Elliotte Friedman says the Blues are ready to make several trades due to crowded forward group
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Elliotte Friedman says the Blues have too many NHL forwards and are ready to move pieces from a crowded bottom six.
The St. Louis Blues have a forward group that's bursting at the seams, and insider Elliotte Friedman says the front office isn't planning to sit on the problem.
It's the kind of situation most teams would love to have, plenty of NHL caliber players competing for a handful of spots, but somebody's going to be left out in the cold when the roster gets set.
Speaking on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Friedman explained that St. Louis is carrying a stack of legitimate NHL bottom six forwards, more than the lineup can actually hold.
He added that the Blues have quietly signaled to other teams that if a club needs proven depth, general manager Doug Armstrong has plenty to offer.
"One thing I kinda heard is that St. Louis, for example, they have a bunch of NHL guys who are kind of in the bottom 6, and not all of them are going to make the team. & I don't think the Blues let it be known that if you want some NHL depth deeper in your roster, guys who've played, we have extras. [...]"
- Elliotte Friedman
- Elliotte Friedman
A logjam nobody saw coming
Right now St. Louis is trying to squeeze Pius Suter, Jonatan Berggren, Alexey Toropchenko, Nathan Walker, Oskar Sundqvist, Dillon Dube and Jack Finley into a bottom six that simply doesn't have room for all seven.
Friedman stopped short of naming names himself, but the fit is obvious once you look at the roster sheet.
These are players who have proven they belong in the NHL, they just don't all belong in St. Louis anymore.
Suter stands out as the name to watch
Suter might be the most intriguing piece in that group.
He's heading into the final year of his two year deal at a 4.125 million dollar cap hit, which is steep for a bottom six role but reasonable if a team wants him in a bigger spot.
Sundqvist and Finley bring size and penalty kill value that plenty of contenders could use down the stretch, while Berggren, Walker, Toropchenko and Dube round out a group that gives Armstrong real flexibility.
With training camp winding down and rosters about to get trimmed, expect St. Louis to keep fielding calls.
The Blues clearly know what they have, and now it's just a matter of finding the right partner willing to pay for it, and with the regular season now just days away, the pressure to make a move is only going to grow.
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