Blues Sign Georgii Romanov To Two-Year Extension
The St. Louis Blues took care of a free agent this afternoon, re-upping goaltender Georgii Romanov on a two-year, two-way contract extension. The deal carries an AAV of $875k at the NHL level.
Undrafted out of Russia, Romanov was picked out by the Sharks in 2023, signing an entry level contract. Despite playing in just three KHL games to that point, otherwise holding the crease in the VHL, the 6’5″ netminder played in 29 games for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL in 2023-24 and even made two NHL appearances, allowing just one goal in 59 minutes.
Continuing to get a share of starts for the Barracuda in the following season, alongside Yaroslav Askarov, Romanov posted a solid .905 save percentage. The young Russian was again thrust into the highest level, as the fifth goaltender to spend time in San Jose’s crease during the 2024-25 campaign. Romanov lost all six of his starts, not coming away with a win, but had a solid 3.89 goals-against-average facing a barrage on the 50-loss team, numbers on par with NHL mainstays of the time, Vítek Vaněček and Alexander Georgiev.
With Askarov expectedly taking the spotlight, Romanov departed San Jose last summer, settling for a PTO with the Devils. Not landing a contract, he was then scooped up by St. Louis in October. Taking 28 games as opposed to Vadim Zherenko‘s 42 for the Springfield Thunderbirds, Romanov rewarded the organization with tremendous play in the postseason, getting hot with a .939 save percentage and two shutouts in 11 playoff games.
As Zherenko is a group six free agent this summer, Romanov’s path to #1 for the Thunderbirds and third in the organization is wide open. At age 26, he has flashed enough potential to have real late-blooming NHL upside, and Blues fans should expect him to make his debut with the club at some point next season. As the franchise navigates their youth movement, possibly moving on from Jordan Binnington, the Russian’s continued progression could soften the blow of losing Colten Ellis on waivers to Buffalo.
Blues Sign Zach Dean, Dylan Peterson To One-Year Extensions
The St. Louis Blues announced that a pair of young forwards – Zach Dean and Dylan Peterson – have each been signed to a one-year, two-way contract extension. Dean is a client of Matthew Oates of O2K Worldwide Management Group, while Peterson is repped by Randy Robitaille of Edge Sports Management.
Peterson, 24, was a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Dean, 23, was also a pending RFA but did not have arbitration rights. The contracts signed today are both players’ first deals outside the entry-level system.
The financial terms of each contract were not officially disclosed, but were reported by PuckPedia. According to the platform, Peterson’s deal carries an $850K NHL salary, $100K AHL salary, and a $125K guarantee for its one-year term. Dean’s deal carries an $850K NHL salary and a $95K AHL salary, and does not have a guaranteed sum beyond that $95K minor-league salary.
For Peterson, this deal represents a small pay cut, something that is not uncommon for players leaving the entry-level system who have not yet established themselves as NHL players or high-level AHL depth. He took home $172.5K last season ($80K AHL salary plus a $92.5K signing bonus) which is slightly above the $125K guarantee on this deal, though he could exceed that guarantee if he manages to get into some NHL games.
The 6’4″, 203-pound center set a career-high in scoring at the AHL level in 2025-26, putting up 12 goals and 24 points in 57 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds.
He played a bottom-six center role for the team and was a secondary part of the Thunderbirds’ penalty-killing rotation, so it does not seem as though he is truly likely to make a push to win an NHL spot in the fall.
But he could conceivably play his way into being a candidate for a call-up if the Blues have any injuries in their bottom-six, which would therefore position him to exceed the guarantee on this contract. Set to turn 25 in January, next season is an important one for the 2020 third-round pick.
In Dean’s case, this contract is actually a modest pay bump compared to what he earned in 2025-26. A 2021 first-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights, Dean signed his entry-level deal in December of that season.
Since entry-level deals only have three years of signing bonus – but his deal slid for its first two seasons – Dean has spent the last two years playing on his entry-level contract but without a signing bonus. As a result, while Peterson took home $172.5K last season, Dean was only entitled to his $80K AHL salary. Therefore, the $95K AHL salary on the contract signed today is a small pay raise.
