The St. Louis Blues are having a rough season and had already sold off one major asset in the form of Vladimir Tarasenko, the star scorer whom they traded to the New York Rangers. Then, despite a three-game winning streak, general manager Doug Armstrong turned another blockbuster and traded his captain, Ryan O’Reilly, across the border to the Toronto Maple Leafs for three draft picks. Despite the very obvious retool in progress, there are those among the Blues faithful who continue to link the team to the top available defenseman at the trade deadline, Jakob Chychrun. Though the Arizona Coyotes left-hander would obviously be a great addition to any team, the trade links clearly do not make any sense for the Blues at this juncture.
The Argument for Chychrun
Before we dive into why the link does not make sense, though, let’s give a fair evaluation of why it could. Chychrun is a stalwart top-four defenseman, arguably a first-pairing cornerstone, who has been one of the few bright spots in the desert for the past several seasons. Tall, rangy, and a great skater, many believe that he could be the answer the Blues have been looking for on the left side since the sudden departure of Jay Bouwmeester late in his career.
There’s no question that Chychrun would provide some much-needed solidity to the Blues’ defensive core. In fact, he would almost certainly become the best defender on the team as soon as he arrived. And with his team-friendly contract (one of the reasons so many teams are interested in acquiring him), the Blues would have him for two more at a manageable cap hit of $4.6 million. Moreover, when his contract ends, he’ll only be 27, meaning a team could comfortably give him an eight-year extension without signing him deep into his 30s. To the credit of all the Blues fans who want a piece of Chychrun, he will unquestionably be a great addition to whichever team ends up with him. But right now, that team obviously should not be the St. Louis Blues.
Why the Blues Aren’t a Match
While Chychrun would certainly be a good fit for the Blues, in terms of team needs, he is not a sensible priority right now for two primary reasons: cost and circumstance.
Cost
The biggest issue for the Blues in acquiring Chychrun is his cost. According to reports, the Coyotes want two first-round picks and a prospect for their 24-year-old defenseman. After their two recent trades, the Blues could certainly pay that. They have young players like Zach Bolduc and Jake Neighbours who could fill the role of the prospect, and now have three first-round picks for the 2023 Draft.
Related: St. Louis Blues’ Top 10 Prospects for 2022-23
But for the Blues to pay that price, they would basically be undoing all the progress they made in the O’Reilly and Tarasenko trades. They have the assets, but if they surrender those assets, their pipeline would again be bare. That might make sense for some teams, but it doesn’t make sense for the Blues. Which brings us to reason number two.
Circumstances
It’s a Catch-22: if the Blues were in the position to trade for Chychrun, they wouldn’t be trading pieces like O’Reilly and Tarasenko to give themselves the assets to do it. Clearly, Armstrong has recognized that his team needs a rebuild, at least to some extent. The players that have already been traded are franchise legends. Noel Acciari and Niko Mikkola were secondary pieces in each of those deals, meaning Armstrong has already moved four of his five pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs), leaving only Ivan Barbashev to be moved. This does not look like a team that is trying to add pieces before the deadline.
With that said, one could argue that the term on Chychrun’s contract makes a deal more palatable. But it is reasonable to question whether the Blues can seriously compete for a Stanley Cup within the next two seasons. If there is any doubt that they can (which there should be), now is not the time to make this move. They’ve stripped the team down to the studs and have a bright future with three first-round picks in a loaded draft. If Chychrun is destined to move before the deadline, which it looks likely that he will, the Blues are not the team that should acquire him.
Blues Defense: a Long Road to Reecovery
Chychrun is a great player. It remains to be seen whether he is a franchise-transforming player. But he is not the answer for the Blues right now. Even if they can afford him, their defense is far from one player away from redemption. They are paying too much money for far too long to several underperforming assets and currently have $26 million plus committed to their blueline. Adding Chychrun without subtracting a contract would put them far ahead in first place for the most expensive defense in the league, and they would still likely be mediocre at best. For that reason, and all the reasons discussed above, the Blues need to stay out of the Chychrun sweepstakes, no matter how appealing he might seem.