Leafs and Blues discussing a potential trade?

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Mike Armenti
October 17, 2023 (2:03 PM)

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The St. Louis Blues kicked off their roster purge last season, opting to ship out some of the older players on the roster in favour of creating more opportunities for the younger players on the roster. Both Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko were traded ahead of the deadline and there were also reports this summer that the Blues had attempted to trade Torey Krug to the Philadelphia Flyers as well, but the blueliner had blocked the trade, utilizing his full NTC.

Per The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, Blues GM Doug Armstrong was spotted at last night's Blackhawks/Leafs game in Toronto. This is fairly significant, as a GM doesn't usually scout a team in person unless a potential trade is in the works. With the Blues having a surplus of defensemen and the Leafs reportedly in the market for a defenseman, perhaps there is a trade already in the works here.

Not only was Krug nearly moved this summer, but Colton Parayko's name was heavily involved in trade rumours over the summer as well. The Blues also have the likes of Justin Faulk, Marco Scandella, Nick Leddy and Robert Bortuzzo, all of whom are over 30 years of age.

Each of Parayko, Krug and Faulk contain a $6M+ cap hit, which would be extremely difficult for the Leafs to take on without some serious salary retention, as well as the Blues taking back a pricey contract in the deal. The problem there is that the Blues are also very close to the cap, with just $291K in available cap space. It's far more likely that the Leafs and Blues could be discussing a move involving another Blues blueliner. Given the Leafs' newfound love of gritty players, my best guess would be Robert Bortuzzo.