Examining The Blues’ Offseason Thus Far
Now that the dust has settled on the NHL Entry Draft and the early days of free agency, it’s fair to begin making sense of the direction certain teams are headed. One of the busier and more interesting teams this offseason has been the St. Louis Blues, who have taken a no-holds-barred approach to retooling their roster, including the trades of forward Jordan Kyrou and multiple first-round picks, as well as the Jonathan Drouin buyout. The Blues have also been busy adding to their lineup, bringing in forwards Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish, as well as defenseman Brandon Carlo and prospect Milton Gastrin. All of it looks dishevelled and all over the place, but for a team that has badly needed a retool, it’s a decent start for the Blues, though it’s a risky one as well.
The risky moves involve Kyrou and McTavish, and it’s hard to say which move carries more risk. Trading Kyrou was certainly a gamble, as he is a bona fide top-six forward who can put up offense. While he is talented, Kyrou struggled offensively last season, and it’s fair to wonder if the Blues sold low on the 28-year-old until you look at the return. St. Louis received forward McMichael, the number 16 selection in this year’s draft, and the aforementioned Gastrin, which was fair value for the highly sought-after Kyrou. Some might wonder why St. Louis felt compelled to deal Kyrou, but there was clearly something off about the core in St. Louis, which appeared so talented on paper yet was unable to get it done on the ice. Kyrou and McMichael suffered from the same affliction last season, namely that their talent levels didn’t line up with their on-ice production. A fresh start should work out well for both of them.
The other major risk for St. Louis was dealing two first-round picks for McTavish, who has a ton of upside and is just 24 years old. Like Kyrou, McTavish had a down year, and Anaheim elected to sell low, although St. Louis paid a hefty price for the former third-overall pick. There are concerns about McTavish’s skating, but St. Louis probably isn’t concerned about the top-end speed of their power forward with the heavy shot. That will be the risk with McTavish, though, because as good as his hands are and as accurate as his shot is, he needs to get around the ice with some pace, and it remains to be seen whether he will improve that.
Then there was the buyout of Drouin, which, in a vacuum, made sense given that he was owed $4MM and had dramatically underperformed last season in the first year of his two-year deal. Drouin had signed the contract last summer with the New York Islanders, who quickly realized he wasn’t a fit and moved him as part of the trade for Brayden Schenn. Drouin had been an effective player in the years prior while with the Colorado Avalanche, but didn’t fit with the Islanders or the Blues last season and is now a UFA. What made the Drouin buyout odd is that the Blues didn’t really use the savings on another move (other than the Ross Johnston signing) and instead opted to keep the cap space available. But with a full roster of 23 and over $10MM available, it’s possible they don’t spend it. It could be that St. Louis is staying under an internal cap and needed to save actual dollars, which might be the only real explanation for buying out a player who could’ve had some value at the NHL Trade Deadline if he had a bounce-back season.
The signing of Johnston was one of the only other major pieces of news for the Blues on the first day of free agency, as they kept things quiet, signing only him to a three-year, $6MM deal, and Dillon Dube to a one-year deal at the league minimum. Johnston will bring sandpaper to the Blues’ lineup and is effectively just an enforcer at this stage of his career, while Dube will be an unknown at the NHL level, having not played an NHL game since January 2024.
Overall, it’s hard to fault St. Louis for wanting to be proactive in their retooling rather than waiting around for prospects and picks to hopefully work out. By converting Kyrou and their extra first-round picks into young, NHL-ready talent, St. Louis has made themselves more difficult to play against and kept intact a fairly young core that also includes Robert Thomas, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. They didn’t go about things in the most cohesive manner, but there are times in the NHL when teams make moves to set up something bigger down the road or as part of a bigger plan. The Blues are a team in transition at the moment, and some of the moves made should inject energy into a group that had perhaps become a little stale and a little pessimistic about some of the trades made towards the end of last season, when some key pieces were sent out the door at the trade deadline. St. Louis got younger this summer, and it’s hard to judge the totality of their moves until the team takes to the ice next October.
Draft Notes: Blues, Sharks, Robertson
The St. Louis Blues have many different notes to play when Friday rolls around.
