2024-2025 Blues Trade Proposals Thread.

[BleedBlue14]

It sounds like you have an invested some time into researching the market. Is there a player or players that might be interested in short term deal to prove they are worth more?

Also, this is a time where not trading for Hayes then trading him would have been beneficial. We either would have more assets to find a plug in player or we would have Hayes to fill a gap. I realize he wasn’t ideal, but we have so few forwards developing at a stage where I would be worried about ruining their development. Then again I never would have went after him in the first place. We rushed into trying to be competitive. We needed more assets to reload and build, but here we are.

This is from a post I had 2-3 pages ago that is a little more in-depth.

Given the list of potential UFAs and this is prior to half of them likely never reaching UFA. The following will be UFAs.

Giroux 37
Granlund 32
Bennett 28
Evans 28
Roslovic 28
Tavares 34
Duchene 34
Donato 28
Nelson 33

Those are the guys at or above a .5ppg pace.

I don't see many reset the market guys in there.

Gourde could possibly be a reset the market type UFA pickup. I think he has a reputation though from his days with Tampa and he isn't exactly a spring chicken at 33. You could possibly grab him.

I think Granlund may have played his way into a multi-year deal with a good team. However, we could possibly offer him 5 years to bring him on taking him to 37/38 which is scary. You'd be paying on the backend when we don't really need to pay on the backend but we should have enough guys under team control at that point in time where it shouldn't be a massive hinderance. Nelson could probably fall into this category.

Roslovic I don't think is much of a center anymore.

Evans is riding on a massively inflated shooting %

I think a route that might be feasible is paying Donato a premium for a shorter term contract as a prove it giving him another shot at a big contract at 30 or so. That's not exactly a sure-fire solution though.

Bennett is going to get paid. If we can grab him great, but again we'd be paying production on the front end and paying for it later on with an inflated contract.

RFA shopping this offseason (again extremely unlikely) is a bit better of a spot. Have the following guys that could conceivably play middle 6 C:

I'll put Villardi, Johnston, Peterka, Rossi, Voronkov, and McTavish as exclusions. I highly doubt any of those guys are allowed to get to the point where they're staring at July 1 without a contract extension.

Then you have this grouping which might be a possibility - McLeod, Frost, Zary, Jesper Boqvist, Mavrik Borque and McBain.

I doubt the Flames let Frost or Zary walk.

McLeod/ Geekie would be preferred, but again I doubt it. Geekie is playing with Pasta and Zacha now and Buffalo paid an immense amount for McLeod and he's having a fairly decent season.

Boqvist is running a 30-40 point pace in limited minutes, but that's in Florida. I'm not sure he repeats it here.

McBain probably doesn't move, but maybe. I don't think he has alot of offensive upside.

Borque could be moved by Dallas, but what are they going to move him for that we'd give up? Wouldn't pay a 1st for him and he's really young still. I dont think Dallas hits the panic button on him yet.

There are other options in UFA that are extremely unnoteworthy like Bjugstad etc. I just don't know how you can feel confident running into a season with someone in that low tier needing to be a middle 6 center and then having to also have one of Dvorsky/Dean take the other spot.

 

[BleedBlue14]

What would you guys say to:

Tkachuk+Norris for Thomas+Kyrou

How good is Kyrou defensively?

There's nothing wrong with our pair, in fact Norris could have a Hischier and higher arc but just change of scenery as we are moving towards puck-possession and defensive hockey under Green.

Norris is a good hockey player. The issue isn't his ability. It's his continual battle to stay on the ice for more than 75% of the season.

Tkachuk would be really nice to have.

Thomas should not be moved regardless of the situation.

I hate this concept of what i'm about to say but it rings really true here. The two contracts of the Blues players put the franchise in a much much better position to succeed than Tkachuk/Norris. Norris has way too much risk involved with him. It's just every year there's an injury that cuts a quarter+ of his season and he's locked in long-term. That can really kill momentum.

Knowing how the Tkachuks operate, I can't see Brady asking for less than the percentage Rantanen gets this offseason when he approaches UFA. And that's terrifying. Matthew would be worth it, I don't think Brady has the details of the game down as much as Matthew although he's a bit more of a physical specimen.

I don't think this deal would make the Blues better right now, or in the future. I also don't think it puts us in a very good situation cap wise.

