ANAHEIM, Calif. — The NHL’s trade deadline sailed by on Friday afternoon without a trade executed by the Blues.
Captain Brayden Schenn remained with the team, as did every other member of the organization. And amid a 5-1-1 stretch since the return from the 4 Nations tournament break, there were no reinforcements for a Blues team on the bubble of the Western Conference playoff picture.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said the team was looking to do “hockey trades,†which aren’t deals for pending unrestricted free agents or aren’t a part of a salary-cap dump or a draft-pick swap.
“At the end of the day, we talked to a lot of people,†Armstrong said on a video call with reporters after the deadline passed. “We bandied around a lot of ideas. But we weren’t involved in anything that made sense for us.â€
Schenn was the Blue with the most noise surrounding him leading into the deadline, as the captain was connected to teams such as Toronto and Vegas.
Schenn, 33, has 12 goals and 26 assists in 63 games this season. He has three more years remaining on a contract with a $6.5 million cap hit. Armstrong was asked about Schenn, but declined to get into specifics.
“I’m just not comfortable talking about any individual negotiation with a team or with a player,†Armstrong said. “It’s not something we’ve done in the past, and it’s not something I’m comfortable getting into individual players like that.â€
Over the summer, Schenn’s full no-trade clause drops to a modified no-trade clause and he can block deals to 15 teams.
In addition to Schenn, defensemen Justin Faulk and Torey Krug each have no-trade clauses that shift to 15-team no-trade lists. This summer, Nick Leddy can reject trades to half of the league. Asked broadly about the effect of clauses changing and opening up trade possibilities, Armstrong said that “sure does†allow the Blues to do more in the marketplace.
“Obviously, when you negotiate with unrestricted free agents, there’s a give and take on all different things from no-movement clauses to no-trade clauses, signing bonuses,†Armstrong said. “The ones that we do have an expiration date on the full no-trades and we’re getting into that window with some of our veteran players. It does open up the door if we decide to do certain things with less restrictions.â€
The Blues have two pending unrestricted free agents on their roster: forward Radek Faksa and defenseman Ryan Suter. While teams around the league were acquiring rentals for a playoff run, none bought from the Blues.
“The last couple of years, those depth UFAs, there’s not a lot of movement in that,†Armstrong said. “We saw that last year with our group. We saw it again this year with our group. At the end of the day, we ended up moving forward with a team that’s playing excellent hockey right now.â€
Last year, the Blues also did not make any trades at the deadline, and Marco Scandella and Kasperi Kapanen were the team’s only UFAs to deal.
With Suter in particular, he’s taken on added importance with Colton Parayko out for the next six weeks following a scope on his left knee. Suter has played in all 63 games for the Blues this season, and at age 40, is the oldest skater in the NHL.
“Because of the Parayko injury, moving him for a later-round pick, if it was offered at all, wasn’t something that made sense to us,†Armstrong said.
The Blues also didn’t heavily consider adding pieces at the deadline to fortify a run at a playoff spot. Armstrong said the management group did the math, and understands it’s “a tall task†for the Blues to make the playoffs in the final 19 games.
They entered Friday two points behind Calgary for the second (and final) wild-card slot in the West, and one point behind Vancouver for ninth place in the conference. The Flames and Canucks are on pace for about 90 points, which would require the Blues to go 12-7-0 down the stretch to match their record.
“We weren’t looking to use assets that we’ve acquired over the last couple years, young players for a stopgap,†Armstrong said. “Anything we would have done would have been more of a hockey trade, and we didn’t see a lot of those happen today that we were involved in, or could be involved in. We weren’t looking for a band-aid this year.â€
The Blues were set to finish a swing through California by playing the Ducks on Friday and the Kings on Saturday, part of a schedule that Tankathon has ranked as the easiest remaining slate in the NHL, as opponents own a combined .520 points percentage.
“It’s an uphill battle,†Armstrong said. “I’m not naïve to think it’s not an uphill battle. Certainly, with Colton’s situation. But I hope they have as much excitement in this as our fans do about what they’ve accomplished and what we hope they can accomplish by pushing and playing meaningful games and staying on task.â€
St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong talked about how successfully the team has played since the Four Nations break and the impact of losing Colton Parayko to a knee injury on March 7, 2025. (Video courtesy of St. Louis Blues)
Game from Los Angeles will air on KMOV (Channel 4) and Matrix Midwest (Channel 32).
Colton Parayko was enjoying the best offensive season of his career, with a career-high 15 goals in 62 games.