The St. Louis Blues were on top of the hockey world after going from worst-to-first in 2018-19, en route to the franchise's first Stanley Cup. The Blues went on an all-time run, highlighted by winning Game 7 against the Boston Bruins in an always-hostile TD Garden. It was the last seven-game series in a championship round since the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in as many games in 2024. But it's been tough sledding since; STL has won just a single round over the last five years, and have failed to qualify for the postseason altogether in each of the last two seasons.
The Blues weren't expected to do too much in free agency this time around, but it is a bit disappointing that general manager Doug Armstrong was unable to bring any of the big ticket free agents to Missouri. It was rumored that the organization had interest in forward Chandler Stephenson, but they probably dodged a bullet after the veteran signed a seven-year, $43.75 million contract with the Seattle Kraken that at first glance looks like a gross overpay.
Instead, Armstrong locked up Pavel Buchnevich, one of the team's most effective forwards, to a solid six-year, $48 million pact. He also re-signed Kasperi Kapanen, while adding Radek Faksa from the Dallas Stars and Mathieu Joseph from the Ottawa Senators on the trade market and signing defensemen Ryan Suter and Pierre-Olivier Joseph in free agency. Alex Texier was also brought over from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a sign-and trade.
With Torey Krug out indefinitely and potentially to miss the entire 2024-25 season, along with the continued struggles of Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko, there isn't a ton of hope that this team can get back to the playoffs next April. But after missing the postseason by just six points last year, there's certainly an avenue for this club to sneak back in. Let's discuss.
Pavel Buchnevich re-signing was Blues' marquee move
The New York Rangers shipping Buchnevich out will probably go down as one of the worst trades in franchise history. The Russian has been exceptional in St. Louis, recording two straight seasons over a point-per-game but falling back to earth with 27 goals and 63 points in 80 games in 2023-24.
Still, the 29-year-old remains one of the most skilled players on this roster, and getting him locked up was priority No. 1 for the front office this summer. The hope internally is that, after a bit of a down season, he can return to his usual point-per-game self now that he has a long-term contract ironed out.
How well this team's top-six performs — especially Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours — will go a long way in determining whether this roster is able to get back into a playoff spot in 2025. Along with Buchnevich, the Blues also brought back Kapanen, who has really struggled offensively after putting up just 22 points in 73 games last season, one of the worst professional years of his career. The 27-year-old needs a huge bounce back.
Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph nice additions; Ryan Suter doesn't make sense
On the trade market, the Blues brought in Faksa and Joseph, who both help to shore up the depth at reasonable prices. Faksa, 30, is a former first-round pick, but he doesn't move the needle too much offensively after chipping in just 19 points in 74 games for Dallas last season, and 20 the year before. Still, he brings a strong veteran voice and solid defensive play; he was also part of two Stars teams that went deep in the playoffs, once to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 and again to the Western Conference Final in 2023.
Joseph is a younger and more exciting player, and Armstrong did great work prying him out of Ottawa — and getting a third-round pick as well. The 27-year-old won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021 (the former beating Faksa's Stars), and he's coming off a career year with the Senators. He scored 35 points in 72 games in 2023-24, and immediately makes this club's bottom-six a whole lot faster. He could also be a prime candidate to jump into the top-six if the injury bug hits, or if the beginning of the season doesn't go according to plan.
Adding Ryan Suter in free agency is an absolute head-scratcher, though. It's not hard to tell if you watch hockey that the 39-year-old is well past his prime, and he's not really the type of defenseman the Blues need at all at this point. Obviously, he's an important veteran presence and will make just $775,000 next year, but he isn't likely to move the needle at either end of the rink next season. Because of Krug's injury, he'll be in the lineup, but should be behind Parayko, Leddy, Justin Faulk and Scott Perunovich, and playing on the third-pairing come October.
Pierre-Olivier Joseph was also signed in free agent frenzy, but the young Canadian has struggled to live up to his potential after being drafted in the first-round by the Arizona Coyotes back in 2017. He's also a candidate to play third pairing minutes, although he was in and out of the American Hockey League over the last few seasons.
This still probably isn't a playoff team in 2025
Overall, the front office made some smart moves by re-signing Buchnevich and trading for Mathieu Joseph and Faksa, and also some questionable ones by bringing back Kapanen and signing Suter. At first glance, this roster doesn't really look better than last year, and Krug's injury won't help to alleviate that in any way. Let's not forget that the Blues had their fair share of departures this summer with Sammy Blais, Jakub Vrana and Kevin Hayes all moving on.
Here's what The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford had to say about the organization's moves in free agency:
“The [Blues] had interest in forward Chandler Stephenson, but he signed a seven-year, $43.75 million contract ($6.25 million annual average value), which would not have made sense for them. The most important move general manager Doug Armstrong could have made was re-signing Pavel Buchnevich, and he did that with a six-year, $48 million ($8 million AAV). He filled out the roster by signing Kasperi Kapanen and defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and trading for Radek Faksa and Mathieu Joseph, who were reasonably priced depth options.”
Overall, this really wasn't a great free agent period, and it wasn't expected to be with not a ton of cap space to work with. Certainly, with the talent up front, this squad could be on the postseason bubble again in 2024-25. But most likely — at least the way things look now — odds are it will be a third straight season without playoff hockey in Missouri.
FINAL GRADE: C-
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