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The St. Louis Blues made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025 after a rather successful regular season. The Blues faced the Winnipeg Jets during the first round of the postseason. St. Louis dominated at points in the series, but could not close it out. Winnipeg defeated St. Louis in Game 7, sending the Blues into NHL Free Agency looking to fortify its roster.
The Blues did not make any massive splashes, however. St. Louis signed some very intriguing players. Pius Suter signed on a two-year contract to provide middle-six depth. And Nick Bjugstad signed a two-year deal of his own to bolster St. Louis's bottom-six.
This team made another intriguing move through trade. St. Louis acquired defenseman Logan Mailloux from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Zack Bolduc. This move saw the teams swap two young players to fill a specific need in their lineup.
The Blues may have felt a significant splash wasn't needed. After all, they have young stars on the verge of a breakout campaign. Their established stars are already producing at a high level, as well. However, there is one move this team should have made during the 2025 NHL offseason.
Blues should have found a way to trade for Noah Dobson
As mentioned, the Blues did not make any significant moves this offseason. However, they nearly pulled off a blockbuster. St. Louis was seriously involved in the Noah Dobson trade sweepstakes this summer. In the end, Dobson was traded to the Canadiens for Emil Heineman and two first-round picks.
A trade for Dobson certainly came with complications. For instance, the former New York Islanders star needed a new contract. He was a restricted free agent at the time of his deal. After moving to Montreal, he signed an eight-year contract worth a total of $76 million.
Still, the Blues could have used Dobson's offensive talent on the backend. The 25-year-old scored 10 goals and 39 points in 71 games this past season. It's a decline from his 2023-24 totals, but that season also showed the sort of production he can provide. Dobson scored 10 goals and 70 points in 79 games that season.
The main question is which version of Dobson is the real player. With the Canadiens, there's a real chance he could reach 70 points again. He will play alongside Lane Hutson, who won the Calder Trophy as the best rookie in the NHL. Hutson has already established himself as an elite offensive presence in this league.
Moreover, he will play behind the likes of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky. He can feed these players and create scoring chances for them on the ice. On paper, he has a realistic chance of rebounding.
Would his projection be the same with the Blues? Maybe not entirely. However, Dobson playing behind Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Dylan Holloway would've been very intriguing. Especially given that Kyrou is one of the league's best goal scorers over the last three seasons.
Of course, the reason the Islanders didn't trade with St. Louis was Kyrou. The Habs identified Kyrou as a player that they wanted. And St. Louis hesitated to pull the trigger on that trade. As a result, Dobson went elsewhere.
It's understandable why the Blues didn't make this move. At the same time, it's the one move they arguably should have made. Dobson would have added another element to this team. And he could have led them on another deep playoff run in 2026.