GM Doug Armstrong, since 2026, has notably turned Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, and Jordan Kyrou into five draft picks: three first-round picks, two seconds, and six players. But for the Blues, they’re just getting started. According to The Athletic, Armstrong said: “I think we’ve added valuable assets, and I think it gives this organization a great opportunity to get creative.” But how could the Blues do so?
The Blues have $22MM in cap space to allocate to the team’s current roster composition, 10th highest in the NHL. Their draft capital is even better; 13 total selections could be made by the Blues in the 2026 Draft, four in the first round at 11th, 15th, 16th, and 29th overall. Armstrong noted that it benefits the Blues that the rest of the league has had time to see their current situation and gauge how they can deal with the Blues. Regardless, with players like Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, Colton Parayko, and Cam Fowler to note, those picks could be dealt elsewhere to benefit the current roster. Or, helping the young group of Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Philip Broberg might also be beneficial for St. Louis. Regardless, a lot is riding on how the Blues approach this weekend.
Additional Notes:
- Sharks GM Mike Grier was asked about his second overall selection and the intrigue of drafting top prospect Ivar Stenberg. After dealing away young winger William Eklund to the Ottawa Senators, it felt nearly obvious that the Sharks would take one Swedish winger and replace him with a younger one. However, according to Max Willer of SharksHKYDigest, Grier isn’t making his draft approach obvious. He said Stenberg was a great player, but also, “It’s all speculation on your part here. Six-three, right shot, D, who can skate and create offense, don’t grow on trees either.” San Jose has a plethora of elite young defenseman signed and still in the prospect pool, but with the draft’s surplus of top-tier defenders, does he go in that direction at two? Whatever he does could set the tone for what San Jose does later on Friday at picks 9, acquired from Ottawa, and 27th overall from the Sabres.
- According to the Fourth Period, Jason Robertson continues to circle the league as a talking point. The 96-point scorer remains a top priority for Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill to bring back, but that navigation hasn’t come without other teams inquiring. The Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Seattle Kraken, Utah Mammoth, and Pittsburgh Penguins are five teams that are believed to have expressed interest in the American forward. Robertson could go many ways in how his next deal is approached, with AFP Analytics projecting a long and short-term avenue; eight-years at $95MM ($11.9MM AAV) or one-year at $9.62MM. The latter would make him a UFA at age 27.
Washington Capitals Acquire Jordan Kyrou
After months, even years, of trade speculation, Jordan Kyrou is finally moving on from the St. Louis Blues. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Blues have traded Kyrou to the Washington Capitals. A few moments later, the Capitals announced the trade, sharing that forward Connor McMichael, forward Milton Gästrin, and Washington’s 2026 first-round pick (16th overall) are headed to the Blues.
The Alexander Steen era begins with one of the most expected moves of the Blues’ offseason. It wasn’t an expectation that Kyrou would ultimately land with the Capitals, but there was every reason to believe that he wouldn’t be back in St. Louis next season.
The upside to Kyrou’s game is well known at this point. Last Sunday, PHR’s Gabriel Foley described Kyrou’s offensive abilities at length, saying, “Kyrou’s ability to score is his defining trait. He has scored 149 goals in 389 games since the start of the 2021-22 season – ranked 37th in total goals and 43rd in goals-per-game among the full NHL in that span. Flashier than his goal-scoring is Kyrou’s knack for driving play. He serves as St. Louis’ spark plug, often stepping up as the once to kickoff a change in momentum even in the midst of an 18-goal performance this season. The Blues lean on Kyrou to bring energy into the rush – and an improved ability to keep that energy up without the puck on his stick has earned Selke Trophy votes in each of the last two seasons.”
Unfortunately, Kyrou experienced some serious regression last season. After registering 36 goals and 70 points in 82 games during the 2024-25 campaign, Kyrou’s production fell to 18 goals and 46 points in 72 games last season.
Given his track record beforehand, there’s every reason to believe that Kyrou can rebound. Followed by trade speculation for some time, not every player can handle that noise with grace. Now having a fresh start in Washington, Kyrou will be relied upon to keep up the Capitals’ heavy offense as they transition out of the Alex Ovechkin era.
