Blues 2024 Off-Season Trade Proposals Thread

[Xerloris]

I don't think I would do both Dean and Bolduc.

 

[LetsGoBooze]

I don't think I would do both Dean and Bolduc.

Agreed. I would prefer Dean and one of Ralph/Fischer/Buchinger. It would be hard to move Bolduc, but would prolly do it coupled with nothing higher than a 3rd.

 

[Reality Czech]

So we send a prospect in Bolduc that may very well end up as good or better, then add Dean when the Jets are bent over a barrel?

Sure, he could end up as good or better or he could also end up a lot worse. I liked what I saw in Bolduc, but it's not like he blew me away with his skill. Dean might end up being a run of the mill bottom 6er. This is the kind of risk that could really speed up our retool and add an elite piece to our core, but of course it could also look bad in the long run if both Bolduc and Dean hit their ceilings.

All of that being said, I would probably pull the trigger on it. McGroarty is from Lincoln, NE so maybe he'd like playing in the Midwest close to home. Having both Neighbours and McGroarty as physical wingers alongside Thomas and Kyrou would make a pretty solid forward core.

 

[Memento]

Agreed. I would prefer Dean and one of Ralph/Fischer/Buchinger. It would be hard to move Bolduc, but would prolly do it coupled with nothing higher than a 3rd.

If Winnipeg is stupid enough to do Dean and one of Ralph/Fischer/Buchinger for McGroarty, the trade would've been done already - and I love Dean, Buchinger, and Lukas Fischer. They'd ask for Bolduc or more and would be well within their rights to do it.

 

[Celtic Note]

Sure, he could end up as good or better or he could also end up a lot worse. I liked what I saw in Bolduc, but it's not like he blew me away with his skill. Dean might end up being a run of the mill bottom 6er. This is the kind of risk that could really speed up our retool and add an elite piece to our core, but of course it could also look bad in the long run if both Bolduc and Dean hit their ceilings.

All of that being said, I would probably pull the trigger on it. McGroarty is from Lincoln, NE so maybe he'd like playing in the Midwest close to home. Having both Neighbours and McGroarty as physical wingers alongside Thomas and Kyrou would make a pretty solid forward core.

So what do you like about McGroarty that makes you think he will be better than Bolduc?

Is it just physicality?

 

[Celtic Note]

If Winnipeg is stupid enough to do Dean and Ralph/Fischer/Buchinger for McGroarty, the trade would've been done already - and I love Dean, Buchinger, and Lukas Fischer. They'd ask for Bolduc or more and would be well within their rights to do it.

What has McGroarty done to push himself ahead of Bolduc so much that his value is less than McGroarty who says he won’t sign with Winnipeg?

They were both drafted in near the same spot in subsequent drafts. Both have played well in there respective junior/college leagues. They are both projected as wingers (a non premium position).

Bolduc is ahead in his development. He had back to back, PPG or higher playoffs.

Rutger has played well in WJCs.

Rutger is probably the better playmaker and is better defensively, although that gap is closing.

Bolduc is the better goal scorer.

Rutger is more physical (which will rocket him up the charts for some), but Bolduc is no slouch in that department.

 

[Memento]

What has McGroarty done to push himself ahead of Bolduc so much that his value is less than McGroarty who says he won’t sign with Winnipeg?

They were both drafted in near the same spot in subsequent drafts. Both have played well in there respective junior/college leagues. They are both projected as wingers (a non premium position).

Bolduc is ahead in his development. He had back to back, PPG or higher playoffs.

Rutger has played well in WJCs.

Rutger is probably the better playmaker and is better defensively, although that gap is closing.

Bolduc is the better goal scorer.

Rutger is more physical (which will rocket him up the charts for some), but Bolduc is no slouch in that department.

