For one side, it was the Manitoba miracle. The other may now view it as the start to misery in Missouri.
The St. Louis Blues take on the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT) for the first time since Cole Perfetti scored a last-second, game-tying goal in Game 7 of the teams’ first-round playoff series in April.
Winnipeg eventually won the game — and the series — thanks to a double-overtime snipe from captain Adam Lowry.
Eight months later, the Blues sit near the bottom of the Western Conference in 12th place with a 12-15-7 record, good for 31 points. Entering Wednesday’s action, St. Louis sat six points out of a wild-card berth and a whopping 14 points back of the Minnesota Wild, who occupy third in a fierce Central Division.
Now, general manager Doug Armstrong says all options are on the table.
“The way the league operates, when we were a highly functioning team, you would call teams that weren’t highly functioning and say, ‘What are you going to do?’ We’re starting to field those calls that we don’t want to field,” Armstrong told reporters on Tuesday, including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic.
“I can’t stop people from calling, and we’re not doing our due diligence if we’re not listening.”
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The Winnipeg Jets face-off with the St. Louis Blues on Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey. Watch the game on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Armstrong — who helmed the Blues to the 2019 Stanley Cup despite sitting last overall midway through the season — added that he must view the situation realistically.
“I’m not doing this to threaten anybody, but as (former NFL coach) Bill Parcells said, ‘You are what you are’ … so everything has to be considered and addressed,” he said.
If the Blues do in fact choose to sell ahead of the March 6 trade deadline, pending free agents include Oskar Sundqvist, Alexey Toropchenko and Mathieu Joseph.
However, potentially bigger returns could come for goalie Jordan Binnington and defenceman Justin Faulk, whose contracts expire after next season. Captain Brayden Schenn has two more seasons left on his deal.
Armstrong said he’d be open to discussing a move with those players, who each have some form of no-trade protection.
“I would want to do what’s right for them, by them, because whatever success I’ve had, big or small, it’s off their backs,” he said.
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Binnington is the franchise leader in games and wins for a goalie, but has endured a rough season, including an .869 save percentage and 3.49 goals-against average.
Still, his pedigree could make him an appealing option for contenders in need of a netminder.
“If he gets to a point where he’s playing his best and we’re not there and he comes to me or we go to him, I understand. That’s part of the business. I don’t view Binnington any different than I view the other guys that I’ve worked with for a long time. Our job is to listen to how other people view us and view them, and respond to that,” Armstrong said.
The general manager said he’d be looking to add to his younger core of players rather than acquiring draft picks in any potential deals.
But he wants full value in any trade.
“We’re not selling 50 cents on the dollar out of anger,” he said.
