven goals and four assists for 11 points in 54 regular season games with the Colorado Avalanche as well as a goal and two penalty minutes in three playoff outings.

For his career, Svatos has dressed in 316 NHL games, all with Colorado, accumulating 164 points including 96 goals and 68 assists.

The Kosice, Slovakia native was originally drafted by Colorado in the seventh round, 227th overall, of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

He will wear number 40.

The Blues have bought up Dave Scatchard and Stefan Della Rovere from Peoria and have sent TJ Hensick and Chris Porter back to the Rivermen.  David Perron has been placed on IR.  The Blues Official Site says:

St. Louis Blues Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday the club has recalled forwards Stefan Della Rovere (DEHL-ah ROH-vair) and Dave Scatchard from the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.

The Blues also assigned forwards T.J. Hensick and Chris Porter to Peoria and placed forward David Perron on injured reserve.

Perron has missed 13 games after being injured in the Blues’ 2-0 win over San Jose on November 4 at Scottrade Center.

Della Rovere, 20, has played in 20 games for the Rivermen this season recording seven points on three goals and four assists to go along with 33 penalty minutes. Prior to joining Peoria, the 5’11, 200-pound forward spent four seasons with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) amassing 138 points (65 goals, 73 assists) and 479 penalty minutes in 230 games.

Last season, Della Rovere represented Team Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championships, notching six points (three goals, three assists) in six games en route to earning the Silver Medal.

The Richmond Hill, Ontario native was originally drafted by Washington in the seventh round, 204th overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by St. Louis from Washington in exchange for D.J. King on July 28, 2010. He will wear number 19.

Scatchard, 34, has made 23 appearances for Peoria this season registering 11 points on three goals and eight assists to accompany 35 penalty minutes. Last season, the 6’3, 220-pound forward spent majority of his season with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals tallying 30 points (20 goals, 10 assists) and serving 59 penalty minutes in 36 games.

For his career, Scatchard has played 651 games over ten seasons in the NHL including stints with Vancouver, New York Islanders, Boston, Phoenix and Nashville amassing 268 points (128 goals, 140 assists) and 1,034 penalty minutes.

The Hinton, Alberta native was originally drafted by Vancouver in the second round, 42nd overall, of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He was signed by St. Louis as a free agent on August 4, 2010. He will wear number 25.

The Blues have confirmed that David Perron will not play tonight in Boston.  Perron is suffering headaches following the hit by Thornton on Thursday.

This from the Blues Official Site:

Blues forward David Perron will not play Saturday at Boston.

Perron took a hit to the head from Sharks forward Joe Thornton in last Thursday's game at Scottrade Center. Perron did finish the game, tallying a goal in the second period.

Thornton received a two-game suspension for the hit.

Perron's absence will end his consecutive games played streak at 167.

No word on whether Perron will be in the lineup Sunday against the New York Rangers

On the upside, Nikitin will play his first game tonight in place of Barret Jackman...

According to Darren Dreger  and Real_ESPNLeBrun on twitter, Joe Thornton is suspended for two games for the hit on David Perron last night.

Dreger also remarks that:

Thornton's agent, John Thornton considering appeal of 2 gm suspension since C.Campbell didn't conduct hearing. Unlikely to change decision.

Mike Murphy conducted the disciplinary call with Joe Thornton because Colin Campbell was travelling.

So, I'm guessing all the Thornton apologisers who, quite frankly, have been all over twitter today, will now go into overdrive and once again blame David Perron for "skating in the wrong area" and not having his head up.

According to the Blues Official Site,  Roman Polak is to undergo surgery on a severed tendon in his right wrist and will be sidelined indefinitely.  Here's the full text of the article:

St. Louis Blues Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday that defenseman Roman Polak will undergo surgery to repair a severed tendon in his right wrist on Thursday, Oct. 28.

The surgery will be performed by Orthopedic Hand Specialist Dr. Martin Boyer of Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Polak suffered the injury in the Blues’ 1-0 overtime win against Pittsburgh on Saturday, Oct. 23.

He will be sidelined indefinitely.

The Blues have recalled defenseman Nathan Oystrick from Peoria.