I would love to add Brady, but not at the expense of Thomas. Kyrou I could understand, but I wouldn't want to add much if anything in order to do that.

 

[kimzey59]

Norris is a good hockey player. The issue isn't his ability. It's his continual battle to stay on the ice for more than 75% of the season.

Tkachuk would be really nice to have.

Thomas should not be moved regardless of the situation.

I hate this concept of what i'm about to say but it rings really true here. The two contracts of the Blues players put the franchise in a much much better position to succeed than Tkachuk/Norris. Norris has way too much risk involved with him. It's just every year there's an injury that cuts a quarter+ of his season and he's locked in long-term. That can really kill momentum.

Knowing how the Tkachuks operate, I can't see Brady asking for less than the percentage Rantanen gets this offseason when he approaches UFA. And that's terrifying. Matthew would be worth it, I don't think Brady has the details of the game down as much as Matthew although he's a bit more of a physical specimen.

I don't think this deal would make the Blues better right now, or in the future. I also don't think it puts us in a very good situation cap wise.

I would love to add Brady, but not at the expense of Thomas. Kyrou I could understand, but I wouldn't want to add much if anything in order to do that.

I say we skip all of this hassle and just draft Porter Martone.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

I say we skip all of this hassle and just draft Porter Martone.

May have to settle for Malcolm Spence, if they keep winning....

 

[StlBigFly]

This is from a post I had 2-3 pages ago that is a little more in-depth.

Given the list of potential UFAs and this is prior to half of them likely never reaching UFA. The following will be UFAs.

Giroux 37
Granlund 32
Bennett 28
Evans 28
Roslovic 28
Tavares 34
Duchene 34
Donato 28
Nelson 33

Those are the guys at or above a .5ppg pace.

I don't see many reset the market guys in there.

Gourde could possibly be a reset the market type UFA pickup. I think he has a reputation though from his days with Tampa and he isn't exactly a spring chicken at 33. You could possibly grab him.

I think Granlund may have played his way into a multi-year deal with a good team. However, we could possibly offer him 5 years to bring him on taking him to 37/38 which is scary. You'd be paying on the backend when we don't really need to pay on the backend but we should have enough guys under team control at that point in time where it shouldn't be a massive hinderance. Nelson could probably fall into this category.

Roslovic I don't think is much of a center anymore.

Evans is riding on a massively inflated shooting %

I think a route that might be feasible is paying Donato a premium for a shorter term contract as a prove it giving him another shot at a big contract at 30 or so. That's not exactly a sure-fire solution though.

Bennett is going to get paid. If we can grab him great, but again we'd be paying production on the front end and paying for it later on with an inflated contract.

RFA shopping this offseason (again extremely unlikely) is a bit better of a spot. Have the following guys that could conceivably play middle 6 C:

I'll put Villardi, Johnston, Peterka, Rossi, Voronkov, and McTavish as exclusions. I highly doubt any of those guys are allowed to get to the point where they're staring at July 1 without a contract extension.

Then you have this grouping which might be a possibility - McLeod, Frost, Zary, Jesper Boqvist, Mavrik Borque and McBain.

I doubt the Flames let Frost or Zary walk.

McLeod/ Geekie would be preferred, but again I doubt it. Geekie is playing with Pasta and Zacha now and Buffalo paid an immense amount for McLeod and he's having a fairly decent season.

Boqvist is running a 30-40 point pace in limited minutes, but that's in Florida. I'm not sure he repeats it here.

McBain probably doesn't move, but maybe. I don't think he has alot of offensive upside.

Borque could be moved by Dallas, but what are they going to move him for that we'd give up? Wouldn't pay a 1st for him and he's really young still. I dont think Dallas hits the panic button on him yet.

There are other options in UFA that are extremely unnoteworthy like Bjugstad etc. I just don't know how you can feel confident running into a season with someone in that low tier needing to be a middle 6 center and then having to also have one of Dvorsky/Dean take the other spot.

McLeod’s kind of a wildcard maybe eh?

Hate to blast Buffalo but they seem to have a hard time building teams. Sometimes it seems their guys use whatever they have available to head elsewhere.

Nice to see him do okay in the middle of that group’s lineup.

I’m guessing on a team with cozens and Thompson that mcleod doesn’t see the best offensive shifts.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

McLeod’s kind of a wildcard maybe eh?

