ST. LOUIS -- Possibly the last trade domino to fall for the Blues has finally happened.
The Blues, who have already shaken up the trade market leading up to the deadline of March 3, sent pending unrestricted free agent Ivan Barbashev to the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas' first-round pick in 2021, forward Zach Dean.
TSN's Darren Dreger was first to report the trade.
It was inevitable that Barbashev, 27, was going to get moved between now and Friday's 2 p.m. (CT) trade deadline, but it was just a matter of where. He is set to become a UFA on July 1 and according to a source, he told the Blues he was not going to re-sign beyond this season.
Barbashev was drafted by the Blues at in the second round (No. 33 overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. In seven seasons with St. Louis, he had 178 points (78 goals, 100 assists) in 410 regular-season games. He helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019, being part of the wrecking ball fourth line that also consisted of Alexander Steen and Oskar Sundqvist.
Barbashev, who posted career highs in goals (26), assists (34) and points (60) last season, will give the Golden Knights someone they can move up and down their lineup with some snarl and bite to his game but his offensive numbers dipped to 10 goals, 19 assists in 59 games this season; he will also be reunited with Cup-champ teammate, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.
In the 20-year-old Dean, the Blues get a player projected to be a middle six forward.
This season, Dean has played in 38 games for the QMJHL's Gatineau Olympiques and had 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists); he has spent the past four seasons with Gatineau while also picking up a goal and two assists seven games with gold medal-winning Team Canada at the 2023 World Juniors.
Dean is listed as 6-foot-0, 192 pounds and was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team after picking up 46 points (18 goals, 28 assists) in 57 games in his first season.
Dean has appeared in 165 regular-season games with the Olympiques and has totaled 167 points (73 goals, 94 assists) and 131 penalty minutes. He has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 11 career playoff games.
Dean is eligible to join the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League at the conclusion of his junior season, should the Blues decide to move him there.
The Blues have already made three trades in the past couple weeks, sending Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to the New York Rangers that netted them forward Sammy Blais, defensive prospect Hunter Skinner, a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick that turns into a third rounder if the Rangers make the playoffs; they then shipped Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a package that included Toronto's 2023 first-round pick and 2024 second-round pick, along with Ottawa's 2023 third-round pick, and forwards Mikhail Abramov and forward Adam Gaudette.