St. Louis Blues Should Kick The Max Pacioretty Tires

The St. Louis Blues are doing a decent job of keeping their cards close to their chest. Perhaps that means they are on the verge of a good trade, the same as happened last summer.

Let’s be up front and honest. Nobody really knows what the St. Louis Blue are going to do this summer.

We all have our ideas about what they should do or might do. We report on the rumors making the rounds.

However, we’ve reached that critical point before the NHL Draft where nobody really has any great incite into what Doug Armstrong is planning. So, all we can do is keep making suggestions and see if any of them come through.

With that in mind, the Blues should go after Max Pacioretty. He’s a solid scoring winger and while the Blues are in need of help at center, anyone taking offensive pressure off Vladimir Tarasenko is a good thing.

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Those of you that follow this site regularly will know that I was not over the moon about Pacioretty as a trade piece back in January, when the deadline was spurring the rumors. Much of that was about the perceived price. Perception is reality. Thanks have changed a bit now.

The Montreal Canadiens proved they are willing to deal by sending Alex Galchenyuk to the Arizona Coyotes for Max Domi. As our friends at Blue Line Station pointed out, all trades have points of view regarding their value. It is becoming harder and harder to see the point of view of Montreal with their trades though.

Take the Montreal Canadiens for example. At face value, the team has made some outright terrible trades in the past calendar year. Swapping P.K. Subban, Mikhail Sergachev and Alex Galchenyuk for Shea Weber, Jonathan Drouin and Max Domi looks horrendous on paper. The Canadiens however would say that they are cultivating a specific type of culture which the players they traded did not fit. – Nicholas Zaaris, Blue Line Station

With that in mind, the Blues should kick the tires on a deal for Pacioretty. Since he is not a need, they don’t have to be overly concerned with what Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens ask for.

Clearly, you can’t just trade them a bag of pucks. However, though he has a high ceiling, Domi has done nothing to show that he will be on the level of Galchenyuk.

So, the Blues might be able to get Pacioretty for a similar swap. Perhaps Doug Armstrong could pull the wool over the eyes and deal off Dmitrij Jaskin the way he sold off Jori Lehtera to Philadelphia.

That’s a lot to ask, but at this point, why not? Usually we see trades include picks or future assets or current prospects. If Bergevin is showing he is willing to deal a player for a player, then make the call. The addition of Pacioretty would not break the bank and he is a solid player.

Pacioretty had a horrendous 2017-18, with some injuries and only 37 points. Prior to that, he had only failed to score 60 points in a lockout shortened season. He can get you 30-plus goals and help set them up too. Maybe he costs you a little more since he’s currently the team captain, but if his numbers translate to the Blues and a rougher Western Conference, it could be worth it.

Next: Blues Mock Draft: Mattias Samuelsson

As always, this is just a suggestion. We have not heard Pacioretty’s name linked with the Blues in some time. However, that does not mean much.

Nobody had the Blues linked to Brayden Schenn when that deal went down. Perhaps Armstrong is pulling those silent strings again to shock us once more.

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