Change of scenery trades do happen around this time of year. This one feels weightier than usual. Cam Fowler, who has been in the Anaheim Ducks organization since the team drafted him 12th overall in 2010, is suddenly in St. Louis.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues, currently sitting outside the playoff picture, are not acquiring a 33-year-old defenseman as a long-term project. This is an attempt to fix immediate issues on defense.

Why would Anaheim part ways with their all-time leader in games played on defense mid-season? Does Fowler address the Blues' needs on defense? Let's analyze this trade for both teams and hand out grades.

St. Louis Blues

Do the St. Louis Blues need a left-handed defenseman? Undoubtedly. Philip Broberg, who spent years in Edmonton pivoting between the NHL and AHL, seems to have finally made his big league spot permanent in St. Louis but he's still rough defensively and has been exposed in top-pairing minutes even alongside the steady hand of Colton Parayko.

The Blues' other options leave a lot to be desired. Ryan Suter is nearly 40 and belongs at the bottom of the depth chart. The same is true for Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

But is Cam Fowler, 33 years old, the answer? Maybe five years ago. In his prime, the American defenseman bordered on top-pairing ability. He was one of the top puck-movers in the Western Conference. Yes, he was a point producer. Just two seasons ago he tallied 48. But he also was superb at starting breakouts and transitioning the puck up the ice.

Fowler still showcases the puck-moving abilities every so often, but he no longer is a consistent driver of offense, and his defensive game, never a strength, has hit rock-bottom.

Now let's be fair. The Ducks, overall, have been awful the last few seasons. Defensively in particular. The rebuilding team with few legitimate NHLers on the blueline forced Fowler to play a role well above his means at this stage of his career. Any decent defenseman forced to play 24 minutes with little help is going to get demolished.

The Blues are a better team and he won't be shoved into a heavy PK role. Expect Fowler to play better than he had in Anaheim.

Here's the bigger problem. The Blues had limited flexibility over the summer specifically because they were stuck with too many old, expensive defensemen. Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, and Nick Leddy are all on multi-year contracts and probably hold negative value on the trade market. All three also are puck-moving defensemen. Now Fowler is added to the mix for roughly $4M through next season.

If — and it's a big if — the Blues can help Fowler regain some form, it won't be enough to justify further entrenching themselves with an old, expensive, and underwhelming defense.

Grade: C-

Anaheim Ducks

This move was a long time coming for Anaheim. Fowler was a consistent producer and respected presence for years but it was well past time to move on. Fowler, 33, no longer takes on a demanding role. He was getting eaten alive at the top of the depth chart. They asked him to play the PK despite it being nowhere in his wheelhouse. The 15-year NHL veteran was presumably getting sick of perennial losing and it would be hard to fault him for losing a competitive edge on a team whose season has been over before December for the last five years.

This move would have come sooner if not for Fowler's prohibitive $6.5M cap hit. It's a little surprising they were able to make this move happen without the maximum 50-percent retention.

Effectively, the Ducks move up from round four to round two in the 2027 NHL Draft.

The bigger impact for Anaheim is that they need to figure out how to allocate Fowler's minutes around the roster. As poorly as he played in that role, his absorption of ugly shifts allowed head coach Greg Cronin to shelter the team's young, developing defensemen. It will now fall on Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintukov, and Jackson LaCombe to hold down the left side of the defense collectively. All three are talented defensemen with upside but all are still young and very inexperienced.

Grade: B