That isn’t to say that the trade isn’t a gamble on Washington’s end, however. Kyrou is signed through the 2030-31 season at an $8.125MM salary, and if he can’t reach his offensive heights again, let alone the 20-goal mark, that will be a bad-looking contract regardless of the rising upper limit of the salary cap.
For St. Louis, they were able to move out of Kyrou’s hefty contract after a disappointing campaign, without retaining salary, mind you, for a decent collection of assets.
McMichael, 25, will become a restricted free agent on July 1st, giving St. Louis the freedom to sign him to the best contract as they see fit. He had a nearly identical season to the one Kyrou had last year, registering 14 goals and 46 points in 78 games. The previous year, he scored 26 goals and recorded a total of 57 points in 82 games.
Additionally, unlike Kyrou, McMichael plays center. He’s not the best at faceoffs, but it was known that the Blues had an eye on center depth this offseason behind Robert Thomas, and McMichael fits that billing for the time being. His career 43.0% faceoff rate leaves plenty to be desired, but there’s no question that McMichael is a defensively responsible center with the ability to put up points.
St. Louis has also acquired Gästrin, who made his professional debut with the AHL’s Hershey Bears during the 2026 Calder Cup playoffs. Selected with the 37th overall pick of last year’s draft by the Capitals, Gästrin, 19, played his post-draft campaign with the HockeyAllsvenskan’s MoDo Hockey, scoring 10 goals and 24 points in 39 games. Despite being further away in his development, like McMichael, Gästrin is a strong center who plays responsibly in all three zones.
Lastly, unless any of them are flipped before Friday, the Blues now have four picks in the first round of the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft, the highest of which is their own at 11th overall. Given how much interest there has been in moving into the top-five, St. Louis could conceivably package all of these selections to move into the top-five and add a true high-impact player to their organization.
Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder of Imagn Images.
Blues’ Jordan Kyrou Offers Unique Trade Value
The St. Louis Blues are caught in limbo, without much momentum driving towards either a rebuild or the postseason. That stasis landed multiple Blues stars on the trade market at the 2026 Trade Deadline. Defenseman Justin Faulk took the fall, headed to a playoff-hopeful Detroit Red Wings for a rich return, though both top center Robert Thomas and veteran defender Colton Parayko also garnered trade calls.
Also on the call list was scoring winger Jordan Kyrou in the midst of a down year. Unlike Thomas and Parayko – Kyrou has stayed in trade rumors as the summer has rolled around, with NHL.com’s Stefen Rosner pondering a fit with the New York Islanders in his newsletter. Kyrou would represent another grail for St. Louis to market as they look to reinvent the lineup under rookie general manager Alexander Steen. The Blues’ search for a new direction could mean a big reward for another team.
Kyrou’s ability to score is his defining trait. He has scored 149 goals in 389 games since the start of the 2021-22 season – ranked 37th in total goals and 43rd in goals-per-game among the full NHL in that span. Flashier than his goal-scoring is Kyrou’s knack for driving play. He serves as St. Louis’ spark plug, often stepping up as the once to kickoff a change in momentum even in the midst of an 18-goal performance this season. The Blues lean on Kyrou to bring energy into the rush – and an improved ability to keep that energy up without the puck on his stick has earned Selke Trophy votes in each of the last two seasons.
That energy is also the core of Kyrou’s trade value. He is one of the NHL’s few true spark plugs who don’t also carry superstar value. Of that subgroup, Alex Tuch may be the only other option on the open market. Kyrou could be a rare crop during a dry summer – but his recent decline is the mark of serious risk. The 27 year old scored just 46 points this season – recording a point on 20 percent of goals scored by a quiet Blues offense this season. That mark represents a major drop off from recent seasons. Kyrou has chipped in on at least 28 percent of St. Louis’ goals every season dating back to 2022-23, when he led the club in scoring with 73 points in 79 games.
Now, in what should be the prime years of his career, Kyrou is running into his toughest struggles yet. Part of that sudden change is his fit in the fundamental and by-the-books systems of Drew Bannister and Jim Montgomery. The speedster struggled to hang onto his top-line role under two styles that aimed for sustained and controlled possession in the offensive zone. That worked against the creative and explosive Kyrou, though his game-changing ability still earned him rotation onto the top unit nearly every game.
