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NHL Free Agency: Grading the St. Louis Blues’ signings

By Griffin Youngs

BUFFALO, NY - FEBRUARY 3: Ryan O'Reilly #90 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during an NHL game against the St. Louis Blues on February 3, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - FEBRUARY 3: Ryan O'Reilly #90 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during an NHL game against the St. Louis Blues on February 3, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Blues make blockbuster trade for Ryan O’Reilly
Blues make blockbuster trade for Ryan O’Reilly /

The Blues’ No. 1 priority this offseason was finding a bonafide top line center, and once they were out of the John Tavares sweepstakes, they had to get creative in the trade market. The rumor for months was that Ryan O’Reilly was on the trade block out of Buffalo, but the price was high, but Blues GM Doug Armstrong paid up a big haul to get him.

To get O’Reilly from the Sabres, the Blues sent them a 2019 first round pick, a 2021 second round pick, Tage Thompson, Patrik Berglund and Vladamir Sobotka. At first glance it’s seemingly a hefty price to pay, but for a center of O’Reilly’s caliber, the Blues paid maybe less than was expected.

“I had been working with Buffalo for some time on a potential trade,” Armstrong said about the trade. “It fell apart a little bit [Sunday] morning and we went a different direction, but we were able to pick it up after that and add and subtract some pieces that made everyone comfortable in the end…unfortunately we had to part with some players we respect highly.”

This was a rare trade in the NHL in the fact that both teams can be classified as winners here. Not only did the Blues get the number one center that they desperately needed, but they actually cleared cap space with the move by having Buffalo take on both Berglund and Sobotka’s expensive contracts.

When you subtract the Berglund and Sobotka salary cap dumps from the equation, the Blues gave up next years first, a second rounder a few years down the road, and admittedly a good prospect from a position they’re already strong at anyway. That is a very fair price to pay for an elite center who will make a massive deference right now, and for several years to come.

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Last year, on the worst team in the NHL, O’Reilly recorded his second-best season to date with 24 goals and 37 assists for 61 points in 81 games. Imagine the damage O’Reilly can do on St. Louis’s top line surrounded by top tier talents like Vladamir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz instead of Evan Rodrigues. This is a move that could push the Blues through to being serious contenders this season at not too drastic a cost for the future.

Grade: A

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