NHL Trade Rumors: 3 players the St. Louis Blues should move

The Untouchables

Here’s who the St. Louis Blues, for better or for worse, likely aren’t going to be moving. These guys can be put into several categories.

Too Good To Trade

• Vladimir Tarasenko. Yes, he’s struggling. But when Tarasenko is on his game, very few can do the things he does. Also, the Blues would be selling low on him. Even if trading Tarasenko crossed the mind of St. Louis, it would make more sense to do it in the offseason.
• Ryan O’Reilly. He has two things going for him. First of all, O’Reilly’s been extremely impressive so far with the Blues, putting up 12 goals and 26 points in 22 games. Secondly, the Blues just traded for him. No way they’re flipping him.
• Jaden Schwartz

Building Blocks

• Vince Dunn. The Blues defensive core has underachieved mightily this season. Dunn has been a huge bright spot on an otherwise unimpressive blueline. And he’s young. The Blues need more guys like Dunn. Not less.
• Robert Thomas. See above, except Thomas is a center.

Should Be Untouchable, But…

• Colton Parayko. If the Blues really wanted to blow things up, he would likely net them the largest return. Parayko is a young, relatively inexpensive, productive, and consistent right-handed defenseman. Guys like him don’t grow on trees.

Not Worth Trading

• Tyler Bozak and David Perron. They can still be a part of the next good Blues team. And both are good players.
• Robby Fabri, Zach Sanford, Ivan Barbashev, Oscar Sundqvist, Samuel Blais. Maybe they can be a throw in to get a better piece, but the Blues simply aren’t going to get much for these guys.

Untouchable For All The Wrong Reasons

• Jake Allen (bad)
• Alex Steen (no-trade clause through 2021)

Now, let’s take a look at three guys who the Blues should be looking to trade.

Pat Maroon

As stated earlier, moving Maroon makes sense. He’s a quality forward and he’ll be a rental. Maroon isn’t a fast forward, but he’s a strong one and he has a knack for scoring goals. Over the past two seasons, he has 44 goals. Not half bad from a top-nine forward.

The issue is, Maroon’s not scoring right now. He only has one goal through 16 games. Maroon does, however, have seven assists, which shows he can be a productive player even if he’s not scoring goals.

Teams always look for guys like him right around the trade deadline. So it shouldn’t be shocking Maroon has twice been traded at the trade deadline. Last season, he helped the New Jersey Devils make the postseason, putting up 13 points in 17 games with them after being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers.

Potential suitors: The best thing about Maroon is a lot of teams could use a guy like him. He’d fit in nicely with the Vegas Golden Knights, though they already have a pretty solid core of wings. If the Montreal Canadiens are buyers, Maroon has the skillset they tend to covet. The Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, and Calgary Flames could all make sense too. He’s more of a Western Conference player than an Eastern Conference type, though.

Brayden Schenn

The St. Louis Blues gave up a lot to get Brayden Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers at the 2017 NHL Draft. He proved why in his first season in the midwest, as he flourished by setting career highs with 28 goals, 42 assists, and 70 points. This season, Schenn has 13 points through 18 games, though it’s worth noting the Blues are struggling in general, so that would explain his drop in production.

Schenn has one year left on his deal after this season, so he’s more than just a rental. If the Blues want some idea of what they could expect in a return, take a look at what the Arizona Coyotes got for Keith Yandle. A first-round pick, a second-round pick, a top prospect, and an NHL player. They probably wouldn’t get the second-round pick, but the first-round pick would certainly be in play. If the Blues retain salary, they could easily get a top prospect as well.

Potential suitors: The Boston Bruins would make a ton of sense. They’re looking to improve their core of forwards and Schenn would give them a guy who can be effective either at center or at wing. The San Jose Sharks would make sense as well, as they could use another scoring center.

Alex Pietrangelo

Trading the captain would be the ultimate sign of a rebuild for the St. Louis Blues. It would admittedly be a very difficult thing to do. But if the Blues can get a similar package for Alex Pietrangelo as the one the New York Rangers got for Ryan McDonagh from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Blues should do it.

The captain has 10 points in 22 games this season. His 0.45 points per game rate (as of Nov. 28) is the lowest of any full season in his career. However, Pietrangelo’s reputation is that he’s one of the best defensemen in the NHL. So “selling low” won’t really be a thing with him. Also, Pietrangelo has an additional year left on his contract. A team who needs defense, such as perhaps the Toronto Maple Leafs, could have him for two Stanley Cup Playoff runs.

Potential suitors: As mentioned, the Leafs make sense because they need defense. But how much would Toronto be willing to give up? The Pittsburgh Penguins are never shy from making bold moves, but again, it’s questionable how much they would be willing to give up. Or what they could give up, for that matter.

The Vegas Golden Knights are a team to keep an eye on as well. As talented as they are, they lack a true top defenseman. Nate Schmidt is closer to a number two than a number one. Pietrangelo, even while struggling, is darn close to being a number one.