The St. Louis Blues have yet to make their big trade ahead of the trade deadline. The Blues and General Manager Doug Armstrong have let it be known that any player older than 25 is available for trade. Now, the team has only a few hours to go to make some deals. There was one trade that was almost completed, and that was with the Buffalo Sabres.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the Sabres and Blues agreed to a trade surrounding defenseman and assistant captain Coltan Parayko. The deal was first reported by TSN's Darren Dreger, but the insider noted that Parayko still needed to waive his no-trade clause. On Thursday afternoon, Parayko officially declined the trade, keeping him in St. Louis for now.
Parayko is now the second player this trade deadline to be included in a trade report before making a decision to waive their no-movement clause.
In response to ESPN's Ray Ferraro discussing Parayko taking heat for invoking his no-trade clause, former Blues defenseman and Hall of Famer Chris Pronger responded, saying that a trade leaking before the deal is finalized is "rarely accidental," and says it puts more pressure on the player involved.
When trade talks leak before a deal is done, it’s rarely accidental.
— Chris Pronger (@chrispronger) March 5, 2026
That kind of stuff can create unnecessary noise for the player and teams involved. In this case, it may have backfired. https://t.co/muJmsZFeZQ
Chris Pronger talks Colton Parayko trade leaking before it was finalized
Pronger responded to fans on Twitter. When a fan asked about how this affects the relationship between the Blues and Parayko, Pronger said that they understand it's all a business, but the issue is that the trade got leaked publicly before the defenseman even had a chance to think about potentially accepting a trade elsewhere. Pronger also asked why an NHL insider is getting news about a trade before Parayko did.
Why is an insider getting this before the player?
— Chris Pronger (@chrispronger) March 5, 2026
Parayko is not the first player to see themselves involved in a trade before anything was finalized. Tyler Myers was floated around by the rebuilding Vancouver Canucks. Last week, it was reported that the Detroit Red Wings made an offer to the Canucks, which was accepted, but Myers had to waive his no-trade clause. Myers opted to wait it out to consider his options. Then, on Wednesday, Myers accepted a trade to the Dallas Stars.
With Parayko taking a little less than a day to come to a decision to stay in St. Louis over going to Buffalo on a playoff contending team, now the question is would he accept a trade elsewhere, whether at the deadline or in the offseason. This is what the Blues will have to figure out, as Parayko has a full no-trade clause through 2027. So he has full say whether he wants to go to a different team or decide to stay put and help the Blues in their rebuild. Let's not forget, he still has four years left on his contract, where he will count for $6.5 million against the cap annually.
It has been a weird trade deadline, to say the least, especially that we're now at two players who had to decide whether or not to invoke their no-trade clause after a deal had been made public via reporting.