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What Your Team Is Thankful For: St. Louis Blues

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With the holiday season now here, PHR continues its look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the midway mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the St. Louis Blues.  Click here for the other articles in this series. 

What are the Blues most thankful for?

Tough decisions in the past to trade rentals.

Zach Sanford. Brayden Schenn. Dominik Bokk. Erik Foley. All of these St. Louis players are the result, in one way or another, of the deadline deals that the Blues have made over the last two seasons. In accepting their fate and trading pending unrestricted free agents in Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny, the team has improved their future tremendously, even if it hasn’t paid off just yet. While the Blues have struggled in the standings this season, they would be even worse off had they decided to hold on to Stastny and Shattenkirk only to watch them sign elsewhere on the open market.

Those kind of tough decisions are likely why many are pointing the finger towards the Blues as the trade deadline approaches, expecting them to sell off some prized assets like Alex Pietrangelo or Vladimir Tarasenko. GM Doug Armstrong’s been willing to watch long-time core members walk out the door before, will he do it again?

Who are the Blues most thankful for?

Ryan O’Reilly.

It’s easy to point to O’Reilly and make wild speculative jokes about how teams have struggled with him in the lineup, but the simple fact is that he’s been the Blues best forward for the entire season. Coming to St. Louis in a huge trade with the Buffalo Sabres that cost the Blues two high picks and young Tage Thompson, O’Reilly has been as advertised logging huge minutes and being a force at both ends of the rink. He’s the team scoring leader with 32 points in 34 games, has posted strong possession numbers once again, leads the league in faceoff percentage and is one of only three St. Louis forwards with a positive +/- rating (he leads the team at +3).

There are lots of things wrong with the Blues right now, but thankfully O’Reilly hasn’t been one of them. The 27-year old center should allow the team to move forward without a full rebuild, and help bring St. Louis back to the playoffs down the road.

What would the Blues be even more thankful for?

Some consistent goaltending.

It’s not that Jake Allen is a bad goaltender. Far from it in fact, as shown by his last ten appearances in which he has a .912 save percentage and a 6-3-1 record. The Blues can certainly win with him in net, but they can’t seem to be able to rely on him. Allen is perhaps the most frustratingly inconsistent netminder in the league, at times flashing brilliance moments before falling apart. His overall .900 save percentage on the season is a huge part of the Blues’ struggles, and without a reliable backup the team hasn’t been able to string together any successful performances.

It’s that backup role that has been so frustrating for the team this year, after watching Carter Hutton leave for Buffalo in free agency. Chad Johnson was brought in as the answer but struggled so mightily that the team waived him and saw him join the Anaheim Ducks. They now have Jordan Binnington on the roster, but with just two NHL performances under his belt it would be difficult to trust him should Allen go through another rough patch. Ville Husso’s continued struggles at the AHL level make it harder to see where the Blues’ solution will come from.

What should be on the Blues’ Holiday Wish List?

Some patience from the front office.

It’s not time to blow up the Blues and trade away extremely valuable assets like Tarasenko or Colton Parayko. Even Pietrangelo, who is closest to unrestricted free agency with just one more year on his contract should be almost untouchable unless a team offers a mountainous package in return. That package would have to include assets that can step right into the NHL and help now, instead of just prospects or picks down the line.

If things get worse over the next two months, there could be an immense amount of pressure on Armstrong to make a drastic move at the deadline. Patience needs to be preached in the St. Louis front office, or they risk making a trade that could quickly be regretted.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Blues, Bieksa, Bakos

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For fans of the Blues, hoping that the team can turn the season around, as well as fans of other teams hoping for a chance at acquiring their top players, today’s news comes as a welcome change to the status quo in St. Louis. The Blues announced that three players were back at practice today and looking healthy and ready for game action. Alex Pietrangelo, Carl Gunnarsson, and Robby Fabbri all took the ice today and are expected to return to the lineup as early as tonight, when St. Louis takes on the Edmonton Oilers on the road. “Obviously we missed those guys tremendously”, said teammate Patrick Maroon, one of a number of Blues players who spoke about their excitement to have three difference-makers back at practice. Pietrangelo is clearly the greatest addition to the lineup, but Gunnarsson is also a regular on the Blues blue line and Fabbri has struggled with constant injurie issues for parts of three seasons and St. Louis would like to see him stay healthy for the rest of the campaign. At full strength, the Blues do have plenty of talent on paper and could put together a comeback of sorts this season. However, if that doesn’t happen, the team will continue to take calls on nearly anyone on the roster. GM Doug Armstrong won’t trade anyone whose value has dipped, so getting Pietrangelo and company back to health also improves his asking price should he decide to make some moves down the stretch.