Hate to blast Buffalo but they seem to have a hard time building teams. Sometimes it seems their guys use whatever they have available to head elsewhere.

Nice to see him do okay in the middle of that group’s lineup.

I’m guessing on a team with cozens and Thompson that mcleod doesn’t see the best offensive shifts.

Does he do anything well but skate? I just don’t see any offense with him.

 

[Mike Liut]

May have to settle for Malcolm Spence, if they keep winning....

If the centers are gone, I’d be down with Spence

 

[StlBigFly]

Does he do anything well but skate? I just don’t see any offense with him.

I haven’t had the chance to watch even a minute of the guy. It makes sense Edmonton having to bail on him due to their cap with draisaitl, McDavid, and nurse, yet still Buffalo paid with the good stuff. Maybe makes me think there were a handful of teams interested in him, maybe they all see some upside.

 

[Stealth JD]

I haven’t had the chance to watch even a minute of the guy. It makes sense Edmonton having to bail on him due to their cap with draisaitl, McDavid, and nurse, yet still Buffalo paid with the good stuff. Maybe makes me think there were a handful of teams interested in him, maybe they all see some upside.

The good stuff?
They flipped an undersized wing prospect who project as a middle of the line-up role player IF IF IF he pans out, for an established middle of the line-up role player. Oilers took all the risk due to cap constraints, but Buffalo did well in cashing in a trade chip before Savoie’s value fell any further.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Savoie's value fell? He's had a very good rookie season in the AHL.

 

[Stealth JD]

Savoie's value fell? He's had a very good rookie season in the AHL.

I mean, yeah. He was traded for a 30-point forward. Would you trade Dvorsky for a guy who projects as a third liner?

NHL clubs are wary of 5’9”-5’10” forwards who don’t profile as dynamic scorers. I think it’s obvious Savoie’s value has diminished since the draft and will continue to do so until he proves he can be an effective NHL’er.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I mean, yeah. He was traded for a 30-point forward. Would you trade Dvorsky for a guy who projects as a third liner?

NHL clubs are wary of 5’9”-5’10” forwards who don’t profile as dynamic scorers. I think it’s obvious Savoie’s value has diminished since the draft and will continue to do some until he proves he can be an effective NHL’er.

Doesn't mean his value fell, could just be Buffalo sucks at trading and overvalued McLeod.

 

[StlBigFly]

If I had to guess for McLeod:

In Edmonton he’d have no chance to move up the lineup for years let alone it being borderline impossible for Edmonton to resign, then Buffalo - and with their young and very offensively oriented centers - again he’s going to be stuck down the lineup and taking the more mucky shifts.

I would guess that he wants to try the top 6 for a full time role - or have the path to get to that - and if Buffalo moves him it’s because they’re not gonna give it to him since they’ve got 2 internal candidates. I could see them maybe trade one of their guys in cozens or Thompson then maybe sign up McLeod for a bigger role, but they could also just cut ties with the dude at this deadline, or use the rfa process to keep him in their system as long as they can.

If he moves again he could be a rare player who is good and also who has changed teams a lot. Really extreme circumstances for him so far in the cap in Edmonton and the young team in Buffalo, yet his stat line and icetime both trend up.

 

[BleedBlue14]

McLeod is at 28 points in 51 games. He had 31 in 81 last season. I'd say he's having a good year and making good progress.

McLeod in my mind is an elite 3C. Enough offense to stay in the middle 6. Very good skater. Adequate at faceoffs. Responsible player.

I just don't see Buffalo letting him walk too much although that organization is a tire fire and Cozens could probably be someone else that's added to the list as a likely trade target.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

If I had to guess for McLeod:

In Edmonton he’d have no chance to move up the lineup for years let alone it being borderline impossible for Edmonton to resign, then Buffalo - and with their young and very offensively oriented centers - again he’s going to be stuck down the lineup and taking the more mucky shifts.

I would guess that he wants to try the top 6 for a full time role - or have the path to get to that - and if Buffalo moves him it’s because they’re not gonna give it to him since they’ve got 2 internal candidates. I could see them maybe trade one of their guys in cozens or Thompson then maybe sign up McLeod for a bigger role, but they could also just cut ties with the dude at this deadline, or use the rfa process to keep him in their system as long as they can.

If he moves again he could be a rare player who is good and also who has changed teams a lot. Really extreme circumstances for him so far in the cap in Edmonton and the young team in Buffalo, yet his stat line and icetime both trend up.

