Though free agency begins in just a couple days, the Blues have been making moves in order to ensure a competitive team. After acquiring Chris Mason as a solid backup for Nabokov, the Blues have acquired defensive stalwart Dan Boyle for their blueline.
Though it is officially two trades, both were done with Los Angeles, gone is youngster Joe Pavelski, veteran pest Matt Cooke, prospect Andrej Fiala and StL 6th in 2009. In return the Blues acquired Dan Boyle, Ben Maxwell, Stefan Liv, Matt Hunwick and Chicago's 3rd round pick in the upcoming draft.
"We were always targeting Boyle in our negiotiations, as it happened the Los Angeles GM felt seller's remorse in trading us T.J. Hensick. Luckily, he was more receptive in trading us Boyle who we feel can provide Sergei [Gonchar] with a solid all-round game with a right-handed shot. Danny will be seeing PP and PK time, though we haven't decided whether to split the two up and pair them with more defensively minded defensemen."
As it stands, the Blues roster are lacking two forwards, something that GM Evans is looking to rectify, possibly through free agency. As it stands though, the current lineup for the Blues is:
Gonchar - Boyle Klesla - Clark Gleason - Preissing
Nabokov Mason
With the acquisition of Boyle, Van Ryn is now on the market and will be considering offers on him. Preferably, I would like to package Van Ryn with Hamilton to get an upgrade on forward, but will also consider prospects/picks in exchange.
