3 blockbuster trades the St. Louis Blues could have made at the NHL trade deadline
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)