Brandon Saad has been through a lot with the Blues this season. From being moved down in the lineup, having trade speculation around him, and even being healthy scratched. Yet, he never complained about any of it and was finally rewarded last night.
Saad has some of the best skating and puck handling ability on the team
Saad has always been a great skater and a great puck handler, and that was on display last night. His first goal of the game was a beauty, where the puck was in the Senators defensive end, and Saad saw it, gave an unrelenting effort to grab it, and push it past the Ottawa goaltender.
Saad has been underwhelming this season compared to past seasons, but you can tell that he still puts effort in. He's still a valuable piece to the Blues at this current point in time.
Saad is increasing his trade value
Despite all of the positive things about Saad's game, it still seems very likely that the Blues will trade him in the near future. They aren't going to let him block spots in the lineup for prospects Jimmy Snuggerud and Dalibor Dvorsky when they're NHL ready.
As you saw last night, Saad has a lot left in the tank. He's the perfect example of a player that a contending team could trade for at the deadline. He's also a player the Blues could get something in return for, as he has one more year left on his contract.
He always seemed like a reliable placeholder for St. Louis until the next wave of young players came up, and he's done a great job. But I think if the Blues don't move him at the deadline, they'll certainly trade him in the offseason.
Saad isn't bringing the Blues down, and he still can win them games, as we all saw last night. But we know what kind of player he is, and it doesn't seem like there's much more potential there.