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Spezza to the Blues?

Ottawa Senators v New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 18: Jason Spezza #19 of the Ottawa Senators skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on December 18, 2013 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Senators 5-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Bruce Bennett

We only ask, because according to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest, the St. Louis Blues are high on Jason Spezza’s list of allowable trade destinations.

Per CapGeek, Spezza has a modified no-trade clause where he can submit to the Senators a list of teams to which he’s willing to be dealt. The 30-year-old center has one season remaining on his front-loaded contract -- with a cap hit of $7 million, but a salary of just $4 million in 2014-15 -- before he can become an unrestricted free agent.

The Blues do make sense as a potential trade partner, given their offensive struggles against the Blackhawks in the playoffs, plus the fact play-making center Derek Roy is a pending UFA and didn’t seem to be a great fit in St. Louis anyway.

That said, general manager Doug Armstrong made it clear after his team’s disappointing first-round exit that he wasn’t keen on “robbing Peter to pay Paul” in a trade, and that he didn’t think there was “a 31-year-old or 32-year-old veteran player that’s going to come in here and reinvent the wheel for the St. Louis Blues.”

Which doesn’t sound like a GM that’s ready to give up a ton for a veteran like Spezza, and that’s without even mentioning Spezza’s lengthy injury history.

PS -- If you’re wondering where all this Spezza trade speculation came from...