The Blues may be looking to keep some grit in their lineup. On Thursday, St. Louis Blues beat writer Jeremy Rutherford told The Bernie Miklasz Show that the team might be looking to protect Ryan Reaves in the seventh forward spot for the expansion draft.
The Blues may protect Ryan Reaves as the team’s seventh forward for the expansion draft, per report
St. Louis has some hard decisions to make before the expansion draft.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
St. Louis is no doubt protecting offensive standouts in Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, and Alex Steen. However, protecting Reaves would leave David Perron, Jori Lehtera, Kyle Brodziak, and Dmitrij Jaskin exposed in the expansion draft.
It’s seems surprising the Blues would use a protection spot on Reaves, who has a career-high of 13 points and is more well known for his time spent in the penalty box than his offensive acumen. Reaves doesn’t seem like the type of player Vegas would draft, as there are more high-value targets to go after on the Blues.
Perron is one such target, as he put up 46 points last year in 82 games. The 29-year-old also has a modified no-trade clause, but under the rules of the expansion draft Perron can be exposed.
Losing a player under 30 like Perron, Lehtera, or Jaskin seems unwise for the Blues, especially if they are losing them for nothing. Even more so that the four players in question bring more to the Blues offense than Reaves.
When the protection lists roll out on Sunday, Blues fans might have a lot to talk about.
See More:
