St. Louis Blues: 5 Potential Trade Targets For The St. Louis Blues

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ST. LOUIS, MO. – DECEMBER 31: during an NHL game between the New York Rangers and the St. Louis Blues on December 31, 2018, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The St. Louis Blues are in last place and could be entering the all-star break in sell mode if they continue to perform at the level they are currently playing.

The St. Louis Blues do not need to go in an all-out sell mode, and they have enough young and controllable talent to do a quick retooling of the roster and get back into contention within the next few seasons.

We had thought that the Blues had turned the corner a few weeks ago when they strung together a streak of winning five of seven games. However, the team has since fallen back into last place in the Western Conference, and are tied with the Ottowa Senators for the fewest points in the NHL.

I would imagine the Blues would trade away players that have been on the roster for several seasons. Guys like Alexander Steen, Jake Allen, Alex Pietrangelo, or even Vladimir Tarasenko become obvious candidates to get traded.

However, I would be shocked if the Blues were willing to give up guys like Ryan O’Reilly or Jaden Schwartz. These players are the two best performers for the Blues over the past handful of seasons and trading these players would be a mistake in my opinion.

If the Blues decide to trade Pietrangelo or Tarasenko, the return on these players could be massive and would help speed up the rebuilding process.

Some of the players that will be mentioned may seem crazy, but with the quality of players that St. Louis would be trading away, it is not out of the question that just about every player would be on the Blues radar.

Aleksander Barkov

Trading for Aleksander Barkov may be something more out of NHL 19 then a realistic trade opportunity for the St. Louis Blues. However, with the level of talent the Blues are reportedly giving up, I don’t think it would be out of the question that Florida would entertain trading him.

Barkov is turning into a superstar in this league at just 23 years old. Last year, Barkov put up 27 goals and 51 assists en route to a 78 point season. This year, Barkov is up to his same tricks. He has 15 goals and 24 assists in 38 games in 2018-19.

Barkov has already signed his first contract, he is signed for the next three seasons at $5.9 million. It would take a player with the same kind of potential as Barkov to trade for him, maybe a player with more potential.

It’s hard to see precisely which player could be going the other way to the Florida Panthers, but Tarasenko comes to mind immediately. Like Barkov, Tarasenko is under team control for the next handful of seasons, but at slightly more money at $7.5 million.

A trade for Barkov may be unrealistic, the Panthers are toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference and the NHL and might not be open to trading the former second overall pick. However, if he is available, then he would be the perfect player to jumpstart a re-tooling phase in St. Louis.

Jake Debrusk

The Boston Bruins could use some experienced defensemen on their roster ahead of a second-half playoff push. The Bruins are in the best division in the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and apparently also the Buffalo Sabres all look like Stanley Cup contenders, and the Bruins could use some of the veteran players on the Blues roster to help climb further in the standings.

Jake Debrusk is an intriguing young forward. A first overall pick in 2015, Debrusk registered 16 goals, 27 assists, and 43 points in his rookie season last year. This season, he is already on pace to destroy his career high in goals.

So far in 31 games this season, Debrusk has 11 goals and three assists. He is averaging just over 16 minutes per game on the ice and is receiving a more critical and increased role in the Bruins offesnse.

A guy like Brayden Schenn comes to mind as a start to complete a trade with Boston to bring Debrusk to St. Louis. Schenn is under team control for one more season and is one of the Blues best all-around forwards.

Debrusk looks like a budding star in the league and would be a great piece if the Blues wanted to go in a rebuild mode. He would join Blues prospects Robert Thomas, Klim Kostin, and Jordan Kyrou as something to look forward to in the future.

Reilly Smith

Reilly Smith may not be the sexiest name that gets talked about as a potential trade target, but over his career, he has been a very reliable forward in the NHL and could complement the Blues nicely.

Smith is an eight-year veteran in the NHL and has spent two seasons with four different teams. The former Star, Bruin, and Panther got picked up by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft in 2017.

He is signed through the 2021-22 season at $5 million a season. This season, Smith has scored nine goals and has tallied 18 assists in 43 games this season. He scored as many as 25 goals in 2015 as a member of the Florida Panthers.

The 27-year-old has recorded at least 50 points in three of his eight seasons and could give the Blues some great depth on the wings.

The Golden Knights have already expressed interest in Blues center Brayden Schenn. I would hope that the return for Schenn would garner more than just Smith, the Golden Knights are flush with draft picks and could send a couple of high round draft picks back to St. Louis as well.

Acquiring Smith would indicate more of a retooling phase, more so than a complete rebuild. Unless the Blues intentions were to flip Smith after acquiring him, Smith could help the Blues upon arrival.

Torey Krug

Torey Krug is one of the more up, and coming defensemen in the NHL and a trade for him would reflect that. Krug is 27 years old, and with the current playoff position of the Bruins, it would take an arm and a leg to acquire him.

This season, Krug has 24 points in 29 games including four goals and 20 assists. Krug gained votes for the Norris Trophy as the leagues best defensemen two years ago after the 2016-2017 season had concluded.

Joonas Korpisalo

Jake Allen as the next starting goalie for the Columbus Blue Jackets? It may not be out of the realm of possibility. If the Blues wanted to move on from Allen and still have a reliable goalie in net in the interim before finding a number one goalie, then the Blues should look no further than Columbus.

Joonas Korpisalo has been backing up one of the best goalies in the world Sergei Bobrovsky, and even though the Bobrovsky is a free agent after the season, the Blue Jackets could be looking to move their backup goalie, for a future number one goalie.

Korpisalo is looked at as one of the most prominent young goalies in the NHL but has been stuck behind one of the games best for his entire career. This, however, has not stopped the 24-year-old from performing.

He has played in 76 games in his career with a record of 37-26-8, a SV% of .906 and allows 2.96 GAA. These are pretty fantastic numbers for a 24-year-old in the NHL. Granted the Blue Jackets have been an excellent team over the past handful of seasons, but as Blues fans know very well if their goalie is bad, the team is bad, and that has not been the case with Korpisalo.

Next. 6 Blues Who Could Be Traded Sooner Rather Than Later. dark

If you told me that Korpisalo would be the goalie of the future for the St. Louis Blues, I would be all for it. He is a restricted free agent after this season but would still be under team control for many years. I’m not in favor of trading Allen, but if it was for a young prospect like Korpisalo, count me in.

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