Blues Trade Rumors: 3 Trade Candidates On Blueline "Remain In Play"

No-trade protection or not, the St. Louis Blues continue to take calls on two key defenseman plus one other blueliner, as we head down the stretch this week to Friday's trade deadline.

According to the insiders at The Fourth Period, Blues GM Doug Armstrong wants to clear out some cap space on his blueline and is pressing on with plans to explore the market, "evaluating suitors" and determining just exactly what he can get in return for D-men Colton Parayko and Torey Krug, along with Marco Scandella. Both Parayko and Krug have full no-trade clauses. 

The 30-year-old Parayko has a whopping six years left on his contract at $6.5 million annually, while Krug has three more years remaining on his deal, also at that same $6.5 million cap hit. Krug has already wielded the power of his no-trade clause when he blocked a Blues trade to the Philadelphia Flyers last summer.

Three teams are believed to be interested in Parayko, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Calgary Flames.

Scandella represents another $3.275 million hit against the Blues salary cap, though his deal expires after the season.

The Blues also, of course, have one of the top offensive players potentially available this week, in Pavel Buchnevich.

If salary retention is needed on any of these players, Armstrong should be able to do it, as St. Louis still has all three of its retention slots available.

The Blues are still trailing the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators by seven points for one of the two Wild Card spots in the Western Conference, and could be about ready to give up the ghost for this season. 

Photo: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports