St. Louis Blues – New York Islanders Trade Talk Reaction
The St. Louis Blues have got to look under every stone as far as researching and pursuing trade possibilities. Some are worth looking into and some, not so much.
The St. Louis Blues have 30 potential trade partners out there. That’s a lot of players potentially available.
The intriguing part about it all is that the Blues are in an interesting position. While we, as fans, have people that we would be crushed to lose, the Blues have to be open to anything. That means nothing is off the table. Any team and any player should be pursued, even if not fully in the kicking the tires phase.
So, the wheels got turning for our friends over at Eyes on Isles about a similar subject. The Islanders, like the Blues, have some talent but not enough to win it all as presently constructed.
The Islanders are in for a big offseason of change, but that may not be of their making. John Tavares is heavily rumored to be leaving, though New York can offer him the most money, long-term.
So, the Islanders are looking elsewhere for supplemental pieces while they decide whether the bulk of their cash goes to Tavares, one other player or multiple players.
That said, Michel Anderson picked out three Blues that the Islanders could/should show interest in. Some were head scratchers, but some were interesting from the Blues perspective.
Carter Hutton
This one is a bit puzzling, to be honest. As Anderson even points out, the Islanders can pick up Carter Hutton as a free agent on July 1.
The odd thing is he suggests the Islanders might even want to pursue Hutton beforehand. This kind of trade would tick off a lot of Blues fans, but the sooner we all realize that Hutton is not going to be brought back the better.
He is a backup and the Blues cannot afford to pay Hutton the kind of money he will demand to be their backup. If St. Louis could swing a draft pick in a pre-free agency deal, they would be smart to do so.
From the Islanders perspective, I don’t see this making much sense. Hutton would be a fit there, as they have money and need a steady presence.
However, unless Hutton is predisposed to a certain team already, you’d be giving up a draft pick for negotiating rights. This has worked for some teams in the past. It just seems like being in New York is usually a hot selling point. If you trade something just for the right to negotiate, you seem to be saying you don’t think they would come otherwise.
I understand that you avoid Hutton talking to 30 other teams, but it still seems odd. The Blues would be smart to take such a deal though.
Jay Bouwmeester
Yes, please!
I have been one of the biggest, if not the only Jay Bouwmeester supporter through the years. I still contend that the Blues would be better with him on the team, if he is healthy.
He also has a no-trade clause. On the one hand, players are likely to want to go if they feel unwanted by a certain team. On the other hand, Bouwmeester seems comfortable in St. Louis and might not want to leave.
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Regardless of that, the Blues could not pass up a handsome offer for Bouwmeester. Forget all these fools saying you should trade him for a bag of pucks. He could still fetch you an NHL ready player, or at the very least a good draft pick that you could package for something else.
Despite what the vocal masses think, he is still a reliable defender. It is the offensive numbers that have slipped. Bouwmeester had 37 points his first year in St. Louis. He has never cracked 20 points since then.
He is not getting younger. Bouwmeester is also due $5.4 million for one more season with the Blues. While I like him, I cannot deny there are plenty of other places the team could spend that money. There are free agents to be had and Joel Edmundson is also a free agent. The Blues have the protection of restricted free agency, but Edmundson will get paid eventually, whether this offseason or soon.
If the Blues can swing a deal where a team feels Bouwmeester would be a solid mentoring piece for young defenders, you take advantage of that.
Carl Gunnarsson
The last name that Anderson looked at for interest by the Islanders was Carl Gunnarsson. Any Blues fan will tell you that is a little bit shocking.
Like Bouwmeester, if someone is interested and gives you a fair deal, you have to take it. I actually warmed up to Gunnarsson this past season, but his numbers and style of play were still nothing you could not live without.
The main issue with getting rid of either Bouwmeester or Gunnarsson is that the Blues defensive prospects have yet to prove they can handle the league. We’ve seen spurts, but the guys in the wings have not grabbed the brass ring like Colton Parayko or Edmundson.
The trade of Gunnarsson also might not be quite as beneficial. It clears up a roster space, but would only save the team $2.9 million.
Every little bit in the bucket helps, but that’s not quite on the level of a Bouwmeester deal.
On the flip side, Gunnarsson’s loss wouldn’t impact the team heavily. He’s steady, but he has never played more than 72 games with the Blues, either due to injury or simply being a scratch.
But, again, are you willing to roll the dice on some defensive prospects that looked shaky at best? There would be no guarantee you’d get a defender in return.
Even so, Gunnarsson is not a keeper if you’re going to get something good for him. Even if it is a prospect and a pick, that might be worth it, and that’s coming from someone tired of making deals for the future.
Grand Scheme
As with any trade discussions, the main topic has to be what the Blues could/would get in return. That much was not discussed by Anderson and a topic we will likely talk about later.
No matter how much you think you hate any of them, or want them to stay in Hutton’s case, you cannot give them away for nothing. They might not be worth a bag of pucks to some, but if the Islanders or any team shows interest, that is enough to stand on to demand as much as you can get.
Each case represents something different. You can’t ask more than a mid-round pick for Hutton because you’re not guaranteed to get the player.
Bouwmeester only has one season left, so there could only be so much a return. Gunnarsson gives the trade partner the most value on a contract, but also only has one season left on his deal and gives the least value in on-ice performance.
So, the Blues would not be looking at getting much in straight up deals. If you could work out a package deal, there might be more of a return to St. Louis.
Then, the elephant in the room is Tavares. Some fans want the Blues to make a trade just for his negotiating rights.
While I think trading for Hutton would be foolish for New York, that goes double for the Blues and Tavares. I get it. I get the idea of being able to talk to him before anyone else and pick his brain.
The problem would be you can’t sell him on St. Louis. You could take him around town, but he would not have played here or dealt with the fans. I think the Blues would be better off entering his free agent sweepstakes rather than giving anything up.
Even if the trade was all three aforementioned players for Tavares’ rights, I still might not do it. It would be a lot more tempting, not having to give up any of our prized prospects, but then you are creating plenty of holes.
St. Louis has some holes to fill anyway. You might not want to add to the list just to create some extra cap space.
Next: Blues Have True Farm System In 2018-19
It is going to be an interesting offseason. As usual, plenty will hate Doug Armstrong and some will like what he’s doing.
If he could swing any of those individuals into solid players, ready to contribute to the 2018-19 Blues, he’d be a step in the right direction.