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Schwartz, Blues haven’t made progress on new deal

St. Louis Blues v Florida Panthers

SUNRISE, FL - NOVEMBER 1: Jaden Schwartz #9 of the St. Louis Blues warms up prior to the game against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on November 1, 2013 in Sunrise, Florida. The Blues defeated the Panthers 4-0. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jaden Schwartz

Joel Auerbach

Sounds as though the contract talks between St. Louis and RFA forward Jaden Schwartz are stuck in neutral. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Wade Arnott, agent for unsigned #stlblues forward Jaden Schwartz, tells P-D “nothing new yet to report.” (1/2)

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) August 19, 2014


More Arnott: “We are having ongoing dialogue regarding Jaden’s situation.” #stlblues (2/2)

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) August 19, 2014


Schwartz, 22, is coming off a breakout campaign with St. Louis, finishing third on the team with a career-high 25 goals while averaging 17:32 TOI per game. The former first-round pick racked up 56 points and established himself as a valuable penalty killer, leading the team with three shorthanded markers.

The Blues (and, specifically, GM Doug Armstrong) are known to play hardball with their RFAs, so the fact Schwartz remains unsigned so late into the summer isn’t surprising. Last year, stud defenseman Alex Pietrangelo went without a deal for the entire offseason and actually missed a bit of training camp; this summer, Armstrong and the Blues filed club-elected salary arbitration for Vladimir Sobotka, who then proceeded to sign in the KHL.

Back in July, Armstrong did say the Blues were aiming to get Schwartz signed by camp.

“We’re in the initial process,” Armstrong said, via a live chat through the Post-Dispatch. “I had a conversation with Jaden’s agent yesterday and we’re working towards getting him signed.

“This could take some time but we’re comfortable that he will be at training camp.”