You want it; the St. Louis Blues got it. Well, at least that's how things are looking at this point in the 2015-16 NHL season. Various rumors and reports, the latest of which came from ESPN's Pierre LeBrun on Monday, have suggested that most or nearly all of the NHL's 30 teams are on the hunt for defensive upgrades. For the Blues and GM Doug Armstrong, that works out very nicely.
"When St. Louis is healthy, they've got pretty good depth on the blueline," LeBrun said Wednesday, while appearing on Vancouver's TSN 1040, via Today's Slap Shot. "They own the rights to Wellman too. So they've got a lot going on with their blueline. And I think the Blues, too, could use that kind of move to fortify their forward group when all is said and done closer to the deadline. So they'll be in a good position of strength, both the Blues and the Predators, because they'll be the reverse of what the rest of the league is doing - which is looking for a defenseman."
The Blues, much like the Nashville Predators, boast an abundance of talented, young defenders. With Kevin Shattenkirk returned to health and Colton Parayko looking very much like the real deal, the Blues defensive corps is deep through the bottom-pairing and, really, beyond.
Of course, finding a taker for say, Jay Bouwmeester's $5.4 million cap hit won't be easy, and neither would replacing Bouwmeester's veteran presence.
Shattenkirk's name came up in trade talks last season, but nothing ultimately came of it and for good reason. He posted a six-game point streak in Nov. and has seemingly made major strides in his own zone this year. He was named one of the NHL's three stars for his efforts late last month.
Carl Gunnarsson is another name that's popped up in trade talks, though he was only said to be drawing interest early this season when injuries to Patrik Berglund, Paul Stastny and Jaden Schwartz left the team thin up front. Gunnarsson, 29, may never be an elite player, but he's developed into a quality minutes-eater for Ken Hitchcock and was simply too valuable to Armstrong then as the team attempted to ride out Shattenkirk's early-season injury. But with Shattenkirk back and Parayko continuing to play well, interest in Gunnarsson and his relatively cheap $2.95 million cap hit - not to mention his looming unrestricted free agency - could very well pick up.
For St. Louis and Armstrong, as for the Predators, having talent that the rest of the league is desperately attempting to acquire is a prime position to be in. The trick will be to turn that fortunate positioning into a player or two at forward that can finally help Hitchcock's group find their way over the playoff hump and into the Cup Finals.
But as with any important decision, there are pros and cons to be weighed. And like LeBrun notes, NHL teams are usually reticent to give up defensive depth for fear of what an injury could do to the team after a trade is completed.