Kyrou has flirted with both 40 goals and 50 assists in separate seasons through his eight-year NHL career. At 28, his chances to reach those marks will soon become dim – but his existing potential speaks to a great amount of value potentially in trade conversations. Kyrou could be a value buy who could blossom in a new setting that better supports his fast-tempo offense. Much of the NHL’s up-and-comers are now built around those styles, thanks to the breakouts of stars Matthew Schaefer, Macklin Celebrini, and Lane Hutson. All three players could benefit from the complement of another strong play-driver, while Kyrou also offers young-but-promising clubs a bit of proven impact.
St. Louis will have a rich palate after receiving a first-round pick for aging defender Faulk at the deadline. That could quickly raise the cost of a Kyrou deal – and may even require a team to send one of their NHL-ready prospects in addition to draft capital. That could quickly price out most teams – but those who see negotiations to the end will be betting on Kyrou’s untapped potential. He is signed to a very reasonable, $8.13MM cap hit through the 2030-31 season. If he reaches the heights of his scoring and lineup potential – that cap hit could quickly turn into a bargain, especially as free agents like Tuch seek eight-figure salaries.
The veracity to Kyrou’s trade rumors could be thin – but his value on the market would certainly be high. Even after a down year, Kyrou’s potential to breakout in a new system – while wielding a cost-controlled contract – could make him one of the top names to monitor through the off-season.
Senators To Be Active In Trade And Free Agency Front During Offseason
The Ottawa Senators are wasting little time addressing areas of need following their first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes. With the NHL Draft approaching on June 26-27, president of hockey operations and GM Steve Staios was active at last week’s Combine in Buffalo. According to Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun, Staios met with league executives and player agents amid a thin free-agent market that is pushing more clubs toward trades. The push includes additions at all areas of the roster.
A league executive indicated Ottawa is in the market for a top-six winger capable of lining up with Tim Stützle and captain Brady Tkachuk. While the Senators lack significant assets for a major splash, Garrioch’s sources noted Anaheim’s Mason McTavish as a realistic target given existing organizational ties. Jordan Kyrou was previously mentioned in early deadline chatter, though Garrioch noted that scenario “doesn’t make sense” for Ottawa at this stage.
On the blue line, adding a top-four right-shot defenseman remains a priority with veteran Nick Jensen expected to test unrestricted free agency following knee surgery. RFA Jordan Spence averaged 25 minutes of ice time during his four postseason games and holds arbitration rights, which could set up potentially tricky negotiations.
In an effort to boost the blue line and offer any veteran help, the Senators also checked in on St. Louis veterans Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk at the March trade deadline. However, neither was willing to waive their new move clauses to come to Ottawa. Faulk was ultimately dealt to Detroit, while Parayko declined to waive his no-move clause despite a strong offer from Buffalo that included a high-end prospect and first-round pick.
In net, the Senators are expected to focus on backup goaltending, and should qualify Leevi Meriläinen, while monitoring UFAs options like Connor Ingram and Stuart Skinner, among others.
Veteran UFA forwards Claude Giroux and Nick Cousins have noted strong desires to stay in Ottawa. Staios is reportedly high on retaining both, with Giroux likely returning on another bonus-heavy structure.
Trade talks will be a little more challenging without the draft capital of their No. 32 overall draft selection. Expect trade discussions to intensify in the coming weeks as clubs position themselves ahead of July 1 free agency.
Jordan Kyrou Undergoes Minor Knee Surgery, Will Be Ready For Camp
Blues star winger Jordan Kyrou underwent a minor knee procedure this week that his not expected to impact his availability for next season’s training camp, the team announced Thursday. General manager Doug Armstrong did not disclose an exact timeline.
Kyrou missed a few weeks with a lower-body injury back in December. It’s unclear if the procedure referenced today is related to that absence, but if it is, it would offer an added explanation for the top scorer’s struggles this season.
Over the past few seasons, Kyrou has been money in the bank for at least 30 goals and 65 points. From the 2021-22 to 2024-25 seasons, he rarely missed extended time and averaged 34 goals and 74 points per 82 games.
All that came crashing down in a disastrous 2025-26 campaign for both him and the club. Kyrou’s 18 goals, 28 assists, and 46 points in 72 games were his worst scoring line in five years.
