What We Learned at Tuesday’s Press Conference

ST. LOUIS – As is customary at the end of the season, Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong and Head Coach Ken Hitchcock held a joint press conference to tie up loose ends and answer questions following the Blues’ loss to the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final last week.

This year’s press conference was especially lengthy – a lot of questions needed answers, such as will Ken Hitchcock return? Will the Blues attempt to bring captain David Backes back next season? What about Troy Brouwer? Can we expect Brian Elliott and Jake Allen to share the net again?

The entire hour-long press conference will be available here on stlouisblues.com shortly, but in the mean time, here are some of the highlights:

Doug Armstrong’s No. 1 priority in the offseason is to sign RFA Jaden Schwartz.

Armstrong has a lot of decisions to make in the offseason regarding his roster. David Backes, Troy Brouwer, Kyle Brodziak, Steve Ott, and Scottie Upshall are just some of the players awaiting a decision this summer. But Armstrong said his top priority is to get Schwartz signed.

“The focus will be starting with Jaden Schwartz and seeing if we can get him signed to a longer-term extension,” Armstrong said. “There’s a finite time to negotiate. After a certain date, one of the two of us will select arbitration. I know he’ll be under contract, I know this isn’t going to go into September. Schwartz is priority No. 1 because it then puts another piece of the puzzle in place in our salary cap.”

Basically, once Schwartz is signed, Armstrong knows how much free space he’ll have remaining to sign other players.

The Blues would prefer to keep David Backes in St. Louis.

The Blues’ captain just wrapped up a five-year contract and will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if he’s not re-signed by the Blues. Armstrong said he wants to bring the captain back, but the salary cap may have it’s say.

“He’s our captain,” Armstrong said. “He’s been here 10 years, he’s got a vested interest in our leadership group. The (free agent) market will bear what the market will bear, but ultimately our salary cap will bear what it will bear. I think David’s got a lot of good years left in him, and I’d love to keep him here. But it has to work out for David and his family first and foremost, and it has to work in our math equation. He’s a priority.”

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