Blues GM Ryan has been focused on the forward group for quite a while, but that changed today. Without giving up any roster players (albeit some very good futures), the Blues have acquired a top pair for their blue line that should give any opposing forwards a rough barn to play in when they come to St. Louis.
Joining the young D corp in separate deals today are 2013 NHL Norris nominee Ryan Suter and the NHL Wings #1 Dman, Niklas Kronwall. It's expected more moves to bolster the blue line may be coming.
The deals broke down as follows;
(All stats reflect pre-turnover)
Deal #1
To St. L:
-Kronwall D, 31y 71ov, $9.0/3yrs
To Mtl:
-2013 Clb 1st (#13)
-TJ Brennan D, 23y 54ov, RFA
-Tim Bozon LW, 18y ECHL, #64 pick in 2012
TJ Brennan is still relatively unknown but well on his way to becoming a top offensive Dman in the NHL so he was tough to give up but it allowed me to not have to give up a top 10 1st here.
Deal #2
To St. L:
-Ryan Suter D, 27y 78ov, RFA
-2013 TBay 2nd (#38)
To Ana:
-2013 Bos 1st (#3)
Suter was a top 3 CPHL Dman pre Norris candidacy and at an age where defensemen usually are just entering their prime, we look forward to another 6-8 years of one of the NHL's best.
The Blues still have a few great pieces to package up in potential deals and are actively looking to make moves. A promise has been made to the fans in St. Louis that their team will not miss the playoffs for a 2nd time under this GM's watch.
Thanks to both GM's for the talks, Suter in particular was many days in the making and many back and forths. Very tough but fun deal to bring eachother to accept.
Blues Add a Top Pair
