The St. Louis Blues find themselves in a precarious position. With so much up in the air regarding multiple key forwards, especially on the wing, the organization may have to fill some rather large offseason.

Today, I want to ramble about some potential candidates to come in and stabilize the roster if Doug Armstrong does indeed trade Vladimir Tarasenko and elects to move on from players such as Jaden Schwartz and Mike Hoffman.

Now, for this exercise, I wanted to go for mostly big-name players. I understand that the likelihood of grabbing some of these guys is slim. Still, what is the harm in exploring those options anyway?

1. One would imagine that the most unrealistic yet most desirable player the Blues could pursue at wing is Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog. Now, the Avalanche will do everything in their power to re-sign their captain, making it unlikely he goes anywhere else. Still, if the 28-year-old does elect to test the market, you can bet that Doug Armstrong will make sure St. Louis are players in the Landeskog sweepstakes.

Playing on a very team-friendly deal the past seven seasons in Colorado, Landeskog will look to cash in on this contract. Of course, this makes trading Tarasenko a must if St. Louis wanted to sign him. Again, I cannot imagine Landeskog anywhere else but Colorado next season. However, until a deal is done, it doesn't hurt to speculate.

2. Onto another upcoming UFA that will likely bring about more divisive opinions. Yes, I am talking about Taylor Hall.

I completely understand people's hesitation in bringing him to St. Louis. Heck, I'm not even sure I actually think it is a good idea. Still, one cannot ignore that signing Hall would definitely address a need within the organization.

Now, Boston is keen on bringing him back if they can strike a deal that works for them. At the same time, I truly feel that Hall will want to listen to other offers. The biggest issue in the Blues taking a stab at signing him is the likelihood that he will snag more money than he should. I totally understand that he bounced back last season after being traded to the Bruins. Still, I would be worried about investing too much money and term in a player who has played for four teams the past two seasons.

3. Unfortunately, the free-agent market is not flush with too many top-wingers, making the trade market a more likely place to secure improvements to St. Louis's core of forwards. Yes, there will be names like Brandon Saad and Zach Hyman available, but they don't quite do it for me right now.

4. Although the Blues are unlikely able to pry Matthew Tkachuk from Calgary, there is another name they might consider pursuing. If Johnny Gaudreau and the Flames cannot come to an extension agreement, one would imagine that Brad Treliving would look to trade him.

Could a deal involving Tarasenko, Vince Dunn, and a draft pick make it happen? I'm not sure, but that is likely close to what Armstrong would look to offer. Of course, St. Louis would need Tarasenko to waive his no-trade clause, and I'm not convinced he would do it for Calgary. Also, the Blues would have to consider whether or not taking on Gaudreau on an expiring deal would be worth it unless they could work out an extension, of course.

5. One last name I want to throw out there, merely because I have seen it mentioned here, is Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek. With reports of the Flyers looking to ship out his contract, some like to pose the idea of St. Louis and Philadelphia swapping two players in need of a change of scenery in Voracek and Tarasenko.

Unfortunately, I don't see Chuck Fletch doing a deal like this. In ridding the team of Voracek, he is looking to shed salary to make other moves. Yes, Tarasenko's cap hit is less. Still, it's not enough to address what the Flyers want to accomplish.

6. The Blues are at an interesting and challenging place. They have many moving pieces up in the air with potentially a lot of needs to address. Doug Armstrong will be in the market for some big-market players if he can make money work, but there is no guarantee he can reel in those prized names. Though he wants the organization back in cup contention, it will not be easy.

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