The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline did not disappoint. After being a very slow and uneventful day, it ramped up in the last hour to be an absolute masterpiece of movement.
The St. Louis Blues, who were being eyed by nearly every team in the NHL as they signaled for nearly a full-team firesale, made two trades on the day. Both were big-time trades, and they sold off big pieces of their teams to teams that are in contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Captain Brayden Schenn went to the New York Islanders, and defenseman Justin Faulk went to the Detroit Red Wings. This was Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong's final trade deadline, as he will be handing over the keys to Alexander Steen.
What would you grade Armstrong for preparing the Blues for their next era? Let's talk about it.
Some people are not happy with how Armstrong handled this past trade deadline, but the market was the way it was. He stuck to his guns, held his players to the highest possible return, and did not falter. If teams did not meet his demands, he did not alter his stance.
Now, there is something to be said about his overall tenure, in which his grade would be significantly lower due to all of these contracts that have No-Trade Clauses attached. That is eventually going to be a bigger issue than it was with the Colton Parayko situation with Buffalo at the deadline.
But for what he got back for Schenn and Faulk, he went out with a bang. Between the two trades, the Blues received two first-round picks, two third-round picks, Jonathan Drouin, Justin Holl and prospects Marcus Gidlof and Dmitri Buchelnikov. That a serious haul, and now the Blues have just north of $10 million in Salary Cap space going into the summer. A summer filled with a big free agency ahead.
Armstrong set this team up quite nicely, and now the rest falls on Steen. It is basically his team now, and his first order of business will be this Draft in June. What can he do with all of this surplus in the first-round, and could he grab some big free agents in the offseason.