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3 supposedly unreasonable offseason moves that would actually make sense for the St. Louis Blues

Sometimes, making counterintuitive organizational transactions could pay dividends, and that’s the case with these five moves for the St. Louis Blues.

By Todd Matthews

Mar 28, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Pavel Buchnevich (89) is congratulated by defenseman Torey Krug (47) after scoring an empty net goal against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Pavel Buchnevich (89) is congratulated by defenseman Torey Krug (47) after scoring an empty net goal against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
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Sign a veteran center

Finally, signing a veteran center, preferably one who can play solid hockey in all three zones, would complete the Blues in 2024-25. Not all of the free agent centers are worth signing, but if the Blues wanted, they could even find a way to ink someone like Steven Stamkos to a deal, even if it’s for just three seasons. 

Stamkos is most likely returning to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but while he still has the ‘UFA’ label next to his name, anything is possible. Now that he’s 34, Stamkos wouldn’t demand an ultra-high salary, so he would fit well into the Blues budget, and he would immediately turn them into favorites to at least land a wild card spot. 

Players like Elias Lindholm and Adam Henrique should also come at reasonable rates, though there is a possibility the former may demand more compensation, given his age and recent uptick in performance during the Vancouver Canucks playoff run. 

I’m not a huge fan of adding a player like Jonathan Marchessault, thanks to most of his success coming with the Vegas Golden Knights following an up-and-down career. But the signing would still make sense if it were to occur, especially if Doug Armstrong takes the ‘win-now’ route with new head coach Drew Bannister leading the way. 

Overall, I wouldn’t be a huge fan of any of the three moves listed above, so I’m making it clear once again that these aren’t endorsements. But if Doug Armstrong made such transactions, I could more than see where he’s coming from, and why he would be interested in trading for a veteran forward, extending another, and signing yet another. 

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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

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