Better playmaker and defender, and while he's not at Bolduc's goal-scoring peak, I don't think McGroarty's a slouch in that department at all (ultimately, I'd say he's a potential thirty-goal-seventy-point winger with fantastic defense who can play anywhere and be helpful, and that's just as valuable as a forty-goal scorer. Like McGroarty's Buchnevich (peak) to Bolduc's Tarasenko (peak), if we had to compare Blue apples to Blue apples. ). Definitely a glue guy like Neighbours or Stenberg with tons of physicality (Bolduc is noticeably less physical and more of a perimeter player. Not a bad thing, necessarily; I'm into talent wherever it may be, which is why my faith in Kyrou hasn't wavered.), and that's something I could see appealing to the Blues. We're a physical forechecking team at our core. Yes, there's skill, but we've always had that physicality and defensive play when it comes to our forwards, and we won the Cup with that physicality and great defensive play from the vast majority of our forwards.

I'm not going to lie and say that putting McGroarty with Thomas, Kyrou, Neighbours, Buchnevich, and possibly Snuggerud, Dvorsky, and Stenberg, (and maaaybe Susuyev) doesn't sound extremely tempting, and while I'd gladly give up "only" Dean + Ralph/Fischer/Buchinger (EDIT: f***ing human error) for him instead of Bolduc and a third, I don't see it happening.

What I'm saying is Winnipeg would be stupid to take a deal that didn't include Bolduc; regardless of whether he wants to play there or not, he's easily their best prospect, and there's going to be suitors that will pay more than Dean + a defenseman that isn't Lindstein or Jiricek. Honestly, if Montreal and Columbus are in on it, I don't see any way we get him unless we do give up Bolduc and a mid-round pick; both of those teams' prospect pools are far more appealing than ours, and they're probably going to be picking higher in the next draft as well. McGroarty doesn't have any leverage when it comes to a trade: just whether he signs with a team or not.

 

[LogosBlue]

What has McGroarty done to push himself ahead of Bolduc so much that his value is less than McGroarty who says he won’t sign with Winnipeg?

They were both drafted in near the same spot in subsequent drafts. Both have played well in there respective junior/college leagues. They are both projected as wingers (a non premium position).

Bolduc is ahead in his development. He had back to back, PPG or higher playoffs.

Rutger has played well in WJCs.

Rutger is probably the better playmaker and is better defensively, although that gap is closing.

Bolduc is the better goal scorer.

Rutger is more physical (which will rocket him up the charts for some), but Bolduc is no slouch in that department.

Bolduc stat line 22/23 in QMJHL 61gp / 50G / 60A / 110 P (1.80 points per game)
McGroarty stat line 23/24 in NCAA 36gp / 16G / 36A / 52P (1.44 points per game)

(Used different years to be fair in jr level comparisons)

I guess this brings up the ever present debate of which jr league is really closer to pro level. In recent years it seems to me that NCAA path is the better development channel for players. In my mind, the CHL and NCAA are comps but the QMJHL, OHL & WHL seem to be a step below in competition level. Any thoughts on this?

McGroarty in my assessment is the better prospect. How will the numbers translate to AHL/NHL? That remains to be seen.
Bolduc was a monster in the 'Q' but not sure he will be that dominant in the AHL or NHL as shown by his .5pts/gm stats last year in the AHL.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

The sun might rise or it might not. Ya never know.

 

[Reality Czech]

So what do you like about McGroarty that makes you think he will be better than Bolduc?

Is it just physicality?

I can't say I'm a McGroarty expert, but he was picked higher in the draft, just captained Team USA's U20 team to a gold medal and seems like he's ranked by most as a top 30-40 prospect while Bolduc hasn't really stood out since leaving the Q. Based on what I read and hear, Rutger seems to be a better bet than Bolduc to be a top player and difference maker. I'm not expecting much from Dean to be honest, so if we could upgrade Bolduc to McGroarty at the cost of Dean then I would be tempted to make that deal. It wouldn't be an easy decision however.

 

[Brian39]

McGroarty to St.Louis?

www.nhltraderumor.com/rutger-mcgroarty-st-louis-blues-trade-rumor/

I think that McGroarty is the best prospect of the trio proposed in that (it appears purely speculative) article. However, I'm not sold that the gap between he and Bolduc is a Dean-caliber prospect.

