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1 last-minute trade Blues must make before 2024-25 NHL season

Originally posted on NHL on ClutchPoints
By Colin Gallant | Last updated 9/30/24

The St. Louis Blues are looking to make a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024-25 after rare back-to-back misses. The Blues are coming off a solid campaign, finishing 42-33-6 and missing out on the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference by just six points.

But the season is already off to a tough start after the news that top defenseman Torey Krug will miss the entire campaign after undergoing left ankle surgery earlier this summer. The surgery addressed pre-arthritic changes in Krug’s left ankle, and is especially tough considering the team and player were making an effort to rehabilitate the injury with non-surgical methods.

It’s no secret that the 33-year-old is a key piece of the blue line in Missouri; Krug is currently entering the fifth season of a seven-year, $45 million contract he signed back in 2020. The only silver lining is that the team will be able to place Krug on long-term injured reserve to open up cap space, which could give them an avenue to make a trade for another D-man.

Torey Krug’s injury is devastating

Krug explained to reporters that the procedure will make him feel better in his day-to-day life, but it also leaves the rest of his playing future up in the air.

“We don’t really know that to be honest, it’s just something that I gotta take care of and kind of take it day by day, week by week, month by month and go from there,” Krug said earlier in September. “Looking forward I can’t forecast too much. Just gotta stay in the moment.”

He got emotional when talking about the support he’s already gotten from inside the locker room after making the brutally difficult choice.

“I think that’s [a big part of it], the people that are around you,” Krug said through tears. “The Blues have been amazing, my teammates have been great. So I’ll be around for sure. That’s what I’ve known and loved for so long.”

Ideally, Krug can make a full recovery from this surgery and return to the ice for the final two years of his contract with the Blues. But although it’s a tough pill to swallow, business must go on for the Blues. And after coming oh-so-close to securing a postseason spot in 2024, the team could make a last-minute trade to try to get back to contention.

The team signed Philip Broberg to a two-year contract in free agency, and also added Ryan Suter and Pierre-Olivier Joseph to provide further depth. As it stands, the Blues’ top-four looks like Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy and Broberg. That is decent if unspectacular, but leaves Suter and either Joseph, Matthew Kessel or Scott Perunovich as the third pairing, which could be improved.

Currently, St. Louis has just over $1 million in cap space, per Puck Pedia, but if Krug goes on LTIR, that number will jump up to over $7 million. And with that money, the club could look to make a blockbuster trade for Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson.

Blues could look into Flames’ Rasmus Andersson as a Torey Krug replacement

Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

It feels like the Flames have traded almost every player with value over the last calendar year. General manager Craig Conroy has shipped Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev, Andrew Mangiapane, Noah Hanifin and Jacob Markstrom out of town, and Calgary is projected to be one of the weaker teams in the Western Conference in 2024-25 because of it.

Most of those players were in the final year of their contracts, and Conroy and the front office have done a decent job replacing them with younger and more affordable talent. Still, there have been rumors that he could also part with heart and soul defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who has been part of the organization since being drafted No. 53 overall back in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Although Andersson is in his prime at 27-years-old, and has had a few solid offensive seasons, he has had trouble earning significant powerplay time in Alberta. Even with Hanifin gone, the Swede projects to start the season on the second PP unit, with Mackenzie Weegar manning PP1 along with Andrei Kuzmenko, Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau and Yegor Sharangovich, per Daily Faceoff.

Andersson still has two years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $4.6 million, and he also owns a six-team no-trade list. Whether or not the Blues are on that list is unclear, but he would certainly improve a St. Louis D-core that is hurting for offensive production. Faulk figures to begin the year quarterbacking the top man advantage unit, but Andersson would be an upgrade from the 32-year-old.

Andersson is one of Flames’ last remaining trade chips

Andersson is one of the only trade chips the Flames have left, with Weegar and Kadri both making it clear they want to stay around for the rebuild. And The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie believes Andersson could be pried out of the Stampede City — for the right price.

“Andersson’s play will dictate his value. On paper, he’s a solid top-four defending option on a contending team who can be used in all situations. He’s also on an affordable contract that pays him until 2026,” wrote McKenzie in response to a reader question back in August.

“But he’s also coming off a down season with nine goals and 39 points in 78 games — he had 11 goals and 49 points in 79 games during the 2022-23 season. And with the Flames’ defence corps looking much weaker with players like Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington long gone, his value to the team goes up.”

Although a trade for Andersson might not materialize until the trade deadline — there’s no guarantee the Flames will be bottom-feeders in 2024-25 — Blues general manager Doug Armstrong should certainly at least be gauging the value of the former second-round pick. After a down season, his trade value is not what it once was, and St. Louis does have the cap space to make it work.

It may also depend how the Blues start the season. If it begins promisingly, especially without Krug, Armstrong could look to make the squad even better to avoid back-to-back-to-back playoff misses. And in that quest, Andersson could fit nicely on the blue line in St. Louis.

This article first appeared on NHL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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