3 Moves The St. Louis Blues Must Do Immediately
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.
2. Extend Jakub Vrana
One of the under-the-radar acquisitions at last season’s trade deadline was the trade that brought in Jakub Vrana from the Detroit Red Wings. St. Louis sent out a career AHL player and a late-round draft pick for the player who cleared waivers last winter.
Vrana appeared in 20 games for the Blues down the stretch last season and recorded 14 points, including 10 goals and four powerplay goals. His scoring surge with St. Louis is something that came from him early in his career with the Washington Capitals.
The former 13th overall pick has two 20-goal seasons under his belt in his career, both coming in back-to-back seasons with the Capitals. After five years with Washington, he moved to Detroit and struggled to stay on the ice.
Health was a big issue for the 27-year-old as he appeared in just 42 games in three seasons with the Red Wings. Conversely, in not even a full season in St. Louis, Vrana has already appeared in 22 games and has recorded half as many points as he did with Detroit.
The St. Louis Blues should extend Vrana. He is set to be a free agent at the end of the season and will be 28 years old when he hits the open market. So far this season, Vrana has settled into the team’s third line but has the potential for more.
He would have to come at a discount for the Blues. Vrana is still proving to the Blues and the rest of the league that he has the ability to stay healthy and be a productive NHL player which makes him even more intriguing for an extension candidate.
3. Clear Room for Scott Perunovich
Scott Perunovich has been a huge mystery for the Blues to start his NHL career. He had never had injury problems until having injuries that have sidelined the young defender for back-to-back seasons.
Perunovich is just 25 years old and the former Hobey Baker Award winner deserves a chance to play for the St. Louis Blues daily. He did well enough in the preseason to earn a spot on the roster, kicking Calle Rosen to the AHL.
Through two games this season, Perunovich has yet to see the ice. With the way the team is playing defensively, it may be a while before any adjustments are made. The Blues have only allowed two goals through the first two games.
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When he gets his chance, it’s important for Perunovich to take the opportunity and run with it. he has the potential to be a dynamic offensive defenseman for the team, and he would make a great quarterback for the Blues’ powerplay.