The NHL’s Western Conference powers are muscling up for the postseason push.
The Vegas Golden Knights will plug elite center Jack Eichel into their starting lineup Wednesday. Eichel, acquired earlier this season from the hapless Buffalo Sabres, has finally recovered from neck surgery.
The streaking Calgary Flames sent first- and fifth-round draft picks plus winger prospect Emil Heineman and spare forward Tyler Pitlick to the Montreal Canadiens Monday for former 30-goal scorer Tyler Toffoli.
Meanwhile the Colorado Avalanche are sending “all-in” signals around the league, triggering speculation about Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux. They might also beef up their blue line and add some insurance in goal.
All of this provides Blues general manager Doug Armstrong food for thought as he evaluates his team’s postseason potential.
The Blues’ defense needs bolstering. Young Niko Mikkola could become a shutdown defender, but he remains in development.
Given that unfinished business and the inconsistencies of Marco Scandella and Colton Parayko, the Blues could use another sturdy veteran defenseman.
So you can expect the ever-aggressive Armstrong to make an upgrade ahead of the league’s March 21 trade deadline.
But while the Blues seemed destined for postseason play again this season, they don’t merit “all in” support from Armstrong. That reality, plus the organization’s shallow prospect pool, could limit the price he is willing to pay for mere short-term help.
The Blues have a good team transitioning toward an even better team as forwards Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas blossom. They should target longer-term help for their blue line while reconfiguring their nucleus.
Young Scott Perunovich offers considerable upside for the defensive corps, but his skills are somewhat redundant with Torey Krug. The Blues need an additional stay-at-home defender to fit with Parayko, Krug, Mikkola and Justin Faulk for the next several years.
Making major moves is easier to do in the offseason, when teams can realign their rosters and create salary cap flexibility.
Armstrong got a head start on that process during the All-Star break. He locked in gritty Robert Bortuzzo with an extension that would allow him to fill his familiar No. 6/No. 7 defenseman role at the right price for two more seasons.
He gave extensions to bulldozing winger prospect Alexei Toropchenko and spare forward Logan Brown. Along with Jake Neighbours, Dakota Joshua and Klim Kostin, they could add low-cost options to the bottom two forward lines.
Finding affordable internal solutions should make it easier to clear some forward salary while shopping for significant defensive help.
Could the Blues make an in-season move that fills both the near-term and longer-term defensive need? Sure, but it will be tough to secure the defensive equivalent of Toffoli — who carries a moderate $4.25 million cap hit for two seasons beyond this one — before the deadline.
Jakob Chychrun of the Arizona Coyotes meets that criteria, since he carries a manageable $4.6 million cap hit for the next three seasons. But the bidding for him is intense.
Armstrong could make a stopgap move by adding a rental defenseman for a moderate price, then he could make a more significant move in the summer while refreshing his roster.
David Perron and Tyler Bozak could become unrestricted free agents. Vladimir Tarasenko could revisit his trade request. Armstrong could move one of his mid-priced veteran forwards.
However the Blues play this during the season, they will have their hands full down the stretch with their playoff-bound rivals loading up.
Eichel will add 100-point scoring potential to an already loaded Golden Knights lineup. For now, though, the team will store winger Mark Stone on long-term injured reserve to create the needed cap space.
“Our group is excited,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “Unfortunately, we still don’t have our whole group together with Mark going out ... but we’re excited and I think when you see (Eichel) in practice over the last three weeks, you see the potential he can add to our group.”
The Avalanche see the Golden Knights as a primary obstacle in their Cup quest, so you can expect general manager Joe Sakic to respond between now and the deadline.
After this season, the salary cap crunch will take a toll on the Colorado roster, so now is the time for the ‘Lanche to go for it. Land-hoarding recluse Stan Kroenke wants another big trophy.
Meanwhile the Flames made a preemptive strike by landing Toffoli, who flourished under Flames coach Darryl Sutter during their time in Los Angeles.
Toffoli will help Calgary, which carried a six-game winning streak into their game against Columbus Tuesday, take a run at the Golden Knights in the Pacific Division.
“We’ve got a long ways to go yet, but you do take your cues from the team,” Flames general manager Brad Treveling said. “The players have done their job. It was time for me to do mine, and part of that is giving them some help.”
One way or another Armstrong will do the same for the Blues.
