What does Doug Armstrong decide to do with his in-season cap space?
Note: This is the eighth of 10 installments of a pre-training camp series asking the most important questions facing the Blues this season.
The trade deadline has been quiet the past two springs in 51ºÚÁÏ.
In 2024, there was chatter about the Blues moving Pavel Buchnevich for a high price, but nothing materialized. In 2025, rumors swirled around captain Brayden Schenn, but his no-trade protection perhaps factored into no deals coming together for the Blues. Now, looking ahead to next spring and the trade deadline on March 6, things could look differently for 51ºÚÁÏ.
They could be in a position to add at the deadline.
The Blues enter the season looking at the possibility of having plenty of cap space to work with during the year. As it stands right now, with a projected roster of 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders, plus Torey Krug on injured reserve, the Blues are under the $95.5 million salary cap. They can create more space during the year by placing Krug on long-term injured reserve, allowing the Blues to exceed the salary cap.
The new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA is set to begin next season, but elements of it will go into effect this year. One of those is changing the way that teams use LTIR.
In the past, teams could place a player on LTIR and receive close to their entire cap hit in relief. Now, teams can only receive the amount of the average salary of the previous year. The average salary last year was $3,817,283, so that’s the amount teams can use in 2025-26.
The exception is if the player going on LTIR will not play the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. For Krug, that appears to be the case after surgery on his ankle in the 2024 offseason. He missed all of the 2024-25 season, and Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said he does not expect Krug to play again.
With Krug not expected to play at all, the Blues would be able to use close to his $6.5 million cap hit (depending on how tight the team is to the cap) in order to navigate injuries throughout the season or to add players via trade. It would just have to be formalized that Krug is unable to play.
Last year, the Blues had to place Krug on LTIR early in the season to navigate early obstacles brought on by Oskar Sundqvist’s recovery from knee surgery and Brandon Saad’s paternity leave. The extra cap space also allowed them to acquire Cam Fowler at a $4 million cap hit from the Ducks in mid-December.
With the LTIR rules changed league-wide, the Blues could be one of the few teams to benefit from being able to use it to its fullest extent.
Now, what does that look like for Armstrong?
Throughout their retool, the Blues have placed importance on acquiring players who fit the right age group. That’s why Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg made sense, or even a flier on Alexandre Texier. That’s why a hockey trade with Montreal brought in Logan Mailloux and shipped out Zack Bolduc. The Blues have targeted players in their early to mid-20s to help strengthen the next wave of NHL talent.
The Blues haven’t acquired a rental player at the trade deadline since Nick Leddy in March 2022, back when Armstrong was trying to fortify a 109-point team. Radek Faksa has been the only recent acquisition with only one year remaining on his contract. Fowler, Mathieu Joseph, Texier, Kevin Hayes, Jakub Vrana and Kasperi Kapanen all had multiple years left when the Blues acquired them.
So if those filters hold — and add in that a player is coming from a non-contending, selling team — the target gets smaller to hit. Of course, the Blues could also show to Armstrong with a strong start to the season that this team deserves reinforcements, regardless of how it fits into the long-term plan of the organization.
Post-Dispatch beat reporter Matthew DeFranks joined columnist Jeff Gordon to discuss the flurry of Blues activity in the trade market, free agency and the NHL Draft.
In contract years, how can Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg improve?
Note: This is the seventh of 10 installments of a pre-training camp series asking the most important questions facing the Blues this season.
The Offer Sheet Boys won’t be sneaking up on anyone this season.
When Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg arrived in 51ºÚÁÏ last summer after Blues general manager Doug Armstrong pulled off a successful double-offer sheet maneuver, they were somewhat unknown quantities.
Broberg played 80% of his games in 2023-24 in the AHL. Holloway had 18 total points in 89 NHL games with the Oilers. Broberg’s minutes were limited to a third-pair role. Holloway was held at 11 1/2 minutes a night. Neither had taken on larger roles in the NHL, and both were being paid above market value, as is expected for offer sheets.
