2024-2025 Blues Trade Proposals Thread.

[Brian39]

Compensation for Nemec will be more in line with D. Jiricek. I think the HFOffers we’ve seen are inflated and somewhat of an overvaluation of Nemec.

I mostly agree with you from a 'value' perspective. For reference, Minnesota gave up a 2025 1st (likely mid-late), then a future 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and a middling (but not throw away) 22 year old prospect. However, I think Nemec has a bit more value. He was drafted a few spots higher and the New Jersey blue line he can't crack is clearly better than the Columbus blue line Jiricek couldn't crack. I think the Devils have a better argument to the player/agent about their justification for playing him in the AHL and that should translate to greater leverage in trade talks. So I'd expect the 'value' of the package to come in a bit higher.

But I just don't see the Devils seeking a trade that is simply a futures haul. That type of package made sense for a Jackets team that is still very much rebuilding. But the Devils have Cup aspirations this year. They would be looking to flip those assets for NHL upgrades immediately, so why not cut out the middle man and just go after that NHL help in the initial trade?

I expect them to identify some good, young, cheap players who can contribute right now to target.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Agree. Nemec has a little more value than Jiricek right now. And that value will actualize in players, not futures.

 

[StlBigFly]

Doesn’t Nemec feel like he fits the Avs timeline? Makar Nemec seems like a viable top couple of rhd in 2 years and then the next 8 after that. Nice bit of age separation but not so much you wouldn’t get a window of time they’re both at elite levels.

Would be nice for us too. Eventually we’re going to do something, although I have to think Parayko is a mainstay for a 200-400 more games, so we only have the one slot to address, and since Parayko eats such large minutes, it maybe reduces the urgency. Seems like we’ll have the flexibility to either get an established guy or bring in a guy we work with through some early years like Nemec.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Doesn’t Nemec feel like he fits the Avs timeline? Makar Nemec seems like a viable top couple of rhd in 2 years and then the next 8 after that. Nice bit of age separation but not so much you wouldn’t get a window of time they’re both at elite levels.

Would be nice for us too. Eventually we’re going to do something, although I have to think Parayko is a mainstay for a 200-400 more games, so we only have the one slot to address, and since Parayko eats such large minutes, it maybe reduces the urgency. Seems like we’ll have the flexibility to either get an established guy or bring in a guy we work with through some early years like Nemec.

But what do the Avs have to offer? I haven’t been keeping up with them, but I think they’re kinda bare and in need of a rewhatever. Their season standings right now is smoke and mirrors.

 

[StlBigFly]

But what do the Avs have to offer? I haven’t been keeping up with them, but I think they’re kinda bare and in need of a rewhatever. Their season standings right now is smoke and mirrors.

I really like Calum Ritchie, a forward prospect of theirs. I don’t watch them much at all though.

I had started a fun Rantanen to stl idea which resulted in me staring at depth charts and contracts a bit. And the Avs history. They move on from a lot of 27-30 year old top 9 forwards. Stastny, Duschene, Forsberg, etc. it’s harder to find ones they’ve kept (it’s hejduk) versus traded or let walk.

A thing about the devils is they are not afraid to pay off big name players, sometimes before they’ve even played a game for njd: (Dougie Hamilton, Ilya Kovalchuk, etc.)

If the Avs don’t wanna pay Rantanen then New Jersey will?

Rantanen resigned to a monster deal <-> Bratt/Timo (or whatever good winger) + Nemec

 

[TheOrganist]

As much as I'd love to make a nice futures package for Nemec, New Jersey should be looking for immediate NHL roster help if they move him. Maybe we could put together a futures package with enough value to outbid other offers and then they flip some of those futures for that roster help. But realistically, I don't think a guy like Bolduc moves the needle for them a ton.

I think that any deal for Nemec would have to include either Neighbours or Holloway.

They don't have tons of cap space and all their 'bad' money that they might want to shed has full trade protection right now. Any roster player coming back in a Nemec trade needs to be more than a pure rental, so they are probably looking for young(ish) guys on below-market deals that are at least able to be a genuinely 'plus' middle 6 player. Neighbours and Holloway both fit that bill. I don't think you land a guy like Nemec without giving up something you really don't want to give up. I'm not eager to give up either of those guys, but I would have to strongly consider it if New Jersey covets one.

