The St. Louis Blues apparently want to make it publicly known that they’re interested in moving up in the 2017 NHL Draft. The Blues currently hold two picks in the first round, the 20th and 27th overall selections, and are willing to make a deal to move up at the cost of either both current first-round picks or some combo of other draft picks.
Here’s Doug Armstrong’s take on the situation via NHL.com.
“We are considering moving up. We’ve talked to some teams that are in an area where they think they might want to move back and grab either two first-round picks or one of our firsts and our second-round pick, depending on how far we move up.
There are a couple of players we have our eye on.”
Why would the team announce their plans so publicly? Are the Blues trying to stir up interest by intentionally revealing their plans? Or perhaps put pressure on an interested team by making the matter more public? It’s an odd move.
Armstrong made it extremely clear that he’s excited about his current picks, but is more than willing to move up.
“We’re excited about picks No. 20, 27 and 51. We think we’re going to get really good players there, but if there’s a way to move up and get a player that we deem of real value, (we might).”
Of course, this move could backfire pretty spectacularly. While there’s no reason to think Armstrong’s comments are news to any NHL GMs, it’s possible his comments might drive the price up for one of the higher picks in the first round.
It’s unclear who the Blues might be targeting, but it’s rare to hear Armstrong speaking quite so bluntly about moving up in the draft. If the Blues decide to move, let’s hope it doesn’t cost a fortune. Given Armstrong’s recent record of overpaying, specifically when it comes to contracts, there’s a legitimate fear that he may make a similar mistake in a draft which isn’t exactly stocked with intriguing options.
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