Are the Blues on Track to Have Another Quiet Trade Deadline?

It’s hard to guess what the St. Louis Blues will be up to at this season’s March 7 trade deadline. Last season, they didn’t do a lot – just trading Malcolm Subban to the Columbus Blue Jackets for future considerations. Many questioned their lack of dealing, considering they were in the playoff picture. This season feels the same with the team five points out of a postseason berth. Could they repeat their deadline moves?

Blues Hold On to Their Players

Ahead of the 2024 Trade Deadline, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington were the team’s top trade candidates, and many expected management to pull the trigger on a deal. However, the Blues opted to keep them and that’s worked in their favor.

This season, Brandon Saad‘s name came up in rumors; however, that changed when he was placed on waivers on Jan. 28. He was their only player with value on the trade market. According to the NHL Network’s David Pagnotta, the Blues tried to trade him for several weeks but came up empty. Saad was also willing to waive his no-trade clause (NTC) to make a deal happen.

The only other real options are Radek Faksa and Mathieu Joseph; however, they are the team’s only depth forwards, and Faksa has a modified NTC. They also don’t have any players to move on defense as they already got rid of depth players Scott Perunovich (traded to the New York Islanders) and Pierre-Olivier Joseph (Mathieu’s brother, traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins).

Blues Cap Space Is Level, and There Is No Rush

Last season would have been a good time for the Blues to move out some big contracts. However, this season, they are in pretty good shape, with $4.74 million available in cap space. The Blues are projected to lose $1.18 million on the cap, which is a minor concern. However, that can easily be fixed by moving out contracts like Faksa and Ryan Suter’s.

Trading for another player with a big contract might hurt the team in the long run because they have many prospects waiting for playing time such as Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, Theo Lindstein, and more. Joel Hofer will be a restricted free agent (RFA) this summer and needs to be re-signed as the possible future starting goaltender. Maintaining the cap is a big must, and the deadline is usually when teams either move out money for cap space or buy for the playoffs.