All that to not make the playoffs...

Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear 😂

Isles will finish the season 3rd in the metro. We have the games in hand on Philly (who are selling) plus a head to head matchup. Flyers schedule is brutal and Washington/Pittsburgh are also sellers. Plus, Buchnevich is a guy they keep next year at minimum

Personally I don't mind it, not sure what other Blues fans say

However my biggest thing is a d-prospect missing. Anyone that projects as maybe a 2nd pairing defensive d-man to replace Dufour with? I've seen Bolduc a few times, which I don't mind but curious on who else the Isles may have as options. But with the retention I'm mostly okay with it as long as there's a d-man coming back with potential

You can make it as long as the Wings are in

Isles are stronger in the LD department than RD. Bolduc is closest to NHL ready (has played games but still rookie growing pains). He’s also not waiver exempt. Probably our most exciting LD prospect is Isaiah George (London Knights) or Calle Odelius (SHL). RD there is not much there. If STL wanted a defensive prospect and Isles kept Dufour I would be fine with it

Sorry, not doing that....Not giving up 2 1st rounders. We should stick to the roster we have and play it out. We aren't winning the cup, why kill more of our future and system which is the worst in the NHL...
Not a smart move.

As you can see from some of these deals today. Prices are not as high as everyone thought

You have Buchnevich next year at a bargain price and the ability to extend him. I make this move 10/10 times

Isles are in the position they are because Lane Lambert should be in prison. They are finally looking like the team they were under Trotz, except this team is deadly at putting the puck in the net. If the Isles make the playoffs this year (likely IMO) I would not be surprised at all if they went on a sneaky "Panthers" run.

The problem is you don;t have any legit top 4 D prospects. You offer a lot of value, but it's not the right value. There really has to be either a top 10 24 1st or a bona fide A young Dman/prospect to start with. Maybe after the lottery, we can see where you pick.

I would definitely say a LD is more needed. Odelius is a maybe since he's a Swede after we just drafted a few in Lindstein and Stenburg so there could be more familiarity there for the scouts

I agree with the missing proper prospects. Doesn't help NYI has the worst prospect pool in the league but the athletic has Odelius as their number one guy. I'd almost rather do it now though. If they miss the playoffs, they'd be more inclined to keep the pick instead. It's a risk to trade now but they could slip and we could potentially have 2 picks in the top 15. A risk I'm willing to take.
Maybe try to squeeze another pick, like a 2nd, if we have to give up a later round pick to make it happen.

Would probably take it. Don’t care too much about the two players. Would prefer Holmstrom but it’s because he reminds me of Buch

Can't give up two more 1sts. They haven't made a 1st round pick since 2019 and the cupboards are near barren. I think the move this deadline is targeting pending UFA wingers, considering that it looks like a bit of a buyer's market there if you can move early. They've got one game left before the deadline, and coincidentally enough it's tomorrow night in San Jose, so I hope Lou is already sitting down with Mike Grier and seeing what it takes to get a guy like Anthony Duclair on board.

They're in shouting distance of the playoffs, but they're still gonna be on the outside looking in at the deadline. It's not the year to be giving up big assets - I'd rather keep the 1sts as a hedge against not making the playoffs and hopefully bring in some interesting young talent.