Junland signs with Farjestad, no outclause
 

Jonas Junland has decided to sign with Färjestad in his native Sweden for next year, it was confirmed today http://www.farjestadsbk.se/showpage.asp?PID=490618112

and according to himself his intention is to head back to the NHL someday, to the Blues organization.
Maybe he just need a brake from the A and now he'll get a chance to play with one of the top 4 sides in sweden.

I guess I'm not really surprised. Good luck to him.

At least this answers some of the more immediate questions regarding The Blues' D next season.

I have to say... I am pretty surprised.

Seems like this year Junland would have a good chance to earn a spot in the starting lineup.

Do you think the organization may have recommended he do something like this? If they are committed to Pietrangelo over him in the NHL next season, then this move kind of makes sense for Junland. If it's not something like that, though, this seems really odd to me. He doesn't think he's good enough to beat out Pietrangelo at training camp and make the Blues roster?

I'm interested to hear what the front office thinks about this. It seems like a very questionable move on Junland's part. He was as close as he's ever been to seeing legitimate NHL time.

i'll translate for u guys and see if u can read anything into it. This is Jonas quotes:




I think he got a very good offer from Sweden from a top 4 side who every year goes deep into the playoffs. Maybe he was fed up waiting for his time in Peoria?

BTW you can compare Färjestad to perhaps Montreal or Detroit.

a classic team with a lot of winning history in their franchise, and always good players that will always be in the hunt for the title. I think that's the main reason he said yes to them..

Any idea how much money Junland will make with this contract? Also what is the minimum salary in the Elitserien?

I don't blame him at all and look forward to watching him play full-time for The Blues down the road sometime. The SEL is a better league than The AHL, but at least Junland got two season's worth of experience and knowledge of how tough it is to play in North America. Players here are ready to take your head off if you're not careful. He's starting to understand the tenacity and energy it takes to play in North America. I think he learned a lot about what it means to be a "professional".

Junland can develop as much as he needs to..."Whatever it Takes!"

Well Junland already said he wont play in Peoria next year. It's either the Blues or back home. I guess he felt it wasn't going to be the Blues so he made his decision.

And he also makes a questionable move by signing with Färjestad and not with his own team Linköping where he has played since a little boy. Two teams that competes in the top of the SEL. Fans in Linköping are on a rampage right now. :)

The interesting thing is that he told the GM of his previous team in Sweden that there was a 1 way contract coming his way just a few days ago.

He will probably need the things he learned from playing the physical game in the AHL as he will most likely be a marked man every game against his old team. ;)

Good for him to step out of his comfort zone and diversify!! The guy seemingly has no problem coming and going and seems very much his own person and not saddled by his Linköping ties. I hope he crushes his former team, if they play them that is.

How does that saying go? "If you love 'em, let 'em go."

When (or if) they come to their senses they will probably realise that it's a good thing he ended up on another team. Linköping are trying to cut down the salary and already have 8 d-men (Färjestad had 3, which might have influenced his choice).... and they still need to sign some forwards for the first to lines.

Not that this will make them hate him any less. ;)

No I *hrmmm*...they will not hate him any less. I guess I will leave my sweet seat and head back to "ståplats" when Färjestad comes to visit. :)

That's somewhat surprising news. I figured he would be given an excellent shot to make the Blues out of camp next season, even if he'd be splitting time with Petro. If he plans on returning the season after, then he'll probably still have to fight it out for a roster spot with a guy like Ian Cole.

In any case, I wonder how much trade value he has? I wouldn't mind seeing him get packaged for one of the young goalies that could potentially be on the market this off-season.

This isn't surprising to me; I actually suggested this would be the best thing that could happen for the Blues at this time.

It frees up a log jam on defense and he's still the property of The Blues...if they choose to bring him back, while he continues his development in a very good league.

It's a win, win for everyone.

I wonder if his contract with Farjestad has an out clause - perhaps he will stay in N.A. if he makes the Blues and only go to Farjestad if they want to send him to Peoria again. Who knows. Hopefully a little more info on the situation will come out soon.

Isn't there an agreement now between The Swedish Hockey Federation and The NHL? Doesn't this mean that his signing with Farjestad could just be the fall-back in case he doesn't make The Blues' NHL roster out of Camp? I don't think this signing means he will DEFINITELY not come to Blues' Camp.

Honestly why does this keep happening? Why can't the Blues keep guys in North America?

In this case I think Junland is trying to get leverage to give himself a better chance of playing in the NHL, since right now he's probably behind Pietrangelo and Cole. It might actually be good since Junland wouldn't have the ice time he needs if Pie and Cole stay in Peoria to start the season.

Definitely agree with the bolded question. But I do not agree with your statement about where the 3 defensemen land. Out of the 3, I would put Junland above both of Petro and Cole. Mainly because there is nothing that the AHL has to offer for Junland. He has accomplished everything that was asked of him at that level. Time for him to move on to the next level, the NHL or the Sweden team he just signed with. Both Cole and Petro need the seasoning at the AHL level, and log that 25-30minutes a night. And with the logjam in St. Louis, it has everything to do with what Junland is doing right now. I applaud him in forcing the Blues to make a decision on his future. Because I really do not think he will return if he leave for Sweden, especially not with the BLues.

It keeps happening because players can make more in the KHL, SEL, etc. than the AHL so they oftentimes will choose to return to Europe instead of keep trying to make the NHL...and it's not just something that happens to the Blues. It happens to every team...and unless the economics change to where it would make sense to pay guys more to play in the AHL, it's going to keep happening.

Kids from Canada and the US obviously have the same option but they're simply a lot less likely to do it as they would have to go to a foreign land whereas the kids from Europe are actually going to a more familiar place.

That said, lets not assume Junland is gone for good. This could very well just be a backup plan in case he doesn't make the Blues next season and/or leverage in contract negotiations. Also, even if he does return to Sweden, the Blues would retain his rights so if he ever does return to NA, they would still have him but without having to pay him for next season - it wouldn't be the best situation but there would be some positives to it from a financial standpoint as well.

I hope you guys are right about the leverage/backup plan in this. I do not like Junland's chances competing for a spot against Cole in 11-12. Cole was damned good in his stint in Peoria at the end of the year. We need a bigger sample size of course but If he builds on that over a full season in the AHL Junland doesn't stand much chance against him.

Spot on mate, spot on! :handclap:

I feel like we could have used him as trade bait before we let him go to sweden, i really dont like that the blues let this happen.

I think this isnt too bad of a deal for the blues. I mean he can become a force in 2-3 years and be ready to step in cheap just as the blues are looking at a cup run.