Personally, I think Holloway would be a great fit with New Jersey. He's got the skating to keep up with their elite players. A Holloway-Hughes-Bratt line could be an absolute nightmare to play against. I don't think that Neighbours is as good of a fit, but he's a guy that should be a quality middle 6 player for years to come.

I understand having to part with something uncomfortable (Stenberg, as in example) but Holloway would be off the table in a deal centered around Nemec. I would need a defenseman way more established for Holloway to be even remotely considered.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

I really like Calum Ritchie, a forward prospect of theirs. I don’t watch them much at all though.

I had started a fun Rantanen to stl idea which resulted in me staring at depth charts and contracts a bit. And the Avs history. They move on from a lot of 27-30 year old top 9 forwards. Stastny, Duschene, Forsberg, etc. it’s harder to find ones they’ve kept versus traded or let walk.

A thing about the devils is they are not afraid to pay off big name players (Dougie Hamilton, Ilya Kovalchuk, etc.)

If the Avs don’t wanna pay Rantanen then New Jersey will?

Rantanen resigned to a monster deal <-> Bratt/Timo (or whatever good winger) + Nemec

It's an interesting thought but I can't see either team making a trade like this mid-season. If the chemistry doesn't work out, you completely sink your chances of making noise in the playoffs.

 

[StlBigFly]

It's an interesting thought but I can't see either team making a trade like this mid-season. If the chemistry doesn't work out, you completely sink your chances of making noise in the playoffs.

The only thing I saw where if I were an Avs fan I’d maybe be okay with it is a deal with the Capitals to snag Ryan Leonard, but I think they’d be insane to trade him.

I felt we would have to offer Kyrou + a roster upgrade + a top shelf prospect, if not more. And that includes a pretty hefty assumption that Kyrou’s playstyle would fit in Colorado. He may not be the type of skater they’d prefer, and if Colorado was not interested in either Kyrou or Buchnevich then there is no deal for us.

A problem lurks in the darkness: if a team wants Rantanen there is this window of about 45 days where he’s possibly available. On either side of that window is 6-8 years of contract. I’m not sure how to square how rare the event is with the timing of all teams involved. It’s really hard to find a great time for these things. If the player and team are doing poorly you perhaps lose a lot of or all of your return. If the team is doing well you certainly don’t want to cause that to change. I think it would be viable in nearly all circumstances to say trading an all star is a bad idea and the timing poor, but then the guy isn’t signed yet for next season, so something has to give.

You can’t really time these things or control their future since players of this caliber won’t accept just any term - they perhaps prefer the 7-8 years of security. So the decision making moment comes when it comes and it’s truly a poop or get off the pot moment.

 

[SirPaste]

I am not on board with spending premium assets on a rental but just thinking about any bottom 6 centers that could potentially be available for very cheap(thinking mid-late pick or middling prospect not in our plans) that would also be an improvement on Sunny this season. If we are looking like a playoff team is there anyone out there on teams that are out of it that could fit the picture? Kunin came to mind in SJ, maybe Dvorak in Montreal but not sure he is even an upgrade at this point.

 

[Brian39]

I don't want to pay Rantanen the amount of money we would have to pay to sign here. Other than "being the absolute highest bidder" I don't see much reason for him to want to sign here. If he actually gets to UFA (or negotiations with the Avs reach the point that they move him in a sign+trade), I expect his AAV to $13M+. Maybe in the high 11s or low 12s for his most-desired markets, but in the 13s anywhere else.

I love him as a player, but not at the price I think it would take.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I am not on board with spending premium assets on a rental but just thinking about any bottom 6 centers that could potentially be available for very cheap(thinking mid-late pick or middling prospect not in our plans) that would also be an improvement on Sunny this season. If we are looking like a playoff team is there anyone out there on teams that are out of it that could fit the picture? Kunin came to mind in SJ, maybe Dvorak in Montreal but not sure he is even an upgrade at this point.

Geekie is someone I've somewhat thought about too. With Schenn's play, I think getting a solid upgrade to the 3rd line could boost them into the playoffs. If the team is playing well, I sort of expect that to be a move that Army makes.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

I am not on board with spending premium assets on a rental but just thinking about any bottom 6 centers that could potentially be available for very cheap(thinking mid-late pick or middling prospect not in our plans) that would also be an improvement on Sunny this season. If we are looking like a playoff team is there anyone out there on teams that are out of it that could fit the picture? Kunin came to mind in SJ, maybe Dvorak in Montreal but not sure he is even an upgrade at this point.

