When the 2024-25 season started, everybody had counted out both the Washington Capitals and the St. Louis Blues. Neither team's roster seemed all that impressive; the Blues had missed the playoffs the previous season, and the Caps had been swept in Round One after barely squeaking into the postseason. Nobody would've been shocked if both teams finished their respective seasons in April 2025.
But shock people, they did. The Caps finished with the second-best record in the league, and the Blues--after a major turnaround under Jim Montgomery--went on a scorching run to secure their wildcard spot. Washington made it to the second round before losing in five to the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Blues, well...they came within seconds of upsetting the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets.
Expectations for both teams next season are higher, and there are a few things the Blues can learn from the Capitals about how to stay competitive without bottoming out. Here's four of them.
Retooling on the fly
Some will scoff at the idea of being able to retool a team; you either have to bottom out and build back up through high draft picks, or accept that the ultimate ceiling your team has isn't all that high. The Capitals showed that it is possible--you just have to make savvy acquisitions of players that are solid but undervalued by their current teams.
Let's rewind to February of 2023. The Capitals traded Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to the Boston Bruins for a 1st-round pick, then flipped that pick for Rasmus Sandin, who was on the outs with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That's where we'll mark the beginning of the Capitals retool, because they needed to get younger on the backend, and Sandin fit the bill; he posted 30 points this season and was a solid addition in their top four, who's only going to get better.
Next summer, the Caps traded a 2nd-round pick for winger Andrew Mangiapane and two 3rd-rounders for netminder Logan Thompson. Mangiapane's scoring was down this season (only 28 points), but he posted positive 5-on-5 expected Goals-for and Corsi-for percentages, per Natural Stat Trick: 53.38 and 52.76, respectively. That's a good, play-driving middle-six winger the Capitals picked up relatively cheap. The absolute steal was Thompson, who had an incredible season as part of a goaltending tandem with Charlie Lindgren. After Darcey Kuemper didn't work out (we'll get to him in a moment), Thompson established himself as a 1A goaltender and carried the Caps through the season.
The Blues are already well into retooling on the fly, starting last summer with the offer sheets of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway--both have been smashing successes. There's more to be done around the periphery, though, if one wants this year's wins to carry over to next season.
Betting on struggling players
A major part of the Caps' retool was taking a gamble on players who were struggling, namely Jakob Chychrun and P.L. Dubois. Both players were distressed assets and, considering how their seasons in Washington turned out, utter steals.
Chychrun was dangled by the Arizona Coyotes for years, but nobody was willing to meet the asking price until Ottawa stepped up. His time with the Senators, however, wasn't the greatest; he put up points (41) and had decent underlying numbers, but his role was never all that clear, and his usage didn't maximize his skillset. The Capitals got him for a 3rd-round pick and veteran defenseman Nick Jensen, after the Sens had given up a 1st-round pick and two 2nd-round picks to pry him from the Coyotes. With Washington, Chychrun had a career season: 20 goals and 47 points in a defined role that earned him a massive contract--well worth what the Caps parted with.
The more vexing player is Dubois. A third-overall pick in 2016 and only 26 years old, Dubois is on his fourth team with the Capitals. He has all the tools to be great, but, whether it was coaching or attitude or a combination, he had never really seemed to rise to the expectations thrust upon him. In the first year of an eight-year deal with the LA Kings that threatened to become an albatross, the Kings decided to cut bait and parted with Dubois for Kuemper--the trade was one-for-one. As the Caps' second-line center, Dubois put up a career-best 66 points and maintained excellent underlying numbers. The Kuemper-for-Dubois trade was a winner for both teams, as Kuemper underwent a career renaissance in Los Angeles and wound up a Vezina finalist.
So, are there struggling players the Blues could target? It depends on your definition of struggling and whether you believe they can bounce back with a change of scenery. The Blues could use some upgrades on their blue line and in their middle six; the Buffalo Sabres have a number of players entering RFA that could give a boost, like JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, and Bo Byram. Depending on the acquisition cost, there might be something for St. Louis to pursue.
Youth movement
The Capitals had some internal improvements to thank for their success, as well. Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas, both in their age-24 seasons, combined for 56 goals and 123 points. McMichael, especially, started the season on an absolute tear, and Protas brings such a unique toolset (he's 6-foot-6 and nearly 250 pounds!) that seemed to jell with the rest of the top six. Beyond those two, 2023 eighth overall pick Ryan Leonard is on his ELC, and he's shaping up to be quite the stud; even when Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, John Carlson and the rest of the old core age out, the Capitals have a strong foundation of young players to continue to build around and remain competitive.
St. Louis, meanwhile, has several players poised to make a jump similar to those of Protas and McMichael--namely Jake Neighbours, Zack Bolduc, and maybe Jimmy Snuggerud. We already saw Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg take massive leaps this season, as well as Robert Thomas becoming a star center, so another step from the roster's younger players would be quite the boon for the Blues.
Resurgent veterans
Alex Ovechkin broke the all-time goals record at age 39--what more can you say? The veterans on the Capitals turned back the clock in the 2024-25 season, and while many will point to Ovechkin breaking the record as the big story, Tom Wilson's renaissance was a major driver of the Capitals' success as a team. Wilson set new career records in goals (33), assists (32), and points (65), and he--along with Dubois--solidified the Caps' excellent second line. John Carlson, meanwhile, can't be relied on for the same level of play as in his younger days (he's 35, after all), but he had some of the best underlying statistics of his career. That trio, still here from when the Caps won the Stanley Cup, all reached a new level in their twilight years.
There are a number of players on the Blues who could go through a career renaissance in 2025-26; in fact, a few already have. Cam Fowler may fall under the "struggling players" category, but at 33, there was little reason to believe he'd be more than what he was with the Anaheim Ducks--amazing what a change in scenery can do, as Fowler put up 36 points in 51 games with St. Louis. Hopefully, that type of play carries over to next year. Jordan Binnington had quite the season, and there's little reason to believe he'll dramatically regress in the remainder of his contract.
Take your pick of any defensemen who could rediscover a facet of their game: Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Nick Leddy could all have late-career seasons to remember. Up front, maybe captain Brayden Schenn gets back to scoring in the 60-70 point range; for everyone's sake, let's hope Pavel Buchnevich shows he's worth the $8-million AAV contract extension that kicks in this summer.
There are a lot of "what ifs" and "maybes" that have to go the Blues' way if they want to retool on the fly the way the Washington Capitals did. At the very least, however, the Capitals provide a template to follow--and demonstrate what can happen when everything goes right.