The St. Louis Blues have been hunting for defensive help and they may have just found that today.
The Blues acquired defenseman Jordan Leopold from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for their 2013 second-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick. According to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the condition is if the Blues win a playoff round, the pick turns into a fourth-round selection.
Sabres GM sending Leopold out of town with an expiring deal ($3 million cap hit) could signal the start of big changes in Buffalo. There have been rumors swirling about players, including Ryan Miller and Drew Stafford, being shuffled out of town thanks to the Sabres’ disappointing season.
St. Louis, meanwhile, tried filling out their blue line with Wade Redden and youngster Ian Cole, but they’re in need of help to back up Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. Leopold gives them a guy who can move the puck and a left-handed shot. He has two goals and six assists in 24 games this season while averaging just over 21 minutes of ice time per game.