Yanni Gourde could be an interesting option. He's slid down the depth chart in Seattle behind Shane Wright and Chandler Stephenson. He just landed on IR so if that ends up being a long-term thing, that's obviously out the window. Gourde is a pain in the ass to play against when healthy and has proven to be a valuable contributor in the playoffs despite being built like a hamster.

Trent Frederic is another option that would be an improvement on Sunny and his play style would be perfect for a playoff run. He's been discussed at length here but I imagine there will be a team that pays more than I'd be willing to pay for Frederic as a rental. This could be one of the few places he'd be willing to sign an extension prior to hitting the market though which could give the Blues a leg up on other teams if the Blues and Frederic can come to terms on a multi-year contract that makes it worth a better package than he'd fetch as a rental from other teams. Ultimately I don't see Frederic has a center long-term but it could provide insurance for a Dvorsky trial down the stretch.

I keep circling back to Boone Jenner. He's expected to return from his shoulder injury in late February. If he proves to be healthy he gives you a strong veteran Dvorsky stop-gap over the next few months + 2025/26 (age 31) at a very reasonable price ($3.75M). Hard-worker and great locker room guy, good enough to be our 2C until Dvorsky is ready. Perhaps the return from injury could keep his acquisition cost down? I'm also not a doctor so obviously the Blues would need the green light from the medical staff. Columbus is surprisingly making a playoff push so unless they cool off over the next four weeks, they're probably going to be buyers rather than sellers.

 

[BleedBlue14]

I am not on board with spending premium assets on a rental but just thinking about any bottom 6 centers that could potentially be available for very cheap(thinking mid-late pick or middling prospect not in our plans) that would also be an improvement on Sunny this season. If we are looking like a playoff team is there anyone out there on teams that are out of it that could fit the picture? Kunin came to mind in SJ, maybe Dvorak in Montreal but not sure he is even an upgrade at this point.

We're kind of in a spot assset wise too where it makes it hard to play the middle ground as an upgrade. We seemingly will never have our own 2nd round pick ever again - I think this takes guys like Jake Evans off the table. We only have our 1st, 5th and 6th this year. We have a 3rd in 26 and 27 we could probably use. I'd venture to guess Kunin would fit more towards that 3rd round area. We could dive into using prospects, but I'm not sure we'd really want to part with anything meaningful to make a push for a rental 3C. I don't really know what a 26 3rd and Gaudet or Dickinson or something like that could get you. I'd guess Peterson or Buchinger would draw some interest and I think we could stand with parting with them. I'd just like to be sure it's an upgrade on Sundqvist if we did - I'm not sure how much of an upgrade Kunin would be in that department.

I'm not sure our best idea would be to rush Dvorsky into the gap, and I'm also not sure bringing up like an Alexandrov would prove to be all to beneficial. Maybe we could swing a Saad trade to fill the hole? I don't think it's rational to expect to move Saad out and use those pieces to upgrade the hole all within a month and a halfs time, but I guess there's that possibility - assuming there is a market for Saad.

I'm not sure I trust Texier to be an upgrade there. I think it would boost the scoring - and lessen the penalties Sunny has been taking, but Texier is a pretty big alot of action player both good and bad.

 

[SirPaste]

We're kind of in a spot assset wise too where it makes it hard to play the middle ground as an upgrade. We seemingly will never have our own 2nd round pick ever again - I think this takes guys like Jake Evans off the table. We only have our 1st, 5th and 6th this year. We have a 3rd in 26 and 27 we could probably use. I'd venture to guess Kunin would fit more towards that 3rd round area. We could dive into using prospects, but I'm not sure we'd really want to part with anything meaningful to make a push for a rental 3C. I don't really know what a 26 3rd and Gaudet or Dickinson or something like that could get you. I'd guess Peterson or Buchinger would draw some interest and I think we could stand with parting with them. I'd just like to be sure it's an upgrade on Sundqvist if we did - I'm not sure how much of an upgrade Kunin would be in that department.

