Tavares, Patches and Draisatl to Blues

Great offense, defense is uuuuuuugly.

Agreed. It’s much harder to try and get D than to just stack up on O.

Bit of an overpay for patches

That's the point. Parayko is, by all accounts, a really great kid. A really sweet natured, polite, pretty boy. Blues don't need that. They need ugly. For all his size, Parayko is not the physical shut-down defenseman the Blues need. Mayfield has a mean streak, and he's willing to use his size. Plus, he's a local kid, for what it's worth.


If all we're doing is swapping Parayko for Mayfield, given the team's needs and given those players relative strengths, is it really a downgrade? Not saying Mayfield is the better player--clearly, he's not--but I am saying he's a better fit on that second pairing for the Blues. And if moving Parayko is what it costs to land a top six center, I do that in a heart beat.


Perhaps, but I doubt Montreal sees it that way, even if they are ready to move on. I'm honestly not that big a Pacioretty fan. I'd rather have Hoffman, or James van Riemsdyk. But there's been a lot of smoke regarding Patches to the Blues for a while now.

As for value, Thompson didn't prove much in his initial outing--though he still has tons of upside, and big forwards like him a known to take a while to develop. Losing him hurts the Blues, long term, but it's not as though he has a ton of value right now. I suspect Montreal balks and asks for Kostin, instead. In which case, I'd agree, on the condition that Montreal toss in a mid-round pick, at least.

Similarly, Walman has proven nothing, and is likely to be another casualty of the Blues' deep stable of defensive prospects. I am only including him because I would rather see him moved now than face losing him for beans, as I suspect we're about to do with Schmaltz.

Fabbri was a dynamic player before his injury, and he very well could become a difference maker once again. But as I've said before elsewhere, he may never play again, and after sitting out nearly two full seasons, if he does return, there's no guarantee he will be anything like the player he was. It's a risk. That's where the conditional pick comes in. That first rounder only comes into play if the Blues secure an extension, and if Fabbri isn't healthy enough to play in half the games in 2018-2019. That protects both teams. All things considered, I don't think it's a particularly attractive offer, but I think it's a fair return for essentially a rental player of Pacioretty's caliber.

I think Botterill would give you a 3rd for Barbashev. You know the 2019 3rd will be in the middle of the pack, not at the bottom
Let's make a deal!