But both players turned those contracts into bargains during their first seasons with the Blues.
Blues defenseman Philip Broberg, left, celebrates his goal with forward Dylan Holloway, right, during the second period of a game against the Kraken on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Seattle.
Lindsey Wasson, Associated Press
Holloway scored 26 goals to rank second on the Blues. He assisted on 37 others to also rank second on the Blues. In posting a career-high 63 points, Holloway transformed himself into a vital and indispensable part of the Blues’ offense. Together with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou, he helped form one of the top lines in the league and his late-season injury impacted the Blues’ ability to beat the Jets in the first round.
Holloway ($2.29 million cap hit) was one of 15 forwards in the NHL with at least 25 goals and a cap hit under $2.5 million. Nine of those players were on cheap entry-level contracts, but Holloway (at 23 years old) was the youngest player in that group on a standard contract.
Broberg had eight goals and 21 assists in 68 games, falling one point shy of becoming the first Blues defenseman under 24 to rack up 30 points since Vince Dunn in 2018-19. Early in the season, Broberg and Justin Faulk formed the most effective defensive pairing for 51ºÚÁÏ, and they acted as the de facto top pair in March when Colton Parayko was sidelined by a knee injury.
At a $4.58 million cap hit, Broberg was one of 32 defensemen with at least 25 points and a cap hit under $5 million.
Now, the questions surrounding Holloway and Broberg are less about if they will be good, and more about how good they can be. Plus, there is the next contract situation.
Both Holloway and Broberg will become restricted free agents next summer and have been eligible for contract extensions since July 1. In June, Armstrong said extensions for them were not priorities since the Blues will own their rights as RFAs anyway.
With the salary cap rising, a new market has not been set for young to-be RFAs, outside of long-term bets on Frank Nazar (Chicago) and Jackson Blake (Carolina) that aren’t that applicable to the current Blues. The Blues don’t appear eager to set the new market themselves.
Of course, both players could increase their value with big seasons in 2025-26.
Holloway could become more well-rounded on the defensive side of the game. Or he could become an even more dangerous part of the Blues power play. Or more of a playmaker to boost his assist numbers.
Broberg could take a step forward on the offensive end of the ice, potentially stealing ice time on the second power play unit. Or he could be counted on more in occasional shutdown roles. Or he could emphasize his skating more to drive offense in transition.
Whatever they do, they won’t be surprising many this season.
Post-Dispatch beat reporter Matthew DeFranks joined columnist Jeff Gordon to discuss the flurry of Blues activity in the trade market, free agency and the NHL Draft.
How does the Cam Fowler-Colton Parayko partnership grow?
Note: This is the sixth of 10 installments of a pre-training camp series asking the most important questions facing the Blues this season.
For more than four seasons, the Blues chased an answer on Colton Parayko’s left.
They were trying to fill a hole left by the retirement of Jay Bouwmeester, trying to re-create a pairing that helped guide the Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019. But they didn’t quite find it.
The Blues tried Marco Scandella, Torey Krug, Jake Walman and Vince Dunn in 2021. The next season brought an experiment with Niko Mikkola. For two seasons, Parayko was nearly inseparable from Nick Leddy, who was miscast in a shutdown role. Even when Leddy got injured last season, it was Ryan Suter who rode shotgun with Parayko on the top pair.
Perhaps the Blues have finally landed on a solution: Cam Fowler.
When the Blues acquired Fowler from Anaheim in mid-December, they took a shot on a defenseman who had lost ice time to younger players on the Ducks. They traded an ECHL defenseman (Jeremie Biakabutuka) and a 2027 second-round pick for Fowler and a 2027 fourth-rounder, plus Anaheim retained $2.5 million of Fowler’s $6.5 million salary-cap hit.
What Fowler gave them was much more than that.
From when the Blues acquired him on Dec. 14 through the end of the regular season, Fowler had 36 points in 51 games. That tied him with Adam Fox and Thomas Harley for the ninth-most points among NHL defensemen. Twenty-eight of those points came at even strength, which meant only Zach Werenski, Rasmus Dahlin, Cale Makar and Devon Toews had more than Fowler in the final four months of the season.
