Blues Defenseman Marco Scandella Becoming Trade Candidate

The St. Louis Blues have gotten off to a surprising start to the 2023-24 season. Many expected them to struggle a bit all season long without as much elite scoring and underwhelming defense and goaltending last season. While the scoring hasn't been there, Jordan Binnington has come out of the gate flying.

Many don't believe that the Blues will be a favourite to make the playoffs by the time the trade deadline rolls around. Even earlier than that, I think that they need to think about trying to trade a defenseman. The top-four isn't going anywhere this season, but their options for the fifth and sixth spots in the lineup include Marco Scandella, Tyler Tucker, Scott Perunovich, Robert Bortuzzo, and Calle Rosen.

Despite strong performances every time Rosen is in the lineup, he is in the AHL right now. The Blues don't want to risk losing Tucker or Perunovich on waivers, so they are going to stay. While I think sending Bortuzzo down to the AHL is an easier fix, he's still someone under contract, declining, and would be difficult to move.

It won't necessarily be easy to move Scandella, but teams get injuries and a solid third pairing defenseman can be attractive at the right time. He is a UFA at the end of the season, so there's no commitment for the team acquiring him. The Blues can retain cap since I don't think anyone will be willing to take on his $3.275 million AAV contract. The Blues have a lot of mid-level talent. If they want to compete again, they will have to fix that somehow. It starts with a contract like Scandella's where the team has options to easily replace him internally.