Prucha, Leighton Clear Waivers

January 4, 2011, 9:15 AM

Prucha, Leighton Clear Waivers

Andy Strickland | TrueHockey.com | Archive | Contact

Jan 4

Earlier story...

On the surface, one could assume if the Blues had interest in forward Marek Svatos then they would certainly be intrigued in this version of a former 30 goal scorer.

Actually Prucha would cost less than Svatos as were talking a pro-rated payout of half of his $1.1 million salary. That’s less than $300,000 for a guy who couldn’t buy a goal in eleven NHL games with the Phoenix Coyotes this season but has had no problem producing offense in the AHL where’s he’s put up 17 points in 16 games.

Prucha is no secret to NHL teams considering he’s been playing in North America all season. It’s slightly different than Svatos who the Blues hadn’t seen once all year playing over in Russia.

Sources close to Prucha tell me multiple teams have called to ask about the Czech native with the St. Louis Blues not being one of them. This shouldn’t automatically suggest the Blues aren’t interested by the way as they have a pretty good read on him already. John Davidson was the Rangers broadcaster just a few short years ago when Prucha had his lone 30 goal season.

Just because he has a low salary doesn't automatically mean a team like St. Louis will be interested. They've pretty much said no to Jonathan Cheechoo who once sniped 56 goals in one season.

Having the ability to get there is far less a concern with Prucha than it is with Cheechoo. Word is Prucha still has some pretty good wheels at just 28 years old.

The waiver wire by the way no longer goes by last year’s final standings as the team with the worst record gets the first crack at making a claim. The New Jersey Devils hold that position with 22 points on the season.

More to come,

Andy Strickland

strickland.andy@gmail.com

Andy Strickland is based out of St. Louis and has more than 10 years of experience covering the NHL. He is also a full time radio personality in St. Louis and can frequently be heard and seen throughout the United States and Canada on radio and television. He can be contacted via Twitter (@AndyStrickland) or on the Ask Andy page.

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bcallaway Said:

January 4, 2011 at 9:36 AM

I would take him.

Granted the Rangers and Coyotes have given up on him and he would be no more than a fill in at this point but I do it.

The Blues need one more forward so they don't have to dress Cam Janssen every night. I want to see more playing time out of Cracknell and Porter and as long as they're on a line with Janssen, they're really not going to get a chance to get into a game and get a rhythm going.

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Eggserino Said:

January 4, 2011 at 9:38 AM

It really seems to me that Payne's system requires all forward to back check. I don't know what Prucha's defensive skills are like, but it would seem to me that his work ethic has to be in question if a team like the Rangers passed on him...

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NortheastBlue15 replied to Eggserino:

January 4, 2011 at 10:20 AM

I didn't know that the Rangers HAD any work ethic.... The Rangers pass on people real quick when they don't come in and dominate from their first game onwards. The Rangers have no real plan as to how to construct a winning organization b/c they have no vision and no patience to truly develop guys and get any sort of chemistry. Anyone who is a Rangers cast-off can't necessarily be labeled as damaged goods. I'd be very interested in Prucha, considering he's only toting a $300k salary with him ... he's better than Crombeen, Winchester, and Janssen. I'd grab him, and if he doesn't pan out....it's barely a blip on the map when it comes to payroll. flag this comment

goldenmouse27 Said:

January 4, 2011 at 10:21 AM

Just typical of the Blues not to pick up Prucha, anytime they can get someone who can put the puck in the net, they pass. The Blues have only interest in muckers and grinders (Winchester-Crombeen-Cracknell-Porter-Scachard etc.). They could of had Stempniak who could of helped at the point on the powerplay (At least he shoots the damn puck), but that would go against the grain.

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NortheastBlue15 replied to goldenmouse27:

January 4, 2011 at 10:55 AM

Agreed. I thought he would have been the right person to bring back into the organization this off-season. He would have been a much better choice than T.J. Hensick who they thought would be a 3rd line winger. Stempy is a heady player and thrives when he gets playing time and plays with an up-tempto team. He did well when coming over to the 'Yotes after the trade, but this season he's finding it hard to crack the top 6 which is hampering his output. A line with McClement, Steen, and Stempy would be a great 3rd line IMO. flag this comment

mattsquadcar replied to goldenmouse27:

January 4, 2011 at 12:42 PM

anyone notice Stempniak is having another underachieving year? that push he had late last year was probably the only taste of what he could be capable of. they were smart passing on him. flag this comment

mattsquadcar replied to goldenmouse27:

January 4, 2011 at 12:43 PM

BlueManGuru Said:

January 4, 2011 at 1:08 PM

Still not down on Stempniak. You have to see the way Phoenix plays before you question those players' production.

