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Small signings: Blues sign T.J. Hensick, Coyotes wrap up Jason LaBarbera for two years

Phoenix Coyotes v St. Louis Blues

ST. LOUIS, MO - JANUARY 10: Jason LaBarbera #1 of the Phoenix Coyotes makes a save against the St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center on January 10, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Coyotes beat the Blues 4-3. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Dilip Vishwanat

The St. Louis Blues and Phoenix Coyotes made some minor moves to fill up their rosters today, although neither teams were kind enough to share the exact terms of the contract extensions. Let’s discuss those two deals anyway.


  • The Coyotes still need to find a way to re-sign Ilya Bryzgalov - or figure out which goalie will be their top netminder in his place - but their 2010-11 backup will be back in the fold. Phoenix re-signed Jason LaBarbera to a two-year contract extension.

The journeyman backup boasts impressive size as his greatest strength. He was OK in 17 games this season, going 7-6-3 with a .909 save percentage and 3.26 GAA. It’s hard to imagine “The Barber” being a starter for the Coyotes, but he could be a reasonably decent backup for two more seasons.


  • Re-signing LaBarbera isn’t an earth-shattering achievement, but re-signing T.J. Hensick brings even bigger yawns. The Blues signed the underwhelming former Colorado Avalanche forward to a two-year contract extension today. My guess is that they made it a two-way deal since Hensick isn’t exactly tearing it up at the NHL level.