It’s not often you get an inspiring performance in a losing effort. But that’s precisely what happened in St. Louis last night where Blues’ power forward Bill Guerin recorded his seventh career hat trick and assisted on another in a 6-5 loss to San Jose. The former Devil who helped the team win its first Stanley Cup back in 1995 is having a revival season after struggling mightily last year with Dallas. His three tallies gave him a team-leading 25 for the season to go with a team best 44 points.

With the 36 year-old American veteran playing well, there’s little doubt that his trade value is increasing with the February 27th deadline less than two weeks away. He certainly can add some grit to a lineup along with his usual size in front of the net. Along with teammate Keith Tkachuk, Guerin should be packing his bags soon. It will be interesting to see where they wind up and what new Blues Team President John Davidson can get back in return.

Until then, I’m giving Guerin some kudos for silencing some of his skeptics this season.