His ice time was correspondingly limited by head coach Jim Montgomery. He was a healthy scratch for a game early in the season and saw over 15 minutes just three times in the final 12 games of the season. He averaged only 15:44 per game on the year, his lowest deployment since his big breakout in 2021-22.
Kyrou’s name was frequently in trade speculation over the past two offseasons as the Blues looked to leverage him from a position of strength, potentially to improve their blue line. He had a full no-trade clause kick in on July 1 last summer that now makes that a much more complicated proposition. Now locked in at an $8.125MM cap hit through 2030-31, it’s unwise for the Blues to cut bait on Kyrou after a down season anyway.
Canadiens In The Market For First-Line Winger
The Canadiens have begun to softly position themselves in the market for a right-winger to complement Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki on the top line ahead of the trade deadline, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said on Daily Faceoff’s “The Sheet with Jeff Marek” podcast last Friday. Pagnotta speculatively tied them to the Blues’ Jordan Kyrou, who the Habs were more firmly linked to last offseason, but didn’t have any other specific targets to offer.
For the past several seasons, the second-line center slot has been viewed as both a long-term and short-term position of need for Montreal as it transitioned from rebuilder to playoff contender. As Pagnotta mentioned, Oliver Kapanen‘s emergence this season has largely quieted that noise. The 22-year-old rookie is beginning to flourish between fellow youngsters Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky, on pace for 26 goals and 45 points. They’ll want more scoring out of him long-term, but it’s a promising first step for a second-round pick still at the midway point of his development curve.
Slafkovsky had spent his first couple of seasons up with Caufield and Suzuki. Moving him down the depth chart to give Montreal a formidable secondary scoring line hasn’t affected his production much and has been a net positive for the club this season, but they’ve yet to find a stable solution to replace him on the top unit.
Since Slafkovsky’s early-season “demotion,” it’s largely been an alternating mix of Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier riding shotgun on the right side. Together, they’ve averaged under half a point per game this season. They haven’t been a huge drag on the line’s possession impacts – in fact, they’ve controlled 61.6% of expected goals when Texier’s the third man – but it’s not the type of production they need from a top-line winger if they have serious aspirations of cutting through a crowded Eastern Conference field in the playoffs.
If Kyrou is amenable to a move, it could be a fit. He’s hit the 70-point mark three times in the last five years. A down year in 2025-26 means his $8.125MM cap hit through 2030-31 might be tough to swallow at first glance, and he has to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate it. There’s also the question of how the Habs would facilitate such a deal with just $1.5MM in projected cap space on deadline day. Moving out pending UFA Patrik Laine and his bloated $8.7MM cap hit is the clear path forward, but whether St. Louis would be open to taking it back in the deal or if they’d have to shed him in a separate transaction remains to be seen.
Montreal was tied to the Flames’ Blake Coleman last month. He would be a slightly longer-term solution as he’s signed through 2026-27. A respected all-around versatile winger, his offensive ceiling isn’t as tantalizing as other options, though. He’s only hit 50 points once in his career. Giving him premier minutes would obviously give him a better shot at being productive, though, and it would allow the Habs to throw out a more formidable bottom-six group as a result.
Of course, there’s also the option of not making any move at all. They still have some tantalizing names on the come-up, like 2025 second-rounder Alexander Zharovsky, a 6’1″ right winger who’s broken out for 36 points in 44 KHL games this season with a couple of weeks still to go before his 19th birthday. The hold-pat outcome is something Pagnotta relays general manager Kent Hughes remains comfortable with as the Habs carry a comfortable seven-point cushion on a playoff spot.
Who Could The Penguins Target Before The Trade Deadline?
The Penguins appeared to fall back to earth in December after a strong start had them in playoff contention. A ten-game stretch dropped Pittsburgh to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. However, since the Christmas break, the Penguins have been on a tear, going 14-3-3 and climbing to second place in the Metropolitan Division.
No one expected Pittsburgh to be in this spot, but that’s where they are, and it is likely changing general manager Kyle Dubas’ long-term plans. Pittsburgh was expecting to sell at the trade deadline, but now there is talk of potential additions, as Josh Yohe writes in The Athletic.
