The St. Louis Blues enter the 2024 offseason with several questions to answer. They missed the playoffs for a second straight season in 2023-24 and the roster is unlikely to get a severe makeover. General manager Doug Armstrong has to be smart about how he approaches this offseason.
It’s hard to see the club as a legitimate contender next season, but crazier things have happened. Let’s get into the questions that must be answered this summer in St. Louis.
Who Will Be the Second Line Center?
There are several directions that Armstrong can take with this spot, but the fact remains that this team needs a quality second-line center behind Robert Thomas. It’s not going to work with Kevin Hayes or Brayden Schenn in this spot, and that was proven last season. The Blues could go to free agency for this one. At least I think they should. It starts with Sean Monahan, who spent last season with the Montreal Canadiens before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets.
The reason Monahan makes sense is his experience, potential price, and prowess as a two-way center. He played 83 games last season between Montreal and Winnipeg, scoring 26 goals and 59 points overall. That’s much better production than what the Blues got all season in the second-line center spot. He’s also been 50 percent or better in the faceoff circle in eight of his 11 NHL seasons. They could use a player like Monahan, and if the contract is for less than $6 million per season, they should jump at the opportunity.
Other options in free agency include Chandler Stephenson and Elias Lindholm, but those two are worse fits for the Blues than Monahan.
What Changes Should Be Made to the Blue Line?
The market for blueliners in free agency is solid. The Blues are in an interesting position with their defense and how it is currently constructed. I would be surprised if they didn’t at least explore the trade market for players like Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, or Nick Leddy. They have a lot of salary cap space invested in a defensive unit that hasn’t been good enough over the past three or four seasons.
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The club must offload a contract in order to add a free-agent defenseman who makes sense. My vote would be to find any way possible to trade Krug or Leddy and add a defenseman like Brady Skjei, Sean Walker, or Matt Roy in free agency. But I think Armstrong will find it difficult to maneuver and make those moves work. They also aren’t in a position to give out long-term deals, so I expect that to be a factor as well.
What’s the Goal in 2024-25?
Will the goal be to make the playoffs? It seems like that could be the way that Armstrong approaches this summer. He won’t be able to fully break this roster apart with the number of immovable contracts. He’s also proven to not want to tear this thing down by trading Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Binnington, and others, but maybe that will be disproven this summer. The hiring of Drew Bannister as the full-time head coach indicates that the Blues are fine with trying to develop young players and stick to a similar status quo of the 2023-24 season. That would mean that they’re still in agreement that trying to sneak into the playoffs is the best move, which I am not sure I agree with.
Either way, this summer will tell us a lot about how Armstrong wants the Blues to approach the 2024-25 season on the ice. There are plenty of questions for the veteran executive to answer.
