Blues reportedly make veteran forward Brandon Saad available for trade

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Cooper Godin
June 16, 2024 (7:43 PM)

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The St. Louis Blues have reportedly made veteran forward Brandon Saad available for trade this summer.

Doug Armstrong is going to be quite busy this summer as he tries to improve St. Louis' roster after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2009-10 and 2010-11. It's unclear how Armstrong will approach this off-season, with some of his players including Pavel Buchnevich and Torey Krug being linked with moves out of St. Louis and there's reportedly another name you can add to that list - Brandon Saad.

In his recent Trade Targets list, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff revealed that that the St. Louis Blues have made Brandon Saad available for trade this summer, with General Manager Doug Armstrong checking what he could fetch for certain players on the market.

Saad has a full no-trade clause for the 2024-25 season, before shifting to a modified NTC for 2025-26 which features a 12-team no-trade list. With Saad coming off the second-best goal scoring season of his NHL career, Seravalli believes that it could be the right time to trade him given that his value likely won't be any higher over the next couple of years.

"There are rumblings that Saad is available as GM Doug Armstrong checks market prices as part of his due diligence in a quest to make the Blues better. It's a bit surprising considering Saad is coming off the second-best goal scoring season of his career, netting 26 last year to finish tied for fourth on the team with Robert Thomas." Seravalli said.

He added, "However, if you think about it from Armstrong's perspective, this might be the exact time to cash in on Saad with strong value on the market considering the two years remaining on his deal. It's also the same old, same old in St. Louis: Saad has a full �no-trade' clause for one more year, and he also happens to have the same agent as Krug, who blocked a trade last summer with that very clause."

Saad, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, would bring plenty of experience to a contending team next season and is still only 31 (turns 32 on October 27th). This past season was proof that he can still produce at the NHL level after and could be a valuable asset in a middle-six role with some time on the second powerplay unit.

In 82 games this season for the Blues, the Pittsburgh native had 42 points (26 goals, 16 assists), 20 penalty minutes and was a minus-four.

As Doug Armstrong looks for ways to make the Blues better for the 2024-25 season, they'll be a team to watch on the trade and free agent markets. It's an important off-season for the Blues organization as missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs three years in a row would be disastrous. The last time St. Louis missed the playoffs in three straight years was from the 2005-06 to 2007-08 seasons.