St. Louis Blues: Robby Fabbri Injury Makes Doug Armstrong's Team A Seller

Clearly on the bubble in this year’s playoff race, the St. Louis Blues needed team stars like Robby Fabbri to step up. But with a torn ACL, Fabbri’s season is now over. And it just might mean the Blues’ bubble has officially popped.

Among all of the craziness that has been the Blues’ roller coaster season, there’s been so much talk about what General Manager Doug Armstrong should do on the trade market to better the future without hurting the current roster.

With the devastating injury to Robby Fabbri, the debate has settled itself. And now the Blues need to shift their focus to getting the most out of their expiring contracts before it is too late.

Call me a pessimist, but I just don’t think we will see the Blues in the playoffs.

As of Sunday morning, the Blues are currently two points out of a playoff spot. They trail the Calgary Flames by two points for the final wild card position. They’re behind Nashville for the third Central entry by three points. So in the current standings, it may seem like they are right in the thick of things.

But Fabbri’s injury and the recent play of both Nashville and Calgary is quickly going to push the Blues even further out of contention. And fast.

The Blues promotion of AHL-leading scorer Kenny Agostino could help fill the void left by this disaster. It’s just unrealistic to believe he will arrive in St. Louis and emerge as one of the team’s top forwards, though. Ultimately, this is an unrecoverable loss for the Blues no matter what.

And it’s the green light for Doug Armstrong to begin focusing on making the best out of this “transition year.” It’s time to start dialing phones and aggressively shopping all of the expiring contracts the Blues hold, as well as the ones that pose a problem for the team in the future.

Kevin Shattenkirk is already the biggest name in trade rumors, as he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Blues could also lose both Patrik Berglund and Scottie Upshall for nothing when the time comes. It seems Shattenkirk is likely already on the move, but Armstrong definitely needs to spend time shopping Berglund, as well.

The big Swede is on pace to have his best scoring season in six years and he was excellent in last year’s playoffs. You’d have to think there is some interest in him from contenders. While it would be nice to have him back in St. Louis, if his current play is the new normal, there’s no certainty in that. The Blues shipping his contract for a prospect or draft pick certainly benefits the team going forward. They could always try to bring him back in free agency if he is not re-signed by the trading partner, as well.

As for Upshall, it would be worth trying to shop him to see what a return could be. Upshall likely won’t gather the Blues too much value in trade, but he is a high energy, relentless player that would be an upgrade on the fourth line of many playoff-bound teams.

The biggest question mark in this inevitable seller situation for the Blues is whether or not they can find new homes for guys with contracts detrimental to the team’s salary situation going forward.

Jori Lehtera has been incredibly disappointing as a Blue. He has gotten worse every year since joining the team in 2014. At this point, I think it is fair to say he might be holding Vladimir Tarasenko’s scoring potential back more than helping it. The Blues can’t afford to pay that kind of player $4.7 million a year. Unfortunately, his lack of speed and scoring woes aren’t going unnoticed around the league. I think it will be impossible to move this contract now, but it is worth a shot.

Lastly, Jay Bouwmeester should be another name Doug Armstrong throws at other teams. The 33-year-old defenseman has two years left on his deal at $5.4 million per year. Bouwmeester is as durable as they come and has played well on the left-side while in St. Louis. But at this point, the Blues need to try to move him in favor of a younger, cheaper option. Bouwmeester has found himself with reduced minutes because of his play and the franchise should not be committing that type of money to 20 minutes or less of ice time if they are not a contender.

The Blues’ front office has five players with expiring or straining contracts and should be looking at every opportunity to move them. It is highly unlikely they will, or even can, clear all of that room. However, that doesn’t make the Blues any less of a seller. The team is now on the outside looking in through a rapidly closing window.

Us fans need to accept it, grieve, and then hope the organization makes the right moves in the next month to prepare for a playoff run next season, with a healthy Robby Fabbri.

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