ST. LOUIS – One week away from the NHL trade deadline, the St. Louis Blues find themselves in a tough position. They’re on the cusp of a playoff spot, but they’ve lost considerable ground heading into March.
Two recent eight-game stretches, arguably their best and worst of the season, are pretty telling of their current situation:
- From Jan. 20 to Feb. 11, the Blues won seven games in eight contests around the All-Star break, a stretch which bumped them into playoff territory.
- Since then, from Feb. 13 to March 1, the Blues have won only two of their last eight games, falling out of a Wild Card playoff spot.
The Blues have 23 games remaining on schedule and sit seven points behind the Nashville Predators for the final Western Conference playoff spot with two games in hand. Playoff hopes aren’t quite as bleak now compared to this time last year, but they’ve certainly been more encouraging at this point in the past.
The trade deadline gives the Blues an opportunity to shape their roster for the future, even if fate leads the team to miss playoffs again.
St. Louis embraced a major roster overhaul last year by trading established veterans Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly on contract years. That degree of transformation may not be the case again, but the Blues front office will likely engage in trade talks ahead of the deadline.
General Manager Doug Armstrong has some tough decisions to make. Who could be moved within the next seven days? There are several names worth watching on the trade front…
Pavel Buchnevich
The Blues’ current goals leader (24) has one more year remaining on a contract St. Louis inherited after acquiring Pavel Buchnevich from the New York Rangers in 2021. He’s currently ranked No. 7 on The Athletic’s NHL Trade Board, and there’s belief the Blues could fetch more trading Buchnevich at this year’s deadline compared to his contract season next year.
The biggest consideration for the Blues here is how does Buchnevich fit into the long-term future. His next contract could command a similar number or years or average value to that of rising star Robert Thomas. The Blues envision Jake Neighbours taking on bigger roles over the next several years with prospects Jimmy Snuggerud and Dalibor Dvorsky not too far behind.
If the Blues catch fire in these last few games before deadline, there’s a greater chance Buchnevich stays. In that case, the Blues could use the 2024 offseason to determine if they want to trade Buchnevich or work on a new contract. That said, several contenders could use a Top 6 forward with the skillset and experience of the 28-year-old Buchnevich.
Marco Scandella
One of the Blues’ few unrestricted free agents next year, Scandella still offers the ability to deliver hits and blocks and play key minutes. The injury bug hasn’t hit him as hard compared to recent seasons.
With those considerations in mind, it may be tempting for the Blues to move him in a similar draft pick deal to which they acquired Scandella in 2020. The Blues have worked to give young blueliners Scott Perunovich and Matthew Kessel more opportunities, and moving Scandella would likely be the easiest path to afford either more playing time.
A bottom-six forward
The Blues’ other unrestricted free agents are Kasperi Kapanen, Sammy Blais and Oskar Sundqvist. St. Louis acquired the first two in trades last year, while also trading Sundqvist one year earlier before his reunion tour.
Kapanen and Blais have been healthy scratches in recent games over performance and Sundqvist has also seen production dip in certain areas. The Blues likely won’t yield much by trading any of these three, but they could be good fits on top-heavy teams needing depth. If they don’t intend to re-sign any of Kapanen, Blais or Sundqvist it would at least make sense to take offers.
Maybe another defensemen?
Let’s revisit a discussion point from last year. The Blues are at a bit of a crossroads with their defense. Four defensemen are locked up with no-trade clauses for several more years to come. While many are nearing prime ages for their athletic careers, the Blues have dealt with a lot of inconsistent defensive efforts this year.
How might the Blues solve that problem? Experienced defensemen aren’t always easy to come by in this league, let alone at trade deadline. St. Louis might expedite talks with other teams near the playoff bubble to check on interest. But moving a defenseman would require two tricky steps… One: A team willing to take on a lengthy contract. And two: The player of interest being willing to break terms of his no-trade clause.
The Blues apparently attempted to move Torey Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers last year before he acted upon his no-trade clause to block a deal. It probably won’t get easier to trade Krug or one of the big veteran defensemen on long-term deals at deadline (Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy), though efforts to trade one aren’t entirely out of question.
When is the NHL Trade Deadline
The NHL trade deadline is set for Friday, March 8 at 3 p.m. ET. The Blues and all other 31 NHL squads are required to complete all in-season trades by this deadline. Expect a flurry of moves as the new month draws closer to deadline day.
