As the 2024 NHL Draft wrapped up on June 29 and the 2024 Free Agency window opened on July 1, the St.Louis Blues looked hesitant to spend their cap space on significant pieces in free agency. They haven’t signed many players so far, and there are some players they have also yet to re-sign, like Sammy Blais and Marco Scandella.
However, there is no need to worry about the lack of moves because the Blues are rebuilding right now and must be very patient to ensure the team doesn’t move too quickly. Here are a few factors explaining why the Blues may not make many moves in free agency.
Cap Space Was Scarce in 2023-24
In the 2023-24 season, the Blues experienced a challenging situation with their cap space almost filling up to its max. This was mainly because of their many hefty contracts within their defensive core and no-trade clauses (NTC) within them, which prevented them from trading those defensemen to specific teams, limiting their options.
One of those NTC contracts that expired this free agency was Scandella’s, and it seems like the Blues found an alternative to him by signing Pierre-Oliver Joseph. Joseph signed a one-year deal worth $950,000, a cheaper option compared to Scandella’s previous contract, which was four years worth an average annual value (AAV) of $3.275 million.
Related: Blues Sign Pavel Buchnevich to a 6-Year Contract Extension
As for the forwards, the cap hit and NTC did not affect the team, as they have three players with an NTC and one with a modified no-trade clause (M-NTC). The addition of forward Alexandre Texier will take up an AAV of $2.1 million for the next two seasons until he becomes a restricted free agent. The Blues not taking action to sign Blais suggests they got Texier as a replacement for him, who took up $1 million worth of cap space for one year. However, Texier could bring much more to the roster, such as third-line goalscoring and some use on special teams.
After fixing the mess cap mess from last season, the Blues now have an available cap of about $8.1 million after re-signing forward Pavel Buchnevich to a six-year deal worth an AAV of $8 million.
Building Up Their Defensive Depth Before Free Agency
During the draft, the Blues added a critical defensive prospect in Adam Jiricek, brother of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek. They selected nine defensemen in the 2024 NHL Draft, potentially to improve their defensive depth. Jiricek suffered a leg injury in the 2024 World Junior Championship and played three seasons with the Czech team HC Plzen.
The Blues also signed Jiricek to an entry-level deal for three years with an AAV of $950,000 to join their 2023 first-round pick defenseman Theo Lindstein, who signed an entry-level contract in March. By bolstering their defensive depth, the Blues will have more options to work with once their veteran defensemen reach the expiration of their contracts. With two more seasons left on his contract, Nick Leddy will be the first of the Blues’ veteran defensemen to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA). This will relieve $4 million worth of cap space after 2025-26 if they let Leddy walk once his contract is up.
The most logical option, for now, is harnessing the most cap space they possibly can for their future stars and getting cheaper replacements for the players they’ve already let go. Their draft picks on entry-level deals will make it easier on the cap if they choose to bring them up to the NHL level within the next two or three years of their contract.
Also, keep in mind they plan on bringing in highly talented prospect Jimmy Snuggerud to the main roster this season once he’s finished his last year with the University of Minnesota. Snuggerud was hinted at coming to the Blues roster last season but opted to play one more year with the University of Minnesota in April.
Not Focused on Winning Right Now
With how the last two seasons went with the Blues, it’s pretty clear that they have decided to hit the reset button and clean up the mess they are already in with contracts. They need to work on getting the natural young talent they have in the right direction to develop them the right way.
Avoiding the signing of a top-six forward in free agency was a good call and will help the Blues keep their cap space up for now. Protecting the players, who could be a great foundation, like Buchnevich, through budgeting the cap was a good start, as he, like Thomas and Kyrou, are great players to build their prospects around in the future. This is why it’s also unnecessary to keep signing new star players in the free agency market if they are not in a position to win a Stanley Cup right now.
The Blues also have a soundly structured team for the future, which includes a fair balance of forward, defensive, and goaltending prospects. Of course, some players may not pan out as planned, which could call for the Blues to take action and possibly trade away a veteran star for a much-needed asset.
After all, if everything goes well, the Blues should have enough cap space for a rainy-day replacement if needed while keeping some of their key players. With Alexander Steen added as the Blues’ new general manager in 2026, it will also be a test for him to see how he chooses to rebuild the roster, whether they go young or old or have a good balance of players in terms of age.
There is still a lot of cleaning up to do, and the team will most likely be going into a testing mode to see which prospects are ready for the NHL level to slowly build up their young core of players into potential stars. The plan should be to call up the NHL-ready players, such as Snuggerud, when he finishes his last year at the University of Minnesota, and Zach Bolduc to give him a long development period in the NHL.
