A lot has been said about the St. Louis Blues‘ lack of salary cap flexibility, and it is all true. They don’t have much flexibility due to various poor contracts handed out by general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong. One of the issues that will cripple the Blues the most is the lengthy term of several contracts. The term and annual average value (AAV) are the two most important factors in determining the worst contracts, and that’s on top of on-ice performance.
They have four players with four or more years left on their deals at the age of 30 years old or above, so it’s not the best situation for Armstrong and the Blues. I’ve already gotten into the Blues’ three best contracts, so let’s get into the Blues’ three worst contracts for the 2023-24 season.
3. Jordan Binnington, Goaltender
$6 million AAV through the 2026-27 season
Through two seasons of the six-year extension for Jordan Binnington, the results have been poor. Prior to signing the deal, he had quality numbers in large sample sizes across three seasons. From 2018-19 to 2020-21, he had a record of 73-32-16, a save percentage (SV%) of .915, a goals against average (GAA) of 2.42, and a Stanley Cup. He was an above-average goaltender for three seasons, and the Blues gave him a healthy extension to reward him, but he’s fallen off in a big way over the past two seasons.
Amongst the reasons for Binnington’s struggles is the Blues’ lackluster defensive unit, but a lot of it is on him. He has not played well whatsoever and the numbers back that up. Over 97 starts in the last two seasons, Binnington has a record of 45-41-10 with a .897 SV% and 3.24 GAA. Those numbers are far below the standard of his first three seasons and he’s clearly underperformed his contract. On top of this, he’s been one of the worst goaltenders in the league over the past two seasons in goals saved above average (GSAA). His GSAA is minus-26.6 over the past two seasons and that’s about as bad as it gets for a goaltender making $6 million a year.
I would not be stunned to see Binnington lose his starting job to Joel Hofer sometime over the next few seasons. With that being said, this season is a big opportunity for Binnington to regain his form and prove his worth. I don’t expect him to return to his 2019 Cup form, but somewhere in between that and the past few seasons is fine form.
2. Torey Krug, Defense
$6.5 million AAV through the 2026-27 Season
It seemed like the Blues were going to trade Torey Krug this summer, but a deal was called off after he declined to waive his no-trade clause to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Kevin Hayes trade. Of course, the Blues went back to the drawing board and still acquired Hayes, but only for a mere future sixth-round pick. When the Blues signed Krug in 2020, it seemed like he would be their Alex Pietrangelo replacement, but that wasn’t their intention and hasn’t been the case.
Related: Blues 2022-23 Report Cards: Torey Krug
Injuries were an issue for Krug with the Boston Bruins, and that hasn’t changed much with the Blues. He’s appeared in fewer than 70 games over the past two seasons, but he did play in 51 of 56 games in his first season with the Blues. His offensive numbers took a hefty dip last season, but they were close to on par with his career in Boston in the two seasons prior. The reason why this is one of the Blues’ worst contracts is his lack of defensive skill, but the Blues should have expected this when they signed him. He’s a good power-play quarterback and passer, but his durability and defensive issues have overtaken that in the past couple of seasons. I would be surprised if Krug plays out the rest of this contract in St. Louis, but stranger things have happened.
1. Colton Parayko, Defense
$6.5 million AAV through the 2029-30 Season
I never thought the Colton Parayko extension was a good idea, but the Blues went ahead with it prior to the 2022-23 season, giving him an eight-year extension. His play was declining before the extension was ever signed, but the Blues believed he would bounce back after back issues lingered in 2020-21. This contract was yet another example of Armstrong’s lack of awareness when it comes to handing out extensions. I understand wanting to keep the 2019 Cup core together and reward them, but he let their best defenseman, Pietrangelo, walk over a no-movement clause dispute.
Parayko’s defense and skating have taken a major step backward over the past few seasons after he was, at one time, viewed as one of the league’s best defensive defensemen. He also doesn’t have much use for his heavy slap shot as he refuses to shoot the puck on a consistent basis. it doesn’t help that the Blues have been unable to find a steady and reliable left-handed partner for him after Jay Bouwmeester retired, but that can’t be a major excuse for Parayko’s drop-off in play. This contract is going to be a tough one to look at on the Blues’ salary cap table for many more seasons to come.
Honorable mention contracts such as Nick Leddy, Marco Scandella, and Justin Faulk nearly cracked the list, but these three seemed pretty clear to me. The Blues will contend for a playoff spot this season, but it’s hard not to imagine what this roster could look like on the blue line if Armstrong did things differently after winning the Cup in 2019. However, the past is the past and the Blues must look forward.
