After he nixed a trade that would have sent him to Buffalo, there was still some speculation that Blues defenseman Colton Parayko would approve a trade to a team that he’d be more interested in going to. However, that won’t be the case. On today’s TradeCentre broadcast on TSN (video link), Pierre LeBrun reported that the blueliner will not be waiving his no-trade protection before today’s trade deadline.
The 32-year-old has been a fixture on the back end in St. Louis for more than a decade now while making multiple international appearances as well, including in last month’s Olympics. That track record was enough to elicit what would have been a strong return from the Sabres, one that was believed to have included a top prospect in Radim Mrtka and a first-round pick, even though Parayko is in the middle of a down season offensively.
After putting up career highs in goals (16) and points (36) last season, he has just one tally along with 13 assists in 58 games this season and is now currently sidelined with back spasms. However, Parayko is still logging over 22 minutes of playing time per night with tough defensive matchups.
Parayko has four years left on his contract after this one with a $6.5MM price tag so it’s reasonable to think that his market would still be strong should teams decide to make a pitch for his services in the offseason. At that time, he might be more open to move depending on what the landscape is at the time while not having to immediately uproot his family.
In the meantime, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this result in an uptick in interest in another St. Louis right-shot defender, Justin Faulk. Signed through next season at a $6.5MM price tag, the 33-year-old has been speculated to be in play in recent days and doesn’t have full trade protection like Parayko, just a 15-team no-trade list. With the Blues unable to get anything for Parayko right now, GM Doug Armstrong redoubling his efforts to ensure he gets a strong return for Faulk and cash in on the demand for impact defenders would make a lot of sense.
