The St. Louis Blues may be looking to make their next major change. A new report from TSN insider Darren Dreger suggests the Blues are keeping a close eye on goaltender Jimmy Howard.
The report of the Blues keeping an eye on the trade market for a new goalie shouldn’t be surprising. Jake Allen has played better of late, but his reliability is a serious area of concern. Chad Johnson hasn’t done enough to prove he can handle any role outside of being a backup.
Could the Blues even afford to make this trade? Despite Howard playing in the final year of his current contract, the Red Wings should be able to demand a steep price. They’d likely want one of the Blues’ top prospects – Dreger mentions Robert Thomas or Jordan Kyrou as a point of reference – in any deal where they’d give up Howard.
Whether or not the Blues should trade for Howard or any goaltender might be a better question. It’s difficult to fairly analyze the team’s goaltending this season given how bad the defense has been in front of them. There’s no question that Allen and Johnson have left a lot to be desired. They have mostly failed to make the big save when it matters most. But, and this is a very important point to note, the defense is giving up Grade A chances on a regular basis. That’s a problem the Blues need to figure out before considering any big changes in goal.
Giving up talented prospects for something that may not solve the overall problem could be a long-term misstep.
Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Here, this scenario feels a lot like the days before the Ryan Miller trade. We all know how well that worked out.
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