Earlier this week, Vincent Blase of BlueNoteZone.com reported that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina would be willing to waive his no trade clause in a deal involving the St. Louis Blues, but perhaps he is not what the team is looking for after all. Kubina is still on the market, but St. Louis AM 590 radio host and founder of TrueHockey.com, Andy Strickland, thinks Kubina does not fit team needs, and that the Blues would only make a deal for a defenseman with a left-handed shot.
The Blues may still make a move prior to the NHL trade deadline, but Sean Gallagher of SB Nation's Blues blog, St. Louis Game Time, thinks GM Doug Armstrong needs to be very discerning in who he adds to the mix:
The St. Louis Blues are in a spot where they have to be considered buyers. But when a team is playing well and is near the top of the whole NHL in points, messing with team chemistry is a dangerous proposition. Adding a new personality to the locker room has to be done carefully, plus the Blues roster is already pretty deep - it'll be hard to find a guy to bring in who comes in and justifiably bumps another guy up to the press box. The depth lines don't need tweaking and the goaltending and defense would be hard to improve. The only move that makes sense is some sort of impact offensive player and there just aren't that many of them out there available.
My wish list for the Blues? If they don't stand pat and do decide to make a move, do something like general manager Doug Armstrong always seems to do: make a move no one sees coming for a player no one thought was available. I won't be so presumptive as to tell the general manager what to do or who to go get, I'll just leave it as is: I trust his judgment.
The NHL trade deadline is Feb. 27.
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