But what exactly would the Penguins add? The truth is that Dubas probably isn’t looking for short-term answers and isn’t going to give up previous picks and prospects for rentals.
He might send out a late-round pick for a player or two, but his big moves, if he makes them, will not be short-sighted. So, given that he is armed with a ton of cap space and a plethora of draft picks in the subsequent three drafts, who could Dubas target?
Some people might see a player like Blues forward Jordan Kyrou as a fit, but Pittsburgh’s GM has a type. For the past two years, it’s been clear he’s targeting high-ceiling, (mostly) young players who have fallen on hard times, need an opportunity to showcase their skills, and come at a discount.
Egor Chinakhov, Arturs Silovs, Philip Tomasino, Cody Glass, and Stuart Skinner were part of a couple of trades Dubas made to acquire young talent with a ton of upside. Most of those moves have worked out, with Tomasino being the exception.
Then there is the free agency market, where Dubas’s work is very impressive. Justin Brazeau, Parker Wotherspoon, Ryan Shea, and Anthony Mantha were all brought in for a song. Now, they are all contributing significant minutes in key roles for Pittsburgh, and the team is reaping the benefits.
Kyrou could be considered a fit, but given the price tag and the money he is owed, it doesn’t feel like a Dubas target heading into the trade deadline. He has been burned by significant acquisitions before, both in Pittsburgh and Toronto, so he could be tepid when it comes to big-game hunting, especially if he is eyeing the Penguins’ long-term prospects. But like Kyrou, there are many players who have fallen on hard times and are available, with the upside Dubas might be looking for.
What about a Shane Wright in Seattle? Would Dubas be willing to move some of his picks and prospects to acquire the former fourth-overall pick in 2022, or even go so far as to move a player from the Penguins’ current roster?
Wright looked like he’d found his NHL footing last season, but an uneven start to this year has him on shaky ground. Seattle is putting out feelers to gauge the market for the 22-year-old.
Pittsburgh needs young, high-end talent to add to its young core of Benjamin Kindel, Sergey Murashov, Harrison Brunicke, and Rutger McGroarty. Could Wright be a fit? There is nothing to suggest Pittsburgh has interest, but given Dubas’ track record, it’s hard to ignore that there could be a fit there.
What about another top pick, Alexis Lafrenière, who is reportedly not a significant part of the New York Rangers’ retool? The former first overall pick in 2020 looked to have turned the corner two years ago, when he tallied 28 goals and 29 assists in 82 games.
However, last season was a setback offensively, and this season has been an even steeper drop. His assist numbers remain stable, but the finishing just hasn’t been there. He has a two percent drop in his shooting rate and isn’t generating the same shot volume as in 2023-24.
It’s hard to believe the Rangers would trade with the Penguins given the bad blood between the two sides, but they’ve done business before, as recently as 2024, when Pittsburgh sent forward Reilly Smith to New York for two draft picks. This would be different, though, as Lafrenière is in the first year of a seven-year, $52.15MM contract. And make no mistake, that contract could be a barrier to the Rangers moving him, although with a rising cap, it could be worth taking on, given Lafrenière’s potential.
At 24 years of age, Lafrenière has yet to live up to the billing that made him a first-overall pick. He was touted as an offensive wizard, drawing comparisons to another former first-overall pick, Sidney Crosby.
Now, in his sixth NHL season, it doesn’t appear he will morph into an offensive wizard anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value to be had. Lafrenière could be a good long-term option to play on the wing with Kindel in Pittsburgh’s top six.
Lafrenière is a smart player. Like Kindel, he has a high hockey IQ and is an excellent passer who handles the puck well. There could be a match there if the Penguins are looking for younger players who have underperformed.
Given Dubas’s previous connection in Toronto, it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t be interested in right winger Nicholas Robertson, a pending RFA next summer who has been on the trade block for what feels like forever.
Robertson wanted out of Toronto 18 months ago and never got his wish. However, the Maple Leafs have moved him up the lineup this season, with varying results, thanks to the injuries the team has dealt with. Would Toronto move him now? It’s hard to say, but for the right price, anything is possible.
