Following another disappointing loss on Thursday, the players on the St. Louis Blues are growing frustrated with the way this season has gone. It won’t take long before that frustration turns into something more and with the speculation surrounding the team, players who aren’t necessarily going to be part of the team’s future way down the line could be players GM Doug Armstrong wants to move.
Are the Blues at a point where saying things are frustrating just isn’t enough? Is this team unable to work itself out of its own funk? Is it time the GM step in and do something about it?
The way this season has gone, fans and media members who follow the team are starting to wonder what the next move is. Many believe this team isn’t good enough to compete and in a year where the draft is deep and someone like Conor Bedard is available, perhaps it’s time to start tanking. Jeremy Rutherford was inundated with questions like that in his recent mailbag segment and ultimately noted that it’s not a crazy idea. Still, it is a scenario that comes with challenges.
First, he notes that some big contracts on this Blues team could be hard to move. Second, many of the players Armstrong might want to move have no-trade clauses. It’s a legitimate question as to whether those players would be willing to waive them, despite the team’s struggles.
He writes:
It’s a good question, but a tough one because you just don’t know who the Blues want to move and who would approve a trade. … The thing is, with Krug and others, there’s a lot of term left on these contracts and they’re hard to move. The Blues won’t want to retain salary, and they’ll want something back in return to help with any sort of retool or rebuild.
Rutherford suggests there are a few names on the roster the Blues might consider shopping to other teams. Among them: Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn, Brandon Saad, Justin Faulk, Torey Krug, Colton Parayko, Nick Leddy, Jordan Binnington, Pavel Buchnevich (12-team list), and Marco Scandella (seven-team list). That’s a massive overhaul of the roster if the Blues were able to find takers for these players.
Would the Blues Even Consider Tanking?
This would all be, of course, assuming Armstrong is writing off the season. That’s something he’s not been keen to do, even in the face of commenters suggesting he make a big trade or shake things up. Armstrong’s modus operandi seems to be that just when you think he’s going to make a big move he doesn’t. Oftentimes, the team goes on a bit of a run.
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