Why the Cam Fowler trade makes sense for the Blues

One of the biggest trades so far this season could pay off for the St. Louis Blues.

On Saturday, the team acquired defenseman Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks, with draft picks being swapped and minor-leaguer Jeremie Biakabutuka heading to Orange County. It was the first time Fowler was tasked with playing for anyone other than the Ducks in his NHL career.

That said, the Blues are receiving a quality veteran blueliner that is expected to bring stability to its D-corps with the hopes of helping the team get back into the playoff race. Even though Fowler has been in the league for close to 1,000 games, he still has the ability to be a marquee player. After years of playing on a floundering Ducks team, a new venue might be enough to provide a bigger spark for the 33-year-old.

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Jeremy Rutherford from The Athletic joined Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli to explain why the trade for Fowler works for the Blues.

Jeremy Rutherford: I know the reaction was, “How could the Blues add another big-ticket guy…a veteran whose numbers haven’t been good for the past couple of years?” To me, this move makes a lot of sense. You look at the Blues’ top guys…[Colton] Parayko, Justin Faulk and Ryan Suter. We all know Ryan Suter’s going to be 40 years old in a couple of months. These guys are three of the top 38-minute guys on defense in the entire NHL. They’re playing 20-plus minutes…That wasn’t sustainable, Doug Armstrong thought. I believe him. He brings in Cam Fowler, who might be on the back nine of his career…but he can log minutes for this Blues team to take some pressure off these guys.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…