Trade Deadline Looming
As we near the trade deadline we will start to get a better idea as to who is truly on the trade block. Usually this time of year we hear a ton of names but how many of them are actually in play is a different story.
Tuomo Ruutu is a name starting to circulate as the 28 year old is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The Carolina Hurricanes is one team identifying which players they want to move forward with versus the ones they’re willing to move on without.
It appears Ruutu will be moved and the St. Louis Blues are well aware. Here’s a guy that would fit in well with any team looking to add a little scoring and some grit for the playoffs.
I’ve said the Blues scoring issues can be addressed internally but it doesn’t mean the Blues won’t look to upgrade their roster if the opportunity presents itself.
It may take a player like Chris Stewart from the Blues to swing a deal for Ruutu or someone of this magnitude. Stewart is an interesting player to look at. He’s shown he can score with back to back 28 goal seasons but it’s no secret things haven’t gone his way this year. At minimum he’s due his $3.25 million salary at the end of the season. Will GM Doug Armstrong and the Blues be willing to part with Stewart knowing it could come back to bite them down the road? The other danger is holding on and waiting for a player to reach a certain level. The Blues publicly stated they expected 35 goals from Stewart this season and at the time it sounded very realistic.
For the right price Stewart is available but it would really have to make sense for the Blues to pull the string here. I’m not a so sure moving this type of potential for a rental would make sense. A strong month from Stewart could easily squash any possibility of a trade. Unfortunately these are the decisions you have to make when you’re a budget team.
Moving Stewart wouldn’t have even been a consideration entering the season but tough decisions are part of the business and Armstrong has shown he’s willing to make them.
Don’t forget the Blues will need to take care of T.J. Oshie and David Perron at the end of the season. Both players remain restricted free agents so Armstrong will have the ability to control their costs. Locking up a T.J. Oshie with a long-term deal may be the direction the organization chooses to go in.
Food For Thought….
I do sense some frustration from the fans when it comes to Patrik Berglund but you better be careful when it comes to big 6’4 centermen. Every team in the league would love to have a center with Berglund’s combination of size and skill and as we like to say these players don’t grow on trees. He maybe hasn’t blossomed into an NHL All-Star but he’s still an effective player who can help a team win.
It may sound foolish but I’ve always been curious to see how he would perform on the wing. He lacks desired vision and has limited puck distribution skills but he’s a big body who’s hard to contain when he has body position. He’s never seemed interested in playing wing when I’ve brought up the topic but he does describe himself as more of a power forward opposed to a playmaking center.
Just thinking out loud here.
Who do McDonald and Steen play with?
When these guys return expect Steen to play with David Backes and Andy McDonald to play with Berglund. How the rest of the lines come together remains to be seen. It’s safe to say Jason Arnott and Vladimir Sobotka will remain on the third line. Ken Hitchcock has some options to play with in terms of who he chooses to put with these guys.
Rick Nash is staying put….
For one reason or another I keep hearing the name Rick Nash but my sources tell me Columbus is not dealing their franchise player. The player they want to move is Jeff Carter who has made no secret he doesn’t want to be there. It’s in Carter’s best interest to elevate his game which would only help his trade value. Personally I don’t think trading Carter is nearly as difficult as others may make it out to be. He’s a proven player in this league who is still young.
Easy on Whitney…
I’ve discussed Ray Whitney recently but made it clear he’s pretty much a power play specialist at this stage of his career. I’m not sure how you could find even strength ice for him as least in St. Louis.
Blues Looking for Top Four D-man…
As an organization the Blues believe their biggest need is a top four D-man who can play the left side. The idea is to find an experienced, rugged defenseman who can take pressure off of Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo especially in the playoffs. Opposing teams will certainly target both of these young players and finding a D-man who fits this bill appears to be on top of the Blues list. Whether or not the player Armstrong is targeting becomes available remains to be seen. Everyone, including the Blues, had their eyes on Hurricanes D-man Tim Gleason who recently re-signed with Carolina.
Last spring you can argue Denis Seidenberg was Boston’s most valuable D-man. He along with Adam McQuaid really stepped up in the playoffs and you need these types of guys defensively if you want to survive multiple rounds.
I've been told to expect real movement to begin around the 15th of February.
D-man Carlo Colaiacovo is my Blues Buzz guest tonight live from Johnny Mac's on Watson rd. The show begins at 6:00 and can be heard on am 590 KFNS.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
Strickland.andy@gmail.com
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Trading Ruutu for Stewie would be a bad move in my mind. The Doug Weight pseudo-Rule would definitely hang over Ruutu as I think everyone knows he'd resign with Carolina after the season was done where ever he ends up. Sure, Stewie is having an off year, but I do believe in his skills,...he just needs to get the monkey off of his back and play like he's got a pair and he'll be fine.
Let me say I feel for this kid. He definitely wants something. But his hunger apparently doesn't last into his off ice routine or lack there of.
Look you don't need all your centers to be big they need to be EFFECTIVE. that's the bottom line. I don't believe you can have a team that is all under six feet but all proven effective players and win. I think you need balance. But size might cause you to take a chance on a guy and attempt him to develop you but do NOT let it hypnotize you.
