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.