Itâs not expected to be a busy offseason in șüÀêÊÓÆ”, as both Armstrong and owner Tom Stillman have alluded to in various interviews over the summer.
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Read the full transcript of Blues beat writer Matthew DeFranks' weekly chat
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Gordo: Blues will stick with their retooling plan as their front office evolves
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The Blues are transitioning toward a new-look front office, but their management goals will remain the same.
There is no ambiguity, and there will be no false promises. The Blues will still retool on the fly, seeking to remain competitive while aiming to contend again within two or three years.
They wonât shift toward a long-haul rebuild this summer, nor will they sacrifice long-term assets for a big near-term push.
So what would a successful summer look like? Signing forward Pavel Buchnevich to a contract extension, realigning the blue line, adding defensive prospects and adding depth scoring would check the boxes.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong wants to retain Buchnevich. GM-in-training Alexander Steen is on board with that too.
Buchnevich plays the right way. He pushes himself hard. He excels in all phases of the game. He could help keep this team competitive while helping fortify its culture, thus enhancing player development and team growth.
Thatâs the kind of stuff Steen did for the Blues as they built up to their Stanley Cup run. We expect Steen to value veteran presence as his decision-making influence grows.
The Blues seem willing to pay Buchnevich the going rate to stay. But Buchnevich wants to win, so he could play out his final contract year and hit the market.
Last season wore on him. He fought the puck for long stretches of the season. The Blues endured multiple slumps and a coaching change.
If Buchnevich decides not to re-up here, then the Blues must trade him for a package of long-term assets that would further the retool.
Employing four 30-something defensemen with long-term contracts does not fit the current plan. The Blues should replace one of them with a younger veteran â ideally one with shutdown ability.
Of course, that is easier said than done.
Last summer, Armstrong tried to offload Torey Krug and add Travis Sanheim, but Krug used his no-trade protection to nix the trade with Philadelphia. So the dilemma remains.
Colton Parayko reemerged as an effective shutdown defender and made himself a cornerstone. Justin Faulk became a solid all-around defender before his injury-marred 2023-24 season, so he should be a keeper.
Nick Leddy has the least onerous contract (two years left with a $4 million cap hit) of the four, and he survived being miscast in the shutdown role. He could be the easiest of the four to trade, but he still offers value at his price.
That brings us back to Krug, who could become a candidate to be bought out or traded (if he agrees) with the Blues retaining some salary.
As Armstrong notes, buyouts only make sense if a team can exploit the cap space gained to make the right addition. Thus far, that hasnât happened on his watch.
While Krug is unlikely to play up to his $6.5 million salary cap level, he could still be a useful third-pairing defenseman and power-play quarterback.
The Blues have previously coveted defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who could be available again as the Ottawa Senators manage their salary cap. That team has made big long-term commitments to Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson ($16.05 million combined cap hit), so further investment in Chychrun might not make sense.
Armstrong might kick those tires again, but assembling a compelling trade package for Chychrun (or a similar cap casualty) could compromise the retooling.
During his media session Monday, Armstrong made the standard pre-draft declaration: His staff will target the best available player rather than pick for need. Gathering the best assets possible gives the organization trade leverage to fill holes down the road.
Fair enough, but the Blues need more D-men in the pipeline. Landing Theo Lindstein with the 29th overall pick last year was a great start, and this draft offers even greater opportunity.
By the time the Blues draft at No. 16, though, top defensive prospects Artyom Levshunov, Anton Silayev, Sam Dickinson, Zeev Buium, Zayne Parekh, Carter Yakemchuk, Stian Solberg and Adam Jiricek could all be off the board.
The Blues should make every effort to move up in the first round. They have extra second- and third-round picks, so they have some capital to play with.
âLetâs say you want to get into eight, nine, 10, 11, I think thatâs doable,â Armstrong told reporters. âItâs painful. Iâve got to get to the threshold or pain that weâre willing to take as an organization.â
If the Blues canât move up, they could move back and collect extra draft picks. Armstrong is open to both strategies â but he is not open to spending a first-round pick for more immediate help.
Upgrading the depth scoring should be the easiest fix for the Blues this summer, given the high number of supporting-cast forwards likely to hit market this summer. Finding players who are more productive than Kasperi Kapanen, Jakub Vrana and Sammy Blais should not be difficult.
Donât expect a dramatic summer from the evolving Blues brain trust, which has remained patient throughout this process. But the franchise has enough salary cap space and draft leverage to move this retooling forward.
Cardinals broadcaster Bally Sports 'stuck in the middle' in dispute over contracts
ST. LOUIS â Diamond Sports Group â the parent company of Cardinals and Blues broadcaster Bally Sports Midwest â was dealt another setback this month in the companyâs efforts to emerge from bankruptcy.
The MLB, NHL and NBA have been pressing Diamond for detailed financial information to prove that if the company emerges from bankruptcy as planned later this summer, it will do so on solid footing.
