The St. Louis Blues streaking their way from the outside in feels like it is a month early. March streaks with this team are not uncommon. Doug Armstrong’s contentment on making lateral moves and waiting seems to have paid off. The stars are scoring. The goaltending has stabilized. All is running well based on a ten game winning streak.
What could St. Louis do now? That presents a great question. Let’s dig in.
St. Louis Blues — Facts and figures
Again, the Blues feature little cap space to work with. It’s in the neighborhood of $3.57 million in current cap space. That number creeps up to $4.37 million next Monday. Performance bonuses trouble no one as that represents less than $250,000. The Blues aside from a few veterans are young. St. Louis features some problems though.
For one, they only have five draft picks for the 2019 NHL Draft. St. Louis traded away their first and fourth-round picks. Would a team take a 2020 first-round selection? That seems less than likely. Also, Carl Gunnarsson was placed on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury. That may place a slight wrinkle in St. Louis’ plans but not much. The Blues are now 15-4-1 in their last 20 games. This changes a lot of plans. St. Louis went from sellers to staying put to maybe buying. That’s quite a jump in six weeks.
What St. Louis could be looking for
When a team is rolling like St. Louis is, it’s tough to find much fault with anything. Even Jaden Schwartz scored last week. Their pending unrestricted free agents are off the table. Rentals appear not to appeal to Doug Armstrong currently. Therefore, any deal likely becomes small as Armstrong looks for little upgrades here and there.
The only pattern Armstrong has come trade deadline is moot because this team is not selling. Also, their pending UFA’s are not as high-profile. Concerns are still a power-play quarterback and goaltending. For as good as Jordan Binnington has been, one never knows how he will fare come April. A little scoring help could not hurt either.
Who could the Blues target?
Some possible St. Louis targets…
Jimmy Howard — Howard winds up in any goalie rumor post. The reason is simple. He performs well and can mentor a young Jordan Binnington. So, the question is this. Would Detroit take back Jake Allen to offset Howard’s salary? Could St. Louis sweeten the pot by dangling a Jordan Kyrou or is that too much? Howard turns 35 before the playoffs start. Keep that in mind too when it comes to how much St. Louis could expend for him.
Sergei Bobrovsky — Bobrovsky ending up in St. Louis is somewhat possible. He did say that St. Louis would be a team the Columbus goalie would consider. Doug Armstrong pulling off a miracle of miracles would be mind-blowing. Consider a likely return would consist of Jake Allen and another mid-salaried player. However, Columbus setting their sights on Brayden Schenn would not be a shock. St. Louis balking at that is likely. This appears to be quite the longshot.
Just a couple more targets…
Ryan Dzingel — While everyone waits to see what shakes in Ottawa, Dzingel appears to be the easiest trade to make. He presents as a tertiary option and at a cheap cap hit of $1.8 million. The forward plays all three positions and could step right into the power-play if need be. Trade cost would be reasonable and not cost what even a Wayne Simmonds would. Could Dzingel be tried as a power-play quarterback of sorts as a fifth forward? It is plausible though do not push it.
Justin Faulk — What is Faulk? Faulk scored 15+ goals in three straight seasons and now is on pace for just eight goals again. His shot and chance volume remain about the same. For someone making $4.8 million, his 21 points in 59 games are underwhelming given his role. He sees 3+ minutes a night on the man advantage yet has just five power-play points. St. Louis likely will not do more than kick the tires on the idea of Faulk. He is an option at the least.
NHL Trade Deadline: Dallas Stars’ Primer
A few final words about St. Louis
St. Louis playing the way most expected them to look a lot longer than anyone could imagine. The important thing is timing and they are now in a playoff spot. Did they peak too soon? That may be. On the other hand, this makes the trade deadline easier for the Blues. The urgency to sell is gone and moves to modestly upgrade can now occur. Doug Armstrong still has to eye the salary cap when dealing. This is to avoid unnecessary headaches next season and beyond.