It hasn’t been the easiest road for Dean, 23, in his time in pro hockey. A hard-nosed 6’0″, 176-pound forward, Dean hasn’t been able to translate the offense he displayed at the QMJHL level to the pro game. He scored 70 points in 50 regular-season games in his final season for the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques, and had 26 points in 13 playoff games. But since turning pro, he has just 32 points in 96 AHL games.
In September of last year, Dean entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, returning to the ice in January. While his efforts as a bottom-six forward helped the Thunderbirds pull off playoff upsets of the Charlotte Checkers and Providence Bruins, two of the AHL’s top five regular-season teams, his 17 points across 48 regular season and playoff contests suggests he still has to develop his game before he can become an NHL player.
NL's ZSC Lions Hire Claude Julien As Head Coach
- According to a report out of Switzerland, longtime NHL coach Claude Julien has been hired by the NL’s ZSC Lions as the team’s next head coach. A former Stanley Cup champion with the Boston Bruins in 2011, Julien has spent the last few years as an assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues. Outside of his lengthy coaching career in North America, Julien briefly served as a senior advisor for the NL’s HC Ambrì-Piotta in the 2022-23 season.
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Blues Hire Mikko Koivu As European Consultant
- Long-time captain for the Minnesota Wild, Mikko Koivu, is returning to the Central Division — just not with Minnesota. According to a team announcement, the St. Louis Blues have hired Koivu to serve as a European development consultant. The Blues’ press release indicated that Koviu will assist with development plans for European prospects drafted by St. Louis. He has been working as an assistant and development coach for the Finnish Liiga’s TPS, alongside his older brother, Saku Koivu.
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St. Louis Blues May Hire Vaclav Prospal
- After spending the last three years with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, former player Václav Prospal may be headed to the NHL for the first time in his coaching career. On his 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated that Prospal may join the St. Louis Blues next season as an assistant coach. The last time we worked in the NHL was in the 2013-14 season when he served as a professional scout for the New York Rangers.
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Blues Sign Will Cranley To One-Year Extension
The St. Louis Blues have signed goaltender Will Cranley to a one-year, two-way contract extension. Cranley spent last season as the third-string netminder for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. He has slowly risen the ranks of the pro circuit since making his ECHL debut in 2023, three years after the Blues selected him in the sixth-round of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Cranley racked up six wins and a .892 save percentage in 10 AHL games last season. He posted much more encouraging numbers in the ECHL, where he totaled 14 wins and a .915 Sv% in 18 games during the regular season. Despite those strong numbers, Cranley was not included in Florida’s race to the ECHL’s Eastern Conference Finals. While that limited his postseason appearances to part of one start with Springfield, it also served as a small bode of confidence in Cranley’s spot in the AHL.
After racking up 34 wins and a .896 save percentage in 74 career ECHL games, Cranley seems well-set for a full-time promotion next season. He will compete with Vadim Zherenko and Georgi Romanov for starts in Springfield’s crease. Zherenko posted the best statline of the bunch last season, with 17 wins and a .902 Sv% in 42 games. Romanov recorded nine wins and a .896 Sv% in 28 games. His numbers should be surmountable for the 24-year-old Cranley, though Zherenko appears set to hold onto the starting role for the foreseeable future.
Leo Lööf Signing With Liiga Club Ilves
A St. Louis Blues prospect is taking his talents back to Scandinavia.
As first reported by Mike Meyer of STL Sports Central, defenseman Leo Loof is signing a two-year contract with Ilves in Finland for the 2026-27 season. According to the club’s press release, the 24-year-old defenseman will return to his former club, where he previously spent two seasons before his journey to North America.
