Provorov and Chychurn are pretty similar players… almost identical over the course of their career. Chychurn will be a lot more costly to land but is 2M cheaper

Provorov is far more consistent and would probably only cost a top prospect, a first and maybe something of a kicker rather than having the sell the farm for Chychurn.

Getting Provorov with 2M retained (so he is the same price as Chychurn) would probably still be far less than some of these offers for Chychurn himself.

That said, Sanhiem is probably the best of the group as a 2-way D. But a one year deal is tough, a sign and trade could be just as pricey as Provorov

In order of who I want: Lindell, Sanheim, Chychrun, Provorov, Gavrikov, Graves, Petterson
In order of reasonableness both in terms of what we would have to trade and opposing team's position: Gavrikov, Graves, Provorov, Petterson, Sanheim, Chychrun, Lindell.

Basically, I feel like ARZ wants a fortune for Chychrun and DAL won't trade Lindell in division (if at all). PHI seems to love Sanheim/Risto pairing - probably bc Sanheim actually plays two ways unlike Risto.

Gavrikov is sneaky good. CBJ love him in the room and with our young Russians as well (Chinakov, Tarasov, Marchenko and soon Voronkov). It would cost quite a lot to get him. Over the last 2 years he ranks 15th in even strength WAR. He's a top pairing quality defenseman who kills penalties. You probably don't want to pay the price for him.

Sorry he's actually 11th. I sorted by offense contributions first. He is similar to Sanheim in this regard. They are both bad at shooting so their point totals aren't very good but they drive play.

Of these choices, I'd want Gavrikov. Graves probably my second choice.

Esa Lindell is not available.

Taking return out of it, it would be in this order: Chychrun, Sanheim, Gavrikov, Pettersson, Provorov, Graves, Lindell. Some of these guys you have to be more certain than others. One thing to keep in mind is that the Blues, by their own admission, need to prioritize transitioning out of their zone when they're defending- this is something that none of our defensemen are all that good at.

Pettersson and Parayko have always been an interesting concept for a pairing to me- Pettersson is great at denying zone entry and a bit above average at exiting the zone while Parayko is great at defending the middle and transitioning to offense once the puck is out of the zone. Both have solid underlying defensive numbers as well, and their play styles could give a really good shutdown pair. Gotta be sure it works though given the 10.5 million price tag of both combined and the term on both.

Chychrun and Sanheim give offensive power from the blue line. Chychrun is actually pretty responsible defensively too but he has the ability to put up 10 or so goals a year. His ability on the rush would complement the Blues' rush offense well. Sanheim you see it less in points but he's really good at passing into the dangerous areas and he's definitely better at exiting the zone than Chychrun, though I would say he's decidedly average at that and his general defense is a little underwhelming. But I think both would help the team no matter what, it's just a matter of price.

Gavrikov and Graves are the safe options. I don't know that either one of them really address the transitioning weakness with the Blues while bringing another element that would be beneficial like Chychrun or Sanheim would, but they would be decidedly cheaper.

Provorov you have to be really really careful. Not only is he going to cost a lot to acquire, he's also going to cost a lot in dollars and term and he has been struggling for years now to play like a #1 defenseman. If there's evidence he could regain his offensive form in the Blues' system while also providing his adequate transition game then it could work. But that's a big gamble to make because otherwise you have a very overpayed Nick Leddy type guy on your books, which is what the Flyers basically have right now. And his opportunities on the power play are going to be harder to come by here with Krug/Faulk/Perunovich, and he couldn't stick it on Philly's power play which should have been very easy to get onto.

Lindell is overpayed and has trouble exiting the zone. Blues should stay away.

Another guy to think about, and I know his health to start the season is a question mark, is Mike Reilly. The Bruins need to move out salary- the Athletic reported he could be had for a third and that was before he got injured- he's cheaper than everyone on this list except Gavrikov, and he provides a really strong transition game which the Blues are lacking. He's an interesting target to me. The age, contract, acquisition cost and skillset are all very appealing.

id throw lindell in there too hes good maybe a little pricy tho

Esa likely says no. He’s over paid but I think there’s more there with a better coach

Meh. Not worth it. Gotta consider the whole cap situation.

Unless Devils are comfortably out of the playoff race by TDL, I really wouldn't want them to trade Graves.
He plays a big role in the top 4 for this year while perfectly bridging the gap to Luke Hughes's arrival for 23-24.
I'm completely fine with Graves would walking at the end of 22-23 fwiw.

We can't afford to lose Gavrikov due to a lack of decent defensively-oriented defensemen here.