The 2023-24 NHL season may only be a quarter of the way through, but early trade candidates are beginning to become clear across the league. As players are beginning to claim spots in the nightly lineup, others are being left with either reduced roles or relegated to the press box to watch from above. Here’s a look at five members of the St. Louis Blues that could be looked to as trade candidates as the season progresses.
Jakub Vrana
Let’s get one of the more frustrating trade candidates out of the way. Jakub Vrana was acquired by the Blues ahead of the 2022-23 NHL Trade Deadline for prospect Dylan McLaughlin and a 2025 seventh-round draft choice. Not much lost here with a lot to gain for the Blues. After scoring 10 goals and 14 points for the Blues in 20 games last season, he looked to be one of the premier scoring threats for the club this season. However, through 17 games, the 27-year-old has managed only two goals and six points while missing seven games as a healthy scratch.
After practice following his sixth healthy scratch of the season, Vrana said: “At the beginning of the season, this is not how I thought it’s going to turn out. There’s a lot of things I cannot control at the moment, and I’m just coming in here, trying to stay positive and enjoy every day at the rink, and work on myself, gain confidence out there when I’m practicing. Just waiting for the opportunity to come, and that’s all you can do at this position I am in right now” (from ‘Blues forward Jakub Vrana on disappointing start: ‘This is not how I thought it’s going to turn out’,’ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 4, 2023).
As this season is his final before hitting the market as an unrestricted free agent, he is looking like one of the clear candidates to be moved ahead of the trade deadline.
Marco Scandella
Like Vrana, the 33-year-old defenseman is also in the final year of his contract with the Blues and could be an odd-man out should there be a market for his services. The club is currently carrying eight defensemen on their roster preventing players like Tyler Tucker and Scott Perunovich from receiving regular playing time. While the two youngsters are experiencing growing pains through their first year in the NHL, Scandella could fetch a modest return.
Returning to a bit of his former self on the ice, Scandella has logged two assists and a plus-5 rating through 23 games with the Blues this season. With a $3.275 million salary and an expiring contract, playoff contenders could look to the veteran with 14 years in the NHL and over 700 games played as a reliable trade option.
Brandon Saad
One of the more unlikely trade candidates, but not one to believe his name could not be floated around, veteran forward Brandon Saad could be an intriguing player to watch at the trade deadline. Signed through the 2025-26 season, he is another veteran the Blues currently have in their lineup who could fetch a noteworthy return from a playoff-contending club. With two years left on the books at $4.5 million per season, the only true obstacle is Saad’s full no-trade clause. He retains it through the end of the 2024-25 season where it becomes a modified 12-team no-trade clause.
Saad remains a valuable member of the team skating on the third line and second power play unit logging just over 15 minutes of time on ice per game. However, the Blues could use the additional salary cap space and ice time for other players currently sitting either in the press box or in the American Hockey League (AHL) that could arguably provide additional offensive contributions than Saad at this point in his career.
Torey Krug/Justin Faulk
If the name of the game is to find ways to either save or reallocate salary while clearing up a spot in the lineup, look no further than one of the Blues’ top-paid defensemen. With a rejuvenated season thus far from top-pairing defender Colton Parayko, Torey Krug and Justin Faulk are two of the likely candidates to have their names circulated once more. Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Krug reportedly nixed a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers that would have sent defenseman Travis Sanheim and Kevin Hayes to St. Louis. However, Krug utilized his no-trade clause to decline any such trade (from ‘Rutherford: Blues’ Torey Krug had every right to invoke his no-trade clause, but now the pressure’s on,’ The Athletic, Sept. 26, 2023).
As of this writing, both Krug and Faulk are separated by one point with Faulk leading the pair with 11 points through 24 games. It seems only a matter of time before one player is moved to make room for the offensive-minded Scott Perunovich.
Bonus Players
Adam Gaudette and Nathan Walker are currently among the top point producers for the Springfield Thunderbirds and ranking in the top-10 in total points in the AHL. With both players on expiring contracts, it would not be a surprise to see teams snatch these players up for depth-scoring options for a playoff run.
With multiple players on either expiring contracts or notable veterans that could be in play for playoff or Stanley Cup contenders, the Blues could be active once more at the trade deadline.
