The Blues have a pretty solid situation on defense. Even with Kevin Shattenkirk recovering from an injury, the Blues have a defensive unit which has evolved with the infusion of some young talent in Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson. With Parayko and Edmundson proving themselves at the NHL level, the Blues may have the option to trade away a spare defenseman while the market is mostly hot. The first name which immediately comes to mind is Carl Gunnarsson.
Gunnarsson has received a ton of heat from Blues fans this year. A lot of it has been deserved, but some of it has been a bit overly harsh. In reality, plenty of teams in the NHL would take on Gunnarsson as he’d represent an upgrade over what they’re currently rolling out.
This thought was echoed by Elliotte Friedman:
“A couple of defencemen to watch as the season progresses: St. Louis’s Carl Gunnarsson and Carolina’s Ryan Murphy.
Gunnarsson gained time with Kevin Shattenkirk’s injury, but is the Blues fourth defenceman right now, behind Jay Bouwmeester, Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo. If Parayko can keep it up, you wonder if Gunnarsson would be available. He’s a free agent next summer.”
One injury could scrap this whole idea, but for now, the Blues have the option to trade away a defenseman while the market is looking for one. Gunnarsson is the obvious choice as the Blues have the depth and young talent to sustain subtracting him from the roster.
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