I look at the Gauthier trade as the best comp since it appears that Winnipeg is in a similar spot with McGroarty as Philly was with Gauthier. Obviously Gauthier/Drysdale are higher pedigree prospects than the ones we are talking about, but it is a similar concept. Drysdale was picked 6th overall in 2020 while Gauthier was picked 5th overall in 2022. A touch of shine had come off the older Drysdale due to injuries, but he had a pro resume while Gauthier was purely an amateur resume. The Ducks paid a 2nd round pick (in 2025, not 2024) to make the swap for the higher value, younger guy.

Given Drysdale's pretty significant injury concerns (just 42 total pro games in the last 2 seasons), I think the gap in value between McGroarty/Bolduc is smaller than the value gap between Gauthier/Drysdale.

How does Dean's value compare to the pick Anaheim gave up to make the swap? Dean was the 30th overall pick and the Ducks 2025 2nd is likely to be somewhere in the 33rd-42nd range. Even if you argue that Dean's stock has fallen, I don't think it has fallen below that range. Moreover, he has the advantage of 4 years of development time compared to that pick. Today, I wouldn't trade Dean for a 2026 2nd rounder that I expect to be in the 33rd through 42nd pick range.

So using the best trade comp we have for this type of situation in the current NCAA hockey landscape, I think that Bolduc and Dean for McGroarty would be a bit of an overpay. If they are seeking a prospect swap and Bolduc is their target, I think I'd counter with Bolduc and our 2026 2nd for McGroarty and their 2026 3rd. Make that a 2027 3rd if their GM wants to push the asset down the road even further. They might be able to do better and I'd be fine with them doing better.

That article refers to McGroarty as a 'natural center' but I think he is very much a wing prospect. He hasn't played much (if any) center in the last couple years and he strikes me as one of the plethora of wingers who played center growing up because they were the best player on their youth teams. I don't see him as a center solution and I'd be making this swap as a potential wing prospect upgrade. I'm totally fine with such a swap, but I'd also be more than content to keep Bolduc for ourselves (or to use in a trade for a center or D) if the cost to make that swap gets too high.

 

[Majorityof1]

My view on trades is that most times, the team who gets the best player wins. There are obviously contract/cap/age issues that would alter the theory. But the point is, if I am trading a lesser prospect for a better one, I am not going to quibble over whether we add a 2nd or 3rd round value.

If McGroarty is clearly the best prosoect of the bunch, make the trade. Sure, you try to negotiate the price down, but at the end of the day, if push comes to shove and you think Mcgroatty is the best, pull the trigger. Elite talent trumps a hell of a lot of quantity of non-elite talent.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

Here's a fun way to think about this - since we recently finished out the top 9 prospects poll - where would McGroarty fit on that list? B/c we are talking about giving up our 5th and 9th best prospect (Obviously according to us fans) - would you rank McGroarty above Jiricek, who came in 4th?

 

[Memento]

Here's a fun way to think about this - since we recently finished out the top 9 prospects poll - where would McGroarty fit on that list? B/c we are talking about giving up our 5th and 9th best prospect (Obviously according to us fans) - would you rank McGroarty above Jiricek, who came in 4th?

I would put him above Jiricek. Jiricek needs to prove that he can get past his injury, and he's still very young. McGroarty has less potential, but is much more likely to be an impact player at this stage, has a lot of solid tools, and seems like he has enough hockey sense to unlock the toolbox.

A top six prospect list of Dvorsky, Snuggerud, Lindstein, McGroarty, Jiricek, and Stenberg sounds amazing to me, especially when you consider that Stenberg could play third-line center (which mitigates the loss of Dean, to an extent).

 

[bleedblue1223]

Here's a fun way to think about this - since we recently finished out the top 9 prospects poll - where would McGroarty fit on that list? B/c we are talking about giving up our 5th and 9th best prospect (Obviously according to us fans) - would you rank McGroarty above Jiricek, who came in 4th?

He'd be basically on par with Snuggs for me.

 

[Mike Liut]

If Winnipeg is stupid enough to do Dean and one of Ralph/Fischer/Buchinger for McGroarty, the trade would've been done already - and I love Dean, Buchinger, and Lukas Fischer. They'd ask for Bolduc or more and would be well within their rights to do it.

What if we add a 2nd? Dean + Buchinger + 2nd?

