St Louis Blues Trade T.J. Oshie, More Must Follow

The St Louis Blues began changing their roster today after another early playoff exit, sending T.J. Oshie to the Washington Capitals. In return the Blues get Troy Brouwer, AHL goaltender Pheonix Copley and a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Trading Oshie does much more for the St Louis Blues next season than it does this one.

The Blues may not be better this season trading Oshie for Brower. Oshie was fifth on the team last year in goals and points, while Brouwer was sixth on the Capitals in points but their second leading scorer. Oshie is the better scorer for his career (.69 versus .48 points per game). The real reason for the trade lies in the cap numbers and what needs to be done next.

The St Louis Blues only saved about five hundred thousand dollars this year but Oshie has an extra year on his contract while Brouwer is an unrestricted free agent after this year. This makes him an attractive trade target at the deadline should the St Louis Blues continue to transition and look to the future.

They are likely still a playoff team if trading Oshie is the only move they make before the season. That’s highly unlikely considering the Brinks truck that will back up to Vladimir Tarasenko for the next eight or so years when he signs, either with the St Louis Blues or an offer sheet that most in the league would expect matched.

That’s the risk here for the Blues. They need to control the contract offer to Tarasenko to not lose control of their cap situation. Even with nearly $14 million left to the ceiling, Tarasenko is going to get somewhere around $9 million of that for a long time. Complicating the St Louis Blues situation is having only six defensemen signed now, three of whom are over $4 million per season.

There is also the matter of Jake Allen needing a new contract as a restricted free agent. Assuming last seasons playoff starter gets that deal and the inside track on leading the crease next year, is there a player in the league with more of a reason to be upset than Brian Elliott?

Elliott has been very solid for the Blues and at times spectacular since signing four years ago as an unrestricted free agent. Fighting injuries and his tandem partner, whether it was Jaroslav Halak, Ryan Miller or Allen, Elliott has been ready when called, sometimes twice which created a little controversy.

So a potentially frustrated goaltender with being passed over for years, a thin and expensive defensive unit, and a weapon of mass goal light ignition whom will justifiably eat up big cap space for most of the next decade. All of this on one St Louis Blues roster.

Trading one of the defensemen seems hard to do unless one comes back at a lower salary. And the St Louis Blues will still need one more, perhaps from free agency. Looking ahead to next year Brouwer and David Backes will come up for new deals. This is a very important offseason for the St Louis Blues to set the direction of the team for years to come.

Because of that the Tarasenko contract must get resolved soon to give general manager Doug Armstrong as much time before the year to make necessary moves. The longer that goes on the more likely the St Louis Blues are the team to watch approaching the trade deadline.

The Blues could learn from the San José Sharks recent history. A big team, able to score but disappointment in the playoffs. The Sharks continue to struggle with committing to a retooling or rebuilding. The St Louis Blues have young players whom other teams would find attractive trade targets. Armstrong needs to figure out who is part of the core with Tarasenko, lock them up and rebuild as soon as he can.

T.J. Oshie was clearly not part of that future but is Brouwer? Is Kevin Shattenkirk available for the right price? What do the St Louis Blues expect from this season? Trading Oshie was the first major news of the offseason for the Blues but more has to come once Tarasenko is under contract.

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