Perron leading the Blues in scoring. He and parayko make less combined than Marner and this just ruins the cap for us moving forward. Mitch has to prove that contract in Toronto. Plenty of value included in the deal but it just ain’t gonna happen. No parayko deal will happen.

There is absolutely no chance that Dubas gives up Marner who is his franchise player for Parayko let alone losing Dermott and Liljegren. You must be joking.

Parayko is a top 5 RHD in the game.

And Pietrangelo is top 4 then? Parayko is great but I think top 5 league wide is a bit of a stretch.

Top 5 RHD in no specific order : pietrangelo, klingberg, , John carlsson , parayko, Seth Jones

Doughty, Karlsson, Burns, Trouba, Ellis, Hamilton, Ekblad, Weber. Are all right up there with those guys. I don't think Parayko is better than some of those names. You left out the two guys who've been at the top for years. I think the hot takes are a bit much there bud.

Doughty , Karlsson , Burns, trouba (overrated), ekblad are not better than some of those names. Not as of right now, in the past. Ellis, hamilton , and Weber you can definitely make an argument for

Doughty is on the worst team in the league, I don't think anyone can look good in that mess. Put him on a good team and he's still one of the best I'd wager. Karlsson has slipped a bit but again I think that has a lot to do with the team, they are old, have a terrible goalie and their depth upfront is terrible after their top two lines. Trouba is a really good player, underrated I think. Ekblad and Parayko are very close I think. I am not sure you can really say a defenceman with a career high of 35 points is a top 5 player. That is just too much of a stretch. Don't get me wrong he's a terrific player but he isn't a top 5 defenceman.

Last season (according to many models) parayko was the best defensive defenseman in the NHL. Not everything is about points. When you’re the best defensively and can still put up decent offensive numbers, you’re in the conversation as one of the best in the league

Defense is never a one man job. Back in the day that it was maybe a different story but in today's NHL, you can get no where without a complete 5 man cohesive defensive system. St Louis was one of the best defensive teams in the NHL last season. Parayko definitely helps that but the notion that 1 defenceman can make all the difference is laughable. Parayko could be on his man like glue but if the centre doesn't protect the slot, or if the winger blows the zone, he'll get double teamed the same as any other defenceman. Parayko is great, is he the best no, up there among the best? Absolutely, same with Marner.

Now with all that said, there isn't going to be a trade between these teams. In fact, TO won't be making any moves for a while. They'll let Keefe get a feel for the team first and then see if anything needs to change. The team doesn't need to change a lot to go from this mess to being good again. I think McFarland is actually going to be able to try stuff on the PP now and hopefully that'll start getting things rolling. Even a small uptick in both special teams would result in wins. A little tightening of the defensive zone as well and things will turn real fast.