With the NHL Trade Deadline less than two months away, the pressure is rising for the St. Louis Blues to make some moves before the deadline expires. Although there is still a lot of time left before Blues fans should worry about whether the Blues will make a move, it doesn’t mean they will not consider it. Right now, the Blues are in a position where they need to make moves, especially when their power play is still one of the worst in the league and will require some more offensive options. Recently, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong announced that Blues 2022 first-rounder Jimmy Snuggerud would get a chance to play as soon as this season, and to do so would also require the Blues to make some room for him in the lineup.
So far, with little cap space to work with after signing Nathan Walker to a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $1.55 million on Jan. 5 and the flip-flopping of Jakub Vrana in and out of the American Hockey League (AHL) due to his recent struggles, it will be hard to find a decent player who can fit within their current cap space with the forwards they have available for trades. This is especially true because most of their forwards do not have no-trade clauses, so most of their trade candidates will come from that area of their roster.
As for trades this season, the only one the Blues made this season was when they dealt Robert Bortuzzo to the New York Islanders for a 2024 seventh-round pick. That said, here are five players the Blues should consider trading during the Trade Deadline.
5. Sammy Blais, Left Wing/Right Wing
Sammy Blais is a key player on the Blues for up-front grit as he leads the Blues in hits (95), but he hasn’t been the best at scoring points and has been an occasional healthy scratch. Despite that, he has value for a team such as the Detroit Red Wings who lack gritty forwards and could provide some more draft stock to prospect depth. Another upside to moving Blais is that it would open up a spot on the wing for Snuggerud if an entry-level deal is put in place for him soon. Blais takes up about 1.2 percent of the Blues’ cap space (or $1 million to be more specific) and is becoming an unrestricted free agent (UFA) next season, making him worth dealing with now.
As for the trade, there won’t be anyone big that Red Wings could give up for Blais but some draft picks would be the safer option. The Red Wings could use a gritty forward to level the playing field to make a playoff push this season. Something like Blais and a 2025 fourth-round pick for Kienan Draper (son of former Red Wing Kris Draper) and the Blues’ seventh-round pick from their Vrana trade last season. Blais would give them a dominant option for their third or fourth line as the Blues don’t look like they are making a playoff push, and getting Draper would even the playing field since the Red Wings would use Blais as a rental and have no reason to give up too much him.
4. Alexey Toropchenko, Left Wing/Right Wing
Alexey Toropchenko may not be a top point producer but he has proven to be valuable at winning puck battles and is a great skater for a player who’s 6-foot-3. He’s also very versatile at both sides of the wing and although he’s still pretty young, his potential to grow is high. Toropchenko finished with 122 hits last season, the second most on the team after Noel Acciari and Ivan Barbashev were traded, followed by his total of 19 points in 69 games. This season, Toropchenko currently has 10 points in 44 games and 57 hits.
His grit shouldn’t be underestimated as his ability to keep pressure in the offensive zone is improving slightly and that is where his value would most likely come from. A team such as the Los Angeles Kings would be most fitting for a Toropchenko as they are a heavy playoff contender without a gritty forward on their lineup and also carry a great draft stock.
Trading Toropchenko, the rights to prospect Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, and a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick (pick upgraded to a fourth if the Kings get past the first round of the playoffs) in return for a 2024 fourth-round pick and 2025 fifth-round pick would work well with the ratio of youth-to-veteran balance on the Kings roster. The Kings also have the cap space for Toropchenko and have the option of whether or not they want to sign Kaskimaki as he has yet to sign with the Blues.
3. Zach Dean, Center
The Blues have a lot of center-prospect depth and some of them are worth calling up in the future. However, there’s only room for a select few as they have six centers on entry-level contracts and five out of those six are in the AHL right now, including Zach Dean. Scrapping Dean from the Blues’ center depth wouldn’t hurt them in the long run as much and would make room for players such as Snuggerud or Otto Stenberg.
Related: Blues Defense Could Be Wildly Different Next Season
Judging by the centers they already have, Zachary Bolduc, Stenberg, and Dalibor Dvorsky will most likely be the players the Blues focus on for a future spot on the roster. Especially when Kevin Hayes and Brayden Schenn have no-trade clauses, the Blues would have to wait until next season to trade Schenn and the 2025-26 season to trade Hayes.
