The St. Louis Blues are no stranger to the blockbuster offseason trade. That could happen again this summer as the robust trade block around the league continues to intrigue.
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Whether it was the Ryan O’Reilly trade in 2018 or the Brayden Schenn trade in 2017, general manager Doug Armstrong has built a strong core group with a couple of massive trades. The Blues already have a good team, but there are trades that could make them even more robust, even though they seem unrealistic. It’s always fun to explore potential trades, even if the chances of them happening are low.
Solidifying the Defense With Chychrun
It’s been long rumored that the Arizona Coyotes would trade defenseman Jakob Chychrun. They haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but it seems like it could happen this summer. Former Blues’ assistant general manager Bill Armstrong is running the show in Arizona, and the familiarity could make talks easier.
The Blues’ biggest need this offseason is a better defensive partner for Colton Parayko. Chychrun represents that well, as he’s only 24 years old and has a reasonable salary cap hit of $4.6 million for three more seasons. The price for him in a trade could be exorbitant, but the Blues should not overpay for him. The key to the organization getting a trade like this done would be to move on from Marco Scandella, who has a seven-team no-trade list. Scandella is unlikely to be moved in this deal, but there is another move that could be made to get rid of the contract.
| St. Louis Blues Receive | Arizona Coyotes Receive |
| D Jakob Chychrun | C Zachary Bolduc |
| D Niko Mikkola | |
| LW Klim Kostin | |
| 2022 4th Round Pick, 2023 1st Round Pick, 2024 3rd Round Pick |
This could be viewed as an overpayment at first glance, but I made sure to avoid including Scott Perunovich in this deal. With that being the move I made, it opens up the Blues’ opportunity to move the contract of Scandella. I believe that somebody like Armstrong, the general manager of the Coyotes, likes Mikkola and Kostin. They were both in the system when he was in St. Louis and the potential is there for both of them. They could both use a change of scenery as well, so they make sense in the deal.
It was tough to include Bolduc, who had a dominant season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), scoring 55 goals and 99 points in 65 games. He was the Blues’ 2021 first-round pick and has a ton of upside, so he would be a huge prospect pickup for the Coyotes. Chychrun didn’t have a great season in 2021-22, but it should be somewhat excused with how poor the Coyotes were. He had 41 points in 56 games in 2020-21, which was his best season by far.
Chychrun would be a nice addition to the blue line for the Blues, even if the price looks too high. I fully believe that finding a quality left-handed defenseman to pair with Parayko should be priority number one for the Blues this summer.
Getting Elite Goalscorer Pastrnak From the Bruins
This one is incredibly unrealistic, and I have to admit that upfront. While it appears possible that the Boston Bruins could trade David Pastrnak, the Blues being the team that makes the move isn’t likely to happen. But this is something worth exploring because it could get very interesting in Boston this summer.
The Blues had one of the best top-nine forward groups in the league during the 2021-22 season, with all nine of them scoring 20 or more goals. But when a player like Pastrnak potentially becomes available, they have to make the call. A move like this would mean that the Blues would give up on a top forward and need to agree to an extension with Pastrnak.
| St. Louis Blues Receive | Boston Bruins Receive |
| RW David Pastrnak | RW Jordan Kyrou |
| C Zachary Bolduc | |
| D Niko Mikkola | |
| 2023 1st Round Pick |
It would make a lot of sense for the Blues to trade Vladimir Tarasenko in this deal due to salary cap similarities. But I believe that the Bruins would prefer a younger player, and Kyrou represents that. This is a big price to pay, but for Pastrnak, it isn’t that bad if he signs an extension. At 26 years old, he’s a six-time 20-plus goalscorer, including winning the Maurice Richard Trophy in 2019-20 with 48 goals.
I’ll admit that I borrowed a lot of the structure for this deal from the tweet above. The general public seems to believe that Boston does win this deal, but I would say it’s more even than the poll indicates. Kyrou is already an excellent player, but he isn’t at Pastrnak’s level yet. Bolduc could be a great player in the future, but he is still young. I threw Mikkola on this one as well, since he just seems like a player that could use a change of scenery. Of course, this trade also assumes that the Blues make other moves to fix the salary cap structure for their 2022-23 season.
Overall, the Blues will be somewhat active this summer, but they likely don’t make any significant moves. But I believe that a smart general manager like Armstrong will be in conversations on these types of deals. He has an excellent knack at giving up less for significant positional upgrades, he did it last summer with Pavel Buchnevich. But the Blues know the improvements they need to make this summer, and I believe they will address them, even if it doesn’t mean they can make a big swing for Chychrun or Pastrnak.
