There are plenty of stars on this St. Louis Blues roster. But, no one, and I mean no one, is a part of the elite echelon of the NHL. That has to be changed sooner rather than later.
Who can they bring to the Lou? Can they afford it? Do you think it will help?
Let's discuss.
Who can they bring over?
This is a tricky one. Which superstar will uproot their lives and their success with their current team to take their talents to the .500 Blues? This team is a fringe playoff team, but as these games keep getting away from them, they are falling even further behind. Who can they bring over to put them over the top.
Looking at current players with contracts expiring at the end of this season, their are some big names out there for the taking. John Tavares and Mitch Marner from Toronto are the two that jump off the page, as well as Brock Boeser from Vancouver and Brad Marchand from Boston. On the blueline, Neal Pionk from Central Division rival Winnipeg and Ivan Provonov from Columbus are going to be some high-value targets.
Each of those players will likely be staying around their current Average Annual Value or increasing, so it will be a big investment for the Blues.
Can they afford it?
Speaking of money, can the Blues afford this big investment? Let's look at the numbers.
At the end of this season, they have a few contracts expiring. Forward Radek Faksa, who was getting paid $3.25 million, will be a free agent, as well as d-men Ryan Suter and Tyler Tucker, who are league minimums, $775k. That will leave $11.6 million on the table, with the NHL's salary cap being increased from $88 million to $95.5 million.
That is enough wiggle room to grab someone just under $9 million AAV and have room to sign a few more to make up for the three free-agent skaters. It is possible to pick up a superstar for that amount, and the salary cap won't be tight.
Will it help?
Absolutely. This team is in desperate need of a superstar-caliber player. It will bring this team closer to being a playoff team, and it will help bring up the rest of the core players.
Currently, the Blues only have one player who is a part of the 20+ goal scorer club this season. That is Jordan Kyrou. Looking at the league, 38 players have entered that club, and teams like Tampa Bay and Winnipeg have multiple members in them. Surprise, surprise, they are superstar players like Nikita Kucherov and Mark Scheifele.
Bringing in a superstar player will help the Blues, and it is desperately needed.