Eight St. Louis Blues Mock Trades Provided By The Fans
Pietrangelo and a pick to the Florida Panthers for Aleksander Barkov.
Aleksander Barkov is one of the best rising stars in the NHL. At just 23 years old, he has already garnered the respect of the organization and his teammates. So much so, that he has already been named the captain.
It’s a mystery that Barkov was not chosen for the NHL All-Star game right away. However, he is on the list for the “last man in” fan vote for the final spot on the Atlantic Division all-star roster.
This season, Barkov has registered 16 goals and 25 assists and is on pace to break his career best for points in a single season (78). There is no question that Barkov would make the Blues a better team.
Imagine the Blues down the middle with Ryan O’Reilly, Brayden Schenn, Tyler Bozak, and Barkov. Not to mention Robert Thomas, Ivan Barbashev, and some of the young guns waiting in the minor leagues.
Pietrangelo would be a good start in a trade with the Panthers for Barkov, the pick attached to Pietrangelo in a potential deal would likely have to be a first rounder. Barkov is a former second overall pick, and the Panthers would need to be blown away by an offer to snag the 23-year-old.
A trade for Barkov would be more of a restructuring type of deal for the Blues. Essentially, the Blues would be acquiring a face of the franchise type player.
Would I do this trade? Absolutely. I think the Blues can survive without Pietrangelo. Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson have shown the capability to step up and shut down opponents top lines, and I think they would be able to fill in for the Blues in this scenario.
Tarasenko to the Washington Capitals for a first-round pick and a depth forward.
Trading Vladimir Tarasenko would be a franchise-changing decision. He has been the Blues best player for the past decade and trading him would change the course of the franchise.
I agree with the structure of this trade; however, I think Tarasenko is worth more than just a first round pick and a fourth line forward. If the Blues wanted to trade Tarasenko, who is a bonafide 30-40 goal scorer in the league, then they will need to get a significant package in return.
I modified this trade just a little bit. I would be okay with trading Tarasenko to Washington for two first round picks and Andre Burakovsky.
These picks may not turn out any great players. The Washington Capitals are not going away anytime soon and have consistently been at the top of the NHL in standings, thus, having a higher draft pick.
The Blues could be creative with how they use these picks though, general manager Doug Armstrong has turned first round draft picks into NHL talent in the past, and there’s no doubt that he could do something like that again with these picks.
The primary return in this deal for the Blues would be Burakovsky. The 23-year-old Austrian born winger has shown some promise over his short five-year career. Currently, Burakovsky has five goals and three assists in 36 games with Washington.
Burakovsky has scored as many as 17 goals in a season back in 2015-2016 and has registered as many as 38 points in the same year. The Austrian still has some developing to do, but he is capable of being at least a 20 goal scorer in the NHL and would be someone to keep an eye on if the Blues want to make a deal with the Capitals.
Would I do this trade? No, I would not. Trading Tarasenko would be a big mistake. Although he is underperforming so far this season, Tarasenko still can be an elite scorer, and the Blues shouldn’t move him for anything less than the world.
Pietrangelo to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Nikita Zaitsev, Kasperi Kapanen, and two picks.
This might be the best trade scenario that we received on social media. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a clear need for defense, and the Blues have one of the best in the game (when he is healthy).
Pietrangelo has not been the only Blue linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Colton Parayko’s name has also come up many times over the offseason, and it makes a lot of sense.
The Leafs have all the firepower in the world to be a Stanley Cup winning team. However, their one weakness seems to be their defense.
The return of this hypothetical trade is very intriguing. Nikita Zaitsev is a three-year NHL veteran, and at 27 years old he would be nothing more than a third pairing defenseman for the Blues if they decide to move Pietrangelo.
The real gem in this trade is Kaperi Kapanen. Kapanen is a former first-round pick and has done seemingly nothing wrong this season in Toronto. He is currently sitting on 25 points on the year including 14 goals and 11 assists.
Kapanen is only 22 years old and could be on the Blues first line for the next decade if they were to acquire him. Just like any young player, there is still a lot of room for development, but he is an incredibly promising talent.
I would do this trade in a heartbeat if I were Doug Armstrong. Even if St. Louis does not sell off every key player from the roster and decide to retool, the Blues would still have enough defensive depth to be a good team in the near future.
Schenn to the Boston Bruins for Jake Debrusk and a first-round pick.
I am not in favor of trading Schenn. He is one of the most consistent players on the Blues roster and is still under contract for another season. This does, however, mean that the Blues would get a significant return for Schenn if St. Louis decides to move him.
Jake Debrusk is a great start. My personal feelings about Schenn aside, if the Blues pulled off this trade, I would not be upset. Jake Debrusk is an up and coming player in the league and at 22 years old, would be a great addition to the Blues.
Giving up Schenn would garner a pretty big return for St. Louis. With all of the negatives over the past two seasons concerning the Blues roster, Schenn has been a constant positive.
Schenn set a career high in points last year in his first season with St. Louis with 70 and he currently sits at 22 points at the midway point this season.
Debrusk is having a great start to his NHL career with the Boston Bruins. In his rookie season last year, Debrusk netted 16 goals and 27 assists on his way to a 43 point season in his rookie campaign.
