Another season come and gone, and another championship heading to the state of Florida--this time, in a repeat win for the Florida Panthers. The Panthers have been a machine that just keeps winning and winning, and there are a few lessons the St. Louis Blues can learn from them. Let's get into three of them.
1st-round picks aren't everything
The Blues are actually pretty familiar with this one already, having given up a couple draft picks last summer when they offer sheeted Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. St. Louis can take it a step further, though: the Panthers haven't made a first-round pick since 2021, and they won't for the next three drafts. If the Blues want to hasten this retool, they're going to have to be willing to part with premium picks to make it happen--and this summer's 19th overall pick may be a great opportunity to start.
Make the big trade
To go along with the previous point, don't be afraid to make the big trade--no matter what it costs. The Panthers gave up a 1st-round pick, Jonathan Huberdeau, and MacKenzie Weegar to acquire Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames. At the time, the general opinion was that Calgary fleeced the Panthers; three Cup Final appearances in a row and two victories later, it's clear Florida came out on top in that deal.
Superstars like Tkachuk (or Sam Reinhart, or Sam Bennett, for that matter) rarely hit the market in UFA, let alone in blockbuster trades. If an opportunity like that comes knocking, the Blues should take that risk--even if it means shipping out a core player.
Don't rely on past success
The Panthers won the Presidents' Trophy in 2021-22, and that summer traded their 100-point winger and a top-pair defenseman. A lot of organizations would've been content to run it back after a season that successful, but GM Bill Zito wasn't content to take another crack at a Cup with the same core of players and same head coach. Zito remade the team's image in one off-season, and has tinkered around the edges and taken big swings ever since. Each summer, he makes high upside signings on short, cheap contracts, then lets them walk the following July--like Oliver Ekman-Larsson last year, for example.
Then, there's the trade deadline: Zito isn't afraid to go big game hunting in March. In 2022, he acquired Claude Giroux at the deadline. Zito had a quiet 2023 deadline, but in 2024 he brought in Kyle Okposo and Vladimir Tarasenko--though nothing could prepare us for this most recent deadline where he brought in Brad Marchand and Seth Jones. The lesson here is never rest on your laurels, and always look for ways to make significant upgrades to your team.
Time marches ever forward, and the St. Louis Blues' Stanley Cup win fades further in the rearview. Pointing to a championship that happened six years ago doesn't help the team win now; the Blues have to constantly evolve and adapt to remain competitive--they can't rest on that previous success. Armstrong has set the table to hand over the reins, and the next general manager is going to have to get creative to keep the Blues on the right track.