The St. Louis Blues have been very active this offseason, adding free agent centers Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad, as well as defenseman Logan Mailloux, via a trade that sent forward Zachary Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens. The team is deeper, bigger, and more versatile than it was a year ago, thanks to general manager Doug Armstrong’s moves this summer. However, Armstrong may still have some housekeeping to do before handing the reins over to Alexander Steen next off-season.
The Blues are set to have several key contributors from their playoff run a year ago hit free agency after the 2025-26 season. While many are restricted free agents, Armstrong is known for trying to lock up his talent well before they hit the market. He signed both Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou to eight-year contract extensions – well beyond their restricted free agency window – and he extended Pavel Buchnevich last off-season with one year remaining on his contract.
While Armstrong has stated that the team is in no rush to look ahead to next season’s possible free agent class, they would benefit from locking up players early, especially with the rising salary cap. If the Blues’ front office can broker deals before season’s end, it could save the team millions if a bidding war broke out for one of their pending free agents, and there is perhaps no free agent more valuable than 23-year-old Dylan Holloway.
Dylan Holloway’s Breakout Season
After Armstrong extended offer sheets to Holloway and Philip Broberg, prying them away from the Edmonton Oilers last offseason, Holloway burst onto the scene in St. Louis. He found instant chemistry with Kyrou and captain Brayden Schenn to create one of the most electrifying lines in the NHL. He totaled 66 points in 77 games and was expected to be a difference-maker in their first-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets. Unfortunately, Holloway’s season came to an end down the stretch due to a lower-body injury that required surgery.
Coming off a season-ending injury, Holloway is entering the final season of his two-year deal before he becomes a restricted free agent, and there are many ways the Blues can handle his new deal.
Holloway’s Possible Long-Term Contract
First, the Blues could offer Holloway a long-term deal. At 23 years old, an eight-year extension, likely in the $8 – $9 million per season range, would take him through his prime years and his arbitration rights years. Both Thomas and Kyrou have a cap hit of $8.125 million per season, and as the cap increases, those contracts will continue to look like bargain deals, while other Blues players are signed for more. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Oilers’ former first-round pick could exceed the salaries of both Thomas and Kyrou.
The Blues will have a decent sample size for comparison on signing a winger like Holloway to his next deal.
Notable Forward Contracts Signed Since 2024
| Player | Contract Length | AAV | Team | Year Signed |
| Jake Guentzel | 7 Years | $9 milion | Tampa Bay Lightning | 2024 |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | 6 years | $8.5 million | Carolina Hurricanes | 2025 |
| Lucas Raymond | 8 years | $8.075 million | Detroit Red Wings | 2024 |
| Sam Bennett | 8 years | $8 million | Florida Panthers | 2025 |
| Matthew Knies | 7 years | $7.75 million | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2025 |
| J.J. Peterka | 5 years | $7.7 million | Utah Mammoth | 2025 |
| Brock Boeser | 7 years | $7.25 million | Vancouver Canucks | 2025 |
The closest comparison here would be Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies. Knies, 22, coming off a breakout 58-point in 76 games campaign, just signed a seven-year deal worth $7.75 million per season, making him an unrestricted free agent when his contract expires. It has been rumored that Knies took a lower salary to stay in Toronto and would have received a deal worth upwards of $8 million per season had he become a free agent.
Related: Blues 2025-26 Roster Projections After Free Agency
The difference between Knies and Holloway is that Knies had a season of decent production before his breakout campaign. He scored 35 points in 80 games in 2023-24, while Holloway had a combined 18 points in 89 games during his first two seasons in Edmonton before joining the Blues. The line in the sand for management will be the Thomas and Kyrou deals. When they negotiated veteran winger Pavel Buchnevich’s extension, they were adamant about not exceeding Thomas’ or Kyrou’s deals, and Buchnevich’s average annual value (AAV) came in slightly lower than those two franchise cornerstones. It’s possible they will take the same stance with Holloway, despite the rising cap.
The long-term sweet spot for Holloway’s next deal would be an $8 million AAV, slotting in right behind Thomas and Kyrou and equal to Buchnevich. However, based on the Blues’ history with in-house free agents, a long-term deal might not be what management is looking for right away.
Holloway’s Short-Term Bridge Contract
The Blues have rarely offered long-term contracts to young players under team control. Even with the cap rising to new heights, management has consistently signed young players to short-term bridge deals to help them navigate their restricted free agency years before offering them long-term deals. Before Thomas and Kyrou were given matching eight-year deals, Armstrong offered them two-year extensions worth $2.8 million per season, following their entry-level contracts.
More recently, forward Jake Neighbours signed a two-year extension worth $3.75 million per season that will make him a restricted free agent when it expires. The Blues will likely try to sign him long-term next offseason before he enters the final year of his deal. Management could do the same with Holloway and keep him under contract until he is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent in the 2029-30 off-season. However, the difference here is that Holloway signed his two-year bridge deal when he accepted Armstrong’s offer sheet; he may be looking to secure a long-term contract and a substantial payday on his next deal.
Alternatively, last week, the Buffalo Sabres signed defenseman Bowen Byram to a two-year contract extension worth $6.25 million per year. That contract keeps Byram in Buffalo until he reaches unrestricted free agency. If the Blues wanted to take the short-term contract route with their 23-year-old winger on the rise, the $6.25 million AAV mark seems reasonable.
Holloway Is Not Going Anywhere
Whether the contract is for one year or eight, the Blues have made it very clear that Holloway is not going anywhere. The organization views him as a major contributor going forward and believes his breakout performance last season was just the beginning. The goal is to have both Holloway and Broberg on the roster as part of the team’s core for the foreseeable future.
