The St. Louis Blues are in full preparation mode for the 2023 NHL Draft. It is now less than 10 days away and the Blues will be busy over the next few weeks.
After a disappointing 2022-23 season, this offseason should serve as a time for Blues general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong to reevaluate his roster. While the salary cap won’t allow them to overhaul the roster completely, they have some flexibility. Let’s get into a few important Blues topics.
Blues Add Two New Assistant Coaches
The Blues parted ways with assistant coaches Mike Van Ryn and Craig MacTavish after the 2022-23 season concluded. They replaced them last week with Mike Weber and Michael Babcock. Weber is 35 years old and was an assistant with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) for three years before being hired by the Blues. He played 351 games in his NHL career and was a left-handed defenseman who spent eight seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. He hung his skates up after spending the 2017-18 season in Sweden. He will run the Blues’ defense. Bringing in a young and fresh perspective should help a blue line that struggled mightily last season.
Related: Blues’ 3 Best Draft Gems in the Doug Armstrong Era
As for Babcock, he’s the son of NHL head coach Mike Babcock. Just a couple of weeks after his father got hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets, he makes the jump to St. Louis. His title with the Blues is “skills coach.” Most of his coaching experience is in college where he spent two seasons running the defense and power play at the University of Saskatchewan. He was with the Ottawa Senators last season, performing numerous tasks in game planning and on-ice skill development. At just 28 years old, Babcock is a prime example of the Blues trying to get younger on the coaching staff. Both of these hires make sense.
2023 Draft Looms Large for Blues
The Blues have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2023 Draft. On top of that, they have their own picks in rounds four through seven. That’s nine picks overall. The importance of this draft for the Blues has been covered a lot. But there’s another layer to this, as they can either strengthen their prospect pool in a big way or add to their current roster with a significant trade.
The Blues’ first-round picks are slotted at 10, 26, and 29. It’s been well-documented that they are willing to trade one of the two later picks. They don’t have a second-round pick, but they hold picks at 74 and 76 in the third round. Owning five picks within the top 80 is significant, as the 2023 Draft class is supposed to be loaded at the top and throughout the first few rounds. That’s a big part of why I believe Armstrong will be tempted to make most, if not all of these picks.
With the trade market, the options are likely limited. I don’t think it would be wise for the Blues to trade a first-round pick for a defenseman. The way to fix the blue line won’t be through trading valuable assets for defensemen right now. In terms of forwards on the market, there are a few that make sense. Available players such as Pierre-Luc Dubois, Mark Scheifele, and Alex DeBrincat are unlikely; however, Evgeny Kuznetsov or Kailer Yamamoto could make sense for the right price. The market is bleak for what the Blues need. The bottom line is that they should make at least seven of their nine picks in the 2023 Draft if not all of them.
Parayko Could Be Traded This Summer
It’s likely that the Blues move at least one of their high-priced defensemen this summer. Colton Parayko is a name that has been all over the internet. While his play has dropped over the past few seasons, he apparently still has value to NHL GMs. He has seven years left on his contract with an annual average value (AAV) of $6.5 million, and the Blues could greatly benefit from getting his contract off the books.
As far as Parayko suitors go, it may be a short list. The Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres come to mind. Either could benefit from giving him a change of scenery and pairing him with a young left-handed blueliner. Both Thomas Chabot and Rasmus Dahlin could help Parayko return to what he was when the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019. I don’t know what a trade package would consist of, but moving the contract is the most important thing for the Blues.
Important NHL Dates Ahead
- June 28-29: NHL Entry Draft
- June 30: Buyout Period Ends
- July 1: Free Agency Begins
Late June into early July will be the time period for the Blues to get their work done. I expect them to be quite active throughout those couple of weeks. The Hockey Writers team of Blues writers are committed to covering it all as each move is made. Stay tuned for all sorts of free agency and draft coverage this summer. Blues Weekly will return after the 2023 Draft concludes to preview free agency.
