St. Louis Blues Should Jump On Sharks’ 9th Pick

By A.P. Andes |

NHL.com Correspondent Eric Gilmore is reporting today that the San Jose Sharks’ General Manager Doug Wilson will “listen to any and all offers for the ninth pick in the 2015 NHL Draft[.]”

This is huge news for the St. Louis Blues.

The Blues, thanks to the Ryan Miller trade, where Miller inexplicably morphed into a photograph of swiss cheese between the pipes, lack a first-round draft pick. As our own Kate Cimini reported earlier, this year’s draft class is considered the strongest since the storied 2003 Draft.

Cimini, after ceding the obvious marquee talents of generational prospects Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, mentions forwards Dylan Strome, Lawson Crouse, and Mitch Marner as talents we will be hearing about for years to come, as well as blueliners Ivan Provorov, Noah Hanifin, and Zach Werenski. The buzz is that after the top two, the next 28 players are all incredibly close in skills and ability.

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The Blues are in dire need of a few new faces to supplant the old ones that fail to show up in the first round of the playoffs every year. But they also need to jettison cap space if they are to re-sign Vladimir Tarasenko and Jake Allen, and trades aren’t likely to accomplish that.

Letting Barret Jackman go to free agency, as the Blues have already stated they will do, is a good start, but only a small one. Much more cap space needs to be shed.

Trading either Paul Stastny and his $6.5 million salary or T.J. Oshie and his $4.175 million salary to the Sharks for the ninth overall pick in the upcoming 2015 NHL Draft would be an outstanding way to accomplish this.

The Blues need to make brave, bold moves, or next year is already a one-and-done.

On the back end, where the Sharks arguably have a more pressing need, especially after trading away stalwart Dan Boyle to the New York Rangers (for a draft pick, ironically), Jay Bouwmeester would be a highly stabilizing upgrade for the Sharks, and would shed $5.4 million in salary next year for the Blues.

Apr 3, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (19) waits for play to begin against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Blues defeat the Stars 7-5. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

A ninth overall pick in the draft for the St. Louis Blues would be huge at this juncture in the franchise’s existence. The Blues have been criticized in the past for their poor development, and letting promising prospect Maxim Letunov go to the Arizona Coyotes for playoff no-show Zbynek Michalek did not help the situation.

All of this is after the Blues traded another prospect in 2012 to the Ottawa Senators whom you might have heard of this year, a goalie named Ben Bishop.

Blues prospects Robby Fabbri and Ivan Barbashev are nearly NHL-ready, so it is time to replenish the coffers.

Sep 22, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri (15) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Blues 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Hopefully Blues GM Doug Armstrong reaches out to Wilson and the two Dougs can work out a mutually beneficial trade.

With the uninspiring prospect of another year under Ken Hitchcock, something’s gotta give. The Blues need to make brave, bold moves, or next year is already a one-and-done.

Who do you think the Blues ought to offer to the Sharks, Blues fans?

Next: Culture Change Coming For St. Louis Blues: Berglund, Backes, Oshie

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