The St. Louis Blues are in the midst of a roster retool, and recent trades have shown that general manager Doug Armstrong doesn’t believe in his team, and rightfully so.
Their Stanley Cup window is now closed after winning a championship in 2019. There should be a new window opening soon, with all of the moves that Armstrong can make at the trade deadline and during the offseason, but this season is one to forget for the Blues. The focus should now be on the 2023 NHL Draft lottery, and the potential for the Blues to sneak into the top six or seven picks.
O’Reilly & Acciari Traded to the Maple Leafs
I already wrote about this deal, but it could be the most crucial trade that Armstrong makes during this retooling. They acquired three picks, including two in the 2023 Draft. Adding Acciari to this package was a smart play by Armstrong; he should do the same with an Ivan Barbashev deal.
It’s hard to blame the Toronto Maple Leafs for giving up four picks, but adding another player of playoff value maximized this trade. The Blues did that with the Vladimir Tarasenko trade as well. Noel Acciari and Niko Mikkola aren’t elite players, but they play a playoff style and have experience.
It’s hard to say goodbye to Ryan O’Reilly, but it’s the right move for the future of the franchise. The rest of this season should be focused on giving young players more responsibility. It might be difficult with all of the big contracts still on the roster, but head coach Craig Berube must find a way.
Blues Go 2-0 Before Big Trade, 0-2 After
The Blues started the week 2-0 before the O’Reilly trade. They beat the Florida Panthers 6-2 on the back of their offense, and trade candidate Barbashev tallied three points while Brayden Schenn had a pair of goals. The Blues allowed 36 shots and blocked 22, and goaltender Jordan Binnington was good, with 29 saves on 31 shots. The Blues followed this one up with a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils after another terrific start from Binnington, who made 32 saves. But things took a turn after that.
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The Blues made the O’Reilly trade on Friday night, and on Saturday, they lost to the Colorado Avalanche 4-1. They were outshot 33-20 and went 0-for-3 on the power play. Although, that could be expected from a team that just lost its leader, but the Avalanche are also the better team.
The Blues followed that up with a 7-2 beating by the Ottawa Senators, and it wasn’t even close. They were outshot 34-32, lost 57 percent faceoffs, and went 0-for-6 on the power play. They were down 6-0 before they got on the board with two quick ones from Colton Parayko and Tyler Pitlick. The team is now 0-2-0 after the O’Reilly trade, and they’ve been outscored 11-3.
The Blues activated defenseman Marco Scandella, who has missed the whole season after suffering a hip injury. They also re-loaned Scott Perunovich to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) and placed forward Jake Neighbours on injured reserve. Neighbours will be re-evaluated in five weeks after suffering an upper-body injury against the Senators. If anything, having Scandella back in the lineup will take away minutes from young defensemen, which isn’t ideal, even if the team might benefit from losing games.
The 2023 NHL Draft Will Be Crucial
The 2023 Draft, considered by some to be one of the deepest in NHL history, will be a franchise-altering one for the Blues, whether or not they use all of their picks. As of now, they have three first-round picks, two third-round picks, and a pick in rounds four through seven. They could also get at least a first or second in a Barbashev trade and could move other pieces as well. The 2023 Draft class is loaded from rounds one to three, on paper. The Blues have the ninth-best odds of winning the lottery, behind the Philadelphia Flyers, and even without that pick, the top of the draft has many prospects who would be selected first overall in other years.
If they keep losing, there’s a chance for the Blues to sneak into the bottom five, which would give them terrific odds in the lottery. However, the most important thing is that they have five picks in the top three rounds of a very loaded draft class. If they do get a top-10 pick, Brayden Yager would be an ideal fit. He’s a center with a knack for finishing around the net. He has 64 points in 55 games in the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season and would have been a top-five pick in the 2022 Draft.
I expect the Blues to be active on the trade market this summer, and they could easily deal one of these first-round picks for an impact player. However, with so many high-end prospects, I’d prefer the Blues to draft players and add to a pretty weak pipeline. It’s a make-or-break offseason for Armstrong and the front office.
Blues’ Week Ahead
- Tuesday: at Carolina Hurricanes (37-10-8, 82 points), 6 PM
- Thursday: vs. Vancouver Canucks (22-30-4, 48 points), 7 PM
- Saturday: vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (27-20-9, 63 points) (ABC), 2:30 PM
The Blues open the week against the Carolina Hurricanes, and this one could get ugly quickly. After that, they’ll return home and battle the Vancouver Canucks, who are also looking to stay in the lottery odds. The Canucks already traded forward Bo Horvat and fired head coach Bruce Boudreau, so they’re not trying to win. The Blues will finish the week on national television against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but keep your eyes open for another big deal.