It’s not certain that Robertson would be a fit in Pittsburgh, as he likely wouldn’t be in their top nine. The Penguins’ fourth line of Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari and Connor Dewar has been highly effective this year, meaning there might not be a place for Robertson with the Penguins. Things could change in the summer, when the Penguins have more slots open up due to departures, but for now, it seems unlikely that they would acquire the 24-year-old forward.
At the beginning of the season, the Penguins were widely regarded as having the worst left-side defensive unit in the league. No one could have predicted the emergence of Shea and Wotherspoon, who have become solid defensive options, while Brett Kulak was still playing in Edmonton with the Oilers.
At the time, Penguins fans were discussing the possibility of acquiring Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, the 10th overall pick in 2022. Reports from Elliotte Friedman at the time indicated that Mintyukov wasn’t happy with his playing time, and Penguins fans rightly saw him as a potential solution to their defensive woes. But now, with the Penguins’ current depth, it’s hard to say whether it would be a move for Pittsburgh to make. Dubas always likes to stockpile NHL defensemen and has at least a dozen of them right now, but would he put together a 22-year-old defenseman who would be a heck of a buy-low option?
Make no mistake, Mintyukov can play and would be a great long-term option for the Penguins alongside Brunicke on the back end. This season, Mintyukov has six goals and eight assists in 48 games, buoyed by a career-high shooting percentage of 12%. Pittsburgh is being cautious about how it spends its future assets and may not want to roll the dice if the price gets too high. But if Anaheim is looking to move on from Mintyukov, the Penguins could likely put together a competitive offer for the pending UFA.
Assessing The Blues’ Direction
The Blues are in a strange spot. They’re 31st in the league with a record of 20-26-9 and a goal differential of -54, tied for the worst in the NHL.
They’re very close to having the best odds to win the draft lottery, and while they aren’t technically out of the playoff hunt, they’re 10 points back of the Kings for the final Wild Card spot, and Los Angeles has games in hand. The Blues are likely finished for this season, and despite that, they haven’t fully committed to a rebuild, though they’re clearly not close to contending at the moment.
They have some good young players and a mix of veterans, some on bad contracts and others they probably want to trade, especially as the playoffs grow further away with each game.
St. Louis’ roster construction has been disjointed over the last few years with a mixed bag of moves. They’re far from alone in that regard. But what has been missing is a clear direction on how to sell to Blues fans, who are hoping for some signal that the team has a plan.
Entering the season, it looked as though the Blues were hoping to compete for a playoff spot, as they did last season. Those hopes have been dashed by inconsistent play and the struggles of core players Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington. You either sell winning or you sell hope, and this season the Blues haven’t been able to sell either. That will need to change in short order, and a clear direction needs to be established.
Of the players listed above, Thomas is the only one who hasn’t been constantly linked to trade rumours this season, but that has changed as of late. Kyrou, Parayko and Binnington have all been fodder for trade board segments across the hockey media and have been joined by teammates Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk.
In a perfect world, St. Louis would have a clear choice about who to move and who to keep. Still, some of the team’s previous moves have left them in a precarious spot, with their only real option being to retool rather than bottom out. They aren’t anywhere close to being a contender and already have several talented players and a very skilled coach in place.
Therein lies a big problem for the Blues. How do you tell Jim Montgomery that the team plans to sell off its veterans and go with younger players who are still finding their way in the NHL? It probably wouldn’t be popular with the veteran head coach.
The alternative is to continue pushing an aging roster into the playoffs and finishing in the middle of the standings, outside the postseason. Montgomery doesn’t need to look far to find a coach who was stuck in that spot for several seasons: Mike Sullivan, formerly of the Penguins.
Sullivan’s final three seasons with the team saw him try to will an aging lineup over the finish line, only to fall just outside the cut when it came to playoff time. Interestingly enough, Sullivan left the Penguins last summer to pursue a better opportunity with the Rangers, only to end up in the same position he had been in with Pittsburgh.
At the end of the day, for general manager Doug Armstrong, his job isn’t to please his coach; it’s to put together the best roster for the team he can and put the players in a position to win. Adding to an old, slow roster does nothing to accomplish that, and the Blues can’t make that the direction they go.