In the playoffs, Fowler posted two goals and eight assists. Despite the Blues’ first-round exit against the Jets, Fowler’s 10 points was for fifth-most among defensemen in last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The four players above him advanced to either the Stanley Cup Final or conference finals, as did the four players beneath him.
Fowler also gave the Blues memorable moments.
In the Winter Classic at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, while celebrating his 1,000th NHL game, Fowler scored two goals. With the Blues’ nine-game win streak in jeopardy, Fowler had the game-tying assist late in the third period and the game-winning overtime goal in a win over the Red Wings. Then, his five-point night in Game 3 vs. the Jets was the most for a Blues defenseman in a postseason game.
Fowler and Parayko formed a balanced, mobile pair at the top of the Blues lineup. Both players skated pucks out of trouble, with Parayko bringing the defensive prowess and Fowler posting the gaudy offensive numbers.
From when Fowler joined the Blues until Parayko injured his knee in early March, they logged nearly 458 minutes together at five on five, ninth-most in the NHL. Overall last season, the Blues outscored opponents 31-18 with the pair on the ice, and owned 54.1% of the expected goals and 54.8% of the shots on goal, according to Natural Stat Trick.
They took on the hardest matchups, and both still delivered on the other side of the ice.
This season, where does that growth go? Can they still produce the tilted possession numbers they did a season ago? Will Fowler take on more penalty-killing minutes with Suter and Leddy gone?
Of course, the overarching question surrounding Fowler is his contract situation. He will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer and will be 34 years old when he hits the market.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said earlier this summer that signing Fowler to an extension was not a priority for the Blues, but should he depart, he will likely leave an offensive hole on the blue line.
Post-Dispatch beat reporter Matthew DeFranks joined columnist Jeff Gordon to discuss the flurry of Blues activity in the trade market, free agency and the NHL Draft.
Five Blues first-round picks headline roster for Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase
Justin Carbonneau will play in his first prospect tournament for the Blues, as the 2025 first-round pick is one of five Blues first-round picks slate to play in next week's Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase in St. Paul, Minn.
The Blues will play the Wild prospects on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. and the Blackhawks prospects on Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. The games will be streamed on the Blues website and on the Blues app.
The prospects will also practice at Centene Community Ice Center on Sept. 11 and 12, with both sessions beginning at 10 a.m.
Carbonneau, Adam Jirieck (2024), Dalibor Dvorsky (2023), Otto Stenberg (2023) and Theo Lindstein (2023) were all taken in the first round by the Blues, and all of them will play in the tournament. Zach Dean (2021 first-round pick by Vegas) will also be on the roster after missing most of last season with an injury.
Carbonneau wowed Blues management and onlookers during development camp in July with his snarl on pucks and stick-handling, and will play this season for Blainville-Boisbriand in the QMJHL. He turned down the opportunity to play collegiately for Boston College.
Jiricek, Stenberg and Lindstein will also be making their prospect tournament debuts. Jiricek missed last year's because of a knee injury, and Stenberg and Lindstein will both begin the season in North America for the first times in their careers.
Jimmy Snuggerud (2022 first-rounder) was not included on the roster. Snuggerud, 21, made his NHL debut in the spring, and is expected to play a role in the Blues top-six forward group this season.
