St. Louis Blues Got Away With The Biggest Crime Of The Decade

It is a mystery how St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is still walking around as a free man after he stole Ryan O’Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres last summer.

No one bothered to call the cops on the St. Louis Blues when the deal was made on July 1, 2018, that sent Ryan O’Reilly to the Blues for three players and two picks, but now, it looks like everyone involved should be doing hard time.

The Blues acquired a player who had seemed to lose his passion for hockey, and after many seasons with a struggling Sabres team, it was hard to see how it was worth sending a significant package for one of the top centers available at the time.

Boy were Blues fans in for a treat! Not only did O’Reilly eventually come away with the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, but he also led the team in points and assists during the regular season.

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All of the players that were sent to the Sabres in return for O’Reilly could not stack up to the level of production that O’Reilly displayed through the entire year.

St. Louis sent Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, and Tage Thompson to Buffalo in exchange for the services of the 28-year-old forward.

Comparing the numbers between everyone involved, O’Reilly runs away with every category.

The year started so promising for Buffalo. They were toward the top of the NHL standings for the majority of the first half, before predictably falling to sixth place in the Atlantic Division at the end of the year.

If there was any hope for Buffalo before the season started, it was with the newly acquired package of players from St. Louis.

Thompson was the player of the future that the Sabres wanted to acquire in the trade. Leading up to the deal, the question was raised as to whether or not the Blues wanted to part with top prospects Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, or Klim Kostin.

Instead, they gave Buffalo Thompson. Thompson is still just 21 years old and still has all the time in the world to develop into an everyday NHL player. However, 2018 was not encouraging.

The young forward played in 65 games and recorded just 12 points (seven goals, five assists), not to mention the -22 rating while on the ice for the Sabres.

Now, I know what you are thinking. But what about Sobotka? He can turn their season around! Well, not exactly. In 69 games, the Russian had five goals and eight assists, earning just one point more than Thompson.

Berglund’s situation is a little more complicated than the rest. Early in the year, Berglund left the team and did not return. The 30-,year-old played in just 23 games and netted four points.

If you are bad at math, let me add up the point totals for you. Thompson, Sobotka, and Berglund combined to score 14 goals, they had a combined 15 assists, for a total of 29 points.

O’Reilly, meanwhile, netted 28 goals, 49 assists, and 77 points en route to an all-star season and a playoff MVP trophy.

Even if the Sabres use their draft picks to draft the next Sydney Crosby, the St. Louis Blues are clear winners of the trade and everyone involved in making the deal happen should go on the lam immediately for stealing him from Buffalo.