Last month The Hockey Writers had Dean in a few potential trades for some key players and one I still think would work out of those trades would be Dean, Kasperi Kapanen, a 2023 second-round pick, and a 2024 fourth-round pick in return for Elias Lindholm. Despite giving a lot to the Calgary Flames, it would also give them some younger players to work with and the Blues would get more depth at the center position in terms of talent. Adding Kapanen to the deal would allow the Blues to open up some cap space for Lindholm, especially since he’s been injured. Lindholm may be just what the Blues need to fix their power play issues as well.
2. Kasperi Kapanen, Left Wing/Right Wing
Kasperi Kapanen was placed on the injury reserve (IR) for at least four weeks on Wednesday (Jan. 17), this won’t hurt his trade value as he can still be traded within that period and he also doesn’t count on the cap until he returns. The Blues picked up Kapanen on waivers last season and since then hasn’t put up the numbers he used to put up but is a great third-line forward with lots of versatility at the wing.
This season he has 13 points in 42 games played, however, he is only 27 years old with enough room in his career to get back on track to the 20-goal scorer he was when he played with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Of course, that would be the case if he had the right team, and for that, I would say the best team for him to be traded to would be the Chicago Blackhawks or the Red Wings to gain more draft stock as a contingency in case they don’t make the playoffs.
However, between the Red Wings and Blackhawks, the team that would make the most sense to trade with would be the Red Wings as, as mentioned earlier, they have the best possible chance of making the playoffs this year. The Red Wings could use some more firepower on their third line in preparation for making the playoffs and Kapanen seems like a good fit. The trade should go as so, Blues give Kapanen, a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick (if the Red Wings make the playoffs the pick is upgraded to a fourth-round pick), and a 2026 fifth-round pick in return for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 seventh-round pick.
1. Jakub Vrana, Left Wing
Since being placed on waivers by the Blues on Dec. 13 after a rough first two months of the season where he lacked point production. Vrana was stellar with the Springfield Firebirds scoring nine points in nine games played and it earned him a brief call-up on Jan. 4 to return to the Blues lineup, however, he continued to be lackluster in his two games played with the Blues before being sent back to the Thunderbirds.
Despite the struggles this season, this may be a sign that the Blues system may not be the best fit for him even with a new head coach like Drew Bannister. Sure, last season he put up 14 points in 20 games after being traded to the Blues late into the season, but the Blues do not have the connections for a goal scorer like Vrana. When he played with the Washington Capitals he had a lot of great offensive help around him which is why I think putting him on a team that barely has enough room on the second line with great playmaking to surround him.
The New York Rangers are a great fit for Vrana and have a lot of similarities to the Capitals team including the former head coach of the Capitals and current Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette. Laviolette may have some history with Vrana in Washington but keep in mind that Vrana was dealing with a lot off the ice. Since he entered the NHL Players Assistance Program it seems like he’s sorted out his off-ice issues and is now slowly trying to piece together the promising career he was supposed to have.
Vrana’s off-ice issues may hurt his trade value but on a team like the Rangers, he would benefit greatly on the third or fourth lines where he can slowly prove himself again with a playoff-contending team. The Blues can trade Vrana (50 percent retained) along with Zach Dean for a 2025 sixth-round pick and a 2024 fifth-round pick. This would give the Blues some space in the cap and open up some cap space for the Rangers when Filip Chytil returns from injury.
Final Thoughts
The trade possibilities for the Blues are tight because a majority of the team is caught up in a no-trade clause, however, it won’t hold back the Blues from trading the ones they are eligible to trade but it would be nice to have more options to avoid trading any picks or key prospects. Last season, the Blues were bold enough to trade Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly, and Ville Husso, let’s not also forget they watched Alex Pietrangelo walk out the door in 2020 and win another Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights last season. There’s been a lot of stress over making the right deal and reversing the damage that has been done to the lineup since the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.
February is fast approaching and is a great time to make some blockbuster moves to change the direction of the Blues. One player like Lindholm won’t change the Blues into a Stanley Cup contender overnight but it’s one step ahead of where they were before and could provide some relief to the issues they are already struggling with. After all, Lindholm has one more year on his contract and if they can snatch him in a trade it’s best they use him as a rental and try to find a short deal without a no-trade clause. The NHL Trade Deadline begins on Mar. 8 at 2 pm CST.
