St. Louis Blues Rumor Patrol: Colton Parayko Moving?

It’s that special time of year when the rumors come fast and thick and you wonder where in the world they got started. One rumor involves Colton Parayko.

It is no secret that the St. Louis Blues are looking to improve/upgrade their team. A very disappointing 2017-18 pointed out some glaring holes we have known about but got covered up.

However, in the team’s attempt to improve, they cannot plug one hole by making another. That would somewhat be the case if the Blues traded away one of their core defenders.

So, why is there a rumor that Colton Parayko is on the block? Well, you have to go into how things are phrased really.

First thing first, Parayko is not on the block as far as the Blues are concerned. We will get that out of the way off the bat.

St. Louis is likely taking calls about him. Lou Kourac listed Parayko as one of the Blues untouchables, but if the price is right, those words do not mean a bunch. Once Wayne Gretzky got traded, the idea that anyone is truly untouchable went out the window.

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However, as I point out in my series of posts about three players the Blues should be inquiring about, just because you inquire does not mean they are available. You simply make the call, see if there is any wiggle room for negotiation and either make the deal or don’t.

That is pretty much the case with Parayko. The Blues would be foolish to not listen to any deals other GM’s are willing to put forward. If you could get a king’s ransom for him, you have to consider it.

However, not everyone wants to give up that kind of haul. Pelle from Oil on Whyte was not in favor of any trade that would see the team give up the likely players any team would want in return. Leon Draistl was the main name mentioned in that piece.

Sorry, Pelle, but the Blues are not going to accept your proposed trades either. Parayko has lost some of the shine he had after his rookie season, but he’s worth more than these proposals.

But what if the Oilers offered Oscar Klefbom, Caleb Jones, and Filip Berglund? OR Oscar Klefbom, the 10th overall pick, and Ostap Safin?What would you offer the Blues that would force them to think about trading a player like Colton Parayko? I’d do Klefbom, maybe Willliam Laggesson, and possibly Tyler Benson.

It is not that any of those players are not good. St. Louis is just at a point where prospects should not be interesting any more.

The Blues can’t keep acquiring prospects like they are baseball cards, hoping they’ll be worth something one day. They need proven NHL talent. Klefbom is the only interesting name in that group and not enough for me to pull the trigger without a lot more coming back.

The only way, and this is a gigantic if, you make those trades is if you have something packaged with another team. You tell me that the Blues will turn around and trade those players away for someone better from someone else, then maybe. There are no guarantees there though.

Ultimately, it just makes little sense to trade Parayko at this point unless you’re getting a ton back. The Blues have a decent amount of defensive depth, but they proved last season that nobody could fill a top-four hole. Even Vince Dunn struggled in that and he stayed with the team almost the entire season.

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You can’t trade away one of your best blue-liners in an effort to get more scoring without someone to fill that hole. Otherwise you are cutting off your nose to spite your face.

This much can be said, if the Blues do trade Parayko, they will get a big return. If they do not, then we can actually start calling for Doug Armstrong’s job this early in the year.

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