Doug Armstrong and the St. Louis Blues found the perfect roster construction strategy for this offseason
After shocking the NHL with double offer sheets to acquire RFAs Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers, Doug Armstrong has given a new outlook to the Blues squad for the upcoming 2024-25 season, without putting their current retool in danger.
The Blues had many needs at the beginning of the summer. Top line defense, elite-level scoring talent, center depth, just to name a few. After a busy offseason, many of these needs still remain. And let's be honest - the St. Louis Blues are not yet Stanley Cup contenders. Their window for contention is most likely 2 or 3 years away from opening up. However, despite that fact, Doug Armstrong has made it clear that the goal for the team is to remain competitive.
But how do you improve your team for the upcoming season without sacrificing long term success? Doug Armstrong may have found a solid answer with his offer sheets move. In this article, I'll break down some different methods of roster construction, and how they align with the Blues' unique situation.
Unrestricted Free Agency
One of the primary ways to immediately improve a hockey team is unrestricted free agency. It's also one of the most straightforward ways: you negotiate, sign the contract, pay the player, and they provide an upgrade for your team (at least, they should). But is this the right strategy for the Blues?
The Blues used free agency to add on the fringes, by signing UFAs Ryan Suter, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and Kasperi Kapanen, and they should continue to sign smaller UFA contracts each offseason to address whatever needs they have. But what about bigger, splashier moves to land a star player in free agency?
As I mentioned earlier, the Blues are still a few years away from true contention. Paying big money to a big name doesn't make sense - yet. Once it becomes clear that the Blues are ready to contend again, they should open up the wallet to address glaring needs (like high level scoring) with established players. But, for now, I'm glad they resisted using valuable cap space to sign a player who will only get older as the Blues return to Stanley Cup contention.
Trades
Another primary way to improve the roster is by making trades. Again, the Blues employed this tactic to add on the fringes, most notably by trading for Mathieu Joseph, Radek Faksa, and Alexandre Texier. But what about blockbuster trades to land a star player?
Those kinds of trades will cost you valuable prospects that the Blues will need to rely on if they hope to establish a new core of players that lead them back into contention. Hanging onto Dalibor Dvorsky and Jimmy Snuggerud is the right idea. And again, once the Blues' window for contention reopens, Doug Armstrong and Alexander Steen must not be afraid to address big needs on the trade market. But, for now, I'm glad they resisted trading away the future of hockey in St. Louis.
The NHL Draft
When it comes to building a core of young players for the future, the NHL Draft is probably the most important roster construction strategy. For the Blues especially, the young players they have drafted in recent years will be a key part of any success the team hopes to achieve in the long run. But can the Blues rely on the NHL Draft to address their current needs?
The Blues need some fresh talent, and the NHL Draft helps to address that need, but not for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Most of the players drafted in the 2024 NHL Draft won't see NHL playing time for several years. Not to mention the volatility of the NHL Draft - it's difficult to predict which players will pan out and which ones won't.
The Draft is a key part of roster-building, and the Blues should continue to place a key focus on collecting and developing young players. But, for now, I'm glad that Doug Armstrong and the Blues have not relied entirely on the draft, and they have instead been proactive about acquiring young talent in creative ways, which brings us to our final method of roster construction.
Offer Sheets
The final method of roster construction that I'll cover is offer sheets. Rarely seen nowadays, offer sheets are tendered to restricted free agents (RFAs) to acquire the player's signing rights from their original team. This is, of course, how the Blues just acquired Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Oilers.
Doug Armstrong may have struck gold with this strategy. The Blues find themselves at a critical point of their retool: they are only a couple of years away from a window opening up. This means that they shouldn't swing a blockbuster trade or sign a big-ticket free agent - yet. It also means that any players they draft in the next couple of years won't see NHL playing time for a while. So how do you improve for both the short- and long-term?
Answer: you sign two young RFAs to offer sheets. Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg offer the Blues young talent, which should continue to improve and develop, providing a positive outlook for the long term. At the same time, Holloway and Broberg improve the Blues at the NHL level for next season, as they both have decent NHL experience, as well as some significant experience in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That combination of youth and experience could prove to be incredibly valuable for the Blues, who are currently at a stage of their retool that is difficult to navigate. As the Blues move closer to contention in the years ahead, they should use a mixture of all these different roster construction strategies. But, for now, signing young players with high upside to offer sheets may be the perfect strategy for the 2024 offseason.
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