Extreme EJ Closeup!!

Hey, look! Soon this one finger's going to be worth more than you'll make in your lifetime! Pretty cool, huh?

Sorry - the photo on the Post Dispatch's article here scared me. God, zoom out.

Anyway, the Blues brass are in talks with Erik Johnson's agent for a contract extension. He's really this team's version of Al MacInnis, so why in the world wouldn't we want to ink him to a long-term deal?

That, and the kid deserves to be on a pairing with someone other than Darryl Sydor. Yeah, mentorship. Leadership. That was true in Atlanta for Mathieu Schneider and Zach Bogosian, too. Mats taught Bogosian a lot about the league, but Bogo played a hell of a lot better when Schneider got sent to the Habs. Just sayin'.

But all in all, even though we're lacking for firepower right now and not really doing as well as we should be, the future's bright. Right, Sporting News? Way to talk up Oshie and his potential. The kid's been getting a lot of that recently. Thankfully, it seems to not have impacted him too terribly much - he's staying pretty grounded.