The easy thing to do or tonight's St. Louis Blues player to watch would be to insert Kevin Hayes in here, since it's his first game back in Philadelphia to face the Flyers.
Blues player to watch vs. Flyers: Marco Scandella (3:00)
Yes, there will be enough attention on that, but with the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline fast approaching (Friday at 2 p.m. CT), this would be a good opportunity to put the spotlight on defenseman Marco Scandella.
The veteran has quietly had himself a steady, solid season with the Blues, playing in 55 games (two goals, six assists); he is even in the plus-minus category and is averaging 12:39 per game, which isn't a lot to be frothing at the mouth about, but the 34-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end and could be (and should be) on the table if general manager Doug Armstrong makes any purges to the roster by Friday.
The market for defensemen is always open, and Scandella, who does have a modified no-trade clause with seven-team protection, but for certain playoff hopefuls who may be looking for a depth piece and veteran experience on the blue line, it probably won't take but a fourth-round pick at the highest to say, a fifth- or sixth-rounder to fetch Scandella from St. Louis.
He's been playing on the third pair and doing a good job helping groom some of the Blues' younger blue liners, namely Scott Perunovich and Tyler Tucker, sprinkled in with some Matthew Kessel, throughout the season and has done well in that role.
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