The Blues are
hitting the Trade Block with sights on retooling for future seasons. While the Blues
are a little lean on skater rental talent to offer, they are abundant in Cap
Space, and they’re trying to actively leverage that room to help acquire talent
and/or financial muscle moving into the offseason.
Making
ourselves available as a Pass-Through Rental franchise could be a creative way
to add to available funds for workouts and/or player acquisition. With $24
million in space there aren’t many deals we couldn’t help facilitate, and if we
can add to our draft pick, young player, controllable player, or financial
status we will absolutely try to do so.
Another angle
being worked is In-Season resigning’s. Our higher level talent is locked up into
next season or beyond, but plenty of complimentary pieces are being offered
contracts to keep them on board.
The Blue Line
is an area of opportunity for the club. Evan Bouchard stands out as a brighter
spot in an otherwise lean crop of players. Bouchard was offered a creative
longer term deal initially, but he would prefer something a little shorter
term. We’re working to understand what could work for both sides in
negotiations. Our preference would be to hold on to him for a longer period of
time and use him toward the bottom of our top 4 defensemen. If no deal could be
made he may be put on the block to see what kind of return could be had.
Other offers
were made to players toward the 75OV range to keep them in the organization
while we work toward building sustainable competitiveness, but Bouchard and the
Blue Line are areas of focus as this period wraps up.
9/18/2026 - 268 words
