If the Blues were to acquire Howard, they’d need to move Allen
Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: TSNs Darren Dreger noted earlier this week that the St. Louis Blues had been watching Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard.
Dreger mentions blues prospects Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, but that seems like a lot for a rental.
Jake Allen‘s name isn’t mentioned by Dreger as part of any potential deal, but it may not make sense for the Blues to bring in a goalie like Howard without moving Allen. Especially when looking look at taking on a salary like Howard’s.
Howard is a pending UFA with a $5.29 million cap hit. Allen has two years left at a $4.35 million cap hit. The Red Wings don’t have a lot of salary cap space either.
Blues GM Doug Armstrong wouldn’t respond when asked about trade rumors.
Red Wings not in a rush to make a move
Chris Nichols of Nichols on Hockey: Bob McKenzie was on NBCSN and was asked the Detroit Red Wings could look at making some trades.
McKenzie notes that there is no rush and things have gone well for the Red Wings so far. They aren’t a playoff team but seem to be moving in the right direction.
They have $25 million coming off the books this season and $15 million next year, so they could try to add some players through free agency.
McKenzie continues that they don’t have any pressure to trade Jimmy Howard and expiring contract. It’s possible that they try to re-sign him, but if they are offered some “blue-chip prospects” it could change things.
“Gustav Nyquist is another player who’s on an expiring contract. They’ve got lots of good young wingers. They’re going to wait and see what happens with Nyquist and see where they’re at. I think this is something that’ll happen much more in the second half of the season than in the first half of the season, when teams start looking around for adding that rental player that can make a difference offensively. They may get some offers on Nyquist. And again, they’ll consider then whether it’s better to trade him or find out what it’s going to cost to re-sign him and maybe go err on the side of the rebuild, as opposed to re-signing your own guys.”