BTW the Blues thought Stewart would score 35 as most people did and they also thought Berglund would get 65+ points.
Look Oshie, D'Ags, Perron and Stewart all struggled scoring on Berglund's line. flag this comment
It may sound foolish but I’ve always been curious to see how he would perform on the wing. He lacks desired vision and has limited puck distribution skills but he’s a big body who’s hard to contain when he has body position. He’s never seemed interested in playing wing when I’ve brought up the topic but he does describe himself as more of a power forward opposed to a playmaking center."
I said that a few weeks ago, that Berglund should be moved to the wing. Right after the loss to the Dead Things. That second goal made me think we would be better off having Oshie line up at center and try Berglund on the wing. He doesn't play his position at either side of the ice very well to go with his inability to distribute the puck or see the ice. The guy plays with blinders on giving him a limited view and he doesn't seem to see where a play might go.
I agree teams value skilled 6'4"centermen. But what skills does Berglund really have? He's not fast, lacks vision, doesn't win most of his draws and doesn't see the ice particularly well.
Now might be his highest value. If it were a decision between Stewart and Berglund I would take Stewart. I would never move Stewart for Ruutu, that is a bad trade.
You just described Berglund as a poor passer that lacks good on ice vision. Who has played the majority of games lined up on his wing? Stewart. So he gets less chances to be set up while playing with him and has set Berglund up numerous times with empty to semi-empty nets and Berglund tends not to finish.
I'm just saying that if height is what does it for you over talent when we have size still throughout our line up then you will know why we fail to score as often as we should and why it will start to get tougher and tougher for us to win.
Our road goals a game average is even lower at 2.0 goals a game.
So to me it's either try Berglund on the wing or look around and trade him while he has value. You can say the Sedins took a few years to develop but they have on ice vision and something no one else has and that is an identical twin that has been playing hockey with one another for their entire life. They know how to read the other and go to the right areas to create. Berglund doesn't know where to go and that's a big problem.
You know I want to say be patient one more year but the more I talk about this guy or think about how he plays the more I don't like him being anything but a third line center or a winger.
Stewie for Ruutu is just dumb. Why would that come up? I don't even think it would be worth trading Berglund for him to be honest. Like someone else said, he is a rental and more than likely will resign with Carolina after the season.
I'm still content with waiting for Steen and Andy Mac to come back. Andy said we could see Mac and Berg on the same line so that is when we will hopefully start to see a good side of Bergie.
I'm not completely sure why Stewie would be available? I understand almost everyone is available since its a business and they would entertain offers. But he is simply just under performing. Should that mean he is trade bait? I'm pretty sure we traded FOR him last year and he was the "main" piece we wanted. I don't think the Blues should give up on him yet. I also think he has more potential then Bergie at this point. Again, we will have to see what happens when Mac gets back but I would love to see this line, 21 10 25. flag this comment
Also I'd rather have Grachev playing on my second line wing than Berglund on any of my top six or on my roster.
If he has three years all I have to say is PASS. I'm not in favor of a forward playing the point unless the penalized team is down to three players and when you have four or defensemen capable of playing the point on the power play. I don't see an issue other than the player himself having to play fourth line duty. This team can seriously start considering having four lines it can play. Right now I don't think you can truly roll that fourth line out there as often as you need to do so. While I love Nichol's heart he falls down too much and often gets caught deep when he needs to be back checking. He looked better on the wing. flag this comment
flag this comment
Great article Andy. It did read that to get Ruutu you might have to trade a guy like Stewart or of such value and further defined the value with his season and how the Blues might value him and his pending UFA contract. flag this comment
On the subject of the d'man that the Blues want to play with Petro or Shattenkirk, who do the Blues ship out? That's a tough one because they're already fine @ D as far as I'm concerned. flag this comment
I also believe Rattie is becoming one of the Blues top prospects that they aren't will too part with. Rattie, Tarasenko, and Schwartz are more than likely "untouchable" for a lack of a better word. flag this comment
I rate Stewart well higher than Berglund b/c he can create plays by passing, he'll actually power to the net and shoot and he's far faster than Berglund. But you are right it might still cost another bigger piece or two.
I would not consider Grachev a spare part though. RIght now he's a sure thing to play at the fourth line, more likely a third liner and I think has very solid potential to break a top six. Once he got some confidence he looked more comfortable out there and created opportunities. His size coupled with his ability to skate and his hands is very solid plus. He's spent time in the minors and has yet to bolt back to Russia which is a great sign. Besides I'd want to keep him if I am the Blues. I want him to get that extra sugar and spice in the minors so he's well marinated when he comes back up. There will be space on this roster next season. I would not expect both Schwartz and Tarasenko to make the team to start the season if they both sign and/or come over. There are three forwards that have been definitely earning a spot in the line up: McRae, Grachev and Cracknell. Army appears to preceive talent pretty well so I'm guessing that you could see a fourth liner moved soon.
