For the second straight Trade Deadline, the St. Louis Blues hold the biggest prize in their possession, and everyone wants to make a bid. Robert Thomas has been the talk of the town this week, with a ton of teams interested in him.
This is just like last year at this time, when Brayden Schenn was listed as going everywhere. Toronto pushed hard for him, but ultimately, the captain decided to stay in St. Louis, and a playoff appearance was the result.
For this year, it is a much different story. There is no sight of a playoff appearance, and this Blues team is heading into a different era of hockey as they look to sell off key pieces. The pending trade of Colton Parayko to the Buffalo Sabres was the start of the fire sale from General Manager Doug Armstrong.
The Blues are busy this time of year
Even though the Blues did not have a single move made last season, it spoke volumes throughout the league that Armstrong decided to bet on that team to make it work. They did just that.
Now, the Blues are selling off key pieces, and hopefully going to accelerate their retool with whatever they get out of Parayko, Thomas, and potentially Justin Faulk. Let us not forget that goaltender Jordan Binnington is also out there on the rumor wire.
Buffalo was a serious contender for Thomas, but it seems like that has been shelved for now. Now, there is a big offer coming out of Utah, allegedly, involving Caleb Desnoyers as a cornerstone piece.
The next couple of days are going to be very busy for the Blues. But right now, they hold a lot of power for this Trade Deadline, and they can ask for whatever they want in return.