According to various bods on Twitter ,  Davis Payne has confirmed that Nikita Nikitin has broken his wrist and will be out for approximately four weeks.

That's a great shame - so I guess it's now down to Pietrangelo, Cole, Strachan and Oystrick.  Must admit I'd love to see Cole stay up. 

Any of you guys seen Nikitin play?  I have heard good things but I couldn't see last night's game for obvious reasons and wouldn't mind a report or two.

So, our boy decided to say goodbye and thank you to the Montreal fans by holding a signing session in a Montreal Mall.  He was charging $20 per autograph and all proceeds went to the Ste. Justine Children's Hospital in Montreal.

Montreal fans turned up in droves - over 5000 were reported to be lining up; the line extended over 1km and the session which was scheduled for 2 hours was extended by a further 90 minutes.  LOL I think we can say that the dude is popular!

According to reports, Halak will be introduced to the media in St Louis on Thursday - but in the meantime, here's a very cute video from Centre 68 which shows the incredible number of people together with just how sweet a guy our new goalie seems to be:

Jaroslav Halak @ La Capsule Sportive 4 Sept 2010 - Presented/Par Centre 68 (via centre68)

Mandi Schwartz, sister of the Blues 2010 first round pick, Jaden Schwartz, has had her stem cell transplant operation postponed. The operation was scheduled for 26 August but had to be postponed once it was discovered on 11 August that Mandi was no longer in remission.

Mandi will have to undergo more chemotherapy before another date for the transplant can be set.

The    Yale Bulldogs Website has a comprehensive article about Mandi and the latest developments, together with contact details for donations or to join the bone marrow register.

Thoughts and prayers to Mandi and her family.

According to an Andy Strickland tweet, DJ King has been traded to the Washington Capitals:

"The Blues have traded tough guy D.J. King to the Washington Capitals...expect an announcement soon"

Talbot...looks like the Capitals just got Ovechkin a tiny bit of protection there, bud. 

Be interesting to see what we get in return.  Ovechkin?  Nah...I somehow don't think so....

At least King is in the Eastern Conference - I'd have hated seeing him up against us a few times a season.

Well, keeping up the signing trend, the Blues have now signed Matt D'Agostini.

This is on The Blues Official Site:

St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced Friday the club has re-signed forward Matt D’Agostini.

D’Agostini, 23, joined St. Louis on March 3, 2010 via trade with the Montreal Canadiens. The 6’0”, 198-pound winger dressed in seven games for the Blues in 2009-10, posting two penalty minutes.

D’Agostini was originally drafted by Montreal in the 6th round (190th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and spent just under four seasons between the Canadiens and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, Hamilton Bulldogs.

In 94 games with Montreal, the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native accrued 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points and 44 penalty minutes while posting 127 points including 58 goals and 69 assists in 159 games with Hamilton.

According to the Blues Official Site, JD has announced that the Blues have signed 2004 pick Nikita Nikitin.

Nikitin, 23, has spent the past seven seasons with Omsk Avangard in Russia. In his seven-year career, the 6’3”, 215-pound defenseman has played in 265 games for Omsk totaling 61 points on 13 goals and 48 assists including 219 penalty minutes.

Nikitin was originally drafted by the Blues in the fifth round (136th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Also, Jeremy Rutherford has tweeted that JD has said that Nikitin will attend the Blues Training Camp.

And now JR has more information up at Morning Skate:

The Blues have signed defenseman Nikita Nikitin to an entry-level contract today.

Who?  

You may have to go back into a time machine to remember Nikitin. He was the Blues’ fifth-round pick (No. 136 overall) in 2004. That was the same year the Blues drafted Marek Schwarz (No. 17), Carl Soderberg (No. 49), Viktor Alexandrov (No. 83) and Michal Birner (No. 116).

Those four players are long gone from the organization, but the 2004 draft could still be remembered for a couple of defensemen. The team took Nikitin in the fifth round and followed up by taking Roman Polak in the sixth round (No. 180)

While everyone is familiar with Polak, Nikitin is an absolute unknown. Now 23, he is listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds. He has played the last seven years for Omsk Avangard in Russia. In those seven years, he’s played 265 games, posting 13 goals and 48 assists (61 points) with 219 penalty minutes. The past two years, Omsk competed in the KHL.

