The 2023 NHL Draft is in the books for the St. Louis Blues as they get ready for free agency. The 2023 free-agent class is notably weak, so I don’t expect them to be all that active, but I’m sure they’ll be in conversations with cheaper options.
The Blues’ only notable move outside of the 2023 Draft so far this offseason was their trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for center Kevin Hayes. They surrendered a 2024 sixth-round pick for him and the Flyers retained 50 percent of the final three years of his contract. Overall, the Blues have a quality middle-six center in Hayes at $3.5 million per season through 2025-26. Let’s get into other notable Blues topics.
Blues Make Nine Picks at 2023 Draft
The Blues surprisingly made all nine of their draft picks in the 2023 Draft, including three first-round picks. They made a selection in every round except for the second.
- Round 1, Pick 10: Dalibor Dvorský, C, AIK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
- Round 1, Pick 25: Otto Stenberg, C, Frölunda HK J20 (J20 Nationell)
- Round 1, Pick 29: Theo Lindstein, LD, Brynas IF (Swedish Hockey League) (SHL)
- Round 3, Pick 74: Quinton Burns, LD, Kingston Frontenacs (Ontario Hockey League) (OHL)
- Round 3, Pick 76: Juraj Pekarcik, LW, HK Nitra (Slovakia Extraliga)
- Round 4, Pick 106: Jakub Stancl, C, Växjö Lakers HC J20 (J20 Nationell)
- Round 5, Pick 138: Paul Fischer, LD, USA U18 (USNTDP)
- Round 6, Pick 170: Matthew Mayich, LD, Ottawa 67’s (OHL)
- Round 7, Pick 202: Nikita Susuyev, RW, MHK Spartak Moskva (MHL)
This is a well-rounded class for the Blues, as each pick should fit generally well into their prospect pool. I believe Dvorský was the absolute right choice with the 10th pick, while his first-round counterparts Stenberg and Lindstein have quality upside as well. The Blues made the right decision in drafting four defensemen, but it’s somewhat surprising that they didn’t take any right-handed blueliners. They have drafted two right-handed defensemen since 2013, Matthew Kessel and Thomas Vanelli. One of my favorite picks is Pekarcik, a Slovak winger with a lot to his game. He didn’t score much with his Slovak pro team this season, but he was terrific at the 2023 World Juniors as Slovakia’s second-leading scorer behind Dvorský.
Related: Recapping the Blues’ 3 First-Round Draft Selections
I also think the Blues could have something with both Fischer and Mayich, who could turn into quality organizational depth pieces over time. Overall, I think Blues general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong and his scouting staff knocked this draft out of the park as it will go a long way in improving their weak prospect pool.
Blues Need to Trade a Defenseman
The Blues need to trade a defenseman this summer, and that should go without saying. As currently constructed, 35 percent of their 2023-24 salary cap is invested into their blue line, according to CapFriendly. They already failed in trying to trade Torey Krug after he declined to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Flyers. Armstrong severely handcuffed himself with the high number of no-trade clauses he handed out, as the Blues have a whopping nine players on their roster with trade protection.
Another possible trade option is Marco Scandella, who has one year left on his contract at $3.275 million. Trading him would be a full cap dump for the Blues as he has zero value around the league as a player. His no-trade clause only includes a list of seven teams, so it could be easier to move him to a poor team with a lot of cap space. I get that he is past his prime and doesn’t do much, but the Blues should try to avoid using a quality asset in a package to get rid of his contract. That makes more sense for players such as Krug, Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, or Nick Leddy; each one of them has multiple years left and a larger cap hit than Scandella.
In its current state, the Blues’ blue line will hold them back from serious playoff contention, and I’d hope that the front office understands that. They have to offload one of these contracts to both create flexibility and allow them to move away from a defensive core that has failed for the past few seasons.
Blues Free Agency Preview
The Blues won’t be very active in a weak free-agent class, and I feel comfortable saying that. They have enough forwards to fill out four quality lines, too many defensemen to justify more additions and two capable goaltenders in Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. I’m not ready to call the Blues a playoff contender just yet, but they could get close with minimal improvements on the back end and in net. As for moves they could make, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them bring back Oskar Sundqvist as another depth center. Outside of that, I don’t expect Armstrong to do much when the free agency market opens.
I expect the Blues to make at least one more trade and add a couple of low-end depth pieces, but it won’t be much. They still figure to be one of the most interesting teams to watch in the coming days.