Blues pickup of Kariya brings buzz back to St. Louis' once-proud NHL franchise

ST. LOUIS -- Signing Paul Kariya to a three-year, $18 million free agent contract was a bit of a budget-busting move for the rebuilding St. Louis Blues.

But that doesn't mean the franchise's next move will be balancing the ledger with the payroll now at about $44 million, or about $4 million higher than new ownership had projected. Team president John Davidson said Tuesday no corresponding transactions are planned, and added the franchise isn't out of the dwindling free agent market yet.

"Are we going to go out and trade people because we added Paul Kariya? No," Davidson said. "If we ice the team we have now for opening game, we're happy. But if something comes along that makes sense for us, we'll do it."

Kariya, 32, is the biggest free agent pickup for the Blues since Brendan Shanahan in 1991, and ranks with the short-term rental of Wayne Gretzky in 1996 as the bigger splashes made by the franchise in decades. New ownership entering its second season took note of the buzz Kariya has created, taking out a two-page ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday and pledging to do "whatever it takes" to build a Stanley Cup contender.

"People are talking about him," Davidson said.

-- The Associated Press