In the midst of "summer", the St. Louis Blues made one of their early moves of a likely busy offseason. Earlier today, General Managers and President Doug Armstrong announced that they have given goaltending prospect Will Cranley a one-year, two-way contract extension.
Cranley, who was selected by the Blues in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, has been floating throughout the ECHL and AHL levels over the last couple of seasons.
This news strengthens Springfield's goaltending situation. Vadim Zherenko got a bulk of the starts last season in the regular season, but when it came down to the Calder Cup Playoffs, he was rocked for seven goals in his only appearance. It was Georgii Romanov who helped aid the Thunderbirds to that incredible run that nearly landed them in the Atlantic Division Finals.
Cranley appeared in 10 games during the 2025-26 regular season, with a 6-4 record. He held a 3.03 Goals Against Average and a save percentage of 0.892.
Under Steve Ott, Springfield will be a major focus for the next few seasons, as development there is going to dictate how the Blues' future will be. The influx of younger talent and a directive of pushing out the old core and shaping a new one will be spearheaded by the AHL affiliate.
Cranley does not have a clear enough path yet to the NHL. The Blues have a goaltending tandem of Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington, who are likely going to be starter-backup, in that order. And then there are the two goaltenders he shared time with last season in Springfield. Plus, let us not forget that Love Harenstam is waiting in the wings for an opportunity, and with how he has been playing lately, he will get it very soon.
For now, Cranley is a nice depth piece to have in the goaltending pipeline.
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