3 St. Louis Blues players who shouldn’t return next season
The St. Louis Blues could see some roster movement this offseason with a few enticing players looking to prove they belong with the NHL club come October.
The St. Louis Blues resurgence this season could delay any major retooling project general manager Doug Armstrong otherwise could have undertaken for the upcoming offseason. While St. Louis is still outside of a playoff spot and is in fifth place in the NHL’s Central Division, they are currently on pace to finish the season with a solid but unspectacular 91 points.
The above number is more than enough to have faith in a group that has 15 players signed through at least 2025-26. St. Louis would also have impact players like Pavel Buchnevich for another year, and there is always a good chance the 28-year-old remains in town beyond next season if he plays well.
The Blues are in a better position than they found themselves in at the trade deadline when they had just 67 points and were on pace for just 87, which would have put them well outside of the final playoff spot. No, 91 points won’t get them there either, but it also means we likely won’t see them moving any big pieces as they could have at the deadline should Armstrong have been swayed with the right compensation.
St. Louis Blues still shouldn’t keep everyone for the 2024-25 season
Despite their recent resurgence, the Blues don’t need, nor should they keep everyone for the following season. With high-end prospects currently seeing ice time, something that should see an uptick if they no longer find themselves in contention a week or two from today, and a few players on expiring contracts, the Blues must part ways with the latter.
Each of the names listed in the following slides are those fans should have no problem watching in a different uniform next season. But they need to hope those players who should move into full-time roles next year are more than capable of providing more than just adequate play.
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Kasperi Kapanen has been serviceable, but there are better options
A waiver claim pickup from the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, Kasperi Kapanen was more than serviceable toward the end of last season when he logged 14 points in 23 games and eight goals. If that were an 82-game season, Kapanen would have had 50 points, so it’s easy to see why he was such a good fit last season in St. Louis.
But Kapanen hasn’t been as effective this season, with just 20 points and five goals in 63 contests as of March 25th. His average total ice time dropped to 14:40, and the winger’s shooting percentage is less than that of some defensemen at 5.7 percent.
On the plus side, Kapanen has still been rather physical, and he’s also registered roughly half a takeaway per game. But Kapanen’s GA/60 at even strength is just 2.8, tied for 14th on the team, and his GF/60 is a meager 2.5, also 14th. That said, he’s still effective in the defensive zone at 5-on-5 - 91.6 on-ice save percentage - and he’s also been effective while short-handed.
But Zachary Bolduc is a younger player with more potential than Kapanen, who will eventually make for a better option. The most sensible move would be to let Kapanen walk and let Bolduc play full-time while going out and signing a more cost-effective option in free agency to fill the bottom line or to provide organizational depth.
Sammy Blais was a decent stopgap in St. Louis, but he’s easy to replace
Returning to St. Louis after he was acquired in the Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola trade, Sammy Blais has seen limited ice time this season in 45 games. His previous four appearances between February 13th and March 9th have all been losses for the Blues, and Blais has had a tough time staying healthy this year. So, like Kapanen, letting him walk would be rather easy.
Blais surprisingly got off to a good start when he returned to the Blues last season, posting 20 points and nine goals in 31 contests. His shooting percentage was an unheard of 23.1 percent, and he was still the same physical player he’d always been.
That didn’t parlay into a better outing this season, though, as Blais posted just seven points and one goal in those 45 outings. No, injuries didn’t help, but Blais still never took full advantage of his limited chances this season.
There are too many lower-liners set to be free agents this summer who could come in and outperform the meager numbers Blais put up in 2023-24 with relative ease. It doesn’t mean they need to come in and score over a half-point per game like Blais did upon his return to St. Louis last year, but they shouldn’t have a tough time scoring more than 0.15 points per contest.
Marco Scandella’s time with the Blues should come to an end
The 34-year-old blueliner wasn’t going to score much in the points realm, and he just has eight in 60 games this season. But Marco Scandella’s time in St. Louis should be over now that guys like Tyler Tucker and Scott Perunovich should be ready to roll. Further, Matt Kessel’s extension should also spell the end for Scandella as a member of the Blues.
Other than Perunovich, who should get a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent following the season, St. Louis could be set, as they have six blueliners ready to return next year. You can bump that number up to seven once Perunovich re-signs, and this would leave Scandella as the odd man out in the lineup.
Look for the Blues to bring in one defenseman to serve as competition for the seven blueliners who should be in the projected lineup next year while Scandella finishes his career elsewhere. He’s already seeing himself scratched from the lineup, so this should serve as a foreshadowing of what will come in the offseason.
Overall, the Blues shouldn’t miss any of the above players, as they either already have or will sign their respective replacements, preferably both. Thinking long-term, letting these players walk will serve the organization’s best interests as they get a little younger next season.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)