Team: St. Louis Blues Age: 30 Status: UFA
2015-2016 stats: GP: 82 G: 18 A: 21 P: 39 +/-: 2 PIM: 62
Likely to be one of the more coveted players on the free agent market this summer, it might be a slight disservice to Brouwer to not have him higher on this list. That being said, I have my reasons.
After the playoffs Brouwer just had with the Blues, somebody is likely to open their wallet nice and wide for the forward. I just don’t think it should be the Avalanche. Sure, they will probably kick the tires. He does have a Stanley Cup ring from his time with the Blackhawks. Still, I worry that there might be some confusion as to what Brouwer is.
In my mind, Brouwer is a very good third line winger. He is defensively responsible, physical and has some offensive ability. Sure, he lit the lamp this postseason, but aside from the Stanley Cup run with Chicago (when he had four goals and eight points in 19 games), this was the first time he was a real difference maker offensively in the playoffs.
Call it Bickell-phobia, but I fear that Brouwer should not be overvalued because of one good run. If he gets signed to too big of a deal, there will be too big of expectations. There is no guarantee he will be able to produce at a level to justify what he will likely get paid. In my opinion, if a team signs Brouwer to be an offensive catalyst, they will likely regret it.
Estimated cost: $4.5-5.5 million per season.
