Report card grades for all 31 NHL teams at the trade deadline

St. Louis Blues: B

The St. Louis Blues have become a team that consistently makes the playoffs but also consistently doesn’t win in the playoffs. General manager Doug Armstrong is stuck in the middle of not being bad enough to go into a rebuild but not good enough to be a legitimate cup threat. This year, instead of buying at the deadline, Armstrong made the smart move and was a seller.

Longtime St. Louis Blue Paul Stastny was sent to the Winnipeg Jets in return for a 2018 first-round pick, a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick and prospect Erik Foley. Dumping Stastny now allows the Blues to try and plug in their young players to see if they are ready for that kind of responsibility. The Blues are only one point out of the playoffs, but Armstrong is looking past this year and toward the future with this trade.

Earlier in February, the Blues took a chance and grabbed Nikita Soshnikov from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Soshnikov struggled to find playing time in the powerful Maple Leafs offense, but he could be a fit for St. Louis. Soshnikov has played in 19 AHL games this season and has picked up 17 points. He came at a low price of a fourth-round pick, so this gamble may pay off for the Blues.

Armstrong played it safe and smart this offseason. He took a low-risk gamble on a young player that could turn into a nice secondary scoring piece, and he flipped a rental center for a first-round pick, fourth-round pick and a good college prospect from Providence. The only thing holding the Blues back from an A grade is they didn’t guarantee that they got better. Stastny is replaceable, but until he is replaced he leaves a substantial hole in the lineup.