Loof finished his 2025-26 season in the AHL, scoring six points in 47 regular-season games played with Springfield. He did not dress during their Calder Cup playoff run, which ended via an 8-1 Game 5 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The former third-round pick in 2020 spent three seasons under the St. Louis Blues organization on a three-year entry-level contract signed back in 2023 that paid him $2.6MM ($867,500 AAV). The 6-foot-1, 201-pound Swede did not see an NHL debut, playing all three of those ELC seasons with the Thunderbirds for a total of 168 AHL games.
Leading into the 2020 NHL Draft, Loof was profiled as a tough player in his own end, who was efficient in his poise and ability to make strong reads on a play and deliver heavy hits. His accolades before coming across the pond included Bronze Medals with Ilves and the Swedish World Juniors team. He also won a Hlinka Gretzky Cup Bronze in 2020 and was considered the J18 Best U18 Defenseman while scoring the most points (12) by a defenseman in the J18 Allsvenskan in 2018-19.
The former 88th overall pick was in a logjam in comparison to other left-handed defensemen in the Blues system. St. Louis already extended Philip Broberg through 2032 at $48MM ($8MM AAV), Cam Fowler through 2030 at $18.3MM ($6.1MM AAV), as well as Tyler Tucker, who has a year left at $925,000. Among his counterparts in the pool, ELCs were signed by Lukas Fischer, at age 19, in late March, and Colin Ralph put ink to paper out of Michigan State in early April. Already in the AHL, Theo Lindstein and Michael Buchinger both played more games than Loof this past season.
New general manager Alexander Steen will inherit three selections in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, where some prominent defensemen could potentially be available for the taking, who would rank high among their prospect pool if selected. St. Louis could use those picks to take a defenseman at either the guaranteed 11th or 15th overall picks (Colorado’s standing to be determined). As the Blues look to build back into playoff contention out of their fifth-place finish in the Central Division, they currently carry $15.7MM in cap space.
Blues Trying To Move Up In 2026 NHL Draft
Three picks in the 2026 NHL Draft first round may not be rich enough for the St. Louis Blues. The club is putting concerted effort into trying to move up from their current standing at 11th-overall, TSN’s Darren Dreger shared on Hockey Sense with Andy Strickland. Dreger added that the San Jose Sharks, who currently sit at second-overall, could be willing to move down from their current selection.
The last top-three pick to be traded also belonged to the Sharks, who sent what would become the 2020 third-overall pick to the Ottawa Senators in their September 2018 acquisition of star defenseman Erik Karlsson. Toronto also traded what would become the 2010 second-overall pick to Boston in September 2009, setting up the Bruins’ selection of Tyler Seguin. The last instance of a top-three pick changing hands after it was declared came in 2003 – when the Pittsburgh Penguins moved from the third-overall pick up to first-overall to select Marc-Andre Fleury.
St. Louis could feel driven to pull off a trade of this magnitude by a rare opportunity in front of them. While star scorer Gavin McKenna has dominated attention for first-overall, Swedish phenom Ivar Stenberg – the younger brother of Blues prospect Otto Stenberg – has formed a strong case behind him. The younger Stenberg is currently lighting up the IIHF Men’s World Championships with seven points in six games. He has cemented a top-line role on Team Sweden, capping off a year that saw him earn a similar spot on Frolunda HC, who finished second in the SHL regular season.
Stenberg is a true dynamo, capable of dominating games with his breakaway speed and heads-up playmaking. He can hold the puck for as long as needed to create sneaky and successful scoring chances. He is just as involved away from the puck, staying focused in scoring areas and working to make plays on defense. That full-ice impact made Stenberg hard to ignore since he made his SHL debut last season.
The older Stenberg also made waves over the season, earning his NHL debut in mid-December and ultimately scoring 10 points in 32 games of what would become his NHL rookie season. That was only seven points fewer than the scoring total he posted in 36 AHL games. He seemed comfortable at the top level and – after easing into the role – embraced a much-needed center position in St. Louis. His arrival could help St. Louis justify selecting yet another winger headed likely headed for a top-six role, after they landed Justin Carbonneau in the 2025 class.
