Players remain focused on task at hand as trade deadline nears

Having no control over personnel decisions, Blues aim to keep moving 

forward in thick of Western Conference playoff race with Feb. 26 date looming

By LOU KORAC
HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- The Blues know what time of year it is.

Heck, so do 30 other teams.

It's that time of year where the pretenders become sellers and those that think they are contenders, wonder if there's a piece or pieces that can alter their landscape that gives them the best opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues center Brayden Schenn said players have no

control over personnel decisions and will focus on

what they have.

The Blues (43-22-4), tied for third place in the Central Division but holding down the first wildcard in the Western Conference and bunched up with a slew of other conference contenders, are no different.

The NHL Trade Deadline is six days away on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. (CT), and a team desperate to try and find a forward to play in the top six, the Blues have been linked to a number of potential players rumored to be available on the market.

But as they prepare for a pivotal game against the San Jose Sharks (32-19-8) on Tuesday, it was business as usual.

"You have zero control over it unless you have a full no-move clause, which most guys don't or not many guys do," said Blues center Brayden Schenn, who was traded to the Blues on June 23, 2017. "It's one of those things where you can read things or you don't know what to believe, what not to believe, whether guys are talking with their agents or whatever, but at the end of the day, you have zero control of where you're going or what's going to happen. You can look into things or read into the things, but at the end of the day, you've just got to try and worry about coming to the rink, being prepared and doing your job, try not to worry about what's on the outside and worry about on the ice."

Players have no control of what Blues management has cooking or not cooking, but that doesn't mean they're unaware that the landscape of the roster could change between now and Monday.

"I know everyone's definitely aware of the time of year we're at, but I think everyone at this level knows you can't really think about it or dwell on it too much because if you are, then you're not focusing on the things that you need to focus on," veteran center Kyle Brodziak said. "You try to let go and not worry about it too much. Hopefully the time comes and goes and everyone's still around.

"Everybody wonders. You never know what they're thinking and what they're trying to do. That's why it's almost pointless to dwell on it and worry about it because you really at the end of the day have no idea what the team's plan is and what they're thinking."

And without that control, coaches know how to conduct the business at hand, and that's to prepare for the next work day without dwelling on who may or may not be here.

"We've had zero conversations about it inside our locker room," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "I think that looking at our group, I don't seeing anybody that's panicking or worried or anything about their situation. I think we're all focused on making sure that we're ready to play good hockey. That's number one in our minds right now and that's number one in my mind, too.

"There's 31 teams in the league that wonder that. There's no excuses there. We have a game that we have to prepare for and certainly we shouldn't be thinking about that."

Trade deadlines come and go every year. Players change addresses at this time of year on a regular basis. Players know that when they sign up in this business, and that's why they become immune to it.

"It's the nature of the beast and the business," Schenn said. "You just become accustomed to it and try not to worry about it. Changes happen in the locker room every year. Teams are always trying to get better. Obviously it's going to be no different in this organization. Obviously we know we're in a battle and if we make changes or not, those are things you have to deal with and for me personally, I've been in trade rumors (in the past) for a while and obviously I got traded this (past) summer. It's all part of it. Teams are looking to get better and we'll see what we do."

The communication between Yeo and GM Doug Armstrong is constant and will continue to stay constant.

"Doug and I talk every day about our group and about what's going on," Yeo said. "One thing I appreciate is Doug's got a really good feel for our group and for what's out there and all that kind of stuff. Certainly we talk about everything, but I have a lot of confidence in him and what he's up to right now.

"... I'm excited about our group and I know that we haven't been getting consistent wins lately (0-2-1), but our game has been consistent lately. We've been hard to play against. We just need a little bit more. If we bear down and capitalize on a couple of these chances that we're getting, if we bear down and finish that game in Nashville, then we're singing a different tune right now. We could easily in our last four games, we could have four wins and we should have three at least, but those are against good hockey teams, so I know what we're capable of. We just have to step it up one more notch."

One thing the players on this Blues roster do agree on is that if the roster remains in tact, they believe they can compete.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Center Kyle Brodziak said if the Blues stand pat at the

trade deadline, he likes this group moving forward. 

"We definitely know when we are on top of our game and we're playing well, we can play with any team in the league," Brodziak said. "It's been a bit of a tough stretch lately, but in saying that, we've got a lot of hockey left and we still want to come with the mindset of getting better every day and hopefully today was a good step and we'll get some good results tomorrow."

"I'm not the GM, but we believe in this locker room," Schenn said. "Whether it stays or whether it changes, guys are going to go out there and give it our all and try to win a championship."

* NOTES -- The Blues returned to practice Monday following a Sunday off day and everyone skated but defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, who also did not practice Saturday in Dallas. 

"He's a little dinged up, yeah," Yeo said of Bortuzzo, who was checked hard late in the second period of a 2-1 loss to the Stars on Friday. "We'll see how he is tomorrow."

Brodziak centered a third line with Vladimir Sobotka on the left and Patrik Berglund on the right, and center Oskar Sundqvist will play against the Sharks.

As for Zach Sanford, who the Blues activated last week and assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League to get some games in after missing over five months with a dislocated left shoulder, he will remain there for the time being.

"We sent him down without telling him that there's anything guaranteed for him," Yeo said. "He knows that he's got to play hockey games and that hasn't changed. 

"He's missed a lot of time here, so he's got to play hockey games. That's what we did, we sent him down and go play some hockey games and earn a call-up."

As for newly-acquired right wing Nikita Soshnikov, who the Blues picked up from Toronto last Thursday for a 2019 fourth-round pick, Yeo is hopeful to have him by the end of the week.

Soshnikov is awaiting completion of his visa papers to work in the U.S.

The Blues recalled forward Sammy Blais from San Antonio on Monday and he could get back into the lineup against the Sharks.

Blais has three points (two goals, one assist) in 10 NHL games this season but was tied for the team lead in San Antonio with 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in just 30 games.