Blues President John Davidson said that Nikitin will be coming to Blues’ training camp in September.

“Our reports have been very good on him,” Davidson said. “He’s been playing in the best league in Europe. He’s a big kid. It’ll be an adjustment playing on the smaller ice and the language differences, but he’s soundly committed. When you see him first-hand, it makes you feel good about signing him. We’ll see where it takes us.”

One of the benefits of Doug Armstrong working for the Blues for two years before becoming general manager (which takes effect July 1) was the flexibility in his schedule. Armstrong made a trip to Russia to watch Nikitin play.

“He’s tall but he’s very thick,” Armstrong said today. “He makes a good first pass. He’s going to have to get acclimated to the smaller ice, but all indications are, with the level that he’s been playing at, it’s a great time for him to come over. I talked to him today and he’s looking forward to it.”

Armstong has kept close tabs on Nikitin since returning from his trip to Russia, and that likely was a key factor in Nikitin making a commitment to the Blues.

“You just try to keep the lines of communication open,” Armstrong said.  ”We don’t rush anything. We talk to these players multiple times and send our scouts to watch them when they’re in a tournament. We let them know that the Blues are interested in their progress, and when they’re ready for a new challenge, we’ll (work) with them.”

Armstrong noted that Nikitin would travel to Toronto this summer and train with NHL players. “And I talked to him about taking some English courses, and he said that he’s starting those. He’s making the commitment, which is a real positives sign for the organization.”

It's a really good idea - getting people to tell "their tale" so to speak.   Mine ain't nothing to write home about but here goes.

Mention the word "hockey" over here in the UK and 99.9% of the population will automatically assume you're talking about Field Hockey.  We all play it at school...there are numerous local teams - you really do have to put the word "ice" in front to get anyone to understand you.  Anyway, I never watched ice hockey.  Had never even seen a small clip.  I knew nothing.

I used to run a website and group in appreciation of Anthony Head.  Website is still there.  We raised quite a bit of money for various charities nominated by Anthony and in the course of these, one of the people who offered her help in running these auctions and raffles, was a Californian sports nut.  We met up at an event over here - and she started talking hockey.  My blank look was a challenge, I think!   She kept on about how much I'd love it and I pooh-poohed it.  All she asked was for me to watch ONE game.  That's all.

Obviously, the time difference was a bit of a bugger.  And we only got one game a week on tv.  At midnight - finishing at about 3-4am.  I gave it a go - stayed up to watch a game.  Turned out to be Blues v Red Wings.  I had no idea about the rules.  Knew none of the players.  But the speed and physicality of the game just got me hooked.  The Blues lost.  But there was just something about the team that started to niggle away at me.  A few weeks later, I stayed up to watch another game.  Blues again.  Can't remember their opponents but I was on my feet when they scored.

The next day, I admitted to Pam that I'd watched a couple of games...was hooked...and was now supporting the St Louis Blues.  Her reaction?  "The Blues?!  WTF?  You ARE shitting me, right?"  LOL At the time, Pam was supporting the Kings...then transferred her allegiance to the Ducks...now it's back to the Kings.  I think at heart she's always been a Kings fan but just had a brief affair with the Ducks.  A couple of weeks later, a little package arrived for me.  LOL A Blues baseball cap.  A "welcome to hockey" present from Pam.

I came into it mid/end season.  The following season?  Well that was the lockout.  I've always had pretty shite timing!  I dipped my toe into forums - yes, including the asylum - and then found this delightful little place.   I went to the London games in 2007 to see the Kings v Ducks - Pam came over and stayed and we just had a great time at the O2.  It took until THIS year for me to see the Blues live and in person.  In CA, staying with Pam, of course.  Won one, lost one.  I'll take that.  I also had a great time with "spectr"...not to mention the high fives from Blues fans in the concourse...and high fives from the players as they took the ice - awesome!   As one person at the Kings game remarked to me: "this means more to you than meeting Brad Pitt, doesn't it?".  Yup. 

I have a lot of catching up to do - I'm starting to go through the history of the team and the players, I'm addicted to old clips on youtube.  I devour everything I possibly can about the Blues.  And I'm already planning my next visit to the US - which includes watching the Blues on home ice in St Louis.

