The St. Louis Blues, as well as the rest of the National Hockey League, waited until the final moments of the 2026 Trade Deadline to start making some franchise-shifting moves. Everyone was calling General Manager Doug Armstrong, and he stayed consistent with his high asking prices.
Here is a breakdown of the day's action, behind the scenes, and whether or not the Blues won the day.
Schenn traded to Islanders, immediately
The Blues made two trades on the day, when they had well over six trade pieces dangling for other teams to take nibbles on. Of course, if you want to count the Colton Parayko near-trade as a done deal, considering it was confirmed by both teams but vetoed by the player via enacting his No-Trade Clause.
Captain Brayden Schenn was one of the players traded; in fact, he was the first of the two. Funnily enough, he was traded to the same team that shared the same hotel as them yesterday, as both the Blues and New York Islanders were on the docket for the San Jose Sharks back-to-back. He could have reported to them by walking to another floor.
Schenn was moved for a first-round pick, a third-round pick, Jonathan Drouin, and Marcus Gidlof from the Islanders. Some might say that this was an "Ok" win for the Blues, but in reality, this is about as good as it gets for a 34-year-old center with over 1000 games played in the NHL. They get four assets to play around with for one that has a contract expiring at the end of the 2027-28 season.
Those four assets will have a longer impact than that.
Faulk moves to Detroit, a perfect fit
There were a ton of teams calling for Blues defenseman Justin Faulk, and it seems that they found the perfect fit for him. Detroit was also in on Philadelphia blue liner Rasmus Ristolainen but it failed to come to fruition, snagged No. 72 in the Blue Note as they try to make a playoff push.
Faulk's return mirrored that of Schenn, with another first-round pick, a third-round pick, Justin Holl, and unsigned prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov. This is a fantastic deal as well, and now the Blues have some more wiggle room with salary and with the upcoming draft.
Did Blues win the day, secure the future?
Ultimately, the Blues did win the day and absolutely secured the future. Now, they have three first-round draft picks consisting of their own, Detroit's, and Colorado's via the Islanders. Additionally, they have no picks in the second-round, but can move up using one or two of their three third-round picks as well.
Holl, who is 34-years-old and is going to be an Unrestricted Free Agent this summer might be able to be brought back on a smaller, shorter deal. The prospect Buchelnikov also could be retained depending on what Alexander Steen's plans are for him in the future.
The rebuild has fully commenced, and Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou are going to be at the forefront of it. Depending on how fast they can turn this around, both players could still be in their primes by the time the Blues are playing competitive hockey again. For now, development and trying to buy the right pieces are on the horizon.