NHL Trade Rumors: 4 Deals St. Louis Blues Can Make Before Deadline

The NHL trade deadline is coming fast. 

Teams have until Feb. 27th to make deals to help their club or blow it up. 

The St. Louis Blues are in the thick of things for a top playoff spot this season, and the team has issues it could address before the deadline. 

The Blues currently rank 20th in goals and 28th on the power play. Those numbers will need to improve if the team wants to be a legitimate contender in April and beyond. 

St. Louis also has a great system of prospects and young players who can contribute elsewhere more than with the Blues.

Here are four deals the Blues could make before the deadline. 

Ben Bishop is a player the St. Louis Blues should trade away and get some kind of return for. 

With Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak dominating the crease this season, Ben Bishop has been stuck in the AHL. He has dominated in Peoria, registering 18 wins, a 2.35 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. 

After Elliott signed a contract extension, trade speculations of a St. Louis goalie turned to Bishop, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this year. 

According to Elliotte Friedman of CBC, there have been trade talks swirling around the 25-year-old netminder. 

Teams looking for a young backup option like Bishop could be interested. It wouldn't be a surprise to hear Tampa Bay, New Jersey or Edmonton are interested in the 6'7" goalie.

The Carolina Hurricanes are having a disappointing season, and rumors are swirling like crazy that winger Tuomo Ruutu is on his way out. 

Chip Alexander tweeted Canes GM Jim Rutherford is getting a lot of calls on Ruutu. 

The Blues, if they haven't, should inquire as well.

Ruutu is the kind of player that would fit perfectly with the Blues. He can score and isn't afraid to play a physical game. He would be a nice addition to a line with David Backes and TJ Oshie.

Carolina would most likely be asking a lot for the 28-year-old, but the Blues have a surplus of young talent and could afford Ruutu's asking price. 

Theo Peckham isn't a name many know around the league, but he wouldn't be a bad addition to this St. Louis team at the deadline. 

The Blues' successes this season have been built around the defense, and Peckham would only help that.

With what seems like never-ending injury problems, the Blues can't have enough depth as the season drags on. 

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun has mentioned that the Edmonton Oilers have received questions on the defenseman and notes that he would be a cheap trade pickup.

Being on the bottom pairing of a bottom team, the asking price for Peckham can't be too high. 

Peckham would fit in nicely with St. Louis as an extra option.

Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Schenn is the kind of player that could affect the playoff race. 

Once a top prospect and "future star," Luke Schenn has fallen back to Earth and has looked mediocre in Toronto. However, there is still tons of potential there. 

According to Lance Hornby, Toronto GM Brian Burke is always willing to listen on trade offers. 

The Blues could definitely work something out for this young D-man. Schenn is making $3.35 million a year and is locked up for the next four seasons. They also have a surplus of defensive talent, and Schenn has fallen behind it. 

With Toronto looking like a playoff team this season, they would certainly benefit from adding some depth, and Burke would love to add more young talent in a return for the 22-year-old.

It could be a win-win for both teams and a fresh start for Schenn.

A young group of defensemen featuring Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk and Schenn would be astounding in St. Louis. 

Steven Conklin is a contributing writer for the Bleacher Report and a student at the University of Central Missouri. He joined B/R in October 2011 and is currently a B/R intern. Any comments, questions or suggestions are more than welcome.