A week after the free agency frenzy, things have mostly settled down around the league. Now's as good a time as any to take a quick look at what the rest of the Central Division accomplished, and if the St. Louis Blues have done enough to remain competitive.
Chicago Blackhawks
Woof. The Connor Bedard era is not off to a great start in Chicago. The Blackhawks have done next to nothing in free agency, with the only moves of note a peripheral trade for Andre Burakovsky and re-signing Ryan Donato. They've got over $20 million in cap space and, with all the major free agents off the market, nowhere to really spend it.
Colorado Avalanche
After signing Brock Nelson to a three-year extension with a cap hit of $7.5-million AAV, the Avalanche didn't do much in free agency other than allow Jonathan Drouin and Ryan Lindgren to walk. Or, so we thought, until they brought in veteran Brent Burns on a $1-million contract. The 40-year-old defenseman isn't who he once was, but he still brings solid value--especially at that price.
Dallas Stars
Losing Mikael Granlund was a drag for Dallas, but it was to be expected with Mikko Rantanen's $12-million contract kicking in next season. Still, GM of the Year Jim Nill managed to retain Matt Duchene on yet another sweetheart deal and kept captain Jamie Benn around on a cheap one-year contract. There's more to do, however: Dallas is currently over the cap and needs to shed salary before opening night.
Minnesota Wild
After years of being hamstrung by the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts, the Wild...did very little with their newly available cap space. They added Nico Sturm and Vladimir Tarasenko, but they aren't that much different from the roster they iced last season.
Nashville Predators
Did the Predators learn their lesson from last summer's spending spree? Nope! Nick Perbix is a fine addition at a reasonable price, but trading for and signing Nic Hague--a third-pair defenseman--to a four-year, $5.5-million AAV contract is a bit baffling. Add in their disastrous center depth (arguably the worst in the league) that went completely unaddressed, and the Preds look like they're in for another rough season.
Utah Mammoth
Boy, GM Bill Armstrong must feel good being unshackled from the awful ownership of the Arizona Coyotes. He made some splashy acquisitions last summer, and followed it up with another winning offseason by trading for JJ Peterka and filling out their depth with Nate Schmidt on defense (fresh off a Cup win!), forward Brandon Tanev and Vitek Vanecek in net. The Mammoth were competitive right to the end of this season, and should be able to push for a playoff spot in 2025-26.
Winnipeg Jets
The President's Trophy winners let one of their best players in Nikolaj Ehlers, walk, though maybe he'll finally be appreciated by a Carolina Hurricanes coaching staff that respects what he can do. They rounded out their roster with Gus Nyqvist, Cole Koepke, and Tanner Pearson, though the big story is the homecoming of Jonathan Toews. Whether he's able to play hockey at an NHL level after two years away from the game remains to be seen, but it will be a nice story at least.
St. Louis Blues
So, where does all this leave the Blues? The top teams in the division aren't all that different from the rosters they iced in last season's playoffs; the X-factors will be how Rantanen settles in with the Stars and whether Nelson is the Nazem Kadri replacement the Avs have been searching for since 2022, as well has Gabriel Landeskog's health over a full regular season. Those teams are still contenders, and will be tough outs for the Blues--ditto for Winnipeg, simply because Connor Hellebuyck is an otherworldly goaltender that can steal games seemingly at will.
The biggest threat to the Blues' playoff hopes is the plucky up-and-coming Utah Mammoth: a healthy roster (especially on defense) and good goaltending from Karel Vejmelka, and the Mammoth could be serious playoff contenders. Let's not count the Wild out, either; Kirill Kaprizov's injury put a real damper on what was shaping up to be an outstanding season, and progress from Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, and Filip Gustavsson could be enough to push Minnesota to the top of the Central.
The Blues, however, got better too: Pius Suter brings stability to the team's middle six, which will take some pressure off younger players and allow Brayden Schenn to be leveraged more appropriately. The addition of Logan Mailloux brings youthful depth on the blue line, and keeping Joel Hofer in the fold gives head coach Jim Montgomery a steady backup to split time with starting goalie Jordan Binnington. It's not a guarantee that St. Louis will make the postseason again, and they do have their work cut out for them--but the Blues' roster should have enough juice to get to the playoffs.