GM hints at trading one of his defensemen in Friday press release.

A National Hockey League general manager appears to have taken a subtle jab at one of his core players on Friday, and furthermore it may have just been one more indication that this trade is in fact happening.

After signing forward Jaden Schwartz  St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong released a statement talking about his core players, but he curiously omitted the name of his young star on defense.

“He’s part of that core we have moving forward,” Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong said. “Schwartz and (Vladimir) Tarasenko, Robby Fabbri, Colton Parayko, Alex Pietrangelo, Jake Allen - we’re trying to build around these guys. Having Schwartz wrapped up in that group, we know we now have a core that we can build around and try to win a championship around.”

No mention of Kevin Shattenkirk, the defenseman who has been the subject of one of the longest running trade rumors in the NHL, and it's highly unlikely it was accidental. Shattenkirk recently made it clear through his agent that he wants to be moved sooner rather than later, and it may be that Armstrong did not appreciate those comments being made to the media.

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