NHL Rumors: Nashville Predators, and the St. Louis Blues

Andrew Brunette is confident he’ll be back, and Jonathan Marchessault owns his bad year

Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean: Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette is confident that he’ll be back next season as head coach, regardless of who they bring in as GM.

Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault said that he wasn’t a positive person this year and was in a poor “head space,” and owns that his play didn’t help the Predators.

“But I’m aware that if I play the way I played this year, I’m not going to bring any team to the playoffs. You’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror. There’s guys that made a difference this year, and there’s guys that didn’t make a difference. I didn’t make a difference this year.”

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There are bound to be some St. Louis Blues players in the rumor mill again this offseason, but they may not be on the move … They could look to move up in the draft

Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic: St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas was in the rumor mill before the deadline. Could the rumors pick up again this offseason, or will they hold on to him? Doug Armstrong:

“Some of these trade talks … are a little bit of fabrication. They start out, and all of a sudden they get legs, and they go, and they go, and they go, and they never stop. The cost of acquiring someone of Robert Thomas’ talent is extremely high. I don’t think anyone values Robert Thomas more in the NHL than Doug Armstrong values Robert Thomas in the NHL. So, if he was available, the reason he’s here is because I value him higher than anyone else.”

Alexander Steen is taking over from Rutherford as GM, and said there are a lot of conversations that will need to happen.

Defenseman Colton Parayko and goaltender Jordan Binnington were also in the rumor mill, with Parayko nixing a trade to the Buffalo Sabres. Binnington owns a 14-team no-trade clause and Armstrong’s comments about needing two good goaltenders lead you to believe Binnington is staying.

Forward Jordan Kyrou has a full no-trade clause and said he wants to stay.

Forward Dylan Holloway is a pending RFA. He wants to stay in St. Louis for a long time, and he’s confident something will get done.

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Before the draft lottery, the Blues hold the No. 11 pick, No. 15 (Detroit) , and No. 31 (Colorado). Armstrong on the idea of trading up in the draft:

“Yes, we would — we can use the picks, we can use prospects, we can use players. We’ll give it our best chance. But you also have to have someone that wants to move out of that pick, and that’s where the fly in the ointment sometimes comes in.”

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