It appears the St. Louis Blues are at least surveying the trade market as general manager Doug Armstrong looks for ways to kick-start his slumping club.

Reports on Wednesday indicated that the Blues are at least listening on all offers, with Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic indicating that some teams believe the Blues would even consider parting with four-time 30-goal scorer Vladimir Tarasenko. 

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger confirmed Wednesday that the Blues are "open for business," but added that Armstrong is not looking to part with core pieces of the team.

“No question about that,” Dreger told NBCSN. “Doug Armstrong is a very active general manager, that’s not unusual. He’s always looking for ways to better his roster.

“I mean, who’s kidding who? We look at the St. Louis Blues on paper and they’re a better team than their record indicates, but they’re not playing that way. So Armstrong, as general manager, has the responsibility to try and shake things up.

“My sense, based on the people I’m talking to around that organization, is that there’s some form of mental fragility around this club. So a bad goal goes in and beats one of their goaltenders, which sadly happens often against the St. Louis Blues, and the team isn’t able to pick up and get the next one and find a way to claw back or fight their way back into a game or to claw back to win a game.

“So there’s a lot of concern around the St. Louis Blues, there’s no doubt of that. My sense from talking to managers around the National Hockey League is that Armstrong isn’t willing to part with any of his core, young pieces. Again, he can see the future in St. Louis in some of these young guys like Jaden Schwartz, but he is willing to consider just about anything else."

Schwartz, 26, is signed through the 2020-21 season, while Tarasenko, who is eight months older than Schwartz, is signed through 2022-23 at a $7.5 million cap hit. 

Dreger added that the trade market may remain largely dormant through the roster freeze on Dec. 19, but he expects the action to pick up in the new year.

“It’s a quiet time around the NHL right now, not to say that there isn’t going to be something that happens before the roster freeze," he explained. "But teams feel that they’re still at least remotely in it – that’ll change after the holidays."

The Blues (11-14-4) sit 10 points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and 28th in the league standings.