 

[Memento]

What if we add a 2nd? Dean + Buchinger + 2nd?

It would have to be the second in 2026 (as thanks to the Hayes trade, we lack it in 2025), and I'm not comfortable adding that at the moment when it could be used to get a potential defenseman on the trade deadline.

I think Brian's idea of Bolduc + 2026 second for McGroarty + 2026 third has merit.

 

[SirPaste]

Here's a fun way to think about this - since we recently finished out the top 9 prospects poll - where would McGroarty fit on that list? B/c we are talking about giving up our 5th and 9th best prospect (Obviously according to us fans) - would you rank McGroarty above Jiricek, who came in 4th?

Thats a good question, I would definitely have him above Jiricek and probably Lindstein as well.

 

[Reality Czech]

It would have to be the second in 2026 (as thanks to the Hayes trade, we lack it in 2025), and I'm not comfortable adding that at the moment when it could be used to get a potential defenseman on the trade deadline.

I think Brian's idea of Bolduc + 2026 second for McGroarty + 2026 third has merit.

From our perspective sure, but no chance in hell Winnipeg accepts that deal.

To answer the other question, he'd probably be ranked as our 2nd or 3rd best prospect. I just read one prospect ranking that had him right above Snuggerud. McGroarty might have a better all around game but of course we have to see how these guys develop to really know for sure.

 

[Brian39]

Here's a fun way to think about this - since we recently finished out the top 9 prospects poll - where would McGroarty fit on that list? B/c we are talking about giving up our 5th and 9th best prospect (Obviously according to us fans) - would you rank McGroarty above Jiricek, who came in 4th?

I'd have him 5th, but that answer needs a good chunk of context.

The consensus 1st through 4th isn't in the same order as my own personal ranking, but they are my same 4 guys and I like them all noticeably more than #5 (who I still very much like).

I wouldn't put McGroarty over anyone in the top 4. The D are too important and IMO have a bit more upside to change the franchise than I believe McGroarty does. And I think Snuggy also has a bit more upside to do that than McGroarty does. McGroarty might have a higher floor than the entire group, but I'm just not valuing that quite as much in our prospect pool as I have in years past. Barring a dramatic turn in the next couple years, we need a couple of these guys to hit ceiling.

Of the top 4, I have Dvorsky as our best and most valuable prospect. Then 2nd-4th are all in my 2nd tier. And then I currently see a noticeable drop off from 4th to 5th. Possibly a larger gap than the current gap between 1st and 4th.

Swapping Bolduc (my personal pick for 5th as well as the consensus pick) would eliminate that current gap, because I have McGroarty belonging to the 3 guys that currently make up my 2nd tier. So it would be adding an asset to swap the #5 guy for a new #5 guy, but with a noticeable improvement to that #5 spot.

 

[STL fan in MN]

According to who though, that's not a credible site.

Yeah, this.

Unless it’s a credible rumor I’ve got no time for it.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

f*** Rutger McGroarty. He sounds like another entitled asshole.

 

[Brian39]

From our perspective sure, but no chance in hell Winnipeg accepts that deal.

To answer the other question, he'd probably be ranked as our 2nd or 3rd best prospect. I just read one prospect ranking that had him right above Snuggerud. McGroarty might have a better all around game but of course we have to see how these guys develop to really know for sure.

If that is the best offer they get this summer, do you think they will keep him and hope that they can sign him in the spring?

My gut tells me that McGroarty's position at the moment is more about trying to secure an NHL job this year than it is about an outright refusal to play in Winnipeg. However, if he has told them behind the scenes that he won't sign next spring, then I think that they have pretty decent incentive to take the best deal they can get this summer. I'm not sold that any team (who has the ability to give him an NHL roster spot in October) will offer a prospect of his caliber.

 

[Mike Liut]

It would have to be the second in 2026 (as thanks to the Hayes trade, we lack it in 2025), and I'm not comfortable adding that at the moment when it could be used to get a potential defenseman on the trade deadline.

I think Brian's idea of Bolduc + 2026 second for McGroarty + 2026 third has merit.

I’m just trying to keep Bolduc if possible.

 

[Celtic Note]

What are we trading for areas that are not of need?