  • On a recent appearance on the “31 Thoughts” podcast with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek, veteran defenseman Kevin Bieksa made it clear that he is not retired. In fact, Bieksa has already committed to play with Team Canada at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland later this month. A strong performance from the 37-year-old could earn him a contract from a contender for the second half of the NHL season. Brian Gionta and Chris Kelly accomplished similar feats after the Olympics last year and Bieksa has the experience and claims to still have the physical conditioning to follow suit. The long-time Vancouver Canuck and Anaheim Duck was unwilling to sign long-term with any team far from his family in California this off-season, but on a half-season deal he will likely be more open to taking the offer that gives him the best chance at an elusive Stanley Cup title.
  • After his time with the Boston Bruins didn’t go according to plan due to an early-season injury and a lack of opportunity, Martin Bakos had his contract terminated last week after clearing unconditional waivers. He’s now on to a new opportunity, as HK Sochi of the KHL announced that they have inked Bakos to a contract for the remainder of the season. Bakos has several seasons of KHL experience on his resume, but this is first time playing for one of the league’s many Russian squads after previous stints with HC Bratislava in his native country of Slovakia, as well as a year in China with the Kunlun Red Star. Bakos only managed to record four points in 16 games with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, a skilled minor league squad, so it will be interesting to see how he performs on a Sochi roster that lacks much talent up front. Bakos joins recent NHLers Jyrki Jokipakka and Yohann Auvitu in Sochi, hoping to push for a playoff spot with the team this season.

Snapshots: Sestito, Thomas, Letang, Koivu

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It looks like enforcer Tom Sestito will be getting another chance to work his way back to the NHL as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Toronto Marlies have signed the 6-foot-5, 228-pound forward to a professional tryout. A veteran of 154 NHL games, the 31-year-old had been playing in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the previous two years, but he wasn’t able to get a contract this year.

Friedman says that his source said he was thrilled that Sestito was getting one last shot to work his way back and referred to him as a great teammate. Sestito’s best season came in the 2013-14 season with the Vancouver Canucks when he played 77 games and scored five goals and nine points and accumulated 213 penalty minutes. He was probably best known for hits that netted him a pair of four-game suspensions, including one against New York Rangers’ Andre Deveaux from behind in 2011 and another one in 2017 when he boarded Winnipeg’s Toby Enstrom. His last NHL team was the Pittsburgh Penguins where he played 17 games in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons combined.

  • St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said that forward Robert Thomas will not be loaned to Team Canada for the World Junior Championships, according to Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland. The 19-year-old has just two goals and seven points so far in his rookie campaign in St. Louis while averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game, so many have speculated the Blues could loan him out temporarily to get him extra playing time at the World Juniors. However, Thomas has seen a small spike in his playing time since head coach Mike Yeo was fired and replaced by Craig Berube as the team hopes that the 2017 first-rounder continues his development while learning on the bottom lines.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins got some good news on the injury that defenseman Kris Letang suffered Friday in the third period against the Boston Bruins when the blueliner collided with Boston’s Joakim Nordstrom and had his knee buckle. Fans began to get concerned when he wasn’t able to stand on his own. However, while he did miss tonight’s game, the Penguins announced that he’s day-to-day, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It could’ve been a lot worse,” coach Mike Sullivan said. The 31-year-old has been having a solid season this year with seven goals and 25 points in 30 games this season.
  • NHL.com’s Kevin Falness reports that Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said that he expects center Mikko Koivu to return to the Wild’s lineup on Tuesday when they face San Jose. The 35-year-old has missed four games with a left leg injury, but a return could be a big addition as Koivu has put up solid numbers this year as he has four goals and 21 points in 27 games.

Snapshots: Entry Draft, Pietrangelo, Tarasenko

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As teams start to fall out of the playoff race and accept their fate for the 2018-19 season, fan interest in the upcoming draft class increases. While everyone knows about sensational forward Jack Hughes and his incredible offensive upside, the rest of the group of incoming talents gets far less media coverage. Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino today gives us a look at his top-31 rankings at this point, and there is plenty of talent to discuss.

