3 mistakes the St. Louis Blues and Doug Armstrong cannot afford to make this offseason

Bringing back any and all unrestricted free agents

When you look at the Blues pending unrestricted free agents, they are a pedestrian few, with Kasperi Kapanen, Samuel Blais, and Marco Scandella leading the way, all of whom would do more harm than good to bring back. 

One reason is that none of the above factored in as major contributors for the Blues, so opening spots in the lineup brings about one of two potential outcomes. They can either call up more prospects into full-time roles should Armstrong and his to-be-named coaching staff identify anyone ready for the NHL, or two, bring in better quality talent. 

Each route has its own pros and cons, as bringing more prospects into the big club will make the team younger and open a wider potential window of success long-term. But the downside is that the Blues may not make their big return to the postseason until 2026. This may be disheartening to a fan base who saw its team get a little closer to the postseason than they may have anticipated this year. 

Rolling with more established talent could put the finishing touches to fuel at least a wild card contender and that 100-point goal. But, it would also come at the expense of prospects who could otherwise be in the NHL for 2024-25.