I’m sorry, but hope is not a plan. McLeod had never had any offensive hockey sense. That has been evident since he was in juniors. He has decent size and is great skater. There is place for that, but it’s not at 2c.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

What would you guys say to:

Tkachuk+Norris for Thomas+Kyrou

How good is Kyrou defensively?

There's nothing wrong with our pair, in fact Norris could have a Hischier and higher arc but just change of scenery as we are moving towards puck-possession and defensive hockey under Green.

I want nothing to do with a deal that would leave Josh Norris as our #1 center.

 

[DatDude44]

I wouldn't touch Josh Norris with a 10 foot pole. A close colleague of mine out here in Detroit knows Dwayne Norris(his dad) and said his shoulder is extremely screwed up. My colleague also happens to work in the medical sales/surgery side of things and said that essentially Ottawas front office won't allow norris to get this particular shoulder surgery out here that would knock him out for an entire season but actually repair the shoulder long term, apparently they've been trying for over 2 years now, it's not an operation that's been done on a hockey player before is the issue apparently.

Any trade with norris a no-go for me, especially one including Robert Thomas.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Even with a healthy Norris, I wouldn't want him and Dvorsky as our top 2 centers with both being more of shoot first players.

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

I wouldn't touch Josh Norris with a 10 foot pole. A close colleague of mine out here in Detroit knows Dwayne Norris(his dad) and said his shoulder is extremely screwed up. My colleague also happens to work in the medical sales/surgery side of things and said that essentially Ottawas front office won't allow norris to get this particular shoulder surgery out here that would knock him out for an entire season but actually repair the shoulder long term, apparently they've been trying for over 2 years now, it's not an operation that's been done on a hockey player before is the issue apparently.

Any trade with norris a no-go for me, especially one including Robert Thomas.

Sounds like the kind of player you should buy extremely low after Ottawa gets frustrated with him, let him get the surgery, then potentially have an excellent 3C on your hands if he recovers.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Sounds like the kind of player you should buy extremely low after Ottawa gets frustrated with him, let him get the surgery, then potentially have an excellent 3C on your hands if he recovers.

If he wasn’t making 8 million for another 5 years…

 

[Snubbed4Vezina]

If he wasn’t making 8 million for another 5 years…

Yikes. I had no idea. That's BRUTAL.

 

[ScratchCatFever]

Bennett will be looking for term, and at 28, he has the makings of a guy who will age like milk on the counter once he hits the wall. If we were a year or two away from serious contention I'd absolutely love to have him. We're probably looking at his age 33/34 season before we are a serious threat if the big names of our pool progress like we're hoping and we hit on our 1st in this upcoming draft.

 

[Spektre]

Well, it’s brain storming time now that the 4 nations nonsense is happening.

If Buffalo is listening to offers for Byram, I would be kicking the tires. They gave up Mittelstadt to get him. Now Mittelstadt seems on his way out of Colorado. I’m guessing Buffalo would want NHL talent in return instead of futures. In a perfect world for me, it would be a deal around Buchnevich for Byram.

That would lead to trading one of Leddy or Fowler, or both, and hope for the team’s sake that Krug’s career is over. Nothing personal against Krug, that’s just the best outcome for the team.

The RHD needs to be addressed. Boston may wind up doing a “retool”. Carlo might be a placeholder top 4 D behind Parayko. I don’t know what it would take to get him, and he has a 10 team NTC. I think the Blues would have to offer current prospects. His value is probably at its lowest this year, but I think he’s still a physical adequate top 4 option.

The center position is another hole. Schenn is capable of being the 2C for now as long as his line mates are speedsters like Kyrou and Holloway. I’m guessing when Dvorsky comes up they will want him playing on the 3rd line similar to the Thomas tract. Thomas actually played winger to Bozak to cut his teeth.

The bottom 6 has to improve and hopefully will with the prospects coming. Maybe they could swing a bigger deal with Boston and get Geekie along with Carlo.

The goalie situation is getting more murky. Binnington has not been good enough this year. They should be playing Hofer more to see how he handles the workload.

I don’t think Faulk is tradeable even with the cap going way up.

