St Louis Blues Rumors: Draft-Day Trade on the Horizon

The St Louis Blues will be fun to watch at the NHL Draft in Nashville as they possess three first-round picks and are not likely to keep all of them. General manager Doug Armstrong is trying to re-tool on the fly and is expected to make multiple trades ahead of July 1 when free agency begins.

The Blues have been rumored to be involved in trade talks around both Justin Faulk and Colton Parayko. Both right-handed defensemen will be in high demand as Faulk's offensive game is elite and Parayko is a solid top-four option for multiple teams. His contract does scare some away though as he's owed $6.5 million annually through the 2029-30 season and will have all the say in the matter, holding a full no-trade clause. There's been no confirmation yet the Blues have asked for an approval list.

As for Faulk, he's in the same boat, holding a full no-trade. Armstrong will have to be creative to pull any deal off, but it's not out of the question. Hockey insider Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff mentioned to keep an eye on the Blues in a recent trade piece:

Pick one, anyone, but GM Doug Armstrong is looking to create flexibility on his salary cap by moving one of his higher-priced defensemen. We know Torey Krug isn’t going anywhere, but the rest are up for grabs. Interest seemed to percolate on Parayko around the deadline, but he still has nearly $45 million remaining on his massive contract over the next seven seasons. That’s a big commitment for a big man.

Keep an eye on the Blues, they will be busy making moves and are likely to have interest in bringing back captain Ryan O'Reilly via free agency.

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