The St. Louis Blues are an average team, at least that is what hockey insider Frank Seravalli thinks. The thing is, he is 100% right.
That is not all that is going on with this team right now, as they still sit a few games under .500. Disappointments are still plentiful, and it is starting to paint a bigger picture. Some players that are supposed to be core pieces of this hopeful team have now become expendable.
Enter Philip Broberg, who is not amongst those that are expendable and instead, is a young up-and-coming defenseman that is up for a new contract at the end of the 2025-26 season. The Blues are going to have to pony up a lot of money for him, as he has become this team's best blueliner, seemingly overnight.
But, where does that leave the rest of the defensive unit? Is there anyone that was supposed to be the top guy on defense, that is now expendable?
Let's tak about it.
Who is expendable?
First and foremost, there is really only one player that is now expendable. And then there is one that could be considered that, but might not despite having a contract expiring at the end of next season, in Justin Faulk. This current defenseman has not made the same kind of impact that he once had, and the Blues are really suffering from his play.
Colton Parayko has become expendable for two reasons. Firstly, he has not been as good as he has been from previous years. It has been a steady incline for him, and this season has taken a nosedive. Second, as previously stated, this is starting to look like the emergence of Broberg as the number one defenseman on this squad.
All in on Broberg?
With the current state of things, is it wise to go all in on Broberg? He has shown considerable strides this season, but we all know what happens when a player gets a big-time contract. It sometimes puts too much pressure on them to reach their full potential, and they start to become underwhelming.
Parayko is halfway through his deal, and if the Blues could have a perfect scenario in having both Broberg and Parayko man that top line, it would be a great pairing. But, there is only so much money to hand out, and it could get tricky with the rising price of Cam Fowler, who is getting a pay jump of $4 million to $6.1 million next season.
There is no question that Broberg deserves whatever is coming to him, and it should be with the Blues, but the impending General Manager Alexander Steen has a bunch of decisions to make at the end of this season. With two goals and eight assists for 10 points, his main draw has been mostly positive play whilst playing upwards of 27 minutes a night.
What should the Blues do, go all in on Broberg, or try to make it work with both No. 6 and No. 55?