NHL Rumors: Sharks & Blues Becoming Trade Partners

Thursday, May 28, 2026 ,
St. Louis Blues forward Jodan Kyrou reacts during 2025 game.

The St. Louis Blues enter the 2026 NHL Draft with three first-round picks, twelve total selections, and a prospect pool that The Athletic's Scott Wheeler ranked tenth in the league as recently as March.

They also have a problem.

As Wheeler wrote, the Blues' pool is missing a truly elite prospect.

With picks at 11th and 15th overall, plus Colorado's first-rounder slotting in somewhere around 30th when the Avalanche's season ends, the Blues have the assets to be aggressive.

The question everyone has been asking since the draft lottery is whether they are aggressive enough to pursue the San Jose Sharks' second overall pick, which projects to land on Ivar Stenberg.

Stenberg is the younger brother of Blues prospect Otto Stenberg, who was taken 25th overall in 2023 and has developed into one of the organization's more exciting young forwards.

What the Numbers Say

Using the Perri pick value calculator, Wheeler ran the numbers and found that the Blues' three first-rounders at 11, 15, and 32 carry a combined value of 68.3.

The No. 2 pick alone carries a value of 72.7, before any premium for moving to the top of the draft.

Even with the full package of all three first-rounders, the Blues do not get there on picks alone.

The Sharks would need a significant roster piece on top of any pick package, and the name that surfaced most prominently in Rutherford and Wheeler's joint analysis was Jordan Kyrou.

Eric Stephens of The Athletic, covering the Sharks' perspective, said a package built around the No. 11 selection, Adam Jiricek, and one of St. Louis's three third-round picks might be the most realistic starting point.

But Stephens also noted that Grier could probably do better than that, and that the Sharks are not in a rush.

"I'm always open to listening to what's out there," Grier told reporters after the lottery.

That is not the language of a team that is necessarily looking to move a pick they have described as a franchise-altering asset.

The Complication With the Big Names

Kyrou, Parayko, and Robert Thomas all carry full no-trade clauses, which means any deal involving them requires their personal consent to a destination.

Thomas is entirely off the table from both organizations' perspectives.

The Sharks have enough in Michael Misa's development as a center to not need Thomas at that price.

Kyrou, at 26 years old, is the more interesting conversation.

He is on a potential trade list and fits what the Sharks need if they intend to accelerate their competitive timeline.

Parayko is the practical option.

Moving his four remaining years at $6.5 million per season would free the Blues of an aging contract on a player whose best work may be in the past, while giving San Jose a size-and-defense presence on their blue line at a cost-controlled number, which is something they desperately need.

Rutherford made clear that if the Blues can move Parayko's contract, move up in the draft, and get Stenberg, it becomes very difficult to say no.

Photo Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images

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