Blues prospect tournament roster
Forwards
No. 28 Otto Stenberg (2023 first)
No. 48 Dylan Peterson (2020 third)
No. 52 Zach Dean (trade from Vegas)
No. 54 Dalibor Dvorsky (2023 first)
No. 65 Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (2022 third)
No. 68 Justin Carbonneau (2025 first)
No. 76 Sam Stange (invite)
No. 80 Simon Robertsson (2021 third)
No. 84 Adam Jecho (2024 third)
No. 85 Juraj Pekarcik (2023 third)
No. 86 Antoine Dorion (2024 seventh)
No. 93 Jakub Stancl (2023 fourth)
Defensemen
No. 37 Adam Jiricek (2024 first)
No. 41 Theo Lindstein (2023 first)
No. 62 Michael Buchinger (2022 third)
No. 73 Marc-Andre Gaudet (2022 fifth)
No. 75 Anthony Kehrer (invite)
No. 87 Will McIsaac (2024 fifth)
No. 92 Quinton Burns (2023 third)
No. 94 Lukas Fischer (2024 second)
Goaltenders
No. 31 Will Cranley (2020 sixth)
No. 45 Matthew Koprowski (invite)
Prospect tournament schedule
Sept. 11: Prospects practice, 10 a.m. (Centene Community Ice Center)
Sept. 12: Prospect practice, 10 a.m. (Centene Community Ice Center)
Sept. 12: Blues vs. Wild, 7 p.m. (TRIA Rink, St. Paul, Minn.)
Sept. 13: Blues vs. Blackhawks, 6 p.m. (TRIA Rink, St. Paul, Minn.)
The Blues fortified their center depth in free agency by signing both Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad.
With future in his hands, does Jordan Kyrou now reach 40 goals?
Note: This is the fifth of 10 installments of a pre-training camp series asking the most important questions facing the Blues this season.
Jordan Kyrou didn’t go anywhere, but this summer was one of change for him.
He’s now in control of his future.
After years of being included in trade rumors, and even a few weeks this summer of his name surfacing as a trade chip, Kyrou now knows he’s the one who decides the fate of his career. When his no-trade clause kicked in on July 1, the power shifted to Kyrou.
This upcoming campaign is the first season he was eligible for a no-trade clause (because he has now reached an age that would have qualified him for unrestricted free agency), and it is included across the next five seasons of the contract extension he signed two years ago. In 2030-31, that will drop to a 15-team no-trade list, and at that point, Kyrou will be 32 years old.
With that presumably handled, next up is Kyrou’s on-ice game.
In 2024-25, Kyrou took a larger step toward becoming a more complete player with a more concerted effort in the defensive zone, more tracking back for pucks in the neutral zone, harder board play and even a couple of hits. (Remember the one in overtime against Detroit that helped run the Blues’ win streak to 10?)
When Kyrou was on the ice at five on five, the Blues allowed 1.81 goals per 60 minutes, the lowest figure in his career. 51ºÚÁÏ also gave up 25.76 shots and 9.02 high-danger chances per hour with Kyrou on the ice, both also new career bests for Kyrou.
On the offensive side, Kyrou scored 36 goals, one away from tying his career high of 37, set in 2022-23. For many in 51ºÚÁÏ, though, his 37 goals in 2022-23 was overshadowed by his minus-38 rating.
Last year? He led the Blues at plus-23.
The 40-goal plateau has been an attainable target for Kyrou, who remains one of the best shooters in the league.
It’s also possible Kyrou returns this season as part of a line that was one of the most successful in the NHL last season. Playing right wing with Brayden Schenn at center and Dylan Holloway at left wing, Kyrou helped the line outscore opponents 29-14 at five on five. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blues held a 56.29% edge in expected goals with them on the ice. Perhaps a full year with Schenn and Holloway could boost Kyrou’s numbers.
Analytics site MoneyPuck ranked Kyrou as the 13th-best shooter in the league last year, based on how often he converts his chances relative to the expected goal value around the league. Of the 12 players above him, seven have notched 40-goal seasons at some point in their career: Leon Draisaitl, Artemi Panarin, Jason Robertson, David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen, Patrik Laine and Alex DeBrincat. Elias Pettersson (39), Andrei Kuzmenko (39) and Cole Caufield (37) have come close. Trevor Zegras (23) and Daniel Sprong (21) have not.
If Kyrou reaches 40 goals, he would become the first Blues player to hit that mark since Vladimir Tarasenko in 2015-16 and the second since Brad Boyes in 2007-07. Since Tarasenko potted 40 in 2015-16, 23 teams have had a 40-goal scorer, including both expansion franchises.
