3 mistakes the St. Louis Blues and Doug Armstrong cannot afford to make this offseason
Trading away key players won’t do Armstrong any favors
Sending the Blues into more than just a roster restructure was a major possibility before the 2024 trade deadline, and Armstrong could have reaped some monster rewards at the right price. But that should no longer be the case heading into the summer, and by the looks of things, it won’t be.
But, smokescreens can arise during this time of the year from all 32 general managers, so we can’t just assume Armstrong isn’t seriously considering trading a few players he doesn’t see playing for the Blues in 2025-26 and beyond. While doing so might make sense to some, it’s not the best idea out there, thanks to how the Blues managed to stay in contention this past year.
Despite no-trade clauses, Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad, Kevin Hayes, and Nick Leddy are all players who could realistically move elsewhere, but each has played important roles for the Blues. Instead of trading those with another year or two left on their respective deals now, Armstrong would be better off waiting and seeing how this team performs in the regular season.
If the Blues don’t look like contenders as the 2025 trade deadline approaches, Armstrong should still get a good haul for a couple of those players listed above. Others like Colton Parayko and Torey Krug could also be the subject of trade talks, but again, it makes sense to wait.
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(Data provided by Hockey-Reference)