As to Prucha a second shot at him and nothing...wow. I can understand maybe why a team like Phoenix was more apt to pass on him(they have loads of talented young forwards), versus a team like the Blues who don't necessarily have the dpeth nor have they tapped what little depth at skill on the forward lines they have.

I'm right with Becallaway on the whole Janssen screwing over two really good checking forwards. Those guys get down low in a hurry and hit everything hard. It would be better to see SDR out there with that pair. Man what a forecheck that would be.

News is injuries continue to mount to forwards across the NHL.

I still give this team props for competing while under-manned. Oh and I'd rather see a Prucha skating for my team most nights than a Winchester. But hey far be it from to say that goal scoring matters in this league and having at least three scoring lines allows for that to happen. Cough, cough see Dead Things record and amount of goals that team produces even though they are mostly dependent on ancient players.
Which brings me to another point--I have to say if a player jumped up in my head that Petro reminded me of it would have to be Lidstrom. Only Petro is a far superior skater. He just has that sort of read on the game. EJ's starting to roll and you got to love it. I still can't help wondering what could you get from Minnesota for this kid? If it's a solid enough package I'd snatch it up. For instance, they are down on Barker for some reason that I can't understand. I'd snatch him up and a top line forward and a pick no lower than the second round. But that might be too much to wish for.

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NortheastBlue15 replied to BlueManGuru:

January 4, 2011 at 1:51 PM

Who are you suggesting we give up for Barker and ??? There is nobody on Minnesota that we really need. Even Barker is kind of a ridiculous pick-up unless we are definitely not planning on re-signing Brewer. Considering we have Cole ready to jump in full time and Nikitin can play some useful minutes, I just don't see who you're shipping out in order to make room for Barker. flag this comment

bcallaway replied to BlueManGuru:

January 4, 2011 at 2:07 PM

+1 Regarding SDR. I'd like to see more of him as well.

I haven't seen a lot of Cam Barker but was unimpressived during the time Chicago was trying to develop him. The knock on him is that he doesn't skate well. Have you seen him much Guru?

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SA Nick Said:

January 4, 2011 at 5:24 PM

I had the pleasure of meeting Prucha and watching him practice and play games in San Antonio for a month. That guy has a great work ethic and goes after it the entire time he is on the ice. I am happy for his career he is back in NHL but sure would love to have had him on the ice for the Rampage!

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Eggserino replied to SA Nick:

January 5, 2011 at 5:05 AM

Glad to have your insight on him. It's really hard to evaluate players on other teams, especially when their production ebbs and flows AND teams give up on them... flag this comment

Eggserino replied to SA Nick:

January 5, 2011 at 5:06 AM

Interesting to think about when NYR decided not to keep him. Ryan Callahan was coming on strong, as well as Dubinsky... flag this comment

jammer21 Said:

January 4, 2011 at 11:17 PM

When it comes to scrap heap projects, I'm willing to go with whatever JD and co. decide to do. Especially here, because JD basically watched him as a commentator in New York. I wonder if guys like Stempniak, Svatos and Prucha are any better than a guy like D'agostini. Sure, best case scenario, they regain their 30 goal form. But that's about as likely as Christian Backman winning a Norris. I think guys like Prucha are realistically 15 goal scorers and probably aren't much of an upgrade over what we got. I mean, if we pick him up just so we don't have to play Janssen all the time, I'd rather give the spot to SDR like you guys were saying.

By the way, is that the first Christian Backman burn on Strick's new site? If so, I'm honored.

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fattyboubatty Said:

January 5, 2011 at 4:45 AM

Now that Tim Connolly is back from his injury, I wonder if the blues are ready to make a move on him. He would be a much better upgrade than any of these guys on the scrap heap.

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NortheastBlue15 replied to fattyboubatty:

January 5, 2011 at 7:11 AM

oh.....

please tell me you're joking. flag this comment

fattyboubatty Said:

January 5, 2011 at 4:17 PM

I first heard the rumor about a month ago, and Connolly has damn near been a point per game player the last six seasons and he actually plays in the NHL so yeah, he would be an upgrade over these guys on the scrap heap. He is injury prone and now that Roy is out they might not trade him at all, but he could definitely help the blues right now.

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