3 blockbuster trades the St. Louis Blues could have made at the NHL trade deadline
The St. Louis Blues made one small trade during NHL trade deadline week, but they could have pulled off a lot more.
The St. Louis Blues had quite a bit of talent to sell at the NHL trade deadline last week, but they only moved goaltender Malcolm Subban for future considerations. However, Subban hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since 2022, so it’s tough to count this as a move that will affect the organization.
One reason the Blues could have sold at the deadline was to begin the process of pushing the reset button - but nowhere near the degree as, say, the San Jose Sharks. But the team hit the high water mark following their big win in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, but they have not made a deep playoff run since, unless you count their exit in the Second Round back in 2022 as such.
Last season, St. Louis bottomed out and ended the year with just 81 points. This season, they are hanging around the wild card race, but still, you have to wonder whether they can catch the Nashville Predators or the revamped Vegas Golden Knights.
St. Louis Blues could have initiated a reset at the NHL trade deadline
The above quip isn’t to say general manager Doug Armstrong made the wrong move by standing idle. Take one look at the team’s cap situation and how many players they have signed long-term, and it’s easy to see why Armstrong decided not to sell, but he probably would have if he was given the right compensation.
This instead turned into one of those situations where Armstrong has enough current assets to fuel several playoff runs from his team. And who knows? Perhaps he has something big planned for an offseason that isn’t too far away.
But what if the right teams called and enticed Armstrong to sell? Who would have been ideal trading partners, and where would some of his biggest names have landed? Let’s check out three blockbuster trades the Blues could have made at the 2024 trade deadline.
Steve Yzerman could have acquired Pavel Buchnevich
Few general managers have made bigger moves via trade and free agent signings than Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman. In 2023, his Red Wings weren’t close to contending, so he ended up securing not one, but two first-round picks (one conditional) at the trade deadline, along with a second-rounder, plus a prospect and a couple of mid and late-round picks.
This season, the Red Wings lost star forward Dylan Larkin at the worst possible time. Since they are a team in contention, many in the NHL universe thought Yzerman would do the obvious and make a big buy this time around, much like he did over the summer in what was a genius move for Alex DeBrincat.
Yzerman, however, didn’t buy, and it seems as though he would rather promote some of his talents from the AHL. That’s the preferred method, but considering the position Detroit is currently in, plus the fact they have a ton of pending unrestricted free agents coming up, why not ship someone like Jonatan Berggren a first-round pick, plus a couple of mid-rounders, and maybe a B-prospect for Buchnevich?
No, you don’t want anyone to get in the way of your top prospects who could be NHL-ready, and that’s understandable. So trade for a top-six player in Buchnevich, give up some compensation before you overflow your strong prospects pool, keep him throughout the 2024-25 season, and opt not to re-sign a few of your pending UFAs.
Colton Parayko would have brought in high-end prospects and draft picks
Before we go any further, these potential trades are not what could have been for Armstrong, as you can argue he also did the right thing in keeping players like Buchnevich and Parayko around. Instead, we’re merely talking about how much value these players would have given the Blues in compensation had Armstrong received the right offer, and what these other organizations missed out on.
Colton Parayko was another player in the rumor mill, but once again, Armstrong held onto one of his better blueliners. One team that could have made a move for Parayko was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who instead acquired a pair of underwhelming defensemen in Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson, much to the dismay of Leafs fans.
Sure, Toronto was strapped for cash at the trade deadline, but that’s why three-team trades exist, something we saw plenty of last week. Toronto didn’t have the same assets as Detroit in their prospects pool or in the form of draft picks. But they had enough to make a trade for Parayko to work out, and Leafs fans would have probably cut general manager Brad Treliving more slack had he snagged the reliable blueliner as opposed to rentals like Lyubushkin and Edmundson.
Toronto desperately needs to make a deep playoff run, so they would have had no problem giving up a first-round pick, Nick Robertson (who was also in the rumor mill), plus high-end AHL prospects like Topi Niemela and Roni Hirvonen.
Torey Krug may have also garnered a high return
While a Colton Parayko trade had blockbuster written all over it, Torey Krug also would have generated a sound return. This year, Krug has 33 points and three goals in 65 contests, he provides help on special teams - especially on the power play. Plus, his career Corsi at 5-on-5 is over 50 percent, and 54.3 during his run with the Boston Bruins.
And it’s not like the Blues didn’t try to move Krug in the past, so he naturally would have generated interest at the deadline. That didn’t happen, and one reason could be that he carries a cap hit of $6.5 million over the next three seasons following 2023-24 - shorter than what Parayko carries, but still a long-term agreement.
One team that could have upgraded their blue line, and a team that had been on a roll until last night, were the New York Islanders. They have one of the best goaltenders in the league in Ilya Sorokin, who, despite putting up a 0.910 save percentage this season, also has a GAA of 2.99.
While you expect someone of Sorokin’s caliber to step up and take control, very few, if any, goaltenders would thrive on Long Island, where the Isles have given up nearly 33 shots on goal per game. Someone like Krug would have been a major help, but paying for him would have been a different story.
Like the other two teams listed, New York had first-round picks to burn. And while their prospects pool is weak, they have a few youngsters already in their lineup they could have traded to the Blues if they thought Krug was a missing piece to a championship run. New York would have needed a third team, however, to help facilitate this trade.
No selling at the deadline should mean buying in the offseason
Clearly, none of the aforementioned trades happened, but three would-be contenders missed out big by either overlooking the Blues, or not offering them enough in compensation to acquire a trade candidate to help them facilitate a serious deep playoff run.
With a lineup full of players like Buchnevich, who will at least be in town through next season, Parayko, and Krug, both of whom are locked into long-term deals, and with three players on seven-figure cap-hits as pending unrestricted free agents, then it’s time to buy.
Clearly, Armstrong, if given the right deal, could have facilitated a mini-rebuild and collected even more draft picks and prospects. But the NHL trade deadline passed, and the team remains intact.
St. Louis, despite their meager season in 2022-23 and the fact they are not currently a playoff contender, still has more than enough talent in the organization to make another run next season. That said, Armstrong needs to buy in the offseason, make a halfway decent team great, and buy again at the 2025 trade deadline.
Let’s see what the Blues make of their current situation for the final month of the 2023-24 season and see if Armstrong adds one or two more pieces in what should be a pivotal offseason.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference, trade information provided by Cap Friendly)