NHL Rumors: Shopping Schenn, O’Reilly Remarks, Oilers and Saros

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the St. Louis Blues might be rethinking their strategy this season, which potentially means that GM Doug Armstrong is looking at trade options, including Brayden Schenn. Meanwhile, Ryan O’Reilly was brutally blunt about his own play this season, leading to questions about what’s going to happen in Nashville. That might lead to questions about Juuse Saros, and one insider suggests the Edmonton Oilers will be all ears.

Could the Blues Make Brayden Schenn Available?

Jordan Kyrou’s scratch and the St. Louis Blues’ slow start to the season are fueling trade speculation. Among the rumors circulating is that veteran forward Brayden Schenn could be moved. After 15 games, the 34-year-old has two goals and six points.

Despite the slow start, Schenn’s reputation as a reliable top-six forward with a $6.5 million cap hit and two years remaining on his contract keeps him in demand.

Frank Seravalli said during Amazon Prime Canada’s Coast to Coast segment that the Blues are “open for business.” He added that Schenn was almost moved last season at the trade deadline. Now that his no-trade clause has been converted to a 15-team no-trade, an aggressive Doug Armstrong might make a move.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils are expected to show interest.

Ryan O’Reilly Brutally Honest About His Own Play

Nashville Predators veteran Ryan O’Reilly tore a strip off himself after his team’s third consecutive loss. During a media scrum, he said, “I know for myself, number one center, and I just turn the puck over everywhere and can’t make a six-foot pass to save my life. We’re not going to have much success if I’m playing pathetic like that. I don’t know the answer. I’ve had one good year in my career.”

There is so much chatter in Nashville these days that O’Reilly’s comments will inevitably lead to questions about his future. Would he be willing to accept a trade if the Predators decide that things aren’t working with the way this roster was built?

What About Juuse Saros?: The Oilers Could Be A Fit

Tyler Yamermchuk of Oilers Nation and Jeff Marek of The Sheet discussed the Predators in a recent podcast and suggested their struggles could lead to additional trade questions beyond Steven Stamkos and O’Reilly. They discussed the Edmonton Oilers’ need for a goaltender and how that might lead to questions about Juuse Saros.

When Yaremchuk suggested the Oilers could benefit if the Predators continue to lose games, Jeff Marek responded:

“I agree, and I know the contract is lengthy and it’s not small, but if you’re not talking about looking at Juuse Saros, then what are we doing here? You can expect players to go along with one rebuild, I think that’s fair. But considering how short careers are, you can’t ask a player to go through two rebuilds, and if this is where Nashville is going to go, I would expect that Barry Trotz would have that conversation with Saros.

Noting that the Predators tried, they added Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei, and it didn’t work. Would there be a situation where Trotz went to Saros and said, ‘We love you, but we can’t ask you to do this again.’?

He added, “If I’m the Edmonton, and don’t even worry about the contract, like you’re not in a place right now we got to worry about like oh what’s that going to look like no don’t even consider that whatsoever you just need to think about game and the next you know and then the next round of playoffs if you’re the Edmonton.”