This season, Debrusk has almost met his goal total from the previous season. In 32 games this season the 22-year-old already has 13 goals and three assists. Nine of his 13 goals have come at even strength, while the remaining four have come on the powerplay.
Debrusk is one of the most intriguing names the Blues could acquire this trade season, assuming that the Bruins would be open to trading him. If the Blues pulled off this trade, I would be happy. I would be sad to see Schenn go, but I would be glad to see Debrusk in a Blues uniform.
Steen, Pietrangelo, and a second-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Artemi Panarin.
This is an interesting trade. I would see the Blues making this trade in February if the Blues somehow got back into a playoff spot. Right now, however, it does not make a whole lot of sense.
Panarin is one of the best players on the planet and has been an iron man for the duration of his entire four-year career. In three full seasons in the NHL, Panarin has only missed three games.
The 27-year-old has been nothing short of sensational for the Columbus Blue Jackets. It still baffles me that it took just Brandon Saad to acquire such a talent, but regardless, the Blue Jackets found themselves a bonafide MVP candidate.
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In 162 career games played, Panarin has 151 points and 61 goals, not to mention his eight points in 11 career playoff games.
The intriguing part of a trade for Panarin is the fact that he is an unrestricted free agent after the season and Columbus seems hesitant to give him a contract extension.
Panarin is not the only Blue Jacket who is a pending UFA. Their all-star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is also a free agent and seems like the more likely of the two to earn a contract extension.
Assuming that the Blues would give up this upcoming second-round draft pick, it would mean that the Blues would be without both a first and second round pick in the upcoming draft.
It is well documented that Panarin and Tarasenko are great friends. It’s possible that if the Blues acquired him this season, Tarasenko could convince the Blues front office to sign Panarin to a long-term deal.
The only way I would approve of this deal, is if the Blues were in a playoff spot. I have no interest in acquiring Panarin if all it would do is give the Blues a worse draft pick.
Pietrangelo, Steen, and a conditional pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Clayton Keller.
This is a fun one. Clayton Keller is a St. Louis product and one of the most dynamic young players in the league. He finished third in the rookie of the year voting last season and has lived up to his potential as a former seventh overall pick.
The St. Louisan is the future of the Arizona Coyotes, but he could be the future of his hometown team if the Blues were to acquire him in a trade. I doubt the Coyotes would be open to trading the Chesterfield native, but we’re going to talk about it anyways.
Imagine a world with Jordan Kyrou, Thomas, Klim Kostin, O’Reilly, and Tarasenko as members of the St. Louis Blues for the next seven years. This is a world that I would like to be a part of.
This trade is a bit more complex than the others. Alex Steen has a no-trade clause in his contract and would have to accept a trade to Arizona. Throwing in Pietrangelo is a good start in acquiring a great talent like Keller, and the pick doesn’t hurt either.
This season with the Coyotes, Keller has eight goals in 40 games played and has also registered 29 points. He played in all 82 games for Arizona last season, netting 23 goals paired with 42 assists on his way to a top-3 Calder trophy finish.
Pull this trade off, and I’ll be a happy man. Keller is going to be a star in this league and if it would cost the next two years of Pietrangelo and a pick to acquire him, sign me up.
Maroon to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a late-round pick.
This may be the least sexy trade that will be discussed, but it could also be the most practical trade. Maroon’s stint with the St. Louis Blues has been poor, and a change of scenery could benefit both sides.
The St. Louisan has been downright bad for his hometown team. In 32 games for the Blues this season, Maroon has just three goals, and eight assists, two of his three goals have come on the powerplay.
This was a great signing in July, but the new year has begun, and Maroon is still not producing, and it might be time to move on. Of all the players we have talked about so far, his contract is the easiest to move.
The 30-year-old signed a one year deal worth $1.75 million, and even if the Blues were to take on some of the contract in a trade with Tampa Bay, I do not see any reason why budgetary constraints would be the issue in a trade.
As far as the fit in Tampa is concerned, Maroon has historically been very good when paired with superstar talent. He has played on lines with Connor McDavid and Taylor Hall and has played very well. I do not see any reason why he cannot do the same with a loaded Tampa offense.
Tarasenko, Kostin, and a pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas
This is another head-scratcher. Even though I would love to have Andrei Svechnikov on the St. Louis Blues, I highly doubt that the Carolina Hurricanes would be willing to deal the second overall pick in last year’s draft.
Martin Necas has not had the opportunity to compete at the NHL level for an extended period of time, but the former first-round pick would be a big piece in the trade as well.
In the 2018 draft, it was Rasmus Dahlin, Svechnikov, and then everyone else. Svechnikov is viewed as a franchise-changing player, and it would take the world to take him away from the Hurricanes.
Tarasenko is a good start, he has been at the forefront of the St. Louis Blues offense for the better part of a decade and trading him would make headlines all across the NHL.
Klim Kostin, on the other hand, is highly treasured by the Blues and the only way St. Louis would move on from him is in a trade for a player with the potential of Svechnikov’s.
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I would love to acquire Svechnikov, but at the rate the young Russian is developing, it is highly unlikely that the Hurricanes would be willing to part with their future face of the franchise.