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SportsNet is looking at each team leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline and hypothesizing about what pieces they should add - or who they need to ship off. Luckily the Blues are in the former camp, which makes for all sorts of juicy trade deadline rumors.
Well, it should be, if this were any team other than the Blues. They're run by a shrewd general manager who does not make surprise deals, and will do absolutely nothing to put the team at a disadvantage. You hear the Blues pop up in speculation, but actual rumors? The only St. Louis you'll see there is Marty.
Mike Johnston believes that despite good depth at every non-goaltender position, the Blues may be in the market for some added oomph. I agree with him - the playoffs last season were a debacle because the team couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. It wasn't all about the "solving Jonathan Quick" narrative, either.
Who does Johnston think that the team should go for?
Full Deadline Coverage
Full Deadline Coverage
Matt Moulson, Mike Cammalleri, Lee Stempniak (!), or Nikolai Kulemin.
Kulemin is the only one of these on a team currently in a playoff position - Toronto is in the first wild card slot in the East. Trading a player for picks and odds and ends isn't in their interest right now. They need an impact player, and I would be surprised if Armstrong would send any out for someone with just 8 goals and 10 assists.
This basically also describes old friend Lee Stempniak. The former Blue wouldn't be a huge impact player in the playoffs. He's having a meh season at best with 8 goals and 15 assists.
Now, Matt Moulson and Mile Cammalleri? That's a bit more like it.
Cammalleri has 15 goals on the season and eight assists. That's not shabby, but where he seems to shine is the playoffs. The last two times he was able to play in the post-season, he's racked up the points. In 2011, he had ten points (3 G, 7A) in seven games. The season before that he put up 13 goals and six assists in 19 games played. If he can return to his playoff form, that extra oomph could be a good thing.
Cammalleri has been offered a contract extension by the Flames. If he turns it down, he's gone.
Matt Moulson doesn't have a lot of playoff experience, but he can score. A lot. Here are his stats from Hockey Database:
| 2009-10 | New York Islanders | NHL | 82 | 30 | 18 | 48 | 16 | -2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | --- |
| 2010-11 | New York Islanders | NHL | 82 | 31 | 22 | 53 | 24 | -10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2011-12 | New York Islanders | NHL | 82 | 36 | 33 | 69 | 6 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2012-13 | New York Islanders | NHL | 47 | 15 | 29 | 44 | 4 | -3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 2013-14 | New York Islanders* | NHL | 11 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2013-14 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 41 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 16 | -11 |
This season he only has 15 goals, but his past track record suggests that this is an under-achievement that may well pick up. He doesn't have a lot of playoff experience, but if the Blues need that extra guy, there he is.