The St. Louis Blues acquired center Brayden Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for center Jori Lehtera, the No. 27 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and a conditional first-round pick, the teams announced Friday.
Blues acquire Brayden Schenn from Flyers in draft day trade
The Flyers receive Johi Lehtera and a pair of draft picks from St. Louis.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
The Flyers used the No. 27 overall pick to select Morgan Frost from the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Schenn, 25, gives the Blues an immediate upgrade at center. He’s recorded 25-plus goals in back-to-back seasons with the Flyers, and joins a veteran group looking to make another deep playoff run next season. St. Louis is clearly making this move with the short-term in mind.
That’s because the Flyers extracted a high price for losing Schenn. They get an immediate (albeit worse) replacement in Lehtera, plus a good prospect in Frost and another pick that could end up being a first-rounder.
One benefit for the Blues is that Schenn’s contract is only marginally more expensive than Lehtera’s. Schenn has a $5.125 million cap hit for three more seasons. Lehtera has a $4.7 million cap hit for two more seasons. So the Blues gave up a couple picks to get the superior of two players on similar deals.
Lehtera recorded 22 points in 64 games with St. Louis last season. It’s the second straight year his numbers have declined since a 44-point rookie season. The Flyers will be hoping that he can rebound on a team that’s looking to make the playoffs after drafting Nolan Patrick with the No. 2 overall pick.
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