Barkov is Finnish lol, but that's about the package it would take. IMO Barkov is close to untouchable.

We could split hairs because Barkov’s father is Russian and Barkov has duel citizenship with Russia and Finland.

Parayko should not be traded for anyone not named Draisatl.
Doug Armstrong has effectively said that Kyrou and Thomas will not be traded.
Thompson I would deal for the right return, perhaps packaged with a 1st, a defensive prospect, and a roster player for a center. But the Blues didn't deal him for Hoffman, before all his drama hit the fan, and the Blues really wanted Hoffman at the time. Unlikely Thompson goes anywhere.
Kostin might be expendable in the right situation, but he hasn't really established his value yet.
Barkov, while great, would not be worth the assets he would cost.
Gunnarsson is on IR, not sure he can be traded. J-Bo will likely be back in time to start the season. No way you get full value cap relief on his contract.
Why waste Kovalchuk on LW? We need right hand shooters on the right side, desperately.
I think there are better options than Vanek.
And why would Carlson sign with the Blues, just to play second fiddle to Pietrangelo? He's going to want to go somewhere he'll be guaranteed 1st line minutes.

It’s more of a daydream scenario than a real one. Didn’t the Blues trade for a D that was on the IR a couple of years ago? I know contracts can’t be bought out when they’re on the IR but I believe they can be traded.

Lol no where near close to the package to get Barkov and he is untouchable. He is a top 5 center in the entire league, I’ll play along and any trade for him with the Blues would most definitely involve Vlad to start.

I guess so, but Parayko is an elite rhd, and Kyrou, Thompson, and the first rounder are all attractive pieces. If that package is "nowhere close" than he really is untouchable.

Why would FLA give up their 1C for stuff they don’t need or could acquire without moving Barkov?

Again, this is just a wishful thinking scenario. Florida isn’t trading Barkov.

That said, you’ll have to enlighten me as to the details of how easily Florida could get a top prospect like Kyrou, a 1st round player in Thompson, a 1st round pick, and a RHD better than Ekblad.

To make your assumption even more difficult is the fact Florida’s GM Talon has to be among the lowest tier of NHL GM’s. Talon went to the same school of GM’s as Bergevin and Chiarelli.

Talon has made some eyebrow raising decisions and others that were terribad. His latest goof was deciding to keep 4 forwards and 4 defensemen in the lottery draft. He managed to give Marchessault away for free because 30 goal scorers grow on trees. He then traded another top 6 forward in Smith for a whopping 4th round pick.

He decided to do this to protect the glorious defense including Petrovic and Pysyk. It’s been reported this offseason by McKenzie that Petrovic is on the trade block. That would complete Talon’s genius.

Are you claiming parayko is better than Ekblad?

Parayko is better than Ekblad. Me making the statement doesn’t make it true. It’s true because he is.

Here’s a poll where opinions favored Parayko almost 2 to 1.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/parayko-vs-ekblad.2493399/

Obviously opinions don’t make something a fact. I’m just providing data to show it’s clearly not a surprise that someone would think Parayko > Ekblad.

Oh...a pill from a bunch of nobodies must make it true! It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the amount of coverage a team like STL has compared to a team like FLA. No way that would sway people’s opinions!

Perhaps your reading comprehension isn’t the greatest. I literally said:

“Obviously opinions don’t make something a fact. I’m just providing data to show it’s clearly not a surprise that someone would think Parayko > Ekblad “

Most of the voters in that poll were from neutral fans. Ekblad being the 1st overall pick gives him a lot more exposure to hockey fans than Parayko. The Blues are far from a team like Toronto, Chicago, or Pittsburgh that the NHL can’t cover enough. Your narrative doesn’t hold water.

“Most of the poll was from neutral fans”...again nobodies! Ekblad is younger, has played more seasons and doesn’t need a d partner to help prop him up.

Who is Parayko’s partner that is propping him up?

You have yet to provide one single fact that would make Ekblad better. Ekblad is three years younger. Ages 22 vs 25 isn’t an argument for saying any defenseman is better than another. Parayko has paired with Edmundson, Dunn, and Gunnarsson. Are you saying it’s one of those 3 that are propping up Parayko?

You’re not using anything logical. You call 150 people who voted in the poll, that follow hockey close enough they take part in the biggest hockey forums on the internet nobody’s. Yet you are a the same nobody here giving no data, stats, or facts to argue why Ekblad > Parayko. Do you not see the hypocrisy?

The fact that your reading comprehension is lacking at best points to you are most likely a kid and the reasoning behind any opinion you have is “just because” lol

I’m pretty sure I’m done with our conversation but it’s painful to call it that lol

Interesting that Parayko didn’t have as good a year as he has had and maybe that is because he wasn’t sheltered this year with Bouw’s injuries and Shattenkirk gone.. Ekblad carries whoever he plays with.

I do love how you have given no evidence to Parayko being better though other than a poll on a forum.

Parayko had 35 points in both of the last 2 seasons. You’ll have to explain in some other manner than saying Parayko regressed last year. Parayko has better offensive numbers and advanced stats than Ekblad. He’s accomplished this while having the majority of his zone starts in the D zone vs the O zone. Contrary to Ekblad who gets the majority of his zone starts in the offensive zone.

Good luck with this guy. He thinks credible sources are a bunch of hockey writers from 2014 who thought Wayne Simmonds was one of the best Penalty Killers in the league. The writers never mentioned Couturier, Bergeron, Kopitar or pretty much every other strong Penalty Killer that is well known.