NHL Trade Deadline: Chicago Blackhawks Among Central Division Winners

St. Louis Blues: D

Trade made: Traded D Kevin Shattenkirk, G Pheonix Copley to Washington for F Zach Sanford, F Brad Malone, 2017 first-round draft pick, conditional draft picks

Explaining the grade: I get that the Blues wanted to dump Shattenkirk before he became a free agent and they would get nothing for him. But is this really the best package GM Doug Armstrong could obtain?

Shattenkirk was one of your top defensemen, and you had to throw in your starting AHL goaltender to get him off the books? I’m not sure how that isn’t a fleecing.

Malone does nothing for the Blues. Sanford could be an alright piece, but nothing more than bottom-six. If Armstrong and Co. don’t screw up the use of the first-round pick they acquired, then they could still save this trade in some way.

But for now, the Blues look confused as to how they should move on. They didn’t add anything, nor did they sell. For a team sitting in the second wild card spot in the West, that’s a very strange “stand pat.”