3 St. Louis Blues that could potentially be traded this offseason

2. Oskar Sundqvist

Contract: 3 years left, $2.75 million cap hit

Why trading him makes sense: Oskar Sundqvist is a perfectly capable bottom-six forward who is better at penalty killing than he gets credit for. He’s good for 20+ points a year and he’s made an impressive transition from being a skilled player into being a strong defensive forward.

So why would the Blues trade him? Because they can likely find someone who can fill his role at a cheaper price. $2.75 million is a tad bit pricey for someone in Sundqvist’s role. Plus, they already have 14 forwards signed for next season, so they’d probably like to move a forward. Sundqvist might be the odd man out.

The case against trading him: Trading Sundqvist would give the Blues a bit of breathing room. However, if they want to re-sign Pietrangelo, it’s not really going to help by itself. The Blues would have to trade someone else making more significant money to keep their captain around.

Also, the Blues clearly value what Sundqvist brings to the table. His teammates speak glowingly of him. Sundqvist, as I said earlier, is a critical bottom six forward and penalty killer for them. He’s the kind of guy who might even be able to jump into a top-six role with the right line mates. Getting rid of him would be a tough move, but as they say, you’ve got to be willing to make tough moves to get anywhere.