Stop trying to trade Colton Parayko

When the St. Louis Blues drafted Colton Parayko in 2012, no one knew what to expect. It was a big body, but the third round picks are anyone’s guess.

When he gave Ken Hitchcock and Doug Armstrong no choice but to keep him on the roster in 2015-16, fans immediately began imagining a future number one right-side defenseman. It’s been an up and down relationship ever since.

As Bleedin’ Blue’s David Crum pointed out, Parayko might actually be undervalued. Then again, when a new player is compared to names like Al MacInnis or Chris Pronger, it will always be difficult to live up to those expectations.

What 2023-24 proved is that Parayko can still be that top-pairing defender. The Blues still probably need to find him a better linemate, but his bounce-back season has shown that the talent is indeed in him.

The offense returned, as Parayko found his scoring form, scoring 10 goals. The assists weren’t quite there, but that’s as much to do with the fact that the Blues had no net traffic for 60% of the season.

Parayko’s defense has regained its form, even improved. He recorded his fourth hit total in a season and set new career highs in blocked shots and takeaways.

So why are fans (and some media) still trying to trade him? The honest answer is that they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Chris Kerber said it best before the 2023 trade deadline, when a large majority of fans were likely on board with taking Parayko away. If you trade a player with his size and intangibles, you immediately look for that kind of player to fill the void.

Parayko is no Pronger, but Pronger is a good example because the Blues have been looking for someone like that since they had to trade the Hall of Famer. It’s just too difficult to find a player of this size who can still move.

Even for fans who want the Blues to completely rebuild, what does the Parayko trade get you? Regardless of your level of enthusiasm for any of the Swedish defenders in the system, none of them currently project to be the next Parayko or better. Even if you have a large number of draft picks, you’re rolling loaded dice thinking you might find your next top-pairing defenseman who will be ready for the NHL in a few seasons. Defenders are like goalkeepers. They take longer to develop, so it’s a much longer project.

Last, but not least, the truth is that fans just don’t really know what makes a good defender most of the time. I include myself there sometimes.

The hot name of the last few offseasons was Jakob Chychrun. His career high is 18 goals and 41 points, eight goals and six points better than Parayko’s best. Is it really worth the extra $2-3 million Chychrun could get when his team-friendly deal expires in 2025?

Chychrun isn’t as physical and Blues fans are already complaining about Parayko’s lack of physicality. He doesn’t block as many shots, doesn’t cause as many takedowns, and at 6’2, he’s actually smaller.

Trading Parayko does not solve any problems. On the contrary, it provokes more. The Blues are already small with guys like Torey Krug and Scott Perunovich getting minutes regularly. Justin Faulk is doing his best, but at 6 feet tall, he can only do so much. This is no longer the addition by subtraction we thought it might be when so many were on board to trade Parayko when he was injured.

Some might wonder where this idea comes from. I didn’t pull it out of the ether. Even now I regularly see posts from fans on social media wondering what the Blues could get. Even rumors continue to discuss the idea, with all the teams mentioned having nothing of interest in return.

If the Blues have managed to strengthen their defensive corps, it’s fantastic. Trading your best player, who at worst is a top-tier second-pairing defenseman, is just ridiculous.

You can’t replace that with just anyone. The Blues have already proven this when Krug never had a real chance of succeeding by having to live up to replacement Alex Pietrangelo.

Stop thinking Parayko is replaceable and stop thinking anyone named Tkachuk is worth trading for any additional defensive help. The Blues need to slowly start adding to what they have, not just trying to swap bodies, especially a 6’6 defenseman who can skate and has shown he can even keep up with Connor McDavid when He is in good health.