Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Central Division, next up are the Blues.
St. Louis Blues
Current Cap Hit: $94,874,849 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Logan Mailloux (one year, $875K)
F Jimmy Snuggerud (two years, $950K)
Potential Bonuses
Snuggerud: $800K
Snuggerud joined St. Louis for the stretch run last season after his college campaign ended and made a solid first impression with four points in seven games while adding four more in their first-round loss to Winnipeg. He should land a middle-six role, giving him a shot at reaching some of his ‘A’ bonuses. He’s someone that, if all goes well, they’d want to sign long-term but with several other core youngsters up by then, can they afford to do so?
Mailloux came over from Montreal in a one-for-one swap for Zachary Bolduc in a swap of 2021 first-round picks. He has shown plenty of offensive promise in his first two seasons and should have a chance to come in and be a secondary contributor on their back end. At this point, it’s likely he’ll land a bridge agreement which, depending on his production this season, could plausibly run anywhere between $1.5MM and $2.5MM.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
D Philip Broberg ($4.581MM, RFA)
D Cam Fowler ($4MM, UFA)*
F Dylan Holloway ($2.29MM, RFA)
D Matthew Kessel ($800K, RFA)
F Mathieu Joseph ($2.95MM, UFA)
F Oskar Sundqvist ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Alexandre Texier ($2.1MM, RFA)
F Alexey Toropchenko ($1.7MM, UFA)
F Nathan Walker ($775K, UFA)
*-Anaheim is retaining an additional $2.5MM on Fowler’s contract.
Joseph was acquired from Ottawa with St. Louis picking up a third-round pick to take on the rest of his contract. He wasn’t particularly impactful in his first season with the Blues and while he’s only a year removed from a 35-point year, a similar showing in 2025-26 could have his next deal coming closer to half of this amount. On the other hand, Holloway is on the rise. Acquired for a third-round pick via the offer sheet (not the one they got to take on Joseph), he had a breakout year with 63 points, good for third on the team in scoring. With arbitration rights next summer, a similar showing this season could have him more in the $7MM range on a long-term deal. What a difference a year can make after being limited on the depth chart in Edmonton.
Texier was also brought in last summer with the hopes that a change of scenery could help him most consistently show the upside he briefly displayed with Columbus. Instead, injuries were once again an issue and his playing time was a career-low when he was in the lineup. At this point, he might be a non-tender candidate or needing to sign for close to his $2.1MM qualifying offer. Toropchenko surprisingly signed this one-year deal last October and while he brought plenty of physicality, he also only scored four goals in 80 games. A small raise could nonetheless come his way but if he remains around the 20-point range, he should land somewhere around the $2.25MM mark next year.
Sundqvist has been an effective bottom-six center for a good chunk of his two stints with St. Louis but still had to settle for a minimum contract just two summers ago. He’s done enough to earn a small raise but given his market limitations the last time he tested the market, it might only be worth a few hundred thousand per season. Walker had his best season in 2024-25, becoming more of an every-game player but his overall track record remains that of a depth piece. The increase to the minimum salary guarantees him a raise to $850K and it’s possible he can do a little better than that.
Broberg’s offer sheet was much riskier than Holloway’s given the higher cap hit associated with it and what was at the time a very limited track record. But the opportunity to play regular minutes in the top four for the first time in his career helped him break out and look more like the player Edmonton hoped he’d be when they drafted him eighth overall in 2019. Now, the deal has gone from a risky one to a team-friendly pact. Also like Holloway, Broberg will be arbitration-eligible next summer, putting him in a position for a big jump again. A long-term pact will likely run them past the $7MM mark while if they needed short-term flexibility, a one-year deal could be an option but still might check in around $6MM.
Fowler was an impactful pickup by GM Doug Armstrong early in the season as he stepped right into a top-four role. For the portion that they’re paying him, he’s a nice bargain. While he’s unlikely to command a price tag at the full portion of his current deal ($6.5MM), it’ll take more than what the Blues are currently paying him to keep him around. A two-or three-year deal around the midpoint of those two numbers might be enough. Kessel technically needs to play in ten NHL games to remain a restricted free agent, otherwise he’s a Group Six unrestricted free agent. Last season wasn’t as good as the year before in the NHL but he’s now waiver-eligible and should be up with St. Louis for the full campaign. If he can lock down a full-time role, he could plausibly double his current cost. If he’s more of a depth option, then something a little over the $1MM mark might make sense.
Signed Through 2026-27
G Jordan Binnington ($6MM, UFA)
F Nick Bjugstad ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Justin Faulk ($6.5MM, UFA)
G Joel Hofer ($3.4MM, RFA)
D Torey Krug ($6.5MM, UFA)
F Jake Neighbours ($3.75MM, RFA)
F Pius Suter ($4.125MM, UFA)
D Tyler Tucker ($925K, UFA)
Suter had a breakout year with Vancouver and with so few centers on the open market, it looked like he was poised to cash in. Instead, while he landed a nice raise over the $1.6MM he made in each of the last two years, only securing two seasons was a bit surprising. If he reverts to being more of a third liner as he has been, it’s still not really an overpay, making it a low-risk addition. Clearly, teams want to see him repeat his 46 points before committing big term and big dollars.
