NHL Rumors: St. Louis Blues open to trade several key players including Brayden Schenn

We are just nine days away from the NHL trade deadline and it's starting to sound like the St. Louis Blues are the team to keep an eye on.

St. Louis (27-26-6) currently sits in sixth place in the Central division with 60 points, four behind the Calgary Flames (64 points) for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

The Vancouver Canucks (63 points) and Utah Hockey Club (61 points) also stand between them and a playoff position.

General manager Doug Armstrong has made it known that he's not thrilled with his team's performance this season, and it seems as if he's ready to take action.

NHL insider David Pagnotta of the 'Fourth Period' spoke about the state of the St. Louis Blues ahead of the deadline on "Leafs Morning Take." He was asked specifically about the Maple Leafs' interest in Brayden Schenn.

"They like him. I believe he's on the radar. Trickier type of move, given the term dollars that are tied to it. St Louis is willing to listen on almost anybody right now. So the Blues have kind of let things be known that if you have interest in one of our players, we'll make a move," Pagnotta said.

"So whether it's Schenn, Kyrou or something bigger, Buchnevich has his extension kicking in July 1. I know there's a lot of talk of Binnington, for some reason, but he's got a substantial no-trade. So, we'll see kind of where that ends up going if anybody goes in that direction, but they're willing to listen on pretty much everybody, including Brayden Schenn," he added.

He also said:

"But yeah, he's got, he's got a few more years on that contract in that six million range. So, it's going to be tricky for Toronto to navigate that right now this season, unless there's retention, which I don't know really, if that's something St Louis is interested in. And B, just the acquisition cost for it.

"If Toronto is going to make a bigger splash, and this would be considered in the bigger splash category, they're going to have to give up one of their more prized young kids, and I think they're willing to do that, but I don't know necessarily if that's something that they're willing to do right now, because I don't know if they have the capability of pulling it off financially with the cap," Pagnotta added.

Brayden Schenn is in the fifth season of an eight-year, $52,000,000 contract with the St. Louis Blues. The 33-year-old remains a productive middle-six forward, having produced 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 59 games this season.

Nick Kypreos' recent trade board included many intriguing players from the St. Louis Blues

Five St. Louis Blues players were listed among the 27 players on Sportsnet NHL insider Nick Kypreos' most recent trade board released on Wednesday.

Jordan Binnington, Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko are all reportedly in play ahead of the trade deadline. While Kypreos mentions it will take big-time offers to pry any of these players away from St. Louis, GM Doug Armstrong is open for business and won't be hanging up the phone.

All five of these players have terms on their contracts, making them much more appealing to other teams. Fans should certainly keep an eye on how things play out in St. Louis over the next week-and-a-half.

Despite all of the rumors, the St. Louis Blues will continue to push for a playoff spot when they're back in action on Thursday night, facing the Washington Capitals. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at Capital One Arena.