One team to keep an eye on over the next seven days is the St. Louis Blues, who have a number of pieces they could part with. The Blues sit seven points back of the Los Angeles Kings for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference and the odds of them climbing back into the race seem slim, which could lead to them selling off multiple pieces next Friday.
While talking about potential trade targets, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman mentioned on the 32 Thoughts podcast that Brandon Saad could be a fit for the Vancouver Canucks.
Saad, 31, has two years remaining on his contract beyond the 2023-24 season with a cap hit of $4.5 million. His contract also includes a no-trade clause in 2024-25 and a modified no-trade clause in 2025-26 which comes with a 12-team no-trade list. Cap wise, it may be tough for the Canucks to add Saad's full salary and may need help from the Blues and potentially a third team to help with retention.
The Pittsburgh native has appeared in 59 games this season for the St. Louis Blues and looks to be well on his way to the seventh 20+ goal season of his National Hockey League career. In those 59 games this season, Saad has 26 points (17 goals, nine assists), 16 penalty minutes and is a minus-11.
Saad has plenty of playoff experience too, which would be very valuable to the Vancouver Canucks. He's played in 103 Stanley Cup Playoff games, winning hockey's greatest trophy twice, which came in 2013 and 2015 as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Do you think the Vancouver Canucks should trade for Brandon Saad? Let us know what you think in the poll below!
POLL | ||
Should the Canucks trade for Brandon Saad? | ||
Yes | 592 | 47.6 % |
No | 652 | 52.4 % |
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