Neighbours continued to show steady improvement but St. Louis wasn’t in a spot to give him a long-term deal, making it another bridge pact. His production hasn’t quite taken off as much as Holloway’s but as a power forward, even maintaining a point total in the mid-40s would have him set for a notable raise on his $4MM qualifying offer. If he continues to progress, he could very well double his current cap charge. Bjugstad had a strong first year in Arizona but struggled last season with Utah which hurt his market. Still, he has been more of a bottom-six producer for the most part in recent years and at this price tag, there isn’t much risk.
Let’s get Krug out of the way quickly. He won’t play this season and probably won’t play next year, meaning he’ll again be LTIR-eligible. Under the new rules, St. Louis would get the full allotment of LTIR room (minus any amount they’re below the cap when they place him there.) Doing so means they can’t accrue cap space and any bonuses hit roll over to 2026-27 so their preferred method at this point is probably trying to avoid it. But while the LTIR change will affect a lot of teams and players this season, Krug will be one of the exceptions.
Faulk is not the higher-end offensive threat he was in his prime and as he nears the 1,000-game mark with the minutes he’s logged, he could start to wear down before too much longer. Nonetheless, he was still an all-situations top-pairing piece in terms of usage last season so even with the drop in production, they’ve still received a reasonable return in recent years. But if the drop continues, he will wind up with a drop of a couple million or so on his next contract. Tucker cleared waivers back in October but wound up playing a relatively regular role in the second half on the third pairing, a role he might be able to reprise. If he can become a full-timer, things will be looking up two years from now when doubling this could be an option. But if he remains more of a reserve player, he’ll stay in that range of being a little above the minimum salary.
It hasn’t always been pretty with Binnington on this contract with there being more ups and downs than teams typically like from their starter. But the good generally has outweighed the bad while he has been one of the workhorses around the league in recent years. Since he’s not in that top tier, he probably isn’t going to be able to reach the $8MM level that a few have hit but another multi-year pact at or even a little above this price point is feasible. As the Blues have done several times with their players, Hofer also received a bridge deal, one that gives them more time to assess if he can ultimately supplant Binnington as the starter. If so, he could land around where Binnington is now. If not, he likely wouldn’t get a big jump off where he is now as the high-end backup ceiling isn’t much higher than this at the moment.
Signed Through 2027-28
F Brayden Schenn ($6.5MM, UFA)
After two of his better offensive seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23, Schenn’s production has come down over the last couple of years to more around the 50-point mark. Considering his physicality and the fact he plays center, this still isn’t a terrible price tag for someone who is deployed as a second liner. But with over 1,000 games under his belt now and the style he plays, there are going to be some concerns about his ability to provide similar value over these final three years.
Signed Through 2028-29
None
Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer
F Pavel Buchnevich ($8MM through 2030-31)
F Jordan Kyrou ($8.125MM through 2030-31)
D Colton Parayko ($6.5MM through 2029-30)
F Robert Thomas ($8.125MM through 2030-31)
Thomas and Kyrou signed identical contracts two months apart but since then, their paths have differed a bit. Thomas has emerged as a legitimate top-line center, averaging over a point per game the last two seasons, moving this contract to a team-friendly one already. Meanwhile, Kyrou hasn’t quite gotten to that level yet although he’s averaging 71 points over the past four years which is still solid overall. But that didn’t stop the trade speculation before July 1st when his trade protection kicked in. It’s clear that Thomas is viewed as a core untouchable while Kyrou isn’t quite in that category. But even so, his contract should hold up well in what’s expected to be an inflationary environment over the next few years.
Buchnevich signed this contract last summer as an early extension but he still saw his output dip for the third straight year, going from 75 points to 57 over that stretch. If he stays around this level moving forward, St. Louis could get some reasonable value from this contract but it’s fair to say that they’re paying him to be more in the 65-point range consistently where his deal would hold up a lot better.
Parayko battled some injuries last season but still had arguably his best year overall. An all-situations top-pairing player, he also set career highs in goals and points, helping to cover Krug’s absence and the offensive decline from Faulk. If he can stay healthy (and given his back troubles in the past, it is a legitimate if), this deal should hold up rather well. It will be tough for it to be the internal ceiling on the back end though given the new cap environment.
Still To Sign
None
Buyouts
None
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty
$2.153MM
Best Value: (non-entry-level) Holloway
Worst Value: Joseph
Looking Ahead
While things look pretty tight right now, having Krug’s LTIR-eligible contract gives the Blues a fair bit of wiggle room, just with the risk of another carryover penalty (though not as large as the one they’re dealing with this year). Barring a trade or carrying a shorter roster, it feels like they’re going to land in LTIR at some point whenever injuries arise but there should be enough wiggle room to add a player or two in-season if they need to.
St. Louis is going to be in a tighter situation than a lot of teams next summer. Yes, around $32MM in space is nice but around half of that could wind up going to Holloway and Broberg, not to mention the vacancy to fill with Fowler (even if it’s a re-signing). It’s manageable but adding a core piece could be tricky. Things open up after that, however, with just five players signed for more than two years, giving incoming GM Alex Steen a lot of leeway to reshape this roster. It’s just something that isn’t going to happen right after he takes over.
Photos courtesy of John E. Sokolowski and Stan Szeto-Imagn Images.