The St. Louis Blues struck a Saturday morning deal with the Anaheim Ducks. The club added veteran defenseman Cam Fowler and a 2027 fourth-round pick in exchange for minor-league prospect Jeremie Biakabutaka and a 2027 second-round pick. The Ducks also retained 38.5 percent of Fowler’s salary as his contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season. He’ll cost $3.99 million against the salary cap for the Blues with the salary retention.
Overall, this trade doesn’t move the needle for the Blues, but that also isn’t the attention. General manager Doug Armstrong apparently loves aging defensemen on bad contracts. Even with the salary retention from Anaheim, I still don’t quite understand why this move was made at this time. Let’s break down potential reasons why the move was made and the expectations moving forward.
Blues Have Options With Fowler in Lineup
Does this mean the options are good? That remains to be seen, but Fowler certainly gives head coach Jim Montgomery more ways to sculpt his defensive unit. The recent move to a Philip Broberg/Colton Parayko pairing has been solid, but they need to find a partner for Justin Faulk. If they slide Broberg back to Faulk, then they could try Fowler with Parayko. I think that could work well given the puck-moving ability that Fowler has. Ryan Suter needs to be moved down to the third pair and a trade like this solidifies that. With Matthew Kessel being sent down to the Springfield Thunderbirds, it appears that Pierre-Olivier Joseph will stay in the lineup for now.
I like the idea of Fowler with Parayko or Faulk. It doesn’t move the needle, but it makes the move a bit more understandable if it works out. The Blues need more puck-moving from the blue line and if Fowler brings anything to the table at this stage, it’s the ability to move the puck. Either way, they have more options with this move and that doesn’t always mean good things will happen.
Fowler Has Struggled in Anaheim This Season
A lot of the numbers this season indicate Fowler has struggled in Anaheim. He’s not getting the results whatsoever this season and it shows. The Ducks have been bad for quite some time and his game has been going downhill. He just turned 33 years old, which is apparently the perfect age for the Blues to swoop in and add him.
The underlying numbers don’t favor Fowler either. He doesn’t bring much to the table when it comes to defensive results and special teams ability. However, he’s one of the best stretch passers in the league for whatever that’s worth. With Scott Perunovich not in the lineup, the team gets zero offense from the blue line outside of Broberg. I assume Armstrong believes Fowler can bring some of that to the table, which is fine, but it isn’t worth shedding a second-round pick for.
I could see a honeymoon period for Fowler coming over from a struggling Ducks team, but it’s not as if he’s joining a juggernaut team. The Blues have to do a lot of work to make the playoffs this season.
Blues’ Defensive Unit Needs Stability
I take issue with the Blues having four aging defensemen counting for too much on the cap table. Blueliners such as Parayko ($6.5 million), Faulk ($6.5 million), Nick Leddy ($4 million), Torey Krug ($6.5 million, LTIR), and now Fowler ($3.9 million) all count for far too much against the cap as a group. The defensive unit costs too much and hasn’t produced the results for quite some time now.
Related: Blues’ Dylan Holloway Thriving Under Head Coach Jim Montgomery
I hope to be wrong about this move, but I can’t piece together why now was the time to make it. Although they need more offensive punch from the blue line, a 33-year-old Fowler is unlikely to be the answer.
