One superstar prospect the St. Louis Blues must add in a trade with a heated rival

If there’s one good thing about being a team that’s not totally in contention, it means that you need to add some serious talent. Yeah, that might sound simple, but is it not true? And it’s a situation the St. Louis Blues are still in despite the big win over the Seattle Kraken. 

Yeah, they scored seven times, but it’s by no means a reflection of a successful campaign when you look at the hard numbers. Overall, the Blues are still 21st in the league with 164 goals. Better, but it’s by no means going to get them far when they have the puck. 

So, what do they do? Trade for a superstar prospect who can get you some points. Enter Colby Barlow, whose name has been thrown around as a potential trade piece to lure a rebuilding team into making a big trade, per The Fourth Period's Dave Pagnotta.

St. Louis Blues can score big with a prospect like Colby Barlow

Players like Jake Neighbours, despite a good game last night, haven’t been consistent enough for me to have complete faith in them. And to be honest, outside of Robert Thomas, is there anyone else on this team right now with an ultra-high ceiling?

At this point, I would question it. Yeah, the Blues have prospects of their own in what is becoming a deep system, but why not enrich yourself when the opportunity presents itself? And yeah, the Blues are still technically in contention, but let’s be real: they’re nowhere near good enough of a team to go far in the postseason. 

A team like the Jets is light years ahead of the Blues, and a group they’d never even remotely contend with if the two faced off in any hypothetical playoff series. A player like Barlow has enjoyed a point-per-game pace, with 52 so far and 29 goals. Not bad, right?

Blues have plenty of veterans they should be interested in trading

While the Jets are a great hockey team all around, they’re also aware that you can never get too deep when the ‘down the stretch’ period arrives. That said, they’ll be looking for a seasoned veteran, and perhaps that veteran, or veterans, will be a defensive pair.

This would help the Blues out in so many ways. They would trade off a couple of older blueliners, get a superstar prospect like Barlow and other assets, likely a mid-tier prospect and a draft pick, then keep getting deeper. 

Plus, moving defensemen around in this scenario means they can give some younger players time at the NHL level and their current group might enjoy even more ice time. Again, if the team is good enough to barely acknowledge themselves as contenders somewhere in outer orbit, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t go for a big-name prospect as the deadline nears. 

Overall, the Blues have a good, solid foundation brewing, and a player like Barlow gives them someone who’s nearly ready to make the jump to the NHL. This isn’t to say it’ll occur next season, as he may require more seasoning in the AHL (he’s currently in the OHL) before making the jump, but he’ll be more than worth the wait.