CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 03: Artemi Panarin #72 of the Chicago Blackhawks moves to the puck in front of John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders at the United Center on March 3, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Islanders 2-1 in a shootout. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The St. Louis Blues have the cap space and the assets to make moves this offeseason. However, they might be bridesmaids as player demands continue to rise in hockey.

The St. Louis Blues finally have the money to add a good free agent. They have the assets to add a top-notch trade piece. Yet, it is sounding more and more like they will come up empty handed.

However, despite fan sentiment to the contrary, this is actually not Doug Armstrong’s fault. Players are getting extremely demanding about where they go, which is their right, and it is squeezing the mid-to-small market teams out of the mix.

This is a dangerous path for the sport however. As popular as the NBA might be, outside of hardcore fans, nobody cares about the sport if certain teams are not playing.

Of course, you can make the same case for hockey or any sport really. However, the beauty of hockey is that you have so many varied franchises getting shots at the playoffs and titles without the ridiculous ups and downs of, say, the MLS.

The talk going around this summer makes one start to think the NHL is heading in the other direction. John Tavares is more than free to take offers from who he wants. However, this idea that he has a list of five teams and won’t talk to anyone else is troubling.

All five markets are large cities or already have high profile players, such as Tampa Bay. So, what becomes of teams like the Blues?

St. Louis might not be on the very brink of winning, but having a player like Tavares puts them a lot closer and draws in other free agents. And why not at least give some of these other teams a courtesy call?

Tavares is reportedly not even considering Nashville. They’ve come close to a Cup the last two years out of the west and have a decent amount of cap room.

Tavares is going to talk to the LA Kings, who currently have $3 million in cap space. Tell me how that is going to work out if he wants close to $10 million per season.

Tavares also wants to speak to Dallas. That’s fine since they are already loaded with talent, but it’s all on the offensive side already. A team that scores a ton adding another scorer won’t make the Stars championship material if they cannot keep the puck out of the net.

San Jose has cap space, but your winning window is small there as the team is getting older. Toronto is an up and coming team, but like the Islanders, it is arguable how close they are.

Is he really interested in winning? Or is it more about being in a big city.

The same is true of Artemi Panarin. The Blues are rightly interested in him, but a trade is almost surely not going to happen because Panarin won’t guarantee any teams he will re-sign with them.

Reports have come out that he is also only interested in signing with a major market team. Again, he is well within his rights, but these decisions becoming public are somewhat infuriating. Even as a person that wrote an article about how St. Louis rarely attracts the big name free agents, this is disheartening to hear that all the money in the world couldn’t entice some of these guys.

Forget the friendship with Vladimir Tarasenko. Panarin would rather limit his choices apparently. Tavares says he wants to win, but his big market teams aren’t as close as he might think.

These demands don’t always work out either. Ask Kevin Shattenkirk how landing with his “perfect” team is working out now that the Rangers have gone into rebuild mode as soon as he got there. The Blues could have brought in Taylor Hall, but Shattenkirk nixed that deal with these same claims that he would not re-sign.

If it is about the money, then say so. Just say you want the money and the lifestyle and people will begrudgingly accept that. These players that claim they want to win, but gravitate toward situations where that is less than likely gets old.

There is no proving that the Kings can’t or won’t win it again. There is no way to say a team like San Jose might not get pushed over the hump. However, they really don’t have that much more of a chance than smaller market teams like the Blues or Nashville.

Fans of those big cities will say this is sour grapes and you can think that if you want. However, as a fan of the sport, I don’t want the NHL to go toward the NBA model. I don’t want the NHL to attempt super teams. I don’t want all the big name players demanding to go to the big city even though you could have a better situation in a smaller one.

None of us can tell these players how to live their lives. I can’t argue that they have earned some right to dictate where they play.

It is the fact they limit their choices that touches the nerve. Sign with New York or Los Angeles if you will, but give these other teams the chance to lure you in.

There is a reason so many former players stay in St. Louis. Even if we hate them, there is a reason players like being in Nashville and that their fan base has grown so quickly.

Even though it is embarrassing that St. Louis has not won, I enjoy the fact teams like Carolina and Tampa have won. I like that Florida and Buffalo have been to the final in my lifetime.

I worry that won’t even happen if this snowballs at all. It is more difficult for that to happen with a salary cap, but when a $10 million player wants to talk to a team with $3 million in space, then those players clearly don’t care.

Hopefully I’m blowing this all out of proportion. It is just disturbing that even money can’t bring some players in when the Blues finally have some.