The St. Louis Blues are looking for veteran defenseman
The Fourth Period: The St. Louis Blues are at the cap but GM Doug Armstrong has his eye on adding a veteran defenseman before the trade deadline. They would need to demote a couple of players or move out some salary.
The Blues have been linked to Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot, who has a 10-team no-trade list. The Canadiens asking price is believed to start with a first-round pick. He carries a $3.5 million cap hit but the Canadiens could retain salary, something the Blues would likely need.
Other defensemen that could be available include Calvin de Haan, Mark Giordano and Rasmus Ristolainen.
It’s believed the Blues are willing to move their first-round pick.
On the Blues goaltending and search for a defenseman
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: (mailbag) 99.9 percent sure that Jordan Binnington will be back with the St. Louis Blues. Ville Husso is a pending unrestricted free agent and it’s 50-50 that he’ll be back.
A former NHL goaltender thinks that if Husso keeps up this play and finishes with a .925 save percentage, he could maybe get a three-year deal in the $2 to $2.5 million range, two years at $3 or one at $3.5 million.
Being able to fit in a Husso contract could come down to what he wants on his next deal. Will the Blues have the cap room? Will the Blues still have Vladimir Tarasenko and Marco Scandella’s contract on the books?
The Blues have scouted the Canadiens (Ben Chiarot), Ducks (Hampus Lindholm) and have played the Kraken twice (Mark Giordano). Arizona Coyotes Jakob Chychrun is another defenseman the Blues could consider.
The Blues (in Rutherford’s opinion) should pay the price to add a top-four defenseman. Chiarot, Lindholm and Giordano are all left-handed.
Would the Coyotes consider a 2022 first-round pick, Scott Perunovich, Klim Kostin and Marco Scandella for Chychrun?
Aside from looking to add a defenseman at the trade deadline, the Blues may not do much more.
The Blues might have trouble fitting a David Perron contract next year. Could the sides agree on a two-year, $3 million per deal?