At one point not all that long ago, the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning were said to have "something percolating" on the trade front. The assumption then was that any deal likely to be struck between the two NHL franchises would involve embattled Lightning prospect Jonathan Drouin. Drouin is a talented former top-five pick who has struggled to carve out a place for himself in Tampa and is now attempting to force his way out.
It's not working thus far.
Lightning GM Steve Yzerman promised Drouin and his agent, Allan Walsh, that he'd attempt to find a deal that works, but it's proven fruitless to this point. And despite reports of the Blues and Lightning having something bubbling, it now sounds like talks between the two sides may well be dying down.
On Tuesday morning, NHL insider Darren Dreger appeared on Montreal's TSN 690 and indicated his belief that the Blues are a "primary contender" for Drouin. Yzerman is said to have "a deal or two in his back pocket," per Dreger, but is hoping some desperate team will sweeten the pot.
Dreger's TSN colleague Bob McKenzie is hearing differently though. While appearing on TSN's "Insider Trading" on Tuesday, McKenzie reported that "things seem to have cooled considerably" on the Blues-Lightning trade front.
McKenzie added that it doesn't mean the two sides are talking, but he did seem to be pumping the brakes on a deal between Blues GM Doug Armstrong and Yzerman coming in the near future.
Considering the Blues need talent up front and the Lightning could use an injection of skill on the backend and St. Louis has an abundance of blueline talent, there does seem to be a nice alignment of need here.
Whether value ever lines up is the issue that remains unresolved.