St. Louis Blues center Paul Stastny skates during a preseason game between the St. Louis Blues and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. (Chris Lee, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Spotlight on… Paul Stastny, center, Blues
When: Stastny and the Blues play the Avalanche in Denver for the first time this season Saturday, completing a three-game homestand at the Pepsi Center. The Avs host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday and the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday before Stastny’s homecoming.
What’s up: Stastny, who was born in Quebec City and raised in St. Louis, is playing hockey outside Denver for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when he was a junior-A standout for the River City Lancers of the United States Hockey League. He still has a home in the Washington Park area and remains close friends with his former University of Denver and Avalanche teammates.
Background: Stastny spurned the Avs’ multiyear contract offer — believed to be $6 million annually — for a four-year, $28 million deal with St. Louis. He is the Blues’ highest-paid player on a team loaded with 2014 Olympians, including defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester of Team Canada.
Chambers’ take: Is Stastny worth $7 million per season? It didn’t appear he was when he signed with the Blues on July 1, but the Avs clearly miss his presence — in all aspects, including leadership. Stastny has missed games because of a shoulder injury and his statistics are below what he had a year ago with the Avs, but he is a top-two center on one of the NHL’s best teams.
