Bleedin' Blue
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3 Moves The St. Louis Blues Must Do Immediately

By Jason Martin

Oct 12, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Marco Scandella (6) and Dallas Stars center Joe Pavelski (16) chase the puck during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 12, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Marco Scandella (6) and Dallas Stars center Joe Pavelski (16) chase the puck during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 28, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (41) is called for holding as he defends against Vancouver Canucks center Dakota Joshua (81) during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (41) is called for holding as he defends against Vancouver Canucks center Dakota Joshua (81) during the first period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Trade A Defenseman

Whether it was preseason performance or player’s contract situations, the Blues decided to keep more defensemen on the bench than forwards to begin the 2023-24 season. St. Louis currently holds eight defensemen on the NHL roster.

Justin Faulk, Torey Krug, Colton Parayko, and Nick Leddy make the Blues’ top two pairings on defense while Tyler Tucker and Marco Scandella have rounded out the third pairing for St. Louis.

On the defensive side of the puck, the Blues have two pending unrestricted free agents. Both Scandella and Robert Bortuzzo are set to be free agents after the season.

It would be in the Blues’ best interest to move on from a defenseman sooner rather than later. We saw in the offseason that general manager Doug Armstrong tried to flip Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers, but Krug exercised his no-trade clause.

Tucker’s strong play to begin the season should give the Blues enough confidence to move on from one of their depth players on the blue line. Scandella has a cap hit of $3.275 million, while Bortuzzo is making just $950k.

If the Blues were able to move on from Scandella, it would clear up a lot of cap room for the trade deadline if the Blues were hunting for a playoff spot. While Bortuzzo seems like the easier player to move, St. Louis should try to move one of the team’s defenders.

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