Who are St. Louis Blues Really Looking To Trade?
Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta joined SiriusXM NHL Network Radio with Steve Kouleas and Dennis Bernstein and was asked about the St. Louis Blues and who GM Doug Armstrong might move this season.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
Steve Kouleas: “Doug Armstrong, I’m sure you’ve heard him say or read the quote, no one is untouchable. The only quote on the list. I don’t know if that’s true of Robert Thomas, for example, but it’s been a season since Hades in St.
Dave Pagnotta: Yeah, I mean, nothing is untouchable in the sense that if you make me an offer I can’t refuse, then I think, okay, I’m going to have to break up with this guy. But the preference is to keep his small pieces strong, to keep a player like Robert Thomas in the fold, and to try to put this list in the same mindset that Vancouver and Jim Rutherford were suggesting and referring to getting a little NHL level, or NHL right, or talent ability.
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So you’re looking at the early 20s. And one of the things that Doug Armstrong has shown is that we can move some pieces around and bring back first round picks, and those picks will be the later part of the first round. That is not our main objective. Okay, but can you pack those pieces? Can you collect all that, pack it up, and go out and get the extra goods you want? That is also possible. So I think he’s keeping his options open.
He’s one of the guys who, in November, said, I’m open for business. It wouldn’t mean that you want to start a move at that time, but at least you arrived before the eight ball to have an understanding of who your players are, in terms of trading partners, what assets are available. And then when those conversations happen, it speeds up that process a little bit.
The usual suspects, Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, two guys with one year left on their contracts. Each of them has 15 untraded teams. They continue to produce offspring. And they could be guys who will make a first-round pick, another asset, at least, anywhere from one to three pieces back in return. So you look at those guys.
He acknowledged Jordan Binington as a possibility, too, although he indicated that it would take something significant to separate them. And really, guys, the goalkeeper market this season is not that tight. So I think they keep it open.
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I am curious about the future of Jordan Kyrou. That they were not afraid to listen to him last year, and they will be creative, or try to be, especially with other guys who do not have commercial categories, like Kyrou, like (Pavel) Buchnevich.
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