Start the rebuild

Team: 2023-24 St. Louis Blues

Initial Creation Date: Jan. 19, 2024

Published: Jan. 19, 2024

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

It's pretty clear the "new coach effect" has worn off for this team. Back to being lazy and boring. Either way the Blues all but assured to miss the playoffs and should turn their attention to developing young players and gaining more assets for the future.

Realistically Buch is the only trade piece with high end value. He better bring back a great return otherwise we'll be screwed. I don't think signing him is the right move. Even though he's a clear cut first liner he doesn't fit our window to win the cup.

Players that need to be traded in my opinion (order of value) consist of:

Buch: Again, nothing against the player we just need high value in return. Fans on this site hate giving up high end prospects/picks but if Buch is traded for it's going to cost some team a lot. Fans won't be happy with pieces they lose.

Faulk: Faulk is a very good top 4 defender. He's hurt right now and going to take a lot of hate from Blues fans until he is fully recovered. When he's healthy he is a very solid #3 dman for a team and I think a lot of contenders would be interested in him if they can afford his salary. It would be wise for the Blues to move him as he doesn't fit our window and we have Kessel who has shined this year.

Hayes: Hayes hasn't lived up to any of the hype and I'm not really surprised. We also don't have the best supporting cast for him so he could be better elsewhere. For some reason teams always love him though and it seems like if the Blues retain 50% of his deal, they should get a nice return. Now how nice of a return is that? Does that mean first round pick? Or does it mean 3rd round pick and a mid level prospect. I would hope for something in the middle.

Saad: At this point Saad is really an overpaid middle 6 winger. He just doesn't fit the Blues style of play and would look better on a team like Carolina or Colorado. The problem is those teams likely can't afford him. Maybe we swap him for another player on a similar contract in hopes that both succeed in new locations. The Blues could absorb 50% of Saads deal and likely get a 2nd for him but I don't see that happening. He also has a NTC which doesn't help his value either.

Pending UFAs: I'm going to put Scandella, Kapanen, and Blais into this category. They're all pieces that a contender would be interested in to help round out their depth. They also won't cost a lot as they all have the value of a mid to late round pick or low level prospect. Also maybe some team takes a look at Vrana but at this point I highly doubt it unless the Blues retain 50% and why would they do that for a player that would return next to nothing. I don't think Sunny will be traded but if some team came in with a great offer like a 2nd I would say yes. I'm not sure many, if any teams, will evaluate Sunny as highly as the Blues do.

Krug: Krug has been okay this year. If he was your 3rd pair dman you'd be fine with it. The problem is he makes 6.5 million so he can't play 3rd pair. If the Blues retained 50% of his deal they'd still get next to nothing for him but I think if he's making 3.25 some team would be interested in him, maybe Boston. Krug also dictates where he goes and I don't think he's going to be very willing to move.

Schenn: 4 years left at 6.5 will turn ugly quickly. He just hasn't been himself this year. No physical play, no effort or high compete, just nothing positive. He looks 3 steps behind most games. I think fans can see that but maybe another teams management would think they're getting the old Schenn in a trade. The blues would have to eat a salary dump in return and I just think at this point it would be very hard to move Schenn especially because he has a NTC.

Leddy: If a team is smart, they'll stay very far away from Leddy. The Blues just need to buy him out at this point. His buyout is cheap too. Or find a not so smart GM that sees Leddys average minutes this year and thinks he's still a top 4 defender.

Looking at the trades the Krug deal might be a bit much but still the fact is I would try to trade him to Boston 50% retained. I think that's the only place he accepts a trade to and I think the only contender that would want him. The return doesn't really matter besides the fact that we have to take salary back.

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