Brayden Schenn resurfaced in the rumor mill earlier this week as his St. Louis Blues remain mired near the bottom of the NHL standings.
Since then, the Blues have a three-game points streak going, sitting only five points out of a wild-card berth in the Western Conference approaching Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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Nevertheless, Schenn remains the focus of media trade chatter.
On Tuesday, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic confirmed a report by Bleacher Report’s Frank Seravalli last week that Blues GM Doug Armstrong had informed his peers that he’s “open for business.” However, he pointed out that Armstrong has done this regularly in recent years without making a significant subtraction from his roster, suggesting it may be more to motivate his players to improve their performance.
Rutherford mentioned Schenn as a trade possibility. He pointed out that the 34-year-old center attracted plenty of attention leading up to last season’s trade deadline, but he told the Blues he wanted to stay put. Rutherford wondered if Schenn might reconsider, given the club’s recent struggles. He no longer has a full no-trade clause, as it reverted to a 15-team no-trade list on July 1.
Jordan Kyrou also came up as a trade candidate. Rutherford reminded us that the 27-year-old right winger was the subject of trade conjecture last June before his no-trade clause kicked in on July 1.
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Rutherford cited a league source who claimed that a team contacted the Blues about Kyrou after he was scratched from their lineup for their game last Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres. However, it’s not known if the Blues are shopping Kyrou or what the interested club might have offered up.
Seravalli considered Schenn the more likely to be traded. He pointed to the interest in the Blues captain at last season’s trade deadline and the limited number of available centers in the trade market. If the Blues make a trade, Seravalli believes it should be to bolster their blueline.
Tage Thompson (James Guillory-Imagn Images)
Turning to the Buffalo Sabres, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic wondered if GM Kevyn Adams might turn to the trade market to boost his injury-ravaged team. He doesn’t anticipate a major move and acknowledged the difficulty of making trades this early in the season, but he felt that Adams should at least try to do something.
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Meanwhile, some teams are checking to see if Adams is ready to become a seller.
RG.Org’s Marco D’Amico reported Wednesday that the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens were among several teams to contact the Sabres about the availability of Tage Thompson. However, Adams has informed those clubs that the high-scoring forward isn’t available.
TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie claimed the Canadiens never spoke to the Sabres about Thompson. He doesn’t see Adams moving out any of his core players.
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