Blues' Brandon Saad Improves Trade Stock With Hat Trick Against The Senators

On Friday, the St. Louis Blues picked up a 4-0 win over the Ottawa Senators with Brandon Saad in the spotlight of it all. The left winger recorded his first career natural hat trick, and it was his first hat trick as a member of the Blues.

He opened his account with a breakaway goal to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Ottawa played a pass to defenseman Nick Jensen at the blueline, but it missed him. Saad raced Jensen to the puck and beat him before scoring five-hole on Sens goaltender Anton Forsberg.

For his second tally, it was another five-hole finish. This time it was on the rush as his linemates Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas busted out of the defensive zone with the puck. They all connected, ending with Buchnevich finding Saad in space before firing it through Forsberg.

To complete the hat trick, Saad picked up the puck from his zone and carried it up the ice himself. He found himself on a 2-on-1 with Alexandre Texier on his right. Texier pointed to the net and Saad didn't hesitate. He ripped it under the bar and down came the hats.

Saad hadn't scored in 19 games before this contest with the Sens. He last scored against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 14 — a night in which he had a two-goal performance.

The 32-year-old became the 12th player to score a natural hat trick this season. The last player to do it was Mitch Marner for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 27.

Saad has had his name in the rumor mill recently as a potential trade candidate for the Blues. While he struggled to score for the majority of the season, his hat trick might have drawn a little more attention from other GMs.

The Pittsburgh native signed a five-year contract with St. Louis in 2021. He currently makes $4.5-million against the salary cap and has one year remaining after this season. Additionally, Saad has a no-trade clause on his contract this season. However, it was reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman that the player would be willing to consider other options.

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