St. Louis Blues Trade Rumors Have Jumped The Shark
By Todd Panula
It would not be this time of year without a bunch of rumors floating around regarding trades. However, with 24/7 news cycles and content requirements, we may have reached a point where there’s just too much garbage going around.
The St. Louis Blues are still a couple days before returning to the ice. With each passing day though, we have to wonder whether or not Kevin Shattenkirk will still be a part of this team.
The bottom line is it just does not make much sense to keep him at this point. While I don’t want him gone personally, the Blues cannot afford to give him the kind of money he’s reportedly asking for.
Even if they could fit that under the salary cap, you have to take into account guys like Colton Parayko needing raises soon. No offense to Shattenkirk fans, but I’d take a guy who plays both ways over Shattenkirk’s offense any day of the week.
Also, despite what the national pundits want us to believe, Shattenkirk is not the linchpin of this team. He’s a good player, a good person and a top-four defenseman, no doubt. He’s no longer the difference between this team being a playoff team or not though.
The Blues will make the postseason with or without him. That’s not meant to be a knock on him so much as to say enough players have stepped up that can replace him and even surpass him, defensively anyway.
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So, whether we want to face it or not, the Blues likely need to deal him. We won’t get fair value for him, but sadly that seems to be the way of NHL trades these days, unless they are done in the offseason.
The problem now is the rumor mill itself. Things have gone wacky when it comes to potential trades for just about any team, the Blues in particular.
The one that set me off was not so much a trade for Shattenkirk. It was a player the Blues might bring in as a replacement in a separate deal.
First read on
and then in a piece by Pierre LeBrun of
, apparently the Blues should take interest in
of the Detroit Red Wings.
I’m sorry, but that irritates the heck out of me. I’m fine with returning a defenseman in a potential Shattenkirk trade, but to make another deal to bring in a defender?
What sense does that make? Smith is two-inches taller and really no bigger in weight (2 lbs according to hockey-reference).
Smith is basically the same age as Shattenkirk. He’s also much less productive.
Smith doesn’t score goals, wouldn’t be an impact on special teams and his career high is 14 assists. I understand that he would not be brought in to be a true replacement, but it’s just a silly idea.
Smith is currently being paid $3.25 million with a cap hit of $2.75 million. Even if you convince him to stay at that salary – that’s right, he’s a free agent too – I’m not sure he’d be worth bringing back.
If you acquire him as a rental, that’s fine if you give up next to nothing. However, I don’t get the idea of keeping a player like this.
If given a full offseason to prepare, the Blues have got Jordan Schmaltz, Vince Dunn, Petteri Lindbohm and Tommy Vannelli all waiting for a chance. I’d much rather give one of these guys a look than another defenseman who might sit in the pressbox every other game.
I’m not trying to bag on this guy. He’s more of an old school defender and there’s nothing wrong with that. I was a big fan of Roman Polak when he was in St. Louis.
However, while you don’t need a ton of point producers, Smith doesn’t strike me as fitting the new style the Blues keep claiming they want to play. Maybe I’m just not seeing things right.
I’ve seen his name pop up in rumors with Pittsburgh, Toronto and more, so the pundits see talent there. His is just not a name that gets me out of bed though.
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The Blues have some young guys they need to figure out where they are at. They don’t need a 28 year old third pairing guy in my opinion.
This is the sort of guy that I will gladly support if the deal goes down and he dons the blue note. Until that day, I hope this sort of trade doesn’t happen.
It doesn’t make sense to me. Hopefully it is simply other writers just throwing a certain brown material at the wall and seeing what sticks.