However.  When I walk around here in Penzance with my Blues jersey on, I  know that NOBODY has the slightest clue what the logo is or even what sport the shirt refers to.  When I wear one of my "Blues hockey" tshirts, I know that EVERYONE assumes I support some weirdass field hockey team.  But.  I have met a Maple Leaf fan in town.  Another one came up to me in the Land's End Dr Who exhibition for a chat.  A taxi driver, taking me to the station on the way to the London games, turned out to be a Flames fan.  And - rather wonderfully - a new work colleague turns out to be a Hurricanes fan!  There ARE ice hockey fans in the UK.  You just have to tempt them out with a bit of ham or something...

This is from the Blues official site:

St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced Thursday the club has recalled forward Lars Eller and defenseman Jonas Junland from the Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.

Eller, 20, has appeared in three games with the Blues this year, tallying a goal in his debut on November 5, 2009 against Calgary, becoming just the 12th Blues player in franchise history to score in their NHL debut.

The 6' 1" 198-pound center has played in 70 games for Peoria this season, leading the team with 57 points on 18 goals and 39 assists while earning his first selection to the AHL All-Star Game. The Rodovre, Denmark native was originally drafted by the Blues in the 1st round, 13th overall in the 2007 Entry Draft.

Junland, 22, has made one appearance with the Blues this season playing 14 minutes against Columbus on November 30, 2009.

The 6’2” 198-pound defenseman has played in 74 games this season with Peoria, leading the Rivermen’s defensive unit with 44 points on 14 goals and 30 assists while earning his second consecutive nomination to the AHL All-Star Game. The Linkoping, Sweden native was originally drafted by the Blues in the 3rd round, 64th overall in the 2006 Entry Draft.

Source: Blues Official Site

Thankfully, this is available to watch now on the Blues website - although annoyingly it cuts off just after the painting presentation so we don't get to see the highlights shown on the jumbotron. 

You can watch here: Paul Kariya Ceremony

In the meantime...here are a few pics I managed to sort of "glean" from it...

via i19.photobucket.com

I like this one - I'd love to know what JD was saying to him:

via i19.photobucket.com

And Captain Roboto with the surfing vouchers....

via i19.photobucket.com

And the Milestone Award:

via i19.photobucket.com

And finally...that rather good painting.  Whoever did this, did a good job:

via i19.photobucket.com

Bless.  Still think he looks rather good in that alternate jersey.  It's definitely my favourite jersey.

The planned Paul Kariya 400th goal celebration for tomorrow's game against the Blackhawks has been changed.

It will now take place prior to the game against Columbus on Monday 5 April 2010.

I have no idea why!  What do these kind of things normally entail?  And is it likely that the highlights will end up on the Blues website? 

And if anyone is going...and can manage a few pics of Walnuts himself then I would be most grateful!

Well, looks like Cam's going to be sitting out for a bit.  This is from nhl.com:

The NHL on Thursday suspended St. Louis forward Cam Janssen for five games without pay as a result of a late hit to the head delivered to an unsuspecting opponent during the Blues game on Feb. 13 against the Washington Capitals.

Janssen was assessed a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct for hitting Capitals' forward Matt Bradley at 5:52 of the first period.

Janssen will miss games at Phoenix on Mar. 2, at Dallas on Mar. 4, at Colorado on Mar. 6; at the New York Islanders on Mar. 11 and at Columbus on Mar. 13. He will be eligible to return on Mar. 14 at Minnesota.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Janssen will forfeit $14,248.70. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Blue Jackets have got shot of him and named Assistant Coach Claude Noel as interim Head Coach.

GM Scott Howson said:

“This season has been very disappointing for the Blue Jackets organization and our fans and the responsibility for that rests with all of us from management to the coaches and players.  Hitch worked tirelessly to build an identity for this team that was missing before he arrived and deserves a great deal of credit for those efforts.  He earned and received the opportunity to turn things around this season, but unfortunately that has not happened and it has become apparent that change is in the best interest of our organization.  Claude Noel is a good hockey coach with a proven track record in the American Hockey League.  He knows our team and is deserving of this opportunity.”