Given the current state of the St. Louis Blues and their roster retooling, I thought it would be fun to request questions from Blues fans on Twitter and answer them in a mailbag article. Thanks to everyone who sent a question and I’m happy to answer them in this piece, so let’s dive in.
What’s the Blues’ #1 Need Prior to the Start of the Season? And Will it Be Addressed Before or During the Season? – @kenobihockey28
The Blues’ number one need prior to the start of the season isn’t an addition, it’s a subtraction. Their biggest need is to get a defenseman with a large contract off the books. Whether it’s Torey Krug, Marco Scandella, or others with big contracts, it needs to get done before the season begins. Not only do the Blues have several big contracts in their defensive unit, but they also have too many defensemen.
I still find it hard to believe that the Blues will enter the 2023-24 season with six capable left-handed defensemen. They have Krug, Scandella, Nick Leddy, Tyler Tucker, Calle Rosen, and Scott Perunovich. It also doesn’t seem like a good idea to enter a season with nearly $30 million locked into a blue line that has been awful for the last two seasons. Outside of that, I think adding another capable bottom-six center is a potential need. A lot of their prospects who play center aren’t NHL-ready and there is not a lot of center depth after Kevin Hayes and Nikita Alexandrov for the bottom-six.
I think Blues general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong still realizes that his blue line is jammed up with overpaid players and he needs to get out of a contract. The obvious candidate is Krug, who was reportedly involved in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers before he refused to waive his no-trade clause. Overall, I believe that the Blues’ biggest need prior to the start of the season is trading a blueliner and I still think it will happen.
Would You Sign an Offer Sheet for K’andre Miller at 5 Years, $20 Million? – @blackjackalware
New York Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller is one of the best restricted free agents (RFA) on the market right now. At 23 years old, he’s gained a lot of valuable experience in the regular season and playoffs with the Rangers over the past two seasons. He had 43 points in 79 games last season, and that would have made him the second-highest-scoring blueliner on the Blues behind only Justin Faulk.
Related: Rangers’ K’Andre Miller Deserving of Long-Term Extension
I like Miller a lot as a player, but I don’t think an offer sheet for him makes sense for the Blues. He’d be their best left-handed defenseman and could fit nicely next to Colton Parayko, but there are too many factors working against the Blues. They have too many left-handed defensemen and their current salary cap structure doesn’t fit him in, even at $4 million. I also think the Rangers would match the offer sheet if it were only $4 million per year. It’s a fun idea, but I don’t think it would work with the state the Blues are currently in.
Will Tom Stillman Allow This Team to Have the Proper 2 to 4 Year Rebuild That it Truly Needs? – @Sam_43_Lincoln
This is a tough question to navigate since none of us know exactly how Tom Stillman feels about the current state of the franchise behind closed doors. However, I do believe that Armstrong’s moves this summer haven’t indicated that the Blues are in a rebuilding phase. I agree that this roster needs an overhaul, but it’s hard to do with the number of untradeable contracts that they possess right now.
Stillman’s ownership of the Blues has always had the goal of being competitive in mind, which is a big reason why my answer to this question is probably “no.” The Blues aren’t in full teardown mode this summer after a lackluster 2022-23 season, even though it seems that their approach should be different. They have a good mix of youth and experience and they could make the playoffs this season if their defense and goaltending improve, so don’t hold your breath on the Blues trying to fully rebuild anytime soon.
Thank you to those who sent questions my way and I hope to do this again sometime soon. There are still several interesting topics to discuss in the next few months before the 2023-24 season begins for the Blues, so stay tuned.
