The St. Louis Blues are unlikely to contend for the Stanley Cup in 2024-25. It’ll be their first full season with Drew Bannister as head coach and their roster just isn’t good enough at this stage. It’s a tough position to be in, but it’s due to moves made by the front office in recent years.
However, the 2025 offseason could be a shift in operations for the franchise. They’ll have salary cap space and more flexibility with how the roster could look with contracts eventually coming off the books. It’ll also be the final offseason before Alex Steen elevates to the general manager role and I’m sure his voice will be louder. As of right now, the Blues are expected to have just under $16 million in cap space for the 2025-26 season. Let’s get into why things could change in St. Louis next summer.
It Will Be Easier to Trade Defensemen
If Doug Armstrong is unable to trade a defenseman between now and the beginning of next season, it would be a surprise. I expect one of Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, or Nick Leddy to be moved before the end of their contracts. Leddy will only have one season left after 2024-25, while Krug and Faulk will have two. Another option is Colton Parayko, but I believe they’d prefer to keep him for the time being.
Either way, the club must find a way to trade a defenseman to clear up cap space and give them flexibility to improve the unit. They have good enough goaltending to stay in the wild-card race for the entire season, but that doesn’t mean they’ll contend for a Cup.
Free Agent & Trade Market Could Be Robust
There are a bunch of free agents who make sense for the Blues next summer. It would be smart for the club to explore all avenues to improve their team after this season. They don’t have a great free agency record in recent years, but they need to spend some money next summer unless things go horribly wrong in the upcoming campaign.
Players like Mikko Rantanen, Leon Draisaitl, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and others could be on the open market. It’d be wise to take a serious swing for Rantanen, who is one of the best goal-scorers in the game. Of course, there’s a strong chance that he will be extended by the Colorado Avalanche before the 2024-25 season begins. A dream scenario is landing Draisaitl, but I wouldn’t hold my breath there.
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As for the trade market, the Blues would be smart to add a quality defenseman or forward. They’ll have assets to move whether they view them as that now or not. They have a solid prospect pipeline and could have other expendable pieces as they look to improve their 2025-26 roster.
Blues’ Window Must Open Soon
It’s time for the Blues to get back to consistent playoff appearances. They have missed two seasons in a row after a second-round exit in the 2021-22 season. They won the Stanley Cup in 2019 after missing the playoffs in 2018, but they are a long way away from being close to a final right now. Armstrong has to right his own wrongs and that won’t be as easy to do until he finds out what the 2024-25 season looks like.
Either way, I think the franchise is positioned to begin a new era of success after the 2024-25 season with moves made in the summer. I trust the duo of Armstrong and Steen to steer things in the right direction.
