Blues Trade Defenseman Jordan Leopold To Blue Jackets

This wasn't a surprise aside from the fact that it took so long - the Blues've dealt defenseman Jordan Leopold to the Columbus Blue Jackets for CBJ's fifth round pick in 2016. Not a huge return for the Blues, but also not a bad deal for the Blue Jackets. The Jackets finally snapped their nine game losing streak last night, but they need some help on the blue line. The Blues aren't playing Leopold - they've put all of their eggs in Ian Cole's basket.

Leopold isn't a large scoring threat - his eight points in 49 games with the Blues shows that. He has also been injured, and saw his ice time dwindle with Ian Cole's improvement. Cole has no points in 16 games played this season, but defensively signs of improvement are there. Aside from Kevin Shattenkirk, the Blues' defense as a whole could use some scoring improvement.

Just getting a fifth round pick in the 2016 draft seems like this is a throw-away trade for the Blues. You get the feeling that they wanted to clear up some space, and that they didn't want Leopold to just sit. It's a good move for Leopold as far as time on ice goes; the Jackets, however, have a large uphill battle to deal with. For their sake I hope that Leopold helps.

The Blues will be recalling Chris Butler to be the seventh guy. This is a blow for the Wolves' defense, as he's their top guy with eight assists and a goal.