"It was a difficult direction I think for our organization and for Paul… He talked to his family, he slept on it and he and I talked again this morning," Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong said. "It gives him an opportunity to go play in Winnipeg and also gives us an opportunity to continue down the path we're on with our younger players and prospects.

Stastny, who was in the final year of a four-year contract with the Blues, was traded to Winnipeg just hours before Monday's 2 p.m. CT trade deadline in exchange for a conditional first-round pick in 2018, a conditional fourth-round pick in 2020 and forward prospect Erik Foley.

"We had a lot of calls on our four top forward prospects in (Klim) Kostin, (Tage) Thompson, (Robert) Thomas, (Jordan) Kyrou, something we didn't want to entertain at this point where our team is at," Armstrong added. "So we added another first-round pick to this year's draft. We did spend some time talking to teams about that first-round pick about what we could acquire right now, but we felt we're better off to use that at the draft in Dallas or see what's available there."

Video: Armstrong comments on the trade deadline

"I've been around this League, I know how it works. You can't be naive to the situation no matter what," Stastny said of the trade deadline. "I'm in the last year of my contract, so that's always a factor… having been around and talking to guys that have been around it, you come to expect anything can happen. I wasn't really blindsided by it. There's a lot going on, it's very emotional for my family and I. I think missing the guys is going to be the hardest part, but having said that, I'm also excited for a new challenge."

Stastny has posted 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists) in 63 games for the Blues this season. Overall, Stastny has accumulated 633 points (216 goals, 417 assists) in 805 career regular season games.

Foley, 20, was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the third round (No. 78) in 2015. The 6-foot, 185-pound forward has played in 32 games for Providence College this season, posting 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) and 14 penalty minutes. Overall, the Mansfield, Massachusetts native has collected 87 points (37 goals, 50 assists) in 104 career games for Providence.

In international competition, Foley captured a gold medal with the United States along with Blues forward Tage Thompson at the 2017 World Junior Championships.

Video: Yeo on moving forward after the deadline

Video: Stastny comments on trade to Winnipeg

Video: Kelly, Strickland comment on Stastny deal