The St. Louis Blues blue line could look different next year
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: (mailbag) Don’t think the St. Louis Blues want to trade either Brayden Schenn or Justin Faulk, even though both have a lot of term left at $6.5 million per.
The Blues would likely consider moving Torey Krug and his $6.5 million through 2026-27, but have heard there isn’t much interest, if any.
Believe the Blues would consider trading Colton Parayko ($6.5 million through 2029-30) but they wouldn’t just give him away. He plays on the right side and 23 minutes a game. He does have a NTC. If they could find someone to replace his minutes and a team to give the Blues value for him, they may consider it.
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Most teams likely wouldn’t want three more years of Nick Leddy at $4 million. The Blues may try to move him.
If the Blues really want to move one of their bigger/longer contracts, they may need to attach a pick or retain salary.
The Blues could also try to move one or both of Robert Bortuzzo and Marco Scandella.
If another option that is if a better goaltender than Jordan Binnington becomes available, then GM Doug Armstrong may want to consider it as a change may benefit both sides.
Some Chicago Blackhawks defensemen may not be back next season
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times: It seems unlikely that the Chicago Blackhawks will bring back pending UFA defenseman Andreas Englund and pending RFA defenseman Ian Mitchell.
“It’s a tough rotation to keep everybody happy,” Richardson said. “I talked to Englund and asked him to be patient. If we can get him in as much as we can, for us to look at but also for him to get looked at by the world, we’re trying to be fair.”
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UFA defenseman Jarred Tinordi and RFA defenseman Caleb Jones could be back.
Nikita Zaitsev has another left but could be a buyout option at $2.8 million next year and $833,000 in 2024-25. He could be kept as a mentor and third-pairing Dman.