St Louis Blues’ general manager Doug Armstrong has taken a pragmatic approach to roster-building ahead of the 2025/25 National Hockey League season.
The Blues won their only Stanley Cup at the end of the 2018/19 campaign, but have not progressed past the second round of the play-offs since then.
Fans inclined towards sports betting in Missouri may view the Blues as a value bet at odds of 50/1 to lift the trophy this season, but it’s hard to imagine them securing a winning return.
Armstrong recently confirmed that the roster for this season is ‘pretty well set now’, but indicated that next summer could be a pivotal one for the club.
“I would say next year at this time, there’s going to be a great opportunity to input a lot of young forwards,” Armstrong said.
“I do believe that getting that foundation is so important for the player in the organisation than force-feeding him into an area where maybe they can’t have success.
“I think we’ve protected ourselves from having to do that while allowing them the right to come in and take a job.”
The Blues have strengthened their forward ranks this summer, most notably with the acquisition of Pius Suter on a two-year contract.
Suter tallied 25 goals and 21 assists in 81 appearances for the Vancouver Canucks last season will provide some much-need scoring depth on the third line.
The Blues have also acquired promising defenseman Logan Mailloux from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Zack Bolduc.
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Mailloux was a first round in the 2021 NHL Draft and has been tipped to become a top-four blueliner for St Louis over the next couple of years.
Bolduc was drafted ahead of Mailloux four years ago, but has failed to progress as expected. He tallied 24 goals and 21 assists in 97 appearances for the club.
The Blues have several players who will be hoping to earn a spot on the roster this season including Dalibor Dvorsky. He was the number ten pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Nikita Alexandrov, Otto Stenberg, Zach Dean, Jakub Stancl and Adam Jiricek are also bidding to feature in the NHL this season.
While Armstrong says the roster is complete, the club would not be averse to signing another young defenseman and a scoring forward before the season starts.
However, head coach Jim Mongomery may have to wait until next year for the Blues to acquire the superstar talent who could lead them to another Stanley Cup.
Armstrong is renowned for playing the long game and will likely have his sights set on acquiring New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin as a free agent next summer.
The Rangers are entering a win-or-bust season in 2025/26 and are not expected to keep the talented Russian star when his contract expires.
Blues fans may have to settle for the team suffering another early exit from the play-offs this term, before acquiring the stellar talent they need to secure another Stanley Cup success.
Projected St Louis Blues line-up 2025/26
- F1: Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud
- F2: Dylan Holloway – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
- F3: Jake Neighbours – Pius Suter – Nick Bjugstad
- F4: Alexey Toropchenko – Oskar Sundqvist – Nathan Walker
- D1: Cam Fowler – Colton Parayko
- D2: Philip Broberg – Justin Faulk
- D3: Tyler Tucker – Logan Mailloux
- NM1: Jordan Binnington
- NM2: Joel Hofer