I'm not sure our best idea would be to rush Dvorsky into the gap, and I'm also not sure bringing up like an Alexandrov would prove to be all to beneficial. Maybe we could swing a Saad trade to fill the hole? I don't think it's rational to expect to move Saad out and use those pieces to upgrade the hole all within a month and a halfs time, but I guess there's that possibility - assuming there is a market for Saad.

I'm not sure I trust Texier to be an upgrade there. I think it would boost the scoring - and lessen the penalties Sunny has been taking, but Texier is a pretty big alot of action player both good and bad.

Yea I am not sure if a move like that makes sense or not. I was really just trying to get an idea of guys that fit that description that could potentially be available.

 

[StlBigFly]

I don't want to pay Rantanen the amount of money we would have to pay to sign here. Other than "being the absolute highest bidder" I don't see much reason for him to want to sign here. If he actually gets to UFA (or negotiations with the Avs reach the point that they move him in a sign+trade), I expect his AAV to $13M+. Maybe in the high 11s or low 12s for his most-desired markets, but in the 13s anywhere else.

I love him as a player, but not at the price I think it would take.

It’s going to be tough for Colorado to go one year apart between signing Rantanen and Makar while also paying MacKinnon 12.6. Rantanen is due after this year, Makar right after.

It’s probably good for us if they pay all three. There won’t be much left even with the cap going up to flesh out a consistent team. I almost think they have to move him….secretly maybe, if he won’t take a deal that works for the Avs. It’s so top heavy and so poorly timed with the cap hikes; players demanding more.

Its a really unfair punishment when you think about it maybe. The crime is that the avalanche have too many similarly aged amazing players for the current hard cap. The trade off they have to make for developing amazing talent is to have it be real hard to build a good team around them or be forced to trade one of them when in playoff contention.

 

[Brian39]

It’s going to be tough for Colorado to go one year apart between signing Rantanen and Makar while also paying MacKinnon 12.6. Rantanen is due after this year, Makar right after.

It’s probably good for us if they pay all three. There won’t be much left even with the cap going up to flesh out a consistent team. I almost think they have to move him….secretly maybe, if he won’t take a deal that works for the Avs. It’s so top heavy and so poorly timed with the cap hikes; players demanding more.

Its a really unfair punishment when you think about it maybe. The crime is that the avalanche have too many similarly aged amazing players for the current hard cap. The trade off they have to make for developing amazing talent is to have it be real hard to build a good team around them or be forced to trade one of them when in playoff contention.

I think they absolutely can fit all 3, the question is just whether they choose to.

$13M x 8 should be more than enough to get it done with Rants. If he wants more than that, it is a pretty clear that he's simply not interested in being the #2 forward for them anymore and wants to leave. That would make him the highest paid player on the team, the highest paid winger in the league (by over $1M), the 3rd highest paid player in the league, and would be $1M less than Drai's recent extension. Drai is a center, has a Hart trophy, has 3 seasons more productive than Rants' career year, has triple the 50+ goal seasons, and better career stats. Rants really doesn't have a comp to point to if he thinks he's worth more than this on an extension with his existing team.

That would be a $3.75M raise, which is less than the $4.4M minimum cap increase we are looking at this summer.

FWIW, Makar isn't a free agent a year apart from Rants. He has 2 years under contract after this one during any potential Rants extension. About $20M (plus Makar's own $9M) comes off the books before then plus the cap will continue go up as it gets re-linked to HRR. Even if we're talking about $16M for a guy like Makar, they could still have all 3 for less than 40% of their total cap because that means that cap is going to be clear of $100M by more than just a hair.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Been doing a bit more digging while killing time. I think Peyton Krebs is another guy that would check a lot of boxes that we need to fill that could potentially be available. He’s been used in a pretty defensive role for Buffalo by zone starts and is pretty adequate on the faceoff dot.

I’m not sure if Buffalo or Saad would have interest in a deal, but I think it would help us quite a bit swapping Saad for Krebs.

 

[TheOrganist]

Been doing a bit more digging while killing time. I think Peyton Krebs is another guy that would check a lot of boxes that we need to fill that could potentially be available. He’s been used in a pretty defensive role for Buffalo by zone starts and is pretty adequate on the faceoff dot.

I’m not sure if Buffalo or Saad would have interest in a deal, but I think it would help us quite a bit swapping Saad for Krebs.

Saad has a full no trade clause through the end of the 24-25 yr. That doesn’t seem realistic.