Ivar Stenberg would bring true top-end ability to the Blues lineup. It would be a final piece for St. Louis, who has already seen wingers Dylan Holloway, Jake Neighbours, and Jimmy Snuggerud excel in their top-nine roles. But while they have each excelled in limited top-line minutes, they’ve proven most effective when rotating through the lineup with each other. Stenberg could add another strong impact to that mix until he can graduate into a lineup-leading role.
The cost of pulling off the first top-three trade in more than two decades wouldn’t be cheap. Many expect San Jose to target an addition on defense after adding Michael Misa with the second-overall pick last season. The Sharks would likely find strong defenders still on the board outside of the top-five, just as they would at second-overall, in a draft class filled with high-end, defense prospects. Moving down would offer a chance to add even more to their riches – potentially emerging defense prospect Theo Lindstein or shutdown defenders Colin Ralph or Arseni Koromyslov from St. Louis’ pool. The Sharks could also ask for multiple first-round picks from a Blues club currently wielding picks 11, 15, and the Colorado Avalanche’s undetermined first-rounder. Packaging all three picks could be enough to make a deal – though adding another prospect could prove a worthwhile supplement.
The St. Louis Blues have made multiple bold decisions to revamp the lineup from its 2023-24 state. They surprisingly fired Drew Bannister mid-season and offer-sheeted Edmonton Oilers free-agents Holloway and Philip Broberg. Those additions helped push them to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but couldn’t return them to the 2026 postseason. That could be cause for one more bold decision before Doug Armstrong leaves the post he has held for longer than a decade. In doing so, St. Louis – a team that began built around a trio of brothers – would be hoping to land their eighth set of siblings in franchise history.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.
Could Fowler Be A Trade Candidate; Jiricek Could Push For A Roster Spot In Camp
- When Cam Fowler was traded to the Blues and signed an extension, he hoped to be getting out of a rebuild situation and onto more of a win-now club. However, with St. Louis now rebuilding or at least retooling, he finds himself in a very similar situation to his time in Anaheim, observes Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (subscription link). The 34-year-old is beginning a new three-year, $18.3MM deal next season and he could very well become a trade candidate before too long. While Fowler has full trade protection, a chance to go to a team with aspirations of short-term success might be enticing enough for him to consider it.
- If Fowler winds up staying with the Blues, he’ll be asked to play a mentorship role for some of their young blueliners. One of those could be Adam Jiricek, who will be a full-time pro next season for the first time. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic spoke with Jiricek’s junior coach (long-time NHL rearguard Jay McKee), who noted that Jiricek should warrant a long look in training camp and could be ready to play at the top level next season. The 19-year-old was the 16th pick in 2019 and had a dominant year with OHL Brantford, amassing 59 points in 55 regular season games and 22 more in 15 playoff contests. He’s now getting his feet wet with AHL Springfield, jumping right into their lineup as they look to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals tonight.
Breaking Down Possible Destinations For Jordan Binnington
The St. Louis Blues are no longer in win-now mode, but they have some promising young players in their NHL lineup and on the way up. However, one player who doesn’t figure into their future contention window is veteran goaltender Jordan Binnington. The 32-year-old is set to enter the final year of his contract, and given his age and uneven play, it doesn’t make much sense for the Blues to keep him around if he isn’t part of their plans beyond next year. St. Louis isn’t going to compete next season, and with many of their veterans already moved out and several teams desperate for help in goal, the time is right for St. Louis to trade Binnington.
Binnington is clearly beloved in St. Louis for helping the city win its first Stanley Cup in 2019. He did so as a 25-year-old rookie and continued his strong play through his first few NHL seasons, earning Vezina Trophy consideration in several of those years. He then inked a long-term deal in March 2021, giving him a $6MM AAV over six years.
Binnington would remain an above-average netminder for most of the next three seasons before his play began to decline during the 2024-25 season and carried into this past year. It was then that the Blues reportedly became interested in moving Binnington at the NHL Trade Deadline, though they ultimately kept him. Now, with Binnington in the final year of his deal and most of his trade protection removed, the likelihood of a trade is high.
