The St. Louis Blues are firmly entrenched in a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but don’t expect them to take a traditional buyer’s approach come February.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, who just signed a four-year extension with the club, joined Hockey Central at Noon on Thursday to give a glimpse of what we can expect from St. Louis at the trade deadline.
“I don’t think we’ll be in the rental market,” Armstrong said. “Anything can change on that but I think if we’re going to make changes, we’re going to do it with someone who can come in and help us for a couple years at least.”
St. Louis, currently sitting third in the Central Division with 48 points, is seeking a seventh straight trip to the playoffs and the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Armstrong explained that the parity in the present-day NHL means any team that qualifies for the post-season has to be considered a contender.
“You look at a team like Nashville,” Arsmtrong said. “They made the [2017] Stanley Cup Final coming from the eighth seed so you don’t really have to peg that No. 1 seed. With today’s parity in the NHL, very rarely is that the group that gets through.
Armstrong also goes on to discuss the injury bug that has hit the Blues this season, what changes he sees in this year’s team compared to last year’s and the play of captain Alex Pietrangelo. Listen to the full segment in the audio player below.
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