2011-12 Carolina NHL 53 12 26 38 -25 4 9 0 2 3 26 178 6.74 36
2010-11 Carolina NHL 81 33 43 76 -10 12 17 3 0 8 72 296 11.15 81
2009-10 Carolina NHL 70 29 41 70 4 13 10 0 0 5 68 277 10.47 75
2009-10 Canada Olympic 7 1 5 6 6 0 - 0 - 0 6 17 5.88 -
2008-09 Carolina NHL 82 40 35 75 15 14 9 1 1 8 50 372 10.75 61
2007-08 Carolina NHL 82 38 44 82 -2 14 21 0 0 7 50 310 12.26 -
2007-08 Canada WC 8 4 3 7 - - - - - - 6 - - -
2006-07 Carolina NHL 82 30 40 70 -6 12 14 1 0 1 68 288 10.42 -
2006-07 Canada WC 9 5 5 10 - - - - - - 6 - - -
2005-06 Carolina NHL 82 45 55 100 -8 19 21 4 0 4 81 279 16.13 -
2005-06 Canada Olympic - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2004-05 Lowell AHL 77 26 51 77 37 2 - 7 - 4 88 224 11.61 -
2003-04 Carolina NHL 81 11 20 31 -6 2 5 1 0 3 40 164 6.71 -
2002-03 Peterborough OHL 66 39 59 98 21 10 - 6 - - 36 - - -
2001-02 Peterborough OHL 56 23 39 62 7 7 - 4 - 5 40 - - -
2001-02 Canada WJ18 8 2 5 7 - - - - - - 4 - - -
2000-01 Peterborough OHL 63 19 30 49 17 3 - 0 - 1 23 - - -
1999-00 Thunder Bay Ban. 59 48 52 100 - - - - - - 33 - - -
Total NHL 613 238 304 542 -38 90 - 10 - 39 455 2164 11.00 - flag this comment
I'd also speculate they are looking for someone older than Jack Johnson.
Staal, with two A's, ;-), I think if the Blues had any chance to pick him up is the kind of player they would make an exception for I would think. But man is hard to take on that kind of salary when he's having an epic fail of a season so far.
RUtherford isn't going to move a center like that without taking your first born son anyway. Not when he has a high scoring young winger. Also he ahs some very good young defensive talent coming up. That's what got the speculation of them moving some of their defensemen. Rutuu is speculated b/c what he earns the rest of the way plus he's a ufa.
I think Rutherford sees changes on the horizon but he's not going to just throw his core group of players away. He's making judgements right now on next season. Some have even said he'd think about moving Cam Ward. Stupid.
Look Carolina seems to have a good season or two and a bad season then they're back. Now it's kind of two bad seasons. But they have a core most teams would take to start building a team. They have a budget. They have some decent prospects. They are pretty good at drafting. They'll cut the fat and get lean and move forward.
Pundits are just trying to speculate on the places where it seems logical players are going to moved from. They can guess who wants such players and try to see who fits where. Then they speculate would so and so move this star player b/c they are struggling? Is this a glimpse of a player going down and thus now you can the highest market value for him and look like a genius, restock your team for the next season and everyone thinks you're so great.
Take a step back and think about it. I said I would move Berglund and Stewart for Staal. I don't know anybody who wouldn't make such a trade. But realistically it would be a far higher cost and you have to do some salary projections moving forward to see where the cap hit fits and how the real salary would fit.
Moves like that are more likely to come in the off season around the draft.
Realistically probably the best you could hope for would be Jeff Carter and him actually showing up to play. But that won't happen.
So the Blues are looking for a top three defenseman. I think that is wise despite the kids we have. You actually have the potential in moving some salary back in the form of Jackman. Don't dismiss it. Army recognized the need and now it makes more sense. It makes me sad b/c I could see Nikithin developing into that type of player. He was big enough and strong enough to push the big Detroit forwards out of the way. He just had a tendency to put himself in bad positions. As his English improves he'll be better.
Most likely we will get Tyutin from COlumbus. That is what Army tried to get earlier when he instead got Russell. And believe you and me that was all Hitchock. flag this comment
I still think that the blues need to look at the under the radar players. We do not/can not get into a bidding war. They don't have what other teams have. I would go with what we have, and add someone like a Ted Purcell, or Sam Gagner. Might have to give more for Gagner since he did just have an amazing 8 point night last night.
We all have said he might turn the corner and we hope for that. But the reality is he has been dragging this team down more then helping to lift it up. flag this comment
Ganger I think can be a lot better in his production and I said I would go for him. Eggs he's not worth Shattenkirk he's been under-performing worse than Berglund for five seasons now.
But the Oilers would look heavily at Cole or Fairchild. flag this comment
Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger
Oilers only willing to consider trading Gagner for young, top d-man. After 8 pt explosion + proof he's a top 2 centre, unlikely trade now.
There's no way that I give up Shattenkirk for Gagner. I'd rather stand pat, knowing that we are a hot goaltender away from a deep run into the playoffs... flag this comment
Oh and I just saw just like my prediction the Dead Things will be without Howard for the next two weeks. Expect to Lidstrom out for a few weeks if not more and Zetterberg. Datsyuk you never can tell.