Once he gets his work visa, the natural spot for him would be replacing Thorburn. But he has some skill, so Yeo will no doubt test him up in the lineup as he does his lucky line shuffle. Sanford will be another interesting factor for the front lines in a week or so.
Well, the Blues are 8-4-1 in their last 13 games. Not a bad pace overall, with victories at Toronto and Winnipeg in there. They played the defending Cup champions even for two periods and outplayed the defending conference champions for 2 1/2 period. But, yes, giving up that second point in Nashville was painful. That game was under control.
He will create competition for the while Bottom 6 forward pile, which is massive. Also, his addition adds depth in case Armstrong wants to move another forward or two to add an upgrade.
90 percent, 40 percent, 10 percent, 5 percent.
Soshnikov has an agitating style, which is one of his attractive point. If the Blues ruled out every forward that mixed it up with Tarasenko over the years, that would greatly reduce the potential trade targets.
The teams that are offering up supplemental scorers are looking for draft picks, prospects or young offensive talent in return. Sobotka would be attractive to a team like Pittsburgh, seeking Bottom 6 depth and grit. but they aren't looking to trade away proven scoring punch.
The Blues bought low on a skilled young forward. Toronto is loaded up front -- more so than just about any team, with four good lines plus prospects -- so there might be something there. Let's see the guy play for a couple of weeks before writing him off.
Fans have brought those guys up in trade discussions, but I'm not sure the Blues have. Like Sobotka, Berglund would appeal to contenders seeking third/fourth line depth. He is scoring at a 15 to 20-goal pace, as usual. He is defensively solid and is locked in at less than $4 million per year. He will have a no-movement clause kicking in, so that will be something to watch moving forward.
The usual, draft picks and prospects. They are weak on defense, period, and they also lack scoring front up front after stupidly trading away Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. Maroon is essentially a third-line banger that piled up some numbers when he got to play with McDavid. No power-play goals this season and just three points in last three games. Likely to go to a team seeking some size on the wing.
I'm guessing they go No. 2, trying to make sure they reach the playoffs but not compromising the big opportunity down the road.
Again, this team is 8-4-1 in its last 13 games. It made some progress since the late December/early January swoon. I don't see a big leadership crisis. Plenty of guys spoke up after that loss to the Coyotes. Aside from that bad loss, the Blues lost to Boston, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Nashville -- all playoff-bound teams. When you are in a stretch of facing playoff-bound teams night after night after night, they will be some bumps.
Well, yes, that has been a chronic shortcoming.
Jaskin is a physical guy that hits with some leverage. I could see him having value in a package for middling rental forward. Or he could fetch a middling draft pick from a team looking for some body checks.
Thomas and Kyrou are the big two prospects because of their upside. Given the love they receive from independent analysts, I don't believe too many folks are overvaluing them. Beyond that, fans may overvalue Kostin. Big potential there, but he has been largely lost in the AHL this season.
The Canadiens say they want a talented young center back for Pacioretty, but I don't seem them getting that. Maybe he doesn't move before the deadline. The Rangers want a first-round pick for Grabner but night have to settle for a No. 2 and a prospect. Maroon? Maybe a third-round pick and middling prospect.
I don't see any way this team sells off talent when it is in a tough playoff battle -- particularly with a guy like Stastny, who would at least be a candidate to re-up here for few dollars. Moving Stastny from this team would be more harmful than moving Shattenkirk from last year's team and the return would be less.
Tough loss to Nashville for sure, but the Predators are simply the better team. They were last year and they are again this year. Hence the need for the Blues to build up. The Blues are 13 games over .500 while playing in the league's toughest division, so they are neither soft nor fragile.
Interesting trade, two elite young players. Yeah, the Blues would look at that. But that $8.5 million salary cap hit would give Armstrong some pause.
It's tough to assess his work because he has only played sporadically during this calendar year. He hasn't had the chance to settle into a groove like he did last year. At times he has struggled tracking pucks and at times he has given up the near post -- two things that can be corrected. The Blues will have a lot of practice time in the coming three weeks and I would expect him to spend considerable time on these basics.
