St. Louis Blues Trade News: Daily Recap
By Kate Cimini
As the trade deadline of March 2nd draws nearer and nearer, we at Bleedin’ Blue decided to recap the day’s trade news for you, with a focus on the St. Louis Blues trade rumors, as well as how other teams’ movements affect our Blues. This feature will run every day until trade deadline.
Recap
As we know, yesterday (Febuary 24th) saw two trades: one between the Montreal Canadiens and the Anaheim Ducks in which the Habs sold forward Jiri Sekac downriver for forward Devante Smith-Pelly. Aside from being two players with names that I am great at mistyping, how is this trade significant for the Blues?
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Well, both of them are Geminis, the best astrological sign around. But this trade, despite Smith-Pelly and Sekac being great offensive players, will both make their new teams a bit more dangerous. Smith-Pelly brings a large frame to a lineup that, a few years ago, decided small and skilled wasn’t the way to go anymore. The Canadiens traded some skill for muscle, and have focused on building both depth and breadth ever since.
Smith-Pelly might be suffering from a sophomore slump, but at the same time, the caliber of his linemates fell, implying that S-P might not be the only reason for the lack of growth on-ice.
Sekac, on the other hand, might be relatively slight at 6 feet and 176 lbs, but in the KHL he was a points-scoring wunderkind. He may still be adjusting to NHL ice and playing style, only 50 games into his first North American hockey season, but once he gets his feet back under him he’ll prove to be a smart pick up for the Ducks.
The second trade of the 24th was between the Wild and the Panthers; Minnesota sent Florida a 2016 third-round pick in exchange for Sean Bergenheim and a 2016 7th-round pick. How does this affect St. Louis?
Well, that’s interesting. Bergenheim didn’t seem to enjoy his time on the Panthers, despite being an excellent player. Maybe it’s because he’s an excellent player. He’ll certainly make Minnesota more formidable on the forecheck going into the last month of the regular season, and the Wild are coming up on March 14th.
New News
Oct 3, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Daniel Winnick (26) checks Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Nosek (82) into the boards during the second period at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Today we saw the Penguins trade forward Zach Sill, a fourth-round pick in 2015 and a second-round pick in 2016 for Leafs forward Daniel Winnick. How does this affect St. Louis?
Pittsburgh just got tougher in their bottom six. So while this might not seem to be a huge trade, Reaves and co. will definitely be given some extra bruises, courtesy of Pittsburgh, who seem to be stockpiling heavy hitters for a cup run.
The Carolina Hurricanes also sent Jiri Tlusty to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2015 and a third-rounder in 2016. How does this trade affect St. Louis?
I’m so glad you asked.
Tlusty adds depth at forward for the Jets, who are looking to secure a playoff berth for the first time ever since their move to Manitoba. Tlusty can score, is aggressive and relatively young. He’s at 23 points in 52 games, and is on track to cross 30 in the regular season. And the Blues will face the Jets tomorrow, just in time for Tlusty to disembark and head to the arena.
How will it go? We’ll see on Thursday.
Last, but not least, the Hurricanes made yet another move today, selling off defenseman Andrej Sekera to the L.A. Kings, getting defender Roland McKeown and a conditional first-round pick in return. We know the Hurricanes are not likely to make the playoffs and that they will see a dismantling of their current core, but it is startling to see McKeown, who has yet to play an NHL game, in play. This is a clear indicator that Carolina’s management has its ducks in a row, and is looking to the future. As for Sekera, he’ll fit in nicely on the Kings’ blue line, especially now that they seem to have finally woken up from their season-long nap.
How does this affect the Blues? L.A. is planning on being a dominating force in the playoffs once again, and the Blues could likely meet them on their way to the Finals. Hopefully Sekera comes down with something like wisdom tooth surgery and the Kings collectively slip on banana peels. Or that the Blues return to their winning streak. Either would be great.
Feel like we missed something? Tweet us at @BleedinBlueFS and clue us in!