The biggest name that will be shouted around the NHL free-agent market will be forward Mitch Marner. After yet another devastating Game 7 loss with the Toronto Maple Leafs, this time 6-1 to the Florida Panthers, Marner will be an unrestricted free agent. This free agency, the St. Louis Blues will be on the hunt to boost their roster after a remarkable first-round postseason battle with the Winnipeg Jets, where they lost 4-3 in Game 7. While it would be nice for the Blues to take a shot at signing Marner, it is not a good idea, and there are a few reasons why.
Marner Would Simply Be Too Expensive for the Blues
Marner finished this season with 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) through 81 games. If the Blues were to sign him as a free agent, this would be an expensive move and force them to trade away part of their offense.
Marner is projected to ask for around $13.25 to $14 million in average annual salary (AAV) and a five to eight-year term, depending on the amount. The Blues don’t have this cap space right now, and it would likely mean they would have to give up either Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, or Brayden Schenn, who all have an AAV of $5 million or more.
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Three players, Kyrou, Thomas, and Buchnevich, have no-trade clauses (NTCs), while Schenn has a modified no-trade clause (M-NTC). This means the Blues would have to get approval for a trade from either of those three players on the NTC or trade based on Schenn’s 15-team no-trade list.
With all of these issues in the mix, the Blues would face many financial hurdles and have to worry about their defensemen and goaltending contracts, so putting all of this financial focus on one player like Marner is not worth it. There are many cheaper free-agent options they can go for that can fill in their gaps.
Blues Should Not Take a Risk on Marner’s Performance
Despite recording over 100 points in 2024-25, don’t let Marner’s flashy regular-season numbers fool you. When it comes down to the playoffs, he is nowhere to be found, and the last thing the Blues need in a playoff run is a player who caves under pressure when they need him the most. In his 70-career playoff games, Marner only has 13 goals and 63 points. Marner is a great playmaker, but he needs to be there to score key goals in the postseason.
In Game 7 matchups, Marner has also never scored a goal, and has a measly two assists. It would not be good for the Blues if they were to spend more than $13 million per season for a player who is not that reliable in closing out a Game 7. While the Blues didn’t exactly do that themselves this playoff run in Game 7 against the Jets, Marner won’t make their team good enough to prevent that from happening again.
The Blues already have better options that are cheaper and fresher in their system to work with instead of trading away a valuable player to open up cap space for Marner. The players worth taking a chance at in their system are Jimmy Snuggerud, Zachary Bolduc, and Dalibor Dvorsky, who are currently all under entry-level deals and each the Blues less than $1 million in AAV.
While free agency is the time to get some experienced players, Marner’s experience is incompatible with the Blues’ needs. They also just got back into the playoff-contention club, and it’s still too early for them to go all-in on a star like Marner.
Blues Can Be Good Without Marner
Overall, the Blues are a good hockey team, and they are in a spot that makes them unable to sign him. Again, there are other options that are cheaper than Marner and can suit their needs just as well. We’ve seen the Blues do this already when they put in an offer sheet to the Edmonton Oilers to get Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, and it worked out well for them. Holloway finished with a career-high 63 points,Broberg with a career-high of 29, and both are 23 and have much more potential to improve. Unlike that move, the push to sign Marner in free agency would be cap-straining and unwise.