While Hughes, Kaapo Kakko and Dylan Cozens find themselves near the top of the list once again (though this time with Vasily Podkolzin taking over the third spot), the most interesting name may just be Brett Leason. Twice undrafted, the 19-year old Leason may very well find himself on the top line for Team Canada at the upcoming World Junior Championship given his explosion this season. Now standing 6’4″, Leeson is the prototypical late bloomer and has recorded 28 goals and 64 points in just 31 games for the record-setting Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. It will be fascinating to see if a team decides he’s worth a first-round pick this time around, after missing out on him the last two Junes.

  • Fans all around the league have been drooling over the idea of Alex Pietrangelo being on the trade market since Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet mentioned his name earlier this month, but it’s still hard to imagine the St. Louis Blues selling their captain at this point. Even so, Pietrangelo is mentioned again in Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column, as the scribe speculates that the defenseman was involved in trade talks surrounding William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Friedman doesn’t posit that Pietrangelo will get dealt this season, but does end with this summary: “the fact Pietrangelo’s name got out there indicates the Blues are willing to do it.”
  • Speaking of the Blues willingness, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic clarified some things in a response to a Twitter question, explaining that though GM Doug Armstrong hasn’t put up a proverbial for sale sign, other clubs are “under the impression that [he] would consider trading anyone, including [Vladimir] Tarasenko.” Trading Tarasenko would seem like madness to many, but just today Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) indicated that “all bets are probably off” for the Blues and that you likely can’t rule out anything at this point. St. Louis sits 28th in the NHL and have scored just 82 goals in 29 games.

Prospect Notes: Rookies, Kyrou, ISS Rankings

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After several years of incredible rookies stepping right into the NHL and making huge impacts, this year looks like it will be no different. Young players all around the league have huge expectations, and Corey Pronman of The Athletic (subscription required) took to ranking those who can qualify for this year’s Calder Trophy. Pronman leads things off with Vancouver Canucks phenom Elias Pettersson, and puts another 67 in order before mentioning some other potential call ups.

Pettersson of course is coming off an incredible season in the SHL in which as a teenager he led the entire league in scoring with 56 points in 44 games. That production didn’t slow down in the playoffs, where he scored another 10 goals in 13 games and was named playoff MVP (after already taking that honor during the regular season as well). A World Junior silver was outdone by his World Championship gold, making his one of the most successful seasons ever by a junior-aged player. He’ll try to continue that impressive stretch with a debut for the Canucks this evening.

  • Another name on Pronman’s list, though a little further down is Jordan Kyrou, who will make his debut with the St. Louis Blues tomorrow night. GM Doug Armstrong spoke with reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, and explained that while he expected Samuel Blais and Robert Thomas to push for spots in camp, Kyrou was the one who really impressed and “opened their eyes.” If today’s practice lines are any indication, Kyrou will start on a line with Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn to start the year, and incredible opportunity for the 20-year old winger as he starts his professional career.
  • Looking ahead to draft season, ISS Hockey has released their Top 31 prospects for the 2019 Draft and like everyone else have Jack Hughes in the top spot. Hilariously the scouting service still has Hughes listed at 5’1″ 152-lbs—he’s actually more like 5’10” 170 lbs—but that didn’t stop them from putting him ahead of Kaapo Kakko and Dylan Cozens. The race for second overall seems to be on between those two forwards, but there are several names that could push to get into the conversation before long.

Patrick Maroon Officially Signs With St. Louis Blues

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6:16 PM: The contract contains an eight-team no-trade clause, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link).

3:00 PM: Though there were a few hiccups along the way, Patrick Maroon is finally heading home. The big winger has officially signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Blues that will pay him just $1.75MM. This deal was reportedly close on the weekend, but Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes an agent switch that Maroon recently went through could have slowed things down. Maroon’s new agent, Ben Hankinson, told reporters Sunday night that his client was still looking at other options, despite St. Louis being a heavy favorite. Well the betting odds came through, and Maroon will be heading back to his hometown for at least one season.

