The St. Louis Blues suffered a tough loss at the hands of the suddenly surging Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. The Blues, after streaking out to a 3-0 lead, seemed to pull back once they'd settled into their ample advantage. The upstart Flyers took that as their cue to come storming back. Afterward, captain David Backes voiced concerns likely shared by every player in the Blues locker room.
"Foot off the gas once again," Backes said, per Jeremy P. Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "We can't put together a full 60, or we haven't put together a full 60 to bury a team when we've got a 3-0 lead, which seems like the logical thing to do."
The loss dropped the Blues to 20-11-4 on the season and kept them in a tie with the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks for the second spot in the Central Division behind the unstoppable Dallas Stars. And while the Blues, once again, look like one of the best teams the NHL regular season has to offer, questions continue to linger regarding the future of some of the franchise's big names and what will happen should the team fall apart in the postseason for a fifth-straight year.
St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong, likely cognizant of Blues fans' concerns and surely feeling a bit of doubt creep in himself these days, is said to be eyeing deals, making the Blues a "team to watch" as the NHL trade deadline rapidly approaches.
"They have some decisions to make," a Western Conference executive told ESPN's Craig Custance. "That's a good team trying to push their way to the top, but at the same time they might have financial restraints."
Those financial restraints can and will be lessened somewhat whenever Armstrong gets around to dealing. The team looks to be in a strong position as trade season rolls around thanks to their enviable depth on defense and the desperate desires of the rest of the league to add blueliners.
Carl Gunnarsson seems a likely candidate to be dealt, though any of the team's top defenders could potentially be moved - only Jay Bouwmeester has a no-trade clause - if the right player is offered in return.
The team would obviously liked to add at least one elite piece to their forward corps, but subtraction is likely also a consideration for Armstrong. Backes will be a free agent in July, as will Troy Brouwer. Will Armstrong let them walk in the offseason without seeing a return of some kind? Both players have no-trade clauses, though Brouwer's is likely limited, so Armstrong's dealing won't be simple.
The Blues brought Ken Hitchcock back this offseason with the expectation that he'd finally be able to bring St. Louis over the hump and avoid the late season collapses that have haunted them in recent years. Armstrong can aid that effort by making a shrewd more or three ahead of the deadline, but with the NHL's GMs still fearful of the limited rise in the salary cap next year, it won't be easy.