Buchnevich for Byram

Carlo + Geekie for Stenberg + Dean + Kessel + Jecho

Geekie Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Schenn Kyrou
Neighbors Dvorsky Bolduc
Walker (X or Faksa) Toropchenko
Joseph Texier

Broberg Parayko
Byram Carlo
Fowler Faulk
Tucker


Trade Leddy

Faulk is banned from the PP.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I don't really like that Boston deal. From the sounds of it, Carlo's play has really dropped off, and Geekie is just a middle 6 guy. I'm not trading Stenberg for that.

Not opposed to either as targets, just not using Stenberg to get them. I do think if we could get Carlo, that would upgrade the PK, even if he's not what he used to be. Geekie is someone that I think could upgrade our #3 C spot.

 

[A Real Barn Burner]

Well, it’s brain storming time now that the 4 nations nonsense is happening.

If Buffalo is listening to offers for Byram, I would be kicking the tires. They gave up Mittelstadt to get him. Now Mittelstadt seems on his way out of Colorado. I’m guessing Buffalo would want NHL talent in return instead of futures. In a perfect world for me, it would be a deal around Buchnevich for Byram.

That would lead to trading one of Leddy or Fowler, or both, and hope for the team’s sake that Krug’s career is over. Nothing personal against Krug, that’s just the best outcome for the team.

The RHD needs to be addressed. Boston may wind up doing a “retool”. Carlo might be a placeholder top 4 D behind Parayko. I don’t know what it would take to get him, and he has a 10 team NTC. I think the Blues would have to offer current prospects. His value is probably at its lowest this year, but I think he’s still a physical adequate top 4 option.

The center position is another hole. Schenn is capable of being the 2C for now as long as his line mates are speedsters like Kyrou and Holloway. I’m guessing when Dvorsky comes up they will want him playing on the 3rd line similar to the Thomas tract. Thomas actually played winger to Bozak to cut his teeth.

The bottom 6 has to improve and hopefully will with the prospects coming. Maybe they could swing a bigger deal with Boston and get Geekie along with Carlo.

The goalie situation is getting more murky. Binnington has not been good enough this year. They should be playing Hofer more to see how he handles the workload.

I don’t think Faulk is tradeable even with the cap going way up.

Buchnevich for Byram

Carlo + Geekie for Stenberg + Dean + Kessel + Jecho

Geekie Thomas Snuggerud
Holloway Schenn Kyrou
Neighbors Dvorsky Bolduc
Walker (X or Faksa) Toropchenko
Joseph Texier

Broberg Parayko
Byram Carlo
Fowler Faulk
Tucker


Trade Leddy

Faulk is banned from the PP.

With Buchnevich’s full NTC this year, he would likely have to waive, and I seriously doubt he would do so for Buffalo. However, since we’re brainstorming, a Buchnevich trade with Carolina is possible if Rantanen doesn’t sign. They’ve found themselves in quite a predicament, and Buch might waive his rights to a contender.

Carolina:
Buchnevich

St Louis:
Rantanen + Scott Morrow + Conditional 2026 1st if Carolina make the Eastern Conference Finals

Flip Rantanen at a 50 percent retained to a contender bonus point if Army can negotiate a sign-and-trade deal. What is Rantanen’s worth? Can you acquire a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a prospect in exchange? Could you also get a conditional first-round pick for 2026 if he resigns or the team acquiring him makes the conference finals? Perhaps you could also acquire another pick instead of just Morrow, considering the contract disparity between Buch and Rantanen. I’m not certain about that. I’m also not sure if anyone else can match or surpass the above offer, as the Hurricanes wouldn’t want him to remain in the Eastern Conference, which limits their options to Western Conference teams. I believe they would prefer a hockey trade over a futures return. Who knows how this situation will unfold—it’s quite a crazy predicament.

Also question for the experts how does retention work with contract extensions? Could we retain on Buch for just this year? Without having to retain on the extension at 8 mil? If we could might even get more value from Buch if Carolina or some other contender wants to add more at the deadline.

I guess if Buch doesn’t waive you can do Kyrou but I am sure the ask would go up. I seriously doubt Buch is asked to waive his NTC at all though doesn’t seem an Army thing to do.

(Perhaps the conditional 1st for Buch is to much but I like the idea of getting two 2026 first round picks if both Carolina and whomever gets Rantanen make the Conference Finals lol. I would have a vested interest in rooting them on! Also I think Carolina would go for it as it would make trading Rantanen to anyone they are likely to matchup with in the 1st or 2nd round a dicey proposition.)