According to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the “make no move” strategy is realistic option, considering the Blues’ ownership situation:

“The Blues’ payroll entering the season reached $52 million and it’s believed the Blues are near their budget ceiling approaching the trading deadline. A transferring of the ownership to the group led by club minority owner Tom Stillman could infuse immediate resources into the organization, but the sale is not expected to be complete until March. Armstrong declined to answer how much flexibility he would have at the deadline under the current ownership.”

The wait-and-see approach also makes sense considering Alexander Steen and/or Andy McDonald could still return from respective concussions after the trade deadline. TrueHockey.com’s Andy Strickland believes that McDonald could return as early as next week.


Subscribe to NHL Trade Report updates on Facebook, on Twitter, by Email, or RSS.