Blues depth up front doesn’t have a lot of trade value
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: (mailbag) Nikita Soshnikov and Oskar Sundqvist don’t have much trade value, so it may be better for the St. Louis Blues to hold on to them in case of injuries. Samuel Blais could become a trade chip, but he’d need to show more if he were to bring back something decent in return.
Hard to see Alex Steen still being with the Blues before the end of his contract in three years.
If the Blues look at trades later in the season, it will likely have to be dollar-for-dollar given their current salary cap situation.
Looking at what some remaining RFAs could get
Michael Traikos of the Toronto Sun: Noah Hanifin‘s contract with the Calgary Flames could be the first domino to fall with regards to some pending restricted free agents.
Though Darnell Nurse and Hanifin play a different style, Hanifin’s new contract (six years at $4.95 million per) is a comparable.
David Pastrnak (six years and $40 million) and Nikolaj Ehlers (seven years and $42 million) could be comparables for Toronto Maple Leafs William Nylander. Can expect Nylander’s to be in the $45 million range, but will it be for six or seven years?
Josh Morrissey could do a bridge deal similar to the one Jacob Trouba signed a couple years ago – two years at $3 million per. Trouba was then awarded $5.5 million in arbitration this offseason. A long-term deal now for Morrissey may be a safer option for the Jets.
Jonathan Drouin‘s six-year, $33 million contract that he signed last season could be a comparable for Buffalo Sabres Sam Reinhart.
Anaheim Ducks forward Nick Ritchie may be better off with a bridge deal after taking a small step backward last season. If he shows more offense this season and his able to be a top-six forward, he could look at Tom Wilson‘s six-year deal at $31 million.
A long-term deal for Shea Theodore – potentially like Panthers Michael Matheson’s eight-year $39 million – could be on hold with Erik Karlsson still on the trade block. Signing Theodore to a bridge deal could end up costing the Vegas Golden Knights a lot more in the long run.