from Norm Sanders of the News-Democrat,

"We're going to be active in the free-agent market to see if we can improve our forward group," Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday

The Blues have been linked to potential trade rumors with Ottawa center Jason Spezza and Vancouver center Ryan Kesler and free-agency rumors with Colorado center Paul Stastny, among others.

"I think this is just the time of year where names are circulated and they're not circulated by the teams, they're circulated by social media," Armstrong said. "I feel bad for the players, quite honestly, at this time of the year. There's very little fire behind a lot of smoke with some of these names that you hear."

That being said, Armstrong has never shied away from bold moves. He has traded some big names during his tenure here, including former first overall pick Erik Johnson.

A year ago he shipped out starting goalie Jaroslav Halak and forward Chris Stewart for veteran goalie Ryan Miller. That one didn't work out and Miller is back on the free-agent market, but Armstrong can't be accused of not trying.

Armstrong has also dealt former first-round picks David Perron, David Rundblad and Lars Eller with the Blues still searching for that elusive Stanley Cup championship.

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