Over the past few months, the St.Louis Blues have been rearranging their lineup, and as the season comes to a close, many eligible prospects could be called up. Although space on the roster may be an issue, there is room for another prospect.
So far, we’ve seen Matthew Kessel, Zachary Bolduc, and Zach Dean get their shot on the Blues roster for the first time in their careers. However, players like Jimmy Snuggerud and Otto Stenberg have yet to sign an entry-level deal. Here’s a look at why now is the time to put their prospects to the test.
Uncertainty of Blues’ Playoff Hopes
The Blues have been in great form recently, winning four in a row until their loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday (March 19), but they are still outside a wild-card spot. With 13 games left, it’s uncertain whether or not they will be in the playoff picture by the end of the season. One change to the roster could make or break a team’s chances of making the postseason, but it has helped the Blues in the past, and at this point of the season, it’s time to take risks.
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Snuggerud has been lighting it up with the University of Minnesota, even though Blues general manager Doug Armstrong openly spoke about giving him an opportunity after the end of the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship in January. However, no sign of the Blues signing him to an entry-level contract exists.
Bolduc, Kessel, and Dean are getting their NHL opportunities now, which has come at a great time. Bolduc has played 14 NHL games with three points. Kessel played 27 games and scored three points, while Dean still awaits his debut. A massive performance isn’t expected of them at this point in their career, but the expectation is that they will learn and grow early from this experience.
In the past, we’ve seen Jordan Binnington get his rookie shot in the NHL late in 2018-19 when the Blues thought they would be out of playoff contention, which suddenly turned into a Stanley Cup-winning season. Bolduc, Kessel, Dean, and Snuggerud are not the answer, but the possibilities are endless if management allows them to show what they can do at the highest level.
Blues’ Salary Cap Situation
The Blue’s cap situation has fluctuated over the past few months, especially with forward Jakub Vrana, who was sent down to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Springfield Thunderbirds in January to realign himself. Still, since then, nothing changed when he got his shot at redemption.
That said, the Blues have used his assignment to the AHL to spend time on prospects like Dean, Bolduc, and Kessel. With that comes some cap pressure, which hasn’t hit them that hard, and it was a genius move to fill in the holes of the roster using high-level prospects who could play a role on offense or defense for less money. The Blues are already dealing with the mess that Armstrong has made on the defensive end regarding contracts, so there aren’t any options other than waiting for those contracts to expire and testing the team’s future while they are on entry-level deals.
If the Blues were to sign Snuggerud to an entry-level contract, their $874,918 cap space would be enough for a standard deal, and they would have to send someone down to the AHL. It would also resemble the transition Toronto Maple Leafs forward and former college teammate of Snuggerud, Matthew Knies, had last season when he joined the Maple Leafs roster straight from the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. So far, it looks like the Blues are waiting for after the NCAA Frozen Four tournament, which runs from March 28 to April 13; that’s assuming that the Golden Gophers go deep in the tournament like they did last season and aren’t knocked out early.
Blues division rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, have already called up Landon Slaggert from the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish ahead of the Frozen Four, which is unusual considering he is the top player in points on the Fighting Irish. It shows that some other teams around the Blues are not afraid to take risks with their prospects.
Next Step Forward for the Blues
On March 20 (Wednesday), the Blues signed defenseman prospect Theo Lindstein to an entry-level deal, and it was a start to fixing the problems on defense and ensuring the future of the roster will be different once their blueliners on long-term deals are gone. Lindstein played for HockeyAllsvenskan’s Brynäs IF in Sweden, where he recorded 15 points (four goals and 11 assists) in 49 games this season. With Kessel and Scott Perunovich as the only defensemen on the roster still on entry-level deals, Lindstein would be a great addition to that group in the next one to two seasons.
As the season is weeks away from expiring, there is no rush for the Blues to get all their prospects at once. If they want to keep Snuggerud in the NCAA until the end of the Frozen Four tournament, that’s probably the best thing to ensure he doesn’t push into an NHL environment too quickly and ruin his development. It’s up to Armstrong to figure out the best possible outcome for the Blues roster at a time when their playoff hopes are hanging by a string.