St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong is not ruling out trading some key veterans if his struggling club can't reverse its fortunes soon. Two Devils players, meanwhile, downplayed trade rumors.
The ongoing struggles of the St. Louis Blues prompted trade speculation earlier this season. Notable veterans such as center and captain Brayden Schenn and goaltender Jordan Binnington occasionally surfaced in the rumor mill.
Earlier this week, The Hockey News' Lou Korac reported Blues general manager Doug Armstrong addressed the possibility of shopping some of his veterans if the club didn't soon reverse its fortunes. He acknowledged he's done it before, with Korac noting the trades of Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko in 2023.
Armstrong intends to remain patient and see if his club can turn things around like they did last season. Korac believes the Blues GM won't make trades for the sake of doing so, but all options remain on the table.
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic observed that veterans such as Schenn, Binnington and defenseman Justin Faulk are players Armstrong could have an incentive to move. That's because they are in their thirties with term remaining on their contracts.
Rutherford indicated that Armstrong is open to moving those players, who each have limited no-trade clauses. However, he'll seek full value in a trade, preferring to add a younger NHL player rather than take on draft picks
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Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton and winger Ondrej Palat spoke to the media about the recent rumors that they were involved in cost-cutting trade scenarios. The Devils were believed to have made a failed attempt to clear cap space to acquire Quinn Hughes, who was ultimately traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild last Friday.
New Jersey Hockey Now's James Nichols reported Palat denied vetoing a trade or being asked to waive his no-trade clause. Hamilton downplayed the speculation, reiterating his desire to remain in New Jersey and help the Devils win the Stanley Cup. However, Nichols noted that the 32-year-old defenseman didn't fully dismiss the conjecture.
Nichols indicated a league source told him that Hamilton's contract, with its $9 million average annual value through 2027-28 and its 10-team trade list, isn't untradable. However, the Devils don't want to take back too much salary for Hamilton because they want to create as much cap room as possible.
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