With the 2026 NHL Draft now less than 10 days away, all eyes are on new St Louis Blues GM Alexander Steen, the former Blues legend, taking his first big test as St Louis' newest GM following the departure of longtime GM Doug Armstrong, now the club's president of hockey operations. Right now, the Blues have the 11th and 15th overall picks in this year's draft, but one particular trade-up could make a potentially big splash, as well as some other moves in the following summer months.
Trade up to second overall, select Ivan Stenberg off San Jose
This is probably a long-shot deal, as the Sharks wouldn't normally be crazy enough to let a literal 2nd overall draft choice walk, which would give them the 11th overall pick while keeping their 15th. Furthermore, making such a deal would also result in the Blues coughing up at least two of their star players as change, that being either Jordan Kyrou or Colton Parayko, who they definitely wouldn't let walk either. For most teams, a move this aggressive is surely unnecessary, but for a team undergoing a retool, it could work in some scenarios. Plus, top 10 draft picks are often of a much higher skill than mid-round selections, especially in the 1st, and St Louis might not want to pass on too many opportunities to snag a superstar if they have even the slightest of a chance.
Make Robert Thomas the captain
The Blues traded away their last captain, Brayden Schenn, to the Islanders this past spring, and they already have a perfect replacement. The 26-year-old Thomas is arguably the Blues' best player, and they've shown absolutely zero interest in trading him, which is why he's an ideal candidate for the team's now vacant captaincy. Last season was Thomas' 3rd straight 20+ goal campaign and his 4th in the last 5 seasons, making him one of the league's top players. The one thing holding Thomas back, which also holds the rest of the team back, however, is his consistency. From last February to April, Thomas caught fire, scoring 8 goals and assists each for 16 points in just 10 games. He needs to be able to do that starting in October and going into January. If he combines that with his February to April prowess, Thomas might get another All-Star Game consideration, which could become his 2nd ASG appearance in his 8-year career thus far.
It's also worth mentioning that another Blues young star, Jake Neighbours could easily be considered for the captaincy alongside Thomas, but given Thomas' leadership prowess and offensive skill, it wouldn't make sense not to give him the coveted letter on his sweater.
Make a package deal for Kyrou to get Toronto's Matthew Knies
Like the supposed Stenberg deal, this is another long-shot play but also has some positives on paper. Knies is only 23 years old and does still have goalscoring ability, even if it's not as high as Kyrou's, who's notched 30+ goals in 4 of the last 5 seasons. The only reason why this deal is even coming up is, honestly due to Kyrou's number taking a huge dip this season compared to last (18 G, 28 A for 46 points compared to 36 G, 34 A for 70 points). You could give Kyrou another shot to rebound, and he probably will, after just having this season as a bit of a fluke. And like the Stenberg deal, this trade will also require quite a bit of shuffling which might be more than the Blues can afford to chew.
Now it comes down to what happens after the draft on June 26-27. There's a small pool of free agent signings the Blues could certainly cash in on, including the likes of Dallas Mavrik Borque and the Blue Jackets' Mason Marchment, who also played for Dallas. These two could help bolster a Blues D that's been on the older age side of things for a few seasons now, and some younger blood is definitely useful. Boston's Andrew Peeke is another solid option, though he might be a bit more pricey than Borque and Marchment.
The last set of moves the Blues make before summer will be for resignings that haven't already been done, like with Thomas, St Louis has to lock up the likes of Neighbours, goaltender Joel Hofer, who could challenge starting goalie Jordan Binnington in training camp this summer, and of course, yet another star in Jimmy Snuggerud. All three are expected to become unrestricted free agents in 2027, so St Louis should absolutely jump on the resigning ship with the league's new CBA set to be put in place by this summer's trade deadline on July 1.
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