The Edmonton Oilers feel like the logical fit for Binnington, given their ongoing struggles to find solid netminding during the Connor McDavid era. The Oilers thought Tristan Jarry would be the answer after a mid-season trade this past December, but it was clear at the time that the Jarry experiment was a panic move, and the results were tepid, to put it generously. Binnington’s big-game history is a complete 180 from Jarry’s track record in big games, but both veterans have lacked consistency over the past two years, so it’s tough to call Binnington an upgrade for the Oilers. That said, Binnington has performed well for Team Canada over the past couple of years, but behind poor defense, his numbers haven’t been good, and that would likely be the experience in Edmonton as well.
Another potential suitor could be the Florida Panthers, who could lose Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency. Bobrovsky is five years older than Binnington and is likely seeking his last big payday. While his relationship with the Panthers has been highly productive, anything can happen in free agency, and his departure is possible. Binnington would offer Florida a big-game goaltender at a low cost, with a chance to play behind a solid defensive team. This would be of interest to the Panthers, since the only other realistic option would be Stuart Skinner, whom the Panthers twice defeated in the Stanley Cup Finals while he was with the Edmonton Oilers.
The Los Angeles Kings did not get the goaltending they hoped for from starting netminder Darcy Kuemper, who posted a 19-14-15 record with a 2.78 GAA and an .891 SV%. The 36-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and may not be the answer for a Kings team hoping to finally make noise in the playoffs after years of first-round exits. Binnington wouldn’t be the Kings’ long-term answer, but in the short term, he could be an upgrade over Kuemper and is four years younger.
Finally, a handful of other teams could use an upgrade in goal for this upcoming season. The San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils have both gone through difficult rebuilds and are at different stages of emerging from them. The Devils have had a failure to launch after their rebuild, making a couple of playoff appearances and even winning a series, but they haven’t been a playoff team in two of the last three years, and their one appearance was a five-game exit. Those years in which the Devils missed the postseason have largely been due to poor goaltending, including this year, when Jacob Markstrom played poorly after signing a two-year extension. Markstrom’s play coincided with the Devils’ fall, and it’s fair to wonder whether the Devils trust him to be the guy as they try to get some traction after their rebuild. Binnington has a better resume than Markstrom, in terms of playing in big games and winning, but it’s hard to imagine the Devils moving out one inconsistent veteran for another. That being said, the Devils’ goaltending has been inconsistent, and given that the team has struggled to find stability in net, they may be open to making a change for the sake of making a change.
Lastly, the Sharks are trying to move beyond their rebuild and took some small strides this year, competing for a playoff spot but ultimately falling short. The Sharks have Yaroslav Askarov, whom they hope will be their goalie of the future, but last year showed the team that he wasn’t ready to be a full-time NHL starter. The Sharks have a capable backup in Alex Nedeljkovic, whom they re-signed to a two-year, $6MM deal. The jury is still out on Askarov, but at the moment he simply needs NHL reps behind a competent defense to further develop. The Sharks appear set to go hunting for defensemen this summer, which should be exactly what the doctor ordered for Askarov. Given the Sharks’ depth at the position in the NHL, acquiring Binnington makes little sense unless Askarov struggles to start the season and San Jose looks like a team that could challenge for a playoff spot. If that were to happen, it would make sense for the Sharks to look for an in-season upgrade, which is where Binnington could be an option given his contract status and capabilities, but for now it doesn’t make sense for San Jose.
One last option for St. Louis is to wait until the season starts to find out which contending team has a goaltender injury to start the year, or which team is unhappy with their goaltending and looking for an upgrade. Last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins entered the year with Jarry as their starter, and after less than two months of above-average play, they were able to trade him for a massive haul to the Edmonton Oilers. They did this despite the fact that Jarry had been on waivers less than a year prior, but Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas was fortunate to find a team desperate enough to take Jarry off his hands. A similar play could be the Blues’ best option for Binnington if they can’t find reasonable trade offers in the summer.