Paul Stastny Traded To Winnipeg For Picks, Prospect Hours Ahead Of NHL Trade Deadline

St. Louis native Paul Statsny, in his fourth season as a member of the Blues, was traded today to the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets will sent a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft and Erik Foley to St. Louis for Stastny.

Now 32 years old, the St. Louis Blues signed Stastny back in July 2014 to a 4-year, $28 million contract. The left-handed center was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche and entered the NHL in 2006. He played eight seasons in Colorado and amassed 458 points in 538 regular season games.

The trade was announced just hours before the NHL trade deadline of 2 pm today.

Stastny was one of the hottest free agents in the 2014 off-season. The signing of the hometown kid was seen as a positive move by most Blues fans.

Stastny’s Blues career largely failed to live up to the promise, ending with 56 goals and 119 assists over 267 regular season games. He ended four of his first eight NHL seasons with 60 or more points, but failed to tally more than 49 in a season for the Blues.

Stastny was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

Trade Analysis From Blues.com And ESPN

John Kelly and Andy Strickland analyzed the trade in a video posted the the Blues’ website.

 

Greg Wyshynski and Emily Kaplan talked about the traded in a video posted by ESPN.

Peter, Paul And Yan Stastny Make Franchise History

Paul Stastny grew up in St. Louis by virtue of of father ending his own NHL career with the Blues. Peter Stastny played 977 NHL games over 16 seasons, including 23 in St. Louis during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. The elder Stastny scored 450 goals over his NHL career and recorded 1,239 points. Only Wayne Gretzky scored points points than Peter in the 1980s.

Peter Stastny was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998. He was also named one of the 100 greatest NHL players in 2016 by the league.

Paul’s older brother, Yan Stastny, played 40 games for the St. Louis Blues between 2007-2010 and still plays professionally overseas.

Three other father-son duos have played for the Blues in franchise history, but the Stastnys are the only family to have two sons as well as the father don the Bluenote.

Who Is Erik Foley?

The prospect acquired by the Blues today is 20-year old winger Erik Foley. Foley was drafted by the Jets in the third round of the 2015 NHL draft with the 78th overall pick. He plays his college hockey at Providence College and represented the United States at the 2017 World Junior Championships.

Foley was said to be impressive in the camp leading up to the WJC and ultimately recorded 1 assist in six games for Team USA during the tournament. Team USA beat Canada in a shootout to take home the Gold Medal in the tournament.

Bucci Mane thinks fans in St. Louis will love Foley.

 

Hey @StLouisBlues fans, you got Erik Foley (of Providence College) in that @PaulyWalnuts26 trade with @NHLJets. He’s a Bull in a China shop. Takes it to net and can’t be stopped. Can score from outside tops of circles with release. Great hands. pic.twitter.com/ONR8CXfWxU

— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) February 26, 2018

Along with Foley comes two draft picks, which both are conditional. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch laid out those conditions. 

Blues Marred In Slump After Early Hot Start

After a hot start to the season, the St. Louis Blues currently sit in fifth place in the Central Division. The team has lost six games in a row and currently has a record of 34-35-4 with fewer than 20 games remaining in the regular season.

If the playoffs started today, the Blues players would be booking tee times instead of looking forward to more hockey this season. The team currently trails the Calgary Flames by a single point.

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