Two weeks ago, St. Louis Blues fans were wondering how much roster overhaul there would be leading up to the draft. The team held 3 first-round picks, and it was widely speculated that management wanted to move up to a top 5 position. Maybe they wanted to target Ivar Stenberg, brother to current Blue Otto Stenberg.
It is well known that the Blues, while they have a nice collection of young, talented players, do not have a true star. And there are 3 ways to get a star: draft one, trade for one, or sign one. They have not drafted in the top 5 in a number of years, perhaps going back to Erik Johnson in 2008, and you have to pick high to get a true star. They haven’t signed one since…..Paul Kariya? Nothing against him, but his time in St. Louis weren’t his best years.
So they tried to trade for one, according to the reporting: Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars. He apparently did not want to sign a deal with the Blues. (He is an RFA, so the Stars control his rights.)
The Blues still don’t have a true star, but they did reinforce the roster with a couple of nice players. First, they changed the scenery for Jordan Kyrou by sending him to Washington for LW/C Connor McMichael, a prospect and a first-round pick. That gave them four first-round picks in the draft. They packaged two of them to get C Mason McTavish from the Ducks.
Just like that, the top 6 looks a lot different now.
Open Ice Notes 