The St. Louis Blues had a busy start to their offseason, flipping Jordan Kyrou in a deal that brought in Connor McMichael, Milton Gästrin, and a first-round pick before, days later, flipping two first-round picks for another young forward, Mason McTavish.
All of this was followed by the acquisition of veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo, the signing of Ross Johnston and Dillon Dube, and the re-signing of Jonatan Berggren and Oskar Sundqvist, all aimed at enhancing forward depth. However, since this flurry of moves, the trade buzz has gone really quiet for the Blues, and the dust is starting to clear, revealing what this team will look like next year.
What moves are left to come?
Although, for the most part, the Blues are likely done making moves, they still have at least 18 forwards competing for 12 lineup spots, so there definitely needs to be some thinning out of their offensive depth.
To start with, the lineup locks, Jimmy Snuggerud, Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway, McMichael, McTavish, and Dalibor Dvorský all feel like pretty safe bets to lock their places into the lineup. As for Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Neighbours, there's been a tiny bit of trade buzz about them, and though there's a world where one of them is moved, realistically, both will probably be on the roster at the start of the 2026-27 season.
Additionally, Justin Carbonneau is probably going to have to truly amaze the Blues to earn an Opening Night spot, and given the fact that Sundqvist's new contract is a two-way deal, it's very likely he starts in the minors as well.
The piece that doesn't really fit, honestly, is Pius Suter. Suter was brought in to be a middle-six center, and meanwhile, the team has now brought in two other middle-six centers this offseason, while Dvorský has established his role in the top nine as well. I'd honestly be a bit surprised if Suter starts the year on the team, and if so, it likely means Alexey Toropchenko and/or Nathan Walker were dealt instead.
As for defense, there's only one plausible move the team has talked about making, and that is bringing in Alexander Nikishin from the Carolina Hurricanes. Realistically, though, the players they have on defense and in goal are all very unlikely to move.
How does this shape out?
One of the few things that went exceptionally well for the Blues last season was their top line of Holloway, Snuggerud, and Thomas. I don't see any world where the Blues don't at least start the season with that same top line.
As for the second line, McMichael, McTavish, and Buchnevich seem to be the likely three to start there, with the center spot somewhat up in the air. If I had to guess, I'd say that due to McMichael's poor ability at the faceoff dot and McTavish's excellent physicality, he'll get the nod to start at center.
As for the third line, I think they'll want to give Dvorský a runway for that center spot, and Neighbours and Berggren are probably the most likely candidates to start on the wings.
The fourth line is certainly the most up in the air, but given the size Johnston brings to the table and the scoring ability Dube offers, I think those two will earn spots to open the season. As for the last spot, I think Jack Finley has done more than Toropchenko and Walker this past season, and he'll get a spot on the wing while the other two start as scratches.
This would allow Otto Stenberg and Carbonneau to develop in the minors and be ready for a midseason call-up.
As for the defense, five of the six spots are pretty much locked up, and it will mainly be a battle between Theo Lindstein, Tyler Tucker, and Adam Jiříček for the final spot. I think Lindstein will earn it in the end due to his higher ceiling than Tucker, in combination with the experience he has that Jiříček doesn't yet have.
I think Jiříček will be an impactful call-up midseason, but for now, I think they run Colton Parayko and Philip Broberg on the top pair, with Cam Fowler and Logan Mailloux on the second pair, and pair Lindstein with the veteran Carlo on the third pair.
Lastly, Joel Hofer has seemingly proven himself to be an NHL-caliber starter, and I believe he'll be the first goalie since Jake Allen in 2018 to get the nod over Jordan Binnington to open the season.
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