The St. Louis Blues, as well as the rest of the National Hockey League, have a very busy day ahead of them on July 1. Star winger Jordan Kyrou's no-trade clause has kicked in, making him a Blue for the rest of his current deal. There is some heavy interest in Mikael Granlund for that second-line center spot. And still no word yet on Radek Faksa's return to the team.
Speaking of stars, probably one of the top players in the National Hockey League is about to get moved in part of a sign-and-trade on July 1. The move brings him from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference, joining one of the clear-cut favorites to win it all in 2025-26.
Mitch Marner is now apart of the Vegas Golden Knights, which spells certain doom for the Blues.
The West just keeps getting stronger
Plain and simple, the Golden Knights just became the favorites out west, and the whole conference is on notice. Every team, which very much includes the Blues, is now scrambling to find the next big-piece to their Stanley Cup puzzle now that the biggest free-agent is gone.
Can the Blues find a way to keep up with some new acquisitions? Will it even be enough?
Not a hinderance for division, but wildcard could be in jeopardy
Although the Blues do not play in the Golden Knights division, it still hurts them just as badly. When looking at the Central Division, which got a lot stronger in its own right due to the 2025 NHL Draft, the wildcard is looking like it is going to be a tight race once again. Marner aiding the Golden Knights chances to be the potential winner of the Pacific Division only complicates the mid-tier teams. Calgary and Vancouver will have a tougher time to get in the position they were in last year, but so will the Blues.
Plus, now the Blues will have to face-off against these new-look and newly-upgraded Golden Knights on a few occasions in 2025-26's regular season. If they cannot beat them, they fall even further behind in the standings, which will already be a dog-eat-dog battle.