Three Ways the St. Louis Blues Can Start Return to Former Glory
Not too long ago, the St. Louis Blues were crowned the 2019 Stanley Cup champions, but after missing the playoffs for a second straight season, what does this team have to do to reign supreme again?
The St. Louis Blues made news this week with the announcement that former star center Alex Steen would be joining the organization’s management team with a focus on becoming the team’s GM by 2026.
With that said, what’s the plan for the Blues in the days and weeks ahead? Let’s take a look and point out three ways in which the Blues should be changing in the short and long-term future:
The Blues have approximately $15.9 million in salary cap space and a significant amount of their cap space is tied up in goaltending. Veteran Jordan Binnington has three years left on a contract that carries a cap hit of $6 million, and given how inconsistent Binnington has been – both at the NHL level, and more recently, at the IIHF World Championship – there’s a good argument to be made to either trade or buy out Binnington.
A buyout would be the easiest way to part ways with Binnington, but perhaps there’s a team out there that values Binnington’s Stanley Cup champion pedigree and would be willing to acquire him if the Blues retained some of his salary. In any case, youngster Joel Hofer looks like the future of St. Louis in net, but the question is how the Blues clear out their netminding to start a new era between the pipes. Binnington’s struggles should make it clear he’s not the answer for the next three seasons, so finding him a new home should be a priority for Ar
The Blues’ top-four defensemen are all signed for the next two seasons, but there’s a sense in St. Louis that a change has to happen for their blueliners. The problem is, Nick Leddy, Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko and Torey Krug all have no-trade clauses in their contract, and Krug has already shot down a potential trade to Philadelphia last season. The challenge of Armstrong and Steen will be to convince at least one of them a change in employment would benefit their career.
Parayko in particular could get the Blues a sizeable return in terms of draft picks and prospects, and his no-trade clause doesn’t kick in until 2028. Armstrong’s unwillingness to take the Blues on a full rebuild means he’ll still want to keep the majority of his defense corps together, but something needs to change to get St. Louis back into the post-season, and the most likely area in which management can effect change is on the back end. If Armstrong wants to set the table for Steen, the easiest way to do that is to remake the look of the defense. And it should be Parayko who gets moved.
3. Trade a couple of forwards who aren’t long-term fits
There’s been much speculation that veteran Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich will be dealt by Armstrong this summer, but he isn’t the only St. Louis forward who could be moved by management. Center Kevin Hayes and left winger Brandon Saad are 32 years old and 31 years old respectively, and while both of them have some type of modified no-trade clause, there is an exit ramp for their careers in St. Louis, and it’s a matter of Armstrong and Steen finding a new home for both to convince them they need to accept a trade.
The Blues have many youngsters to build the team around in the long haul – center Robert Thomas and wingers Jake Neighbours and Jordan Kyrou all are key pieces for the future – but shuffling things up by moving Hayes and Saad will send a message to the team that the failure of this past season cannot go without consequence. Armstrong and Steen will have to make some difficult choices in the weeks and months ahead this off-season, but standing pat can’t be one of their moves.
