Sitting in 28th place in the NHL with major injuries to several key players, the St. Louis Blues look like they'll continue to head in the wrong direction.
Not many things, if any, have gone right for the Blues. Nearly every player is on pace to put up lower goal and point totals than they did last season, and their goaltending has really struggled. The off-season moves haven't made the Blues any better, and now, 33 games into the season, the Blues are at risk of having to write it off.
Almost every report made about the Blues highlights how they'll be sellers at the deadline, and the trading could come before that.
Several players have been named by a plethora of reporters. Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, and Jordan Kyrou are the players garnering the most interest, but there can be calls about the availability of Jordan Binnington, Pavel Buchnevich and Colton Parayko. How eager the Blues are to make deals will determine whether they are dealt or not.
If the Blues do become sellers, they would be committing to a bit of a mini rebuild.
They've witnessed some of their latest first-round picks and top prospects graduate to the NHL, and although they aren't stars yet, they are on the right path. Jake Neighbours has continued to improve yearly, Jimmy Snuggerud was looking like an everyday NHLer before his injury, and Dalibor Dvorsky has taken advantage of injuries to solidify his spot in the NHL.
Snuggerud and Dvorsky would love to see their production increase, but playing in the NHL is a great start.
Additionally, the Blues front office likes what they have in Otto Stenberg, Theo Lindstein, Adam Jiricek and Justin Carbonneau. They might be a year or two away from playing in the NHL, but they are developing into possible important pieces of their future.
On the NHL roster, Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg and Robert Thomas are key contributors who the Blues see as present and future parts of their team.
That leaves several other players who could be expendable. The Blues project to land a top-five pick in a loaded draft. It's been quite a while since the Blues drafted a possible franchise player, and committing to a rebuild this season could put them in position to land players like Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff or Tynan Lawrence.
No team wants to tank, but if injuries and losses continue to pile up, it might be their best option.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.