Ahead of the NHL roster freeze that begins on Dec. 20, there has been a flurry of trade action around the league in recent weeks, with another high-profile player being moved on Saturday.
As the Blues look to maintain wild-card status in the Western Conference, general manager Doug Armstrong cited the reason for exploring the trade as an effort to relieve the burden on the team’s top four defensemen – Colton Pareko , Justin Faulk, Ryan Suter and Flip Broberg are all averaging over 21 minutes per game, while Nick Leddy has suffered another recent setback after missing time with an injury since mid-October.
It wasn’t long before Fowler joined his new team. He was in the lineup in Saturday night’s 2-1 overtime loss to Dallas and played 17 minutes, 57 seconds of the second pair of games. His playing time is sure to increase from here on out.
You might ask: Why would a “rebuilding” team like the Blues bring in a 33-year-old defender with one year left on his contract?
St. Louis isn’t looking to compete to the bottom of the standings for early draft picks. Instead, Armstrong is trying to remain somewhat competitive with his team — and if we’ve seen one thing from rebuilding in places like Ottawa and Buffalo that have hit rock bottom, sometimes that’s the hardest thing for a team to do. It’s about breaking out of the cycle of failure and super low expectations.
“What we’re trying to do is stay competitive and give these guys an environment where they can grow and not be like (Dalibor) Dworski, or (Theo) Lindan, or (Otto) Steinberg And some guys push our young guys that way and we’re building around those guys,” Armstrong said after the trade. “We’re trying to do some things and then you draft these guys, but it doesn’t make them ready any faster. They’re going to be ready three or four years after the draft and we’ve been ready for a year and a half now.
“I understand people are going to say ‘no, not to the bottom,’ but that’s not the way we’re built and we don’t think it’s good for our organization. Seven, eight, nine years in the bottom two, three years or fourth in the league. It’s difficult and I think we can try to find a different way to do it.”
The Blues are indeed in a state of “reform on the fly”. Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas are the team’s leading scorers in their 20s, while 22-year-old Jake Neighbors is trying to match his 27-goal mark a year ago. ball. Broberg and Dylan Holloway, both on the offseason offer sheet, have emerged as key contributors, and even 24-year-old backup goaltender Joel Hofer has shown flashes.
Well, Fowler is a stabilizing force on their blue line this season and next. Anaheim also retained some salary, so Fowler’s salary hit $4 million above St. Louis’ salary cap — a perfectly manageable number.
Meanwhile, in Anaheim, clearing Fowler gives them better draft capital, but mostly opens the door for the young left-shooting guard to play more games and have more talent. More playing time and more experience. Fowler’s emergence has begun to disrupt Anaheim’s plans for the left-shooting blue line, and they will be an important part of the team as it completes its complete rebuild.
With more news on Saturday’s transfers, we asked our scout Jason Bukala.
It’s been an interesting few weeks in Anaheim. The Ducks recently acquired veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers and traded their longest-tenured player, defenseman Cam Fowler, to St. Louis Blues.
Here’s my scouting analysis of the Blues-Ducks trade:
What the Blues Got in Cam Fowler
Fowler is averaging 21 minutes per game for the Ducks this season, down from 24:30 last year. He has appeared in just 17 games after missing time due to injury, but his role on the power play has diminished and his scoring has declined as a result. Fowler has only four assists for the Ducks this season, compared to his total of 15G-72A in the previous two seasons. The Blues will look to Fowler to make plays on offense and help improve their 26th-ranked power play (16.9%).
Critics of the trade were quick to judge Fowler’s defensive numbers. They haven’t looked pretty (lost by 66 points in Anaheim’s final 180 games), but the Ducks are in the process of a complete rebuild, and Fowler has never faced a weak opponent on defense. When Anaheim was in Toronto last Thursday, Fowler was tasked with checking in on the Maple Leafs’ top six forwards on every shift. In my opinion, his defensive metrics are misleading.
The pace of NHL games has never been faster. Fowler continues to show high-end skating ability. He plays the ball very quickly and has the skills to move the puck quickly and efficiently. He can push play up the ice with the puck on his stick or add a rush as an extra layer of support. Even though he is 33 years old, I don’t feel like his pace has slowed down.
With the Ducks retaining Fowler’s $2.5 million contract, the Blues get a very useful veteran defender at an affordable price. Fowler’s salary cap hit for the Blues is $4 million, which isn’t bad for a player who could eventually become the Blues’ quarterback and skate more than 21 minutes per game.
St. Louis averages just 2.58 goals per game, ranking 27th in the league. If they want to stay competitive in the playoffs (the Blues are currently four points out of a wild-card spot), they need to find a way to generate more offense.
The addition of Fowler is likely to create better results for the team.
Anaheim focuses more on youth after trading Fowler
The Ducks are clearly challenging their young defensive core to improve their role and gain valuable experience. Player development at the NHL level, especially defensemen, is a delicate process. It’s vital to stay the course and not try to change the things different players are good at, thereby diluting the qualities they display.
Anaheim has some really good parts to build on its back end.
Jackson Lacombe and Pavel Mintyukov are versatile two-way backs. Olen Zellweger is expected to be more of a transition defensive player and will provide quarterback play on the Ducks’ power play for years to come.
They can all provide varying degrees of offense, and each shoots to the left — with Fowler (also a left-hander) out of the picture, more opportunities abound.
Anaheim also acquired the rights to 6-foot-4, 203-pound right-shooting defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka, a 22-year-old currently playing in the ECHL , plays for the Florida Everblades. I broke down some tape of Biakka Butuka and found a player who wasn’t shy about joining the rush and directing the puck in front of the net. His size is an advantage, but his agility against speed is average. Sometimes he needs to move the puck out of the defensive zone quicker. I appreciate his efforts. He plays, but his ceiling appears to be that of a potential minor league depth prospect who could spend some time in the AHL.
