As we count down the days until the 2026 Stanley Cup concludes and the free agent and trade markets open up, it’s important to reflect on the moves the Blues made this past offseason to see what holes they properly filled and what holes they may have deepened.
Although it takes time to see the complete effects of any deal, enough time has passed to begin evaluating them.
Blues release Nick Leddy
Grade: A-
When the Sharks claimed Leddy off waivers from the Blues last offseason, it felt like we were offered a lifeline. The Blues had several aging defensemen with large contracts and no-movement clauses, and it really felt like they’d need to deal a pick or eat some money to dump them. Amazingly, Doug Armstrong managed to work around that, and he was helped along by the Sharks claiming Leddy’s contract with one more year at $4 million.
Now, Leddy’s numbers with one goal, six assists, and a -9 plus-minus certainly wouldn’t have pushed the Blues into a playoff spot, but it’s hard to give this move above an A- because they didn’t really do anything with the extra money or minutes. His 18:40 of ice time was mostly spread out between Matthew Kessel and Tyler Tucker throughout the season, neither of whom really took the step forward that the Blues were hoping for. Additionally, no defenseman was brought in to replace Leddy this past season, and the extra $4 million sort of died there.
However, it is a positive that Theo Lindstein was able to get his chance at the NHL level, and Logan Mailloux was able to get a second chance after a rough start. It’s unknown if these things would’ve happened if Leddy had remained under contract, so in sum, it was still a positive move.
Blues trade Zack Bolduc for Logan Mailloux
Grade: A
With Bolduc scoring three goals in each of his first three games and Mailloux being sent down to the AHL after playing in just nine games, this deal seemed like a disaster at first.
Although the season numbers don’t look great for Mailloux, in his final 24 games he recorded four goals and 10 assists with a plus minus of 11. Additionally, he was getting significant playing time, averaging over 21 minutes per game. Mailloux is complicated to evaluate because he didn’t step in and become the 50-point player who excels on the power play as he was advertised, but he’s just 23 years old and showed glimpses of having a chance to be that player.
As for Bolduc, there’s certainly plenty of reason to love him in Montreal, but he’s not a fit for what the Blues need going forward. Bolduc took a huge step forward with his physicality, recording 170 hits, but his offense arguably took a step back, recording seven fewer goals in six more games than during his rookie season. Bolduc has shown he can be an elite third-liner, but the fact is that’s not what the Blues need right now, and if he’d spent this past season in St. Louis, fans would likely just add him to a long list of players who were disappointing offensively.
Blues sign Pius Suter (2 YR/$4.125M AAV)
Grade: B
When the Blues signed Suter, it seemed as though this was a diamond-in-the-rough signing from a pretty weak free agent class at a very affordable price.
Unfortunately, although Suter’s defense remained strong and his positive presence on the ice was shown with his plus minus of 13, his offense took a big turn for the worse, dropping from 46 points in 2024-25 to 29 points in 2025-26. In all fairness, he missed 18 games this past season, mainly due to a high ankle sprain, but his production was still not at the level of a strong middle-six forward. Additionally, the penalty kill, which was a big problem in 2024-25, never really improved, and although you can’t really blame that on Suter, he wasn’t the difference-maker they hoped he’d be.
Going into next season, Suter still has a chance to bounce back on a relatively fair cap hit. However, he’s gotten himself into trade talks, and the Blues may just chalk up the Suter experiment as a loss, take a mid-round draft pick, and walk away.
Blues Sign Nick Bjugstad (2 YR/$1.75M AAV)
Grade: C-
The Blues knew it’d be difficult to find a fourth-line replacement for Radek Faksa. However, what seemed like a promising option in Bjugstad never really panned out for the Blues.
It only took about a month for the Blues to make Bjugstad a fairly regular healthy scratch before he was traded to New Jersey in February. To his credit, Bjugstad was one of the most physical players on the team during his 35-game tenure, but his below-average skating speed, shot speed, and point production made him a liability at times.
The Blues were still able to acquire Thomas Bordeleau and a fourth-round pick from the Devils for Bjugstad, but Bjugstad was supposed to fill one of the Blues' biggest holes from the previous season at center on the fourth line, and that job ultimately wound up being forfeited to Oskar Sundqvist and Jack Finley.
Overview
The 2025 offseason as a whole wasn’t very successful for the Blues, but it was more about what they didn’t do than what they did. They failed to pick up any secondary scoring or bolster a defensive core that needed a boost, and as a result, the team came out flat.
This offseason, Alexander Steen needs to be far more active in order to avoid another playoff-less season. The few moves Armstrong did make were, for the most part, pretty successful, so it’s important for Steen to take a few swings if the Blues are going to truly return to Cup contention.
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