Pavel Buchnevich
Pavel Buchnevich will be heading into his age-29 season, and thus far, he’s been one of the Blues top scorers. He played that role once again in 2023-24, finishing with 63 points and 27 goals, though he struggled through some dry spells without finding the back of the net.
As an older player for a lineup that should get younger, it would be tough to see Doug Armstrong extending Buchnevich’s contract this summer with a couple of younger names who will also be eligible to receive a new deal.
Look for Buchnevich to play out the rest of his contract and perhaps get an extension during the season if he enjoys a big year.
Alexey Toropchenko
Alexey Toropchenko showed he can be one of the Blues most physical players, finishing third on the team in hits with 165. He also had a decent 21 points and 14 goals, solid numbers for a lower-liner, and he converted 12.3 percent of those shots into goals.
Toropchenko has all the makings of being more than just a serviceable lower-liner, but he doesn’t make many game-changing plays. This is a role player who will be in St. Louis for a while, but the contract extension won’t come this summer.