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Post-Dispatch Blues beat reporter Matthew DeFranks joined columnist Jeff Gordon to discuss the state of the Blues heading into their game with Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

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Once again, the Blues have become one of the primary teams to watch ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

They came into this season operating on two tracks, continuing their retooling on one track while also trying to contend for the playoffs on the other.

The Blue careened off the latter track ahead of the 4 Nationals Face-Off break, so general manager Doug Armstrong is said to be listening to offers on just about everybody on his roster but center Robert Thomas.

We assume Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours are also safe. Other than that . . .

“Now, everyone has to live with the white noise around us until mid-March, but we've created that for ourselves,� Armstrong noted on Sunday.

So ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵnet NHL analyst Nick Kypreos has Jordan Binnington, Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko on his trade board.

He wrote:

We should be clear about something, however: this isn't a fire sale for the Blues. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ will look to move one or two of the big pieces they are listening to offers on in an effort to change the look and feel of the roster for next season. The only untouchable player is believed to be Robert Thomas.

Armstrong is thinking about taking a similar approach as the Washington Capitals, who did many teams a favour by showing you don't have to go into a five-year rebuild if things aren't going according to plan. The Capitals are a perfect example of a team that re-shaped its roster and turned around from a non-playoff team in decline two years ago to become the Eastern Conference’s leading contender we see today.

If you make the right decisions, you can quickly turn around your fortunes.

These aren't players with contracts winding down, like Ryan O'Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ivan Barbashev. These are guys with significant term left, so it's more notable that they appear to be in play.

Presumably a team would have to pay a massive price for Binnington, since a trade would force the Blues to bet their future the still-developing Joel Hofer. Parayko has held an aging defensive corps together while playing the toughest minutes at a high level, so his trade price should be astronomical too.

These two boosted their stock at the 4 Nations event — so if the Blues are going to trade them, this is the time to do so. On the other hand, could the franchise really afford to lose them?

And would any of the Blues with no-trade protection agree to move along? Torey Krug nixed his trade to the Philadelphia Flyers and others could make a similar decision, if it comes to that.

The Blues mentioned by Kypreos have good company because there are many prominent players drawing mentions in the rumor mill.

• The Carolina Hurricanes may flip newly acquired Mikko Rantanen if he won’t agree to a new contract.
• The sinking Boston Bruins may wave the white flag, move Brad Marchand and pick up future assets.
• The Vancouver Canucks could tire of the lifeless Elias Pettersson and trade him — even though the team traded J.T. Miller earlier this season to resolve their dressing room rift.

Here is what folks have been writing about other possibilities ahead of the trade deadline:

Rachel Doerrie, : “The Oilers are in an interesting position because it's the last year of Leon Draisaitl's bargain contract, and only two playoff runs remain with Connor McDavid in his current deal. The Oilers are a roller coaster, with their top performances looking like future Cup winners and their bad performances looking like a 12th-place team. Their ‘B’ game needs to come a long way before April, and part of having a good B game is consistent goaltending. Can you get the saves when you don't have your A game? Right now, the answer is no.” 

Rory Boylen, ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵnet: “A seller through and through, the Blackhawks aren't going to be able to keep doing this forever and keep Connor Bedard happy. At some point, NHL players will need to be retained, or else a lot of pressure will be put on graduating prospects very quickly. Take one look at Buffalo to see the risk that entails. At first glance, it didn't seem like the Hawks had a whole lot of super-intriguing players to move. Hall was sent to Carolina, but that was for a mid-round pick and he never settled into Chicago. Pending UFA Ryan Donato is having a terrific career season, but turns 29 in April and seems a good bet to get moved . . . (Seth) Jones is 30 and signed through the 2029-30 season, so his timeline doesn't appear to line up with Chicago's. And while retaining some money for another five years is a big ask for the Blackhawks, it could also elevate Jones' trade value and make him able to pull back some good assets to Chicago. Jones isn't a No. 1 defenseman, but if he could be had for, say, $6 million to $7 million against the cap with the upper limit about to shoot up, he's suddenly a very intriguing second-pair defenseman.â€�

Pierre LeBrun, The Athletic: “These next few games before the deadline are massive for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they decide what to do with top-four blueliner Ivan Provorov, the 28-year-old pending UFA who is second on the team in ice time at more than 23 minutes a night. The sides exchanged offers last month and weren’t close in their positions, and my understanding is they haven’t circled back yet. The Blue Jackets are torn, to be sure. They’ve got a team that is legitimately in a playoff race, an incredible story given preseason tragedy. So on the one hand, if you’re GM Don Waddell you would hate to take away from the roster. But on the flip side, if Provorov remains unsigned, can you really let him walk out the door July 1 and get nothing in return? Is that good asset management for a team still building?�

Scott Maxwell, Daily Faceoff: “The Canadiens now find themselves as sellers once again, and it looks like the players they could move on from are Joel Armia, Jake Evans, David Savard and Josh Anderson, although you also have to wonder what the market may look like for a middle-six center and pending UFA in Christian Dvorak. With these potential sells, the Habs will be able to get a few more picks and prospects out of this deadline to add to a pool of futures that is looking better and better by the year. If there’s one thing the Canadiens’ brief stretch of good play could change from the normal gameplan, it’s that they could potentially look to add a big name with a long-term outlook on the team, even if it’s a gamble. Whether that’s Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittlestadt or Elias Pettersson, the Habs have the cap space to be flexible to add a player like that and potentially give their lineup a jolt in the long run.�

Megaphone

“Historically, we've been pretty aggressive when our team's in a position. I think we'll take a much more cautious approach as we approach the deadline. May plant a seed for the draft and beyond."

Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney

Brayden Schenn understood early on that his career arc in the NHL wouldn’t be a straight line.

Ups and downs. Twists and turns. Drafts and trades. Heartache and jubilation.

As the Blues captain prepares to play his 1,000th career game Thursday night in Washington, the lessons across a 16-year career become plain.

“You have to come each day and prepare and work,� Schenn said. “Every day is not going to be great. Every game is not going to be great. Sometimes, you’re going to have bad games, or sometimes you’re going to be taking a seat on the bench. Don’t agree with coaches all the time, you don’t agree with some things.

“But at the end of the day, you keep on battling and you keep on battling for your team and playing hard for your teammates and enjoying being around the guys.�

Schenn will become the 403rd player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-game milestone, and he’ll do so in the same season that his brother Luke also hit the plateau. They became the first set of brothers in the NHL to each hit 1,000 games in the same season.

Schenn, 33, is in his eighth season in St. Louis and his second as Blues captain. Currently, he ranks 19th in games and 13th in goals and points in Blues franchise history.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery called Schenn “as old school as you get.�

“There’s not one easy game he’s played where he physically and mentally hasn’t been involved for his team,� Montgomery said. “It’s an amazing accomplishment but not surprising because he’s played with a lot of injuries. He’s played with pain, and he’s inflicted a lot of pain.�

Schenn has taken the hard path to 1,000 games, playing a style that can gently be called hard-nosed, and that’s about the only thing gentle about it.

He’s been in 38 career fights, including four this year to tie for the team lead. He’s levied 2,115 hits. While the league only started tracking hits 20 years ago, Schenn will become just the 14th player in NHL history with 1,000 games and at least 2,000 hits.

“He plays the right way,� Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “He fights. He hits. On top of that, he’s a very skilled player and creates offense, obviously leads for his team. He does it all, that guy. You can’t do that without doing things away from the rink that set yourself up.�

Schenn said he grew up watching a lot of Jarome Iginla, the former Flames captain who impacted many parts of a game with his scoring and hitting. Schenn said, “When I grew up, watching hockey was not just scoring goals.�

“Hopefully, when people describe me one day, they describe me as just a hockey player,� Schenn said. “Just tried to have a quality of a little bit of everything. I’ve always felt like sticking up for teammates, one, goes a long way in the room, so I’ll still continue to do it.�

Schenn was originally selected with the No. 5 pick in the 2009 draft by Los Angeles. He made his NHL debut with the Kings on Nov. 26, 2009, but was traded to Philadelphia in a 2011 deal that netted the Kings forward Mike Richards and two eventual Stanley Cups.

Schenn spent six seasons with the Flyers, blossoming into a true top-six center before the Blues acquired him in the summer of 2017 for Jori Lehtera and two first-round picks. The next season, of course, Schenn won the Stanley Cup with St. Louis, scoring one of four goals during a Game 7 win over the Bruins in Boston.

Now, Schenn finds himself the subject of trade rumors ahead of next week’s trade deadline, though he holds a full no-trade clause.

“I’ve always said it: St. Louis has been the best thing for me, playing here,� Schenn said. “I’ve got a great opportunity and love it here, spent many good years here. To hit a milestone here in St. Louis, it obviously means a lot to me.�

Schenn has become a popular player in the Blues dressing room for his ability to relate and care for different teammates, including housing Neighbours when he entered the league. Even around the league, Schenn has ties thanks to his travels through the NHL, his play for Team Canada and his relationships built through his brother.

Montgomery said Schenn was one of the first people to text him when he was first hired as an assistant coach by St. Louis in 2020. Neighbours said he learned how to be a professional from Schenn.

“He’s never satisfied,� Neighbours said. “He always wants to continue to improve. Even at this age, at this many games, it’s inspiring for someone as young as me to see someone so far along in their career and still aspiring to be the best.�

Schenn will become the fourth current Blues player to reach 1,000 games, joining Ryan Suter, Nick Leddy and Cam Fowler. Justin Faulk could hit the milestone next season.

Schenn said his wife, Kelsey, and parents, Jeff and Rita, will be in Washington for the game.

“As you go throughout your career, there’s so many ups and downs,� Schenn said. “You look back on your career and people just think it’s uphill all the way. You go through a lot on a day to day basis and you have to rely on a lot of people around you. That’s just the reality of it. That’s why you have good teammates, that’s why you have good coaches, and the support staff with your family, my wife, parents.�

Practice notes

The Blues had a brief practice Wednesday morning at Enterprise Center before flying to Washington, exiting the ice after less than 30 minutes of work. Montgomery said the Blues will monitor their practice time having just finished three games in four days and as they enter another three in four this weekend.

“What I did like is we were 22 minutes and the 22 minutes was crisp,� Montgomery said. “There was energy, and we were really professional about going the way we went about things.�

Defenseman Colton Parayko and goaltender Jordan Binnington were not on the ice as they were each given the day off as they recover from playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“You come off a world-class tournament like they did, and you win it, the emotions preparing for it before the games, the emotions during games and the adrenaline and emotions after the game, they wear (on you),� Montgomery said. “There’s an emotional toll that a lot people, I don’t think, can comprehend that happens to your body, and mentally, you need more rest.�

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