Maroon, 30, likely left money on the table to go back to St. Louis and be closer to his son and other family. Playing in front of them has long been an obvious motivator for Maroon, who rebuilt his career in Edmonton the last few seasons and was a very effective player down the stretch for the New Jersey Devils. We listed him as the 12th-best free agent in our Top 50 UFA Rankings, but believed he would garner a much longer and much more lucrative contract. That may have been possible, but as Blues GM Doug Armstrong explains it was a clear goal for Maroon to return home:

We’re excited to add Pat Maroon to our group. Things picked up over the last few days, and last night about 10:30 p.m. I got a call from him and his representative saying they’d like to be part of the St. Louis Blues.

This is a one-year opportunity for him to come back, hopefully play with some really good centermen and get back to that 27-goal performance he had in Edmonton, or close to it. We think he can help our team. I talked to some of our players about him, competing against him, and they spoke very highly about how hard he was to play against, how difficult he was to move in those high traffic areas. It’s just another player we add to our group that makes us a little better than we were yesterday.

The $1.75MM price tag is extremely reasonable for the Blues, who have overhauled their roster this summer and are looking to compete for the Stanley Cup in 2018-19. With the additions of Tyler Bozak, Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron and now Maroon, their forward group will look very different come October. There is still likely some work to be done though, as the team now has just over $3.2MM in cap space with contracts to come for restricted free agents Joel Edmundson and Jordan Schmaltz. Some of that could be taken care of by just waiving a few forwards, since they currently have 15 that project as NHL options, but that would put assets at risk before the season begins. Instead, there could be another trade coming to clear out some cap space now that Maroon is in the fold on such a reasonable deal.

For the player, the one-year deal is a bet on himself for at least a few months. There have been reports that the Blues will offer an extension to Maroon quickly after the January 1st threshold, which could be for a multi-year term at a higher cap hit. Doing it this way allowed them to keep the cap hit down for this season when things are tight, and allows them a period of evaluation for the powerful winger. There’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to produce like he did in Edmonton and New Jersey, as Maroon has struggled in the past. Still, at the price he’s signed for right now he doesn’t need to be much more than a big body that contributes occasionally and can wear down an opposing defense.

St. Louis Blues Expected To Sign Patrick Maroon

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Monday: Despite a source telling Rutherford that Maroon would sign in St. Louis, several teams remain in the mix for the power winger. His agent, Ben Hankinson, told Rutherford last night that the Blues are a “strong option” while Andy Strickland of Fox Sports reports that the Arizona Coyotes and New Jersey Devils had shown interest. Lou Korac of NHL.com though has heard that a one-year deal worth $1.7MM with the Blues has been agreed to, and the two sides will negotiate an extension in January.

Sunday: Just two days ago, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reported that the St. Louis Blues were interested in local product and one of the top unsigned free agents, Patrick Maroon. Now, Rutherford has confirmed his speculation, writing that the big winger will indeed return home to St. Louis and sign with the Blues. Rutherford hears from a source that this is a done deal that could be announced as early as this afternoon, but no details on the salary or term agreed upon have been revealed as of yet.

Maroon, 30, is coming off a career year in which he recorded a career-high 43 points in 74 games split between the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils. In 2016-17, he also recorded a career-high 27 goals and was one of the team’s top scorers in the postseason. If Rick Nash is indeed set on retirement, or at least taking time off from hockey, Maroon was the top available player on PHR’s Top 50 Free Agents list at No. 12.

Despite rumors that Maroon was interested in a return to either Edmonton or New Jersey, the St. Louis native emerged early as a target of the Blues. However, St. Louis has been busy this off-season, signing David Perron, Tyler Bozak, and Chad Johnson, not to mention several of their own restricted free agents, and then trading for Ryan O’Reilly. Accounting for their official moves to date, the Blues have little more than $5MM in cap space and still need to sign RFA defensemen Joel Edmundson and Jordan Schmaltz to new contracts. As such, many felt that the pairing of Maroon and St. Louis was no longer feasible. Yet, Rutherford reports that the Blues put the “full-court press” on Maroon in recent days, including meeting with him in person and having several members of the team call and convince him to join. It seems that GM Doug Armstrong and the Blues’ front office have a plan for working around St. Louis’ cap crunch.

