Can only retain 3 salaries.....

I’d do it from a Rangers perspective. Hayes as a 3C/4C isn’t awful.

Uggg - my bad

Tampa Bay counters w/ Scandella retained for a 4th. Blues can keep Blais.

Agreed. Blais would just end up being another version of Sheary for the lineup, something we definitely don't need

Cool and accepted

Blais is more of a fore checker than Sheary. Not a lot of skill but hits people in playoffs - at least he did in 2020. Understood though

NYR pass....they need better 5v5 play and those 2 guys have had atrocious 5v5 numbers

Right this very moment? Hmm I highly doubt that.

Yeah - I don’t mind a Scandella at all but at this point would rather Kessel play and develop

Ummm the first one is pretty good, not totally sure I'd pull that trigger, but probably. Definitely not feeling the Vegas trade at all - late 1sts and so so prospects piled up is not working for me, but you already knew that. The third one is cool, but not yet. Scandella is too necessary right this moment. And honestly, the way he's played the last two years (since coming off the top pairing, which was too much) and the way he skates, I think folks are selling him short. Half-retained should be a 3rd by itself if everyone wants to stick to comps.

Like I said, not yet. Hold the phone on it. Developing Kessel is not the priority today. It's not like he's some high ceiling guy.

I’m not greedy on return for him. Maybe they get a third but I’d like to focus on next season. I think Kessel is just fine as bottom pair dman. If Scandella is still on the team after deadline or they bring him back next season while still also having Faulk, Krug, Leddy - I think it’s a massive fail.

It's not about greedy, it's about he's very much being used here now. Without him, we're screwed.

If Scandella returns on a nice contract, I am all for it. He is the least of our problems. And actually he's played quite well for a long time now. I have no idea why people in and outside STL still act like he's some dead weight cap dump. He definitely is not, but they only judge him on the 20-30 games or whatever he played top pairing. He's played over 200 games for the Blues now, often with weak and/or green partners and sloppy as hell forwards on a team that has struggled hard for two seasons running, with 67% D zone starts (!!!!!) and he's a +37. I know I know, +/- is lame... but that's kinda miraculous.

Half-retained, he's absolutely worth a 3rd to a contender crapping the bed on the bottom or even 2nd pairing/PK. Do we absolutely have to maximize his value in a trade? No. But it is what it is.