Bleedin' Blue
Fansided

St. Louis Blues: Top 5 Trade Targets For The 2020 Season

By Jason Martin

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 21: Nashville Predators winger Austin Watson (51) and Lightning forward Patrick Maroon (14) fight during the NHL preseason game between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning, held on September 21, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 21: Nashville Predators winger Austin Watson (51) and Lightning forward Patrick Maroon (14) fight during the NHL preseason game between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning, held on September 21, 2019, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
LAS VEGAS, NV – APRIL 14: Ryan Reaves (75) of the Vegas Golden Knights fights Evander Kane (9) of the San Jose Sharks during a Stanley Cup Playoffs first round game between the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights on April 14, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – APRIL 14: Ryan Reaves (75) of the Vegas Golden Knights fights Evander Kane (9) of the San Jose Sharks during a Stanley Cup Playoffs first round game between the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights on April 14, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

With Pat Maroon leaving for Tampa Bay, the Blues could use some fight and although Robert Bortuzzo has no issues dropping the gloves every once in a while, bringing back Ryan Reaves could help tremendously.

The Blues traded Reaves to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017 in what turned out to be one of the best trades made by Doug Armstrong in recent memory. St. Louis sent Reaves and a second-round pick to Pittsburgh for Oskar Sundqvist and a first-round pick, which was used to draft Klim Kostin.

St. Louis could go full circle on the trade and re-acquire Reaves from Pittsburgh to solidify their forward core. Blues fans will forever love reaves for his physical demeanor and presence on the ice.

However, since his time in Vegas, the 32-year-old has found his offensive touch. In 477 games before being acquired by the Golden Knights, Reaves had netted just 32 goals. In the two years spent with Vegas, he has recorded nine scores.

I’m not trying to imply that the Blues would be acquiring a player with major offensive upside, but what I am saying is that in addition to his physical mantra, you might get some scoring here and there.

St. Louis should have no problem fitting Reaves into their salary cap. He is entering the final year of his contract with Vegas and is earning $2.775 million this season.

Trading for Reaves would likely mean that the Golden Knights are out of the race, but even if Vegas is in the thick of things in the Pacific, St. Louis could still sweeten up the deal to ensure a trade.

Home/Rumors