Kreider makes more sense for the Blues. Fits their system better and less expensive.

A lot of Blues fans are totally shunning a Hall trade and I don’t really get it. Like this is most likely the best Blues team we’ll have in the next decade and probably the best chance we’ll have at another cup. If Pietrangelo isn’t gonna sign till the offseason and possibly go to ufa like McKenzie suggested, why would you not go all in this year? If you can get Hall without giving up Kyrou or Kostin you make the trade every day of the week.

Yeah, I don't know about all that. He's still a rental and supposedly not a very good teammate. Goalie insurance in case Binny gets hurt, a 1st, a solid LD prospect and a big forward with skill is a lot to give up for a few months of a guy who doesn't care much about team defense or puck possession. Meh.

The stuff against Hall is probably mostly noise. It’s not his fault he’s had to play for Edmonton and NJ, and his possession numbers have been incredible (especially the past few years.) The way I see it, if Hall is healthy he almost singlehandedly cures the Blues only deficiency which is high-end offensive skill.

You do make a very good point about trading Allen. If we do trade him in an “all in” scenario we’d need to trade for another goalie as well. I don’t trust anyone in our minor league system and not really Domingue either.

the goal tandem is the only thing that moves me here. allen has been playing well.

perunovich is fine but he isn't a world-breaking prospect in this trade. his international experience is limited and while he's playing well in NCAA, he's already 21 and doesn't seem poised to break out at adam fox, cale makar levels (although who is, makar is a monster). maybe he's undervalued in this trade and the pick value could come down to a 2nd but on a team that already has two playmaking offensive defensemen (dunn, faulk) he doesn't bring a new look to the blueline.

sanford is a big guy and his hands aren't bad but it's insane to me to consider hall a downgrade. size and toughness and truculence are fine and all, but they don't put points on the board. hall projects as a PPG player on a truly terrible new jersey team.

on top of all that, who really cares if an incredible offensive talent doesn't contribute defensively? st louis has (debatably) the strongest defensive corps in the entire league. the team can afford to make some concessions if it involves a dramatic increase in top-6 scoring.

the problem here is while everyone wants to dump allen's contract, he has turned into the single best backup goaltender in the league over the last two months. on top of that, goalie overperformance is what's saving a st louis team that's struggling to prevent high-danger scoring chances and convert shots into goals due to key forward injuries. allen has really secured his spot on the team for the remainder of his contract, and is why st louis shouldn't take this trade.

1- Hmm. It sure seems to be a recurring commentary about him, and from people who would know.

2- His possession numbers only look incredible when compared to the rest of the Devils. He's a career 50% Corsi guy, and is actually under that this season.

3 - We have a skill deficiency? Do you mean health deficiency?

Besides, gaining a bunch of skill at the cost of the team system isn't worth much in the end. Hall adds goals, but he also tends to add goals against.

4- Yeah, I'm not high on Domingue at all. I think we hold onto Allen until summer, when there will be a few cheaper, capable UFAs available.

I just don’t buy the whole “he would hurt or doesn’t fit the system talk.” If a former MVP can’t fit than the system is broken, and a broken system doesn’t win cups. Also people said the same stuff about ROR when he got traded here. I’ll also still argue his possession numbers are near elite, just look at his isolated impact and RAPM charts from the last few years.

One interesting thing I've been thinking about lately - when the trade talks heat up, will the Blues think about the fact that COL or DAL (or anyone in the West) is gonna put up some sort of offer for Hall. After sitting through the Kings and Hawks take their turns winning out of the west in the last decade, I wonder if the FO would have a little more motivation to pull the trigger on a crazy rental. Would have to know the Tarasenko timeline for sure tho, and I think it will cost one of Kyrou/Kostin, so it's a tough call.

That’s also a good point, based on the fact that Parayko can and has put the clamps on Mackinnon, I’m relatively confident we can beat Colorado as they currently stand, but if they get Hall... If we got Hall though and Tarasenko is healthy for the playoffs, I’m not sure we’d face a challenge until the finals. I also think fans are overestimating our window as well. If we lose Pietrangelo it’s game over