NHL Rumors: Blues' Defenceman Will Be Dealt By Trade Deadline

The St. Louis Blues have fallen pretty hard from last season where they got elite level goaltending from Ville Husso and having nine 20-goal scorers to a team that is sitting on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. This means they have to be going over their options as the trade deadline looms.

Elliotte Friedman emphasized, "(Niko) Mikkola is a solid depth player and he can play nasty." Some people told Freidman that Mikkola, along with a few others, are definitely going to be moved. But he also had people tell him that the Blues aren't convinced yet that they are ready to do anything. They may want to see this play out farther. This news comes before Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly go on the injured reserve which will last four to six weeks.

Mikkola is a 26-year-old defenceman and is a UFA after the season. He has a good cap hit of $1.9 million this season and as Friedman said, he has nastiness to him. That is what teams are looking for in the playoffs as the game gets much tighter checking and everyone is finishing their checks.

Mikkola is currently playing on the top pairing while Torey Krug is out, and Mikkola will stay there for a while. This should raise the asking price if the Blues are going to move him. Typically, he is a third pairing defenceman who will block shots, hit, and fight. He is also more relied on this season on the penalty kill due to his style of play. He only has two assists in 36 games, but teams are not looking at him to be in on the scoring.