The St. Louis Blues are in a tricky spot approaching the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline. After missing the postseason in back-to-back years — something that previously hadn’t happened in 15 years — the franchise is in jeopardy of being left out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive time.
Approaching the deadline, the front office is in a very similar position to the last two years. On paper, this roster doesn’t look quite good enough to advance to the dance in under two months time. Currently sitting at 25-26-6 through 57 games, the Blues are a full seven points back of the final wildcard berth in the Western Conference. And with the Anaheim Ducks, Utah Hockey Club, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks all between them and a playoff spot, it’s going to be tough.
Blues still battling for a playoff spot, but it’s not looking good
At the same time — similar to the last few years — this is probably too good a team to bottom out and collect a high selection at the 2025 NHL Draft. After winning the franchise’s inaugural Stanley Cup in 2019, St. Louis hasn’t moved into a full rebuild yet. But the way things are going, that could be coming very soon.
Considering they would have to leapfrog multiple teams over their last 25 games, it’s looking more and more like it will be another postseason-less spring in Missouri. Given that position, it’s pretty fair to make the assumption that general manager Doug Armstrong and the front office will be looking toward the future at this year’s deadline.
But would Armstrong really trade heart and soul captain Brayden Schenn?
Will St. Louis really trade Brayden Schenn?
Schenn has been a key piece of the Blues since being traded from the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2017. But his name has popped up in trade rumors for weeks now, and it’s unsurprising that the 33-year-old is garnering trade interest around the league. Although there is some trade protection in his contract, it’s unlikely he would block a deal that gives him a better chance to win.
With three years left on his deal at $6.5 million per season, there has been some regression in Schenn’s game over the last few years. His defensive game especially has left something to be desired, but he could step in as a strong third-line option on a contending team ahead of the playoffs. Although the front office might wait until the summer to move him, considering it’s shaping up to be a seller’s market before March 7, there’s a chance he gets moved. If that happens, it would almost certainly signal Armstrong waving the white flag on the 2024-25 campaign.
Besides Schenn, the Blues have a couple of other trade chips, including Radek Faksa. The 31-year-old is a strong defensive presence and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Although he owns a modified five-team no-trade list, he is a very moveable asset for a team looking to bolster its bottom-six. With just three goals and 10 points in 44 games this season, Faksa would likely only recoup a mid-round draft selection in return. But considering the team is going to sell and look to the future, it’s better than nothing.
Outside of Schenn and Faksa, the Blues could look to make an even bigger splash by dealing away a productive piece of the roster like Pavel Buchnevich or Jordan Kyrou. Both have seen their names in trade rumors over the last little while, and each would command a significant return on the open market. On the back end, there are a couple of veteran defensemen who could get a change of scenery as well, including Cam Fowler, Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko and Nick Leddy. It wouldn’t be easy to move any of them considering their various levels of trade protection, but if the front office finally decides to rebuild, it could happen.
Either way, it’s going to be a very interesting trade deadline for the Blues. How many roster players will get shipped out between now and March 7? That’s not yet known, but what is known is that St. Louis has at least one glaring problem: lack of offense. As it has been for the last few years, the Blues’ fatal flaw is a lack of scoring depth up and down the lineup, which just seems to get worse every year.
Blues’ fatal flaw is a significant lack of scoring depth
Before discussing the futile offense, it’s worth mentioning that the Blues probably need to get younger on the blue line. It’s not yet a fatal flaw, but it’s concerning. This is one of the oldest defensive units in the league, highlighted by 40-year-old Ryan Suter, who is somehow still in the NHL. Outside of Philip Broberg, the organization probably is still a few years away from seeing any young defensemen — like Adam Jiricek or Theo Lindstein — break into the league. That’s something that will need to be addressed over the next couple of seasons.
But the most significant problem is the lack of depth up front. The top forwards have proven they can score, and Kyrou, Buchnevich and Robert Thomas continue to be relied upon to lead the offense. After those three players, though, there is a significant drop-off.
Currently, the Blues are scoring just 2.70 goals per game — good enough for 27th in the National Hockey League. That’s a huge concern, and one of the main reasons why St. Louis is again on the outside looking in. If the team is indeed going to retool this summer, getting young, offensively-minded forwards is going to be crucial.
While Dylan Holloway has been great in his first season in STL with 40 points in 57 games, no one else not named Kyrou, Thomas and Buchnevich is contributing. And even those three forwards are all having down years, with the exception of Thomas who is at 44 points in 45 games. Jake Neighbours, who was great in 2023-24, has only managed 25 points, and the dropoff gets even worse after that. Schenn has managed just 32 of his own.
If the Blues want to be competitive going forward, they absolutely need to get guys who can play up and down the lineup and put the puck in the net. Holloway is a good start, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A lack of depth scoring is unquestionably the Blues’ fatal flaw approaching the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline, and there’s no guarantee it will get fixed between now and then.
It’s finally time for this franchise to look towards the future and conduct a full-scale rebuild. It’ll be intriguing to see if that actually happens, or if the squad tries to continue retooling on the fly and hoping it will lead to a playoff berth. A decision on the future of Brayden Schenn will probably be the catalyst for a front office that has a lot of hard decisions to make over the next weeks and months.
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