The St. Louis Blues had a disappointing 22-23 campaign that concluded with the team trading away two of its long-term leaders and stars in Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko. At the trade deadline, it appeared that the Blues, under the direction of GM Doug Armstrong, were heading toward a full-fledged rebuild; however, based on the team’s off-season moves, I am not entirely sure what the front office is planning. What makes this worse, is that the pattern of selling, without actually selling, is very reminiscent of the Jim Benning Canucks and Chuck Fletcher Flyers, as the team appears to lack direction, which could be the precipice of a decade of mediocrity to come. Let us dive into the off-season that’s been. 

In the direction of a rebuilding team, the Blues elected not to re-sign veterans Josh Leivo and Tyler Pitlick. Pitlick is an average fourth-line player in the NHL who contributes an average amount of value in both the offensive and defensive zones. Leivo, similar to Pitlick, is predominantly a bottom-six role player who at times in his career made a noticeable impact in the offensive zone; however, as was the standard for St. Louis aside from Thomas, Kyrou, and Buchnevich, was not consistently able to create or finish many opportunities. With any luck, he will find a team before the season’s start because he still shows flashes of being a valuable third liner in today’s NHL. The other notable departure was goaltender Thomas Greiss by way of retirement. Greiss was a subpar back-up in his last season for the Blues, but his -5.1 GSAA was a marked improvement above starter Jordan Binnington (-19.2 GSAA). In terms of additions, the only remarkable pickup was acquiring Kevin Hayes from the Flyers for a 2024 6th round pick. Hayes is an average middle-six center. Hayes has shown he can consistently produce around 40 pts while playing above average defense, but is not a suitable replacement for the value O’Reilly provided on both ends of the ice. Oskar Sundqvist returns to the Blues as well. Sundqvist is an average bottom-six player who adds an acceptable amount of offense, and uses exceptional speed and stick control along the boards to provide strong defensive value.

Looking to fill the spots vacated by Leivo and Greiss, it appears that Armstrong and Craig Berube are looking to Nikita Alexandrov and Joel Hofer to fill those respective holes. Alexandrov posted 38 pts in 41 games in the AHL last season, along with 7 pts in 28 NHL games, indicating that he will likely slot in on the third line. Hofer, on the other hand, is in a much more challenging spot than Alexandrov. Hofer is coming off a stellar season in the AHL, where he posted a 0.921 save percentage in 47 starts. The 23-year old, former 4th round pick has his work cut out for him, as Binnington has had two consecutive poor seasons as the starter, and if he proceeds to have a third, one wonders how long Berube will wait before placing the season’s hopes in the hands of Hofer.

On draft night, the St. Louis Blues held three 1st round picks at 10th, 25th, and 29th overall. Their first pick was used on Dalibor Dvorsky who posted 14 pts in 38 games for AIK in the Allsvenskan league in Sweden. Dvorsky has a lot of talent. His point total appears low, but Allsvenskan is a men’s professional league, unlike the CHL or NCAA, which indicates stiffer competition, especially in the defensive zone. From what I have seen in his comparables and on-ice performance, Dvorsky’s ceiling is very close to that of former Flyers standout, Jakub Voracek. The 25th selection was used on SHL forward Otto Stenberg, who posted 3 pts in 23 games. Based on his film and comps, Stenberg reminds me a lot of Rangers forward Chris Kreider, which could bode well for the Blues if he reaches his potential alongside their core guys. The final 1st round selection was spent on defenseman Theo Lindstein. At this point, Lindstein, who played on Brynas in the SHL, was unable to establish much of an offensive presence in a men’s pro-league, leaving few indicators of his potential in the NHL. Lindstein could turn out to be a great player, or not.  

Overall, the St. Louis Blues did not address any of their immediate needs or roster defects. Prospects like Jake Neighbours and Jimmy Snuggerud have promise, along with new recruits Dvorsky and Stenberg, but St. Louis already has a myriad of young promising forwards. The d-corp is averaging 30 years-old at this point, and as the adage goes, defensemen take longer to develop than forwards, which is concerning for a team with a borderline non-existent prospect pool at the position. I do not subscribe to drafting based on positional need, and St. Louis’ blue line is a strong group right now, but in three years that likely will not be the case, and the next Alex Pietrangelo is not waiting in the wings for them. Normally, I could look past this, but the team also, for reasons beyond mortal comprehension, has kept their goaltending room the same as it has been the last several seasons. If Berube had been relieved of his duties, I could justify giving Binnington another run in a new system, but at this point the Blues are just trotting out the same group as last year expecting a miracle. They are the only team in the West who receive an F grade for their off-season. It was similarly disappointing to Edmonton’s, but Edmonton has the best player in the word, and St. Louis has Robert Thomas. Thomas is an amazing player, but he can’t be expected to do what McDavid does in Edmonton on a team whose front office has no direction for their roster.

-Christian