Luff trade could mark start of deadline fire sale

It was a small transaction, but the St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders completed the first trade coming out of the Olympic break, with the Blues sending Matt Luff to New York in exchange for prospect Julien Gauthier.

On the surface, it's borderline irrelevant, as Luff has spent most of his career in the AHL and Gauthier has yet to make his NHL debut. However, it is in line with the Blues' plans to retool (or rebuild, however you'd like to refer to the next stage of the organization), as Gauthier recently celebrated his 21st birthday: the Blues are turning over veterans within the organization for future-forward assets.

Hopefully, this trade is the first domino to fall in what could be a number of franchise altering moves before the trade deadline next Friday. They had a chance to make some trades ahead of the Olympic freeze, but decided to stand pat; now, they still have a number of high-profile players on industry trade boards, and writers are starting to play matchmaker.

Perhaps waiting was the prudent choice for GM Doug Armstrong--mostly because Jordan Binnington demonstrated he can still be a "big game" goalie, and practically every playoff team could use an upgrade in net. Pius Suter played well for Team Switzerland and, as a center, surely juiced his trade value at the Olympics as well. Everyone is always looking for reliable middle-six centers headed into the playoffs, and, on a reasonable contract for one more season with no trade protections, Armstrong will be getting calls on Suter.

The regular season is, in essence, over for the Blues, who have a 0.1 percent chance of making the playoffs, per Money Puck. They'll be in the running for the first overall pick of the draft for the first time since 2006. The next 10 days are a massive opportunity for Armstrong to set this franchise up for the future, and trading Luff is, hopefully, just the beginning.