Maroon is currently rehabbing from off-season back surgery, but is expected to be at full strength for the start of the season. A healthy Maroon is a major boost for St. Louis, even after adding several other impact pieces up front. The 6’3″, 225-lb. forward plays a physical game and is strong on the puck, something that the Blues lacked at times last year. He also adds significantly to their depth at left wing and has a finishing ability that should pair well with many play-makers on the Blues’ offense. While the salary terms will further clarify just how good of a signing this is, it stands to reason that Maroon – who made only $2MM per year on his last contract – is not earning so much as to make the Blues’ salary cap situation irreparable, meaning that he could be a great value for the team moving forward.

Western Notes: Trouba, Kovalchuk, Canucks

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While the Winnipeg Jets are coming off an exemplary season in which it reached the Western Conference Finals with a young, talented team, now comes the hard part. The team is full of key restricted free agents which could start taking up what was once an ample amount of cap space. The team has already all but said they don’t intend to re-sign trade deadline acquisition Paul Stastny and for good reason. The team must lock up a number of key players, including all-star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, Adam Lowry, Joel Armia, Marko Dano, Tucker Poolman, Josh Morrissey, Joseph Morrow, and oh, Jacob Trouba.

Two years ago, the contract negotiations between Trouba and the Jets went south, as Trouba ended up holding out for an entire month of the season before coming back and signing a below-value two-year bridge deal. Now, with Trouba’s stock sky-high as one of the top defensemen on the team, things could get even more dicey, according to Winnipeg Free Press’ Paul Wiecek. Trouba and his agent are expected to ask for about $7MM per year, while the Jets hope to keep it between $5MM and $6MM. The question is whether the Jets can afford to give him a big, long-term contract, considering that his offense isn’t even close to his defense after posting three goals and just 24 points on the year.

The team not only has to lock up these younger players, but must eventually lock up captain Blake Wheeler as well as pay youngster Kyle Connor in one year. The money will start to dry up soon. The scribe suggests the team consider moving Trouba now to save some of that money, considering his value is at a premium. Bringing back a big haul could save the team some cap space and fill some of its holes in one swoop.

  • While there was a rumor mentioned by Pierre LeBrun recently about the St. Louis Blues’ interest in Ilya Kovalchuk, NHL.com reports that general manager Doug Armstrong confirmed the team’s interest in the veteran KHL winger. “There’s certainly intrigue there because he’s been such a dominant player internationally and he was a hell of a player when he left [the NHL],” Armstrong said. Kovalchuk, who has played in Russia for the past five seasons is looking for a new home and has already visited the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, while other teams like the Boston Bruins have expressed interest in the 35-year-old veteran, who has tallied 417 goals in 816 NHL games with the Atlanta Thrashers and the New Jersey Devils.
  • Mike Halford of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Vancouver Canucks, who have always been adept at mining organizations to get quality players, need to continue to do that more than ever with the retirement of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. With a lineup full of holes, the scribe writes that the team needs to continue mining other organizations for their unwanted, forgotten or unfulfilled talent like in previous years. Over the last few years, the team has picked up several key players such as Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund, Nikolay Goldobin, Derrick Pouliot and Brendan Leipsic. The scribe goes on to point out three players the team should look into during the offseason and pry them away for late picks include Winnipeg’s Nic Petan, Columbus’ Sonny Milano and the New York Islanders’ Michael Dal Colle. All three are on the outside looking in within the organization and might need a franchise to give them a new chance.

Free Agent Focus: St. Louis Blues

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Free agency is now a little less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of St. Louis’ free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Robby Fabbri – Things haven’t gone smoothly for Fabbri over the past few years, as he’s faced multiple injuries that have robbed him of all but 51 games since the end of the 2015-16 season. After scoring 18 goals and 37 points as a rookie, and starting his sophomore season on an even better pace, the Blues had big plans for their 2014 first-round pick.

Now, after two straight major knee surgeries and more than a year away from NHL action, it’s not clear where he sits in their future. It was obvious that if he was healthy he could help the team offensively, but negotiations this summer are not leaning in his favor. A short-term deal seems likely for a player that is both an injury risk and hopes to prove himself again in 2018-19.

D Joel Edmundson – The 2011 second-round pick has turned into quite the player for the Blues, and found himself logging more than 20 minutes a night this season while they dealt with injuries to Jay Bouwmeester and inconsistent play from Carl Gunnarsson and Robert Bortuzzo. The Blues have young Vince Dunn expected to make an even bigger contribution next season, but Edmundson could take another step forward as he enters his mid-twenties.

