Three Draft-Day Scenarios For St. Louis Blues

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The St. Louis Blues are going into 2015 NHL Entry Draft without a first-round pick. In a Draft class the deepest we’ve seen since 2003, this is a huge mistake, but is absolutely rectifiable should Blues GM Doug Armstrong be willing to deal a player or two (or a player and a pick) come Draft day.

Thus far Armstrong has not made any statements, hints, or interpretive dance moves that have lead us to believe he’s planning to take over someone else’s first-round pick, but he is not known for tipping his hand too early and we at Bleedin’ Blue still hold out hope.

Next: Blues Must Acquire First-Round Pick For 2015

With players available like Dylan Strome, Noah Hanafin and Mitch Marner, the Blues could easily snag a pick that will be a franchise player in the years to come. They may have missed out on that opportunity in 2003 but with Armstrong at the helm the Blues have another chance to deepen the team’s skill for the future.

Who could they deal with? What teams are looking to move a pick in exchange for a player that can contribute immediately? We took a look at three different teams that might be willing to trade a first-round pick to St. Louis.

Next: Washington

Apr 17, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals center Brooks Laich (21) and New York Islanders center Ryan Strome (18) battle for the puck in the first period in game two of the first round of the the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Capitals won 4-3, and the series is tied 1-1. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Acquires First-Round Pick From Washington

If you follow the Bleedin’ Blue and Stars and Sticks FanSided accounts, chances are you already know how this trade goes down as Stars and Sticks editor Dave Stevenson and I hashed this trade out Monday afternoon. (Though he soon targeted another, I found this trade more to my taste.)

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With two of their four right wings reaching free agency this summer the Capitals will be on the lookout for a right-winger who can make them as dangerous from the right as they are for the left with Ovechkin leading the charge. And no team searching for a right wing needs to look further than the Blues, who boast a tremendous right wing who may be looking for a change of scenery.

As the St. Louis Blues are beyond unwilling to let Tarasenko slip through their fingers, they may be looking to cut cap space elsewhere. Oshie is not tremendously expensive, but he does hold one of the higher cap hits on the St. Louis roster, and rumors have been swirling about the Blues shopping him for most of the previous season.

Oshie is a truly capable player, and as hildymac pointed out over at St. Louis Game Time, is quite cheap for his skill level and the points he brings. She writes,

The first chant-Oshie getting Big Money-would be true if you compared him with working stiffs or surgeons. But this is the NHL. His salary cap hit (SCH) for 2014-15 was $4,175,000 making him the 102nd ranked forward. Considering there are 180 Top 6 forwards in the NHL, his SCH appears tame. There are 37 forwards with a SCH at $6 million or more. In other words, more than one-third of the forwards paid more than Oshie made 50% more than him. That’s what I call Big Money. The second chant-Oshie is not earning his keep-is fiction. His 55 points ranked him 58th among all forwards. Not bad for a guy getting paid as the 102nd. But he looks far more productive than nearly all of the forwards in his SCH range.

Oshie also wears the A for St. Louis, and holds a lot of sway in the dressing room. He works his tail off on and off the ice, and to see him having difficulty succeeding in Hitchcock’s system is honestly upsetting, considering that Armstrong signed Hitchcock back to yet another year-long contract.

And who can forget how good Oshie is at setting up plays, sometimes in an unbelievable fashion?

While I’d prefer to keep Oshie around to see what he can do under a new coach come 2016-2017, Oshie needs a new opportunity on a new team, Washington needs a right winger and the Blues need a first-round pick. It seems like a perfect match.

The Blues could trade Oshie in exchange for left wing Marcus Johansson and a 2015 Draft first-round pick. Since Armstrong is nobody’s fool, however, he should package that with a conditional future pick that will kick in for the Blues should Johansson not play for the Blues in the postseason.

Next: Detroit

St. Louis Trades For Detroit’s First-Round Pick

Apr 29, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Drew Miller (20) boards Tampa Bay Lightning center Vladislav Namestnikov (90) during the third period of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

While Detroit is deep with talent, the thing they’re currently lacking is youth. Youth, and some more physically aggressive defenders; the Red Wings don’t have that one defenseman who can beat up on opposing forwards, and the St. Louis Blues have the perfect solution.

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Zbynek Michalek.

Michalek was supposed to be an excellent get for the Blues when they acquired him at deadline from Arizona. He’s a stay-at-home, physically aggressive right-handed defenseman who had a surprisingly good +/- for being on a team that was focused on the tank as the Coyotes were all season. He’s not the goal-scoring wunderkind you would confuse with a Shattenkirk, but his shot-blocking is phenomenal and he’s not afraid to take an opponent down.

While he never really found chemistry with any of his defensive partners on the Blues, the fact remains that Michalek is a good defender who would greatly benefit the right team. Michalek will probably go to free agency this summer unless the Blues trade him beforehand, and the Red Wings might welcome exactly that.

According to a little birdie from Sportsnet, the Red Wings are willing to deal their first-round pick. Should the Blues package Michalek with a second-round pick (of which they have two in 2015) the Red Wings would most likely gladly part with their first-round pick, which St. Louis sorely needs.

Next: Buffalo

St. Louis Blues Acquire First-Round Pick From Buffalo

Apr 3, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres right wing Brian Gionta (12) during the national anthem before the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo, while it may have embraced the tank, also made some smart moves at deadline this past season to bring on players who would be strong contributors to the team the following season. Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian, who were acquired in the same trade with Winnipeg in February, come to mind. Additionally the acquisition of Anders Lindback at deadline, who played somewhat better than many Sabres fans and management were hoping while they tanked for McEichel.

Buffalo has a plethora of picks, including two first-rounders. Adding to that, they’re looking to spend the next several years rebuilding. Part of that will include bringing on young(ish), skilled players who are well on their way to becoming core members.

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Since Buffalo was planning on the tank, last summer they brought on players such as Brian Gionta — older players who were seen as positive influences in the dressing room — to hold the team together during massive amounts of player turnover, game losses, and inexperienced players being bounced from line to line. They don’t need wisdom at this point; they need players who could be top-six but due to who they’re surrounded by, aren’t considered essential on their current teams. That mindset will produce players who see the Sabres as their chance to finally be recognized, and the Blues have a handful or two just like that.

While the Sabres are contemplating buying out Cody Hodgson, the Blues could offer them a replacement center who is cap-friendly in Paul Stastny. Rumor has it that Stastny is looking for an expanded role and that 3C simply isn’t cutting it for him anymore.

Stastny is unlikely to see top-line minutes with Backes and his old-school style of hockey setting the tone for Hitchcock’s team and Jori Lehtera making magic happen alongside Vladimir Tarasenko. You can move lines around, but you can’t fake chemistry and Tarasenko and Lehtera are a marvel together.

Stastny has the chops to be a 2C on a team like the Blues, but the timing doesn’t work out in his favor. A move to the Sabres would give him more minutes and likely a placement on a top-two line as Buffalo builds for the future.

Sending Stastny to the Sabres in exchange for a first-round pick might hurt the Blues at center, considering Stastny contributed 46 points over the 2014-2015 season and Berglund, St. Louis’s other 3C, only 27. But if St. Louis is as determined as it seems to hold on to Berglund’s cap hit, he will find himself in a position where he needs to step up the points while Stastny acclimates himself to a new team.

Next: St. Louis Blues Trade Grades: 2014-2015

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