If there is anything we’ve learned in the last half-decade, it is that teams can remain competitive and retool on the fly by surrounding older talent with fresh legs and young energy, brought in by calling up skilled, speedy prospects. The Washington Capitals proved it last season; the Penguins are showing the same thing this year; and the Blues have to look at that model and see how best to apply it to their own roster construction.
The Blues have some pieces in Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud, Jake Neighbours, and Dalibor Dvorsky. Now they need to figure out which veterans to keep around to guide them and which to let go to acquire more young talent to insulate the core.
It makes sense to move Binnington, given that Joel Hofer is waiting in the wings and probably deserves the bulk of the ice time. The issue for St. Louis is that they missed the best time to trade the 32-year-old: last March, before the trade deadline, or this past summer.
This year, Binnington’s game has fallen off a cliff, and he is dead last in the NHL with -24.4 goals saved above expected in 31 games (per MoneyPuck). Add to that the fact that he is counting $6MM against the salary cap and has a 14-team no-trade clause (per PuckPedia), and you have a player who is close to impossible to move.
Moving Faulk would also be a step in the right direction, as the 33-year-old makes $6.5MM this year and next and is having a reasonable offensive season with 11 goals and 13 assists in 52 games, while cleaning up the turnover issue that plagued him last year. The Blues are reportedly looking to strike while the iron is hot and are asking for a premium package to move the right-shot defenseman. If the Blues can move Faulk and get a return even remotely close to their ask, it would be good business and could set them on a path to retool sooner than later.
Outside of those two, Schenn, Thomas, and Parayko remain options to be moved, and it’s hard to say whether the Blues want to turn their roster over completely. The Penguins tried to move Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson last year but couldn’t find anyone willing to meet their asking price. Perhaps the Blues will chart a similar course and try to move those three veterans if they get the right price. If not, they’ll wait to see how their own roster shakes out over the next six to 12 months. In any event, St. Louis has to show direction sooner rather than later if it hopes to position the team for improvement in the near future.
Injury Updates: Maple Leafs, Greenway, Blues, Hedman, Ristolainen
The Maple Leafs have placed defenseman Dakota Joshua and defenseman Chris Tanev on LTIR, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). Joshua is dealing with a lacerated kidney that has kept him out for the last month and while he has started light skating, he’s not expected to return until after the Olympic break. Tanev, meanwhile, has missed the last month with a groin issue. There’s no timeline for his return but he has already missed the required 10 games and 24 days so if he returns – something that is in the air with him reportedly uncertain about surgery – so he’s eligible to be activated at any time.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Sabres winger Jordan Greenway has been limited this season after undergoing two sports hernia surgeries over the last 13 months. He doesn’t play in back-to-backs and practice time has been limited. Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald mentions that the veteran is expected to meet with doctors on Thursday to determine if what he’s dealing with in terms of discomfort is something that can be fixed or if it’s something he just has to keep playing through. If any sort of procedure is needed, now would be a good time with the three-week break coming up which would limit the amount of time Greenway would miss.
- The Blues announced (Twitter link) that wingers Jordan Kyrou (upper body) and Jake Neighbours (lower body) are listed as day-to-day after undergoing further evaluations on their respective injuries. Head coach Jim Montgomery was unsure if either player would be available for Thursday’s game against Florida. Both Kyrou and Neighbours left Tuesday’s loss to Dallas but it appears it’s the best-case scenario for both of them.
- Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman took part in practice today for the first time since being sidelined with an elbow injury nearly seven weeks ago, relays Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. The 35-year-old has missed 33 of the last 36 games and has a dozen assists in 18 games this season while averaging just over 21 minutes per game. Hedman has long been targeting a return that would allow him to play in the Olympics and it appears he’s on track to do so. Notably, head coach Jon Cooper didn’t rule out the possibility of the captain returning for Sunday’s Stadium Series game.
- The Flyers announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen left tonight’s game against Columbus due to a lower-body injury. He played 1:01 over two shifts before exiting. The 31-year-old missed more than two months to start the season due to a triceps injury, then missed six more this month to an upper-body issue, one that he just returned from on Monday. Ristolainen has been limited to just three assists and 25 blocks in 15 games when he has been in the lineup. Notably, he’s set to play for Finland in the Olympics so if this injury is set to keep him out for more than a couple of weeks, that could cause him to miss the event.