St. Louis Blues Looking to Shake Up Roster

The St. Louis Blues are an enigma. The team has a fantastic regular season and then chokes in the playoffs. It is stacked with top talent that can produce offense, but it runs dry when the pressure rises. What is Doug Armstrong to do about that? Well, for starters, he can mix up the team’s roster by gutting its core.

According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun:

"Word is the Blues would like to move apples for apples in any deal, which is a very difficult thing to do in the cap system, particularly in a summer when so many teams are looking to shed salary, not add any.But if there’s a deal out there that makes sense, word from rival executives is that the Blues are more open-minded than ever to move one of their long-standing core guys, whether that’s David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund or other veterans.It’s a delicate proposition in the sense that the Blues, by bringing back head coach Ken Hitchcock for one more season, are signaling that they’re taking another run at it and why oddsmakers have listed them as a top-five contender for next season. But in in a perfect world, the Blues would like to return with a new face or two among their core."

It’s not like these players didn’t perform. Backes, the team captain, recorded 58 points in 80 games, and Oshie recorded 55 in 72 games. Berglund didn’t have that great of a year, only recording 27 points in 77 games, but he was great at possessing the puck and had more points than the other two in the playoffs (although that doesn’t say a lot).

Look, the Blues shouldn’t just gut the team for the sake of doing it. The goal is to build a better and stronger team, a team that won’t perform all year and then become a disappointment in the postseason.

Obviously things have to change. Something is wrong with the Blues and I am not sure what it is. You look at the team’s roster on paper and you think “heck, these guys could win it all.” But then the regular season ends and everything shifts. It’s pretty crazy and illogical, and makes me a little mad because I just don’t understand what happens.

So, if the Blues are going to trade its top players, they have to get something in return.

I think the goal is to build the team around Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Alex Pietrangelo. You know the young guys. The guys filled with speed and talent and who will be in the Blues’ uniform for years to come. Do Backes, Oshie and Berglund, or even Alexander Steen fit into that newer, younger picture?

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Backes plays that gritty style of hockey, which I personally love. He hits, he fights, and he gets in his opponents’ faces. He works hard to get the puck and knows what to do with it when he gets it. Not that many people still play the way he does, which is why I loved that he was on a line with Ryan Callahan during the Olympics (they play the same style).Backes can set the tone of the game and motivates his teammates. I think it would be smart to keep him around. But I also understand that he has one more year on his contract and this might be the best time to shop him.

Oshie’s probably one of the best NHLers in a shootout. Of course, that isn’t the only value he brings to the team, which is good because shootouts don’t always happen. He is an alternate captain, is one of the most popular players on the team and has some ridiculous puck-handling skills. He will shoot, and most times, score from anywhere on the ice.

His name has come up in multiple trade rumors, including one that sent him to the New York Rangers in exchange for Rick Nash, and I even heard the Philadelphia Flyers would look to get the winger. But who knows how true any of those are.

There are reasons to trade these guys, as well as reasons to keep them. Look, in most scenarios you can’t keep everything the same and expect different results. But we are talking about sports and in sports anything is possible. So, the Blues can keep their core and give it one more go, or they can mix up the roster and hope for the best.

We’ll soon find out if St. Louis will keep their team intact or if they will move pieces to build a stronger and, arguably, better team.

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