Oh, what are we going to do with the St. Louis Blues? So, in case you’re just joining us this season because the team’s faring better than expected, let me give you a rundown. And really, I’ll try to keep it brief.
The Blues are ahead of schedule, as the retooling effort shouldn’t be over quite yet. They’re one point out of the second wild card spot heading into Thursday night’s slate of games, but they’re still not a team that figures to make it far in the playoffs.
What will take them places, though, in the future, is if general manager Doug Armstrong resists a blockbuster deal if he decides to ‘buy’ at the deadline. Buying some rentals wouldn’t be a bad idea, since none of them would cost the Blues a ton of compensation to bring in. But making a blockbuster move? Not this season, at least.
Make a big move if you must, Doug Armstrong, but don’t get carried away
But trading away top-end prospects for anyone would be an awful move, even if it’s something I don’t foresee Doug Armstrong doing anyway. Yeah, there are a few players who could be moved who I’d like to see him go ‘all in’ for, but to a degree.
Clearly, players like Jack Quinn or Nick Robertson, to provide a couple of examples, wouldn’t cost the Blues prospects like Dalibor Dvorsky or Jimmy Snuggerud, nor should they. Draft picks? Hey, go for it. Mid-tier prospects with high ceilings? It depends, but it’s not like you can’t replace them anyway.
This is why the Blues shouldn’t go after anyone prize-worthy, like Mikko Rantanen or Brock Nelson. And the reasoning is simple: They’re a team whose championship window is opening, and it’s neither peaking nor is it anywhere near about to close.
The same goes for prospects like Adam Jecho, Tomas Mrsic, or Juraj Pekarcik, both of whom are a pair of mid-to-late-round gems at the moment. So, with Armstrong, it’s all about proceeding with caution and seeking to improve the Blues with a potential long-term asset without spending too much.
If Doug Armstrong plays his cards right, the Blues will…
I wouldn’t expect the Blues to be deep playoff contenders no matter what Doug Armstrong does at the trade deadline. Therefore, playing his cards right is a necessity if he plans on maximizing the Blues championship window.
Yeah, in a perfect world, he’d pull off a couple of big trades and it would transform the Blues into Stanley Cup contenders without sacrificing the future. But in the real world, that would come at the expense of this team’s bright, young assets, which are at this point even brighter than advertised. So, Blues fans, we need to be patient here and realize that the trade deadline is an opportunity.
No, not an opportunity to seriously contend for the Stanley Cup should the Blues make the playoffs, but that’s okay. Instead, it’s an opportunity to give the Blues another solid, serviceable player (or two?) without breaking the bank. This is an ideal scenario, as it would put the team on pace to come into 2025-26 and look even better.
Imagine someone like Jack Quinn in the middle six, even if it came at the cost of a first-round pick. At this point, after we saw Dylan Holloway’s success, I’d even roll with Nick Robertson in such a scenario. Whatever it takes to make this team better, but making moves that come within reason.