The 24-year old defenseman is coming off a two-year $2.1MM contract, and should earn more than that in just a single year on his next deal. If St. Louis believes he can be a core piece of their blue line for the coming years, there could be a long-term deal in order. He’ll turn 25 before July 1st, meaning a two-year contract takes him to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2020.

Other RFAs: F Dmitrij Jaskin, F Oskar Sundqvist, F Nikita Soshnikov, D Jordan Schmaltz, F Justin Selman, F Beau Bennett, F Mackenzie MacEachern, D Thomas Vannelli, G Jordan Binnington, D Petteri Lindbohm

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: G Carter Hutton – The Blues moved out their most intriguing free agent at the deadline when they traded Paul Stastny to Winnipeg, but Hutton could prove to have an even bigger market. The 32-year old goaltender led the league with a .931 save percentage this season among netminders with at least 20 starts, and could be looking for an opportunity to play an even bigger role with a team.

Jake Allen didn’t do much this season to prove that he can handle a full-time starter workload, meaning the Blues will likely make every effort to re-sign Hutton this summer. For a player who has never earned more than $1.13MM in a single season though, you can bet he’s intrigued by the opportunity free agency presents.

Other UFAs: F Scottie Upshall, F Kyle Brodziak, F Wade Megan

Projected Cap Space: The Blues, like many teams this summer have plenty of room to work with under the cap. With Stastny and others coming off the books they’ll have somewhere around $18MM in cap space depending on where the upper limit lands and could be big players in the market.

The team has recently admitted that they’re on the lookout for an upgrade at center, and many have speculated that they could enter the John Tavares sweepstakes should the superstar center reach unrestricted free agency. With plenty of young talent coming through the system on cheap contracts, landing a big fish like Tavares is a reasonable target for GM Doug Armstrong to aim at—whether he’ll get there is a different story.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

St. Louis Blues Pursuing Top Centers This Summer

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The St. Louis Blues decided to trade Paul Stastny at the deadline this year, despite still being within striking distance of the playoffs. That marked the second consecutive season that GM Doug Armstrong traded away a star on an expiring contract, after dealing Kevin Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals in 2017. In doing so, and not re-signing Stastny to a contract extension they’ve left themselves with something of a hole up the middle for next season. After Brayden Schenn, the team doesn’t have a clear second-line center unless one of their young forwards comes in and impresses in camp, or someone like Alex Steen or Robby Fabbri is moved back to the position.

That’s where GM Doug Armstrong comes in, who recently spoke to Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com and confirmed that the team would be going after a center in trade or free agency. Armstrong’s been given the financial backing from ownership, and is on the lookout for some help up the middle:

We have Robert Thomas there, but is he ready to enter prime time as a second-line center? That’s a large chore to ask for a 19-year-old. Probably adding to our depth in the middle would be a goal. Alexander Steen has played center before, Robby Fabbri has played center before, Jaden Schwartz has played center before, so if we have to circle back in, and the players we’re looking at don’t hit free agency or choose different paths, we’d have to adjust to that. But I would say center ice would be an area we’d look to do something in. But like we are at the Draft, in free agency we’re always looking at good players.

The question that will invariably come up after answers like this is how aggressive the Blues will be when it comes to John Tavares. The New York Islanders superstar is the obvious choice for any center upgrade this summer, and St. Louis could afford to fit him into their salary structure. The team projects to have around $18MM of cap space depending on where exactly the upper limit lands, and though they have free agents of their own to re-sign they’re not locked into big-money contracts just yet.

If it’s not Tavares, then Zeisberger lists Joe Thornton, Stastny and Tyler Bozak as the center headliners on the free agent market this summer. Whether the Blues would have any interest in those three is unclear, but there is obviously a plan in place to improve the middle of the ice in some fashion.

It is interesting that Armstrong would mention Thomas, as he’s in the precarious situation that faces many top young players. Thomas won’t turn 19 until July 2nd, meaning that he can only play in the NHL or CHL next season, not the minor leagues. There’s no seasoning to be had for him in the AHL before assuming the second-line center role, meaning he would have to really impress the team in camp. That’s not impossible, as Thomas has taken huge steps forward since being selected 20th-overall last year, and could be ready to step into the lights of the NHL right away. More likely though is that the Blues go out and find another option, perhaps even one on a very short-term deal, to give Thomas and others another year of development.

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