Entering last season, the Blues did not appear to have a forward core that was ready to compete in the playoffs. Too many unknowns on the roster, plus a seemingly weak center core, spelled another season of disappointment for the organization and Blues fans
That, of course, did not happen. The core of wingers on the team stepped up big and stormed into a playoff spot by season's end.
Going into this offseason, Doug Armstrong still had some work to do in reconstructing the spine of this team. It seems he took that to heart and, piece by piece, assembled a new look for the center depth.
Brick by brick
Entering the 2025 offseason, Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn were the only guaranteed contributors in the center core, and even then, there were questions. Many thought Brayden Schenn was a serviceable second-line center, but fans wanted an upgrade over Schenn. The bottom-9 also took a hit with the loss of Radek Faksa to the Dallas Stars, who anchored the 4th line for the Blues last season.
Slowly but surely, Doug Armstrong identified supplementary additions to bring in that would shore up the center depth in St. Louis.
The first signing was Nick Bjugstad for 2 years at $1.75 million AAV. Bjugstad has center and wing versatility and should play a valuable bottom-six role. He comes in at an imposing 6'6" and gives good effort on defense, especially when he utilizes his massive frame.
For a similar player with a more impressive career, Bjugstad came in at a little over half of what Faksa was making last year, $3.25 million. And for a 32-year-old on a bridge deal, Doug Armstrong was able to save money and get some insurance before the next wave of young Blues skaters is ready.
The next signing was another value center who can play meaningful minutes for the club, Pius Suter. Suter, 29, is a middle-six defensive center who excels at stopping dangerous chances against.
Doug Armstrong brought in Pius Suter for only two years at $4.125 million each, which is fantastic value for a strong middle-six player. This value does not represent Suter's addition to the team, because he can be a stabilizing rock in the middle-six to complement Brayden Schenn's more offensive game and help the team control the puck while he's on the ice.
Furthermore, his deal, which is 2 years to match Bjugstad, fits right into the window of the Blues timeline where they need a bridge center to eat up minutes before young stars like Dalibor Dvorsky are ready.
Is the center core now a strength?
The Blues went from having only a handful of options to play real center minutes in the bottom-9 to a very strong and deep core of complementary skillsets that can be utilized in unique ways to best help the team win hockey games.
Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad provide the anchor behind Brayden Schenn, but the Blues can also turn to Alexandre Texier, Oskar Sundqvist, and the aforementioned Dalibor Dvorsky to bolster the depth, give spot starts, or even compete for a starting roster spot in the faceoff dot of their own.
The Blues not only have depth at the center position, but breadth too. Each of these skaters can fill a different role as the game needs, meaning Jim Montgomery has all the creativity and ability in the world to mix and match the lineup with this revamped center core in order to earn more wins on the ice.
I broke down the Suter and Bjugstad acquisitions on the latest episode of my podcast, the Note News podcast, which you can find here:
Doug Armstrong was hard at work this offseason to improve the spine of this team. He straightened the depth chart and worked out the kinks on the fringes of the roster in only a couple of days, reversing the expectations of the center core, which should assist an already proven and impressive wing core.
As what may be the final offseason of Doug Armstrong's general manager career comes to a close, I think we can all be appreciative of the job he's done to turn this roster back into a threat in the NHL.