But according to court filings, those requests include information about Diamondâs contracts with cable distributors like DirecTV and Charter, and an agreement with Amazon â information, Diamond said, that it legally canât release without those companiesâ permission or a court order.
Cox Communications filed a letter with the court Monday raising alarm about the âconfidential and highly competitively-sensitiveâ information the leagues have requested. Diamondâs attorneys convened an emergency hearing before the bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of Texas to address the dispute.
During the Tuesday hearing, an attorney for MLB argued that the league needs access to fuller financial and contract information in order to decide whether MLB will support Diamondâs business plan.
Lawyers for the cable companies, meanwhile, made the case that the details are trade secrets, and their release could hurt the companies in contract negotiations.
âWe think weâve offered what the debtors need to make their case for confirmation. ... We think weâve offered what MLB needs, in order to test those projections,â said Stuart Lombardi, an attorney representing Cox. âThatâs information that Cox guards closely. It would cause significant competitive harm to Cox if it was known to the league.â
Diamond, meanwhile, is âstuck in the middle,â said Ross Firsenbaum, an attorney representing Diamond.
According to the filings, the cable companies have offered to let the leagues see some aggregated financial figures, but wonât give permission for Diamond to release other details that the leagues want. Amazon consented to sharing some redacted details about its agreements, and Diamond has shared a two-page summary of one contract to the leagues.
Diamond is now less than six weeks away from a key hearing when the court will consider whether to approve its plan to end its Chapter 11 proceedings. Judge Christopher Lopez said he fears that if someone objects to Diamondâs bankruptcy plan during that hearing, Diamond will be incapable of defending itself because it canât release financial details.
The companyâs proposed turnaround plan includes new financing from deals with Amazon and Diamondâs parent company, Sinclair. Under the terms of the Amazon agreement, Amazon Prime Video would become Diamondâs main streaming partner.
Diamondâs future is of concern to the teams and leagues, which rely on the company to produce broadcasts of games â and to pay them fees for the rights to do so. Depending on the team and the agreement, those broadcast rights can provide 20% to 30% of a teamâs annual revenues.
Lopez signaled, at the end of the hearing, that he is in favor of releasing certain aggregated financial details. But he said he would take the next few days to consider another part of the leaguesâ request, related to specific contract language, and issue a decision Friday.
Blues sign defenseman Scott Perunovich to one-year contract extension
Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich signed a one-year contract extension worth $1.15 million on Tuesday afternoon, a deal that will again make him a restricted free agent next summer.
Perunovich was a pending RFA before signing the deal, leaving the Blues with just Nikita Alexandrov left to sign from the NHL roster. Among AHL-rostered players, Mikhail Abramov, Keean Washkurak and Hunter Skinner are scheduled to be RFAs.
Perunovich just finished his first season exclusively in the NHL, as he had 17 assists in 54 games. He missed seven games with a lower-body injury in February, but was also a healthy scratch 19 times, including under both Craig Berube and Drew Bannister.
The Blues retained Perunovich's rights when he surpassed 74 total career games played (regular season and postseason). If he failed to reach that number, he would have become a Group 6 unrestricted free agent.
Perunovich returns to a blue line that should look familiar, with Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, Nick Leddy, Matthew Kessel and Tyler Tucker all under contract for next season. Marco Scandella is the only anticipated departure as a UFA.
Free agents? Buyouts? Trading a first-rounder? Don't count on the Blues being involved.
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Get used to one caveat, Blues fans: Things could change with one phone call.
In almost every conversation with general manager Doug Armstrong, the disclaimer appears. Buyouts? No, but ... never say never. Bringing back free agents? No, but ... that door isnât closed. Trading the first-round pick? No, but ... unless the acquisition is the right age.
Itâs not expected to be a busy offseason in șüÀêÊÓÆ”, as both Armstrong and owner Tom Stillman have alluded to in various interviews over the summer. That much was cemented a bit more Monday when Armstrong met with reporters in a pre-draft availability.
The draft is June 28 and 29 in Las Vegas, and the Blues hold pick No. 16 in the first round. Additionally, they have two second-round picks and two third-round picks, remnants of their 2023 trade deadline deals that sent Ryan OâReilly to Toronto and Vladimir Tarasenko to the Rangers.
Unlike last year, when one of the Bluesâ three first-rounders seemed to be a trade chip (reportedly in the nixed Philadelphia deal including Torey Krug), their lone first-rounder this year doesnât seem to be going anywhere. Of course, the Blues could entertain moving up or down, but indications point to them selecting a player in the first round next week.
âI donât see us using that pick to improve our team today,â Armstrong said. âNow, with that being said, if itâs somebody in an age bracket that I see a longer-term vision, we would do that. I think Iâve seen a lot of teams talk about, âWeâre ready to move this yearâs pick to improve this yearâs team.â It could be a player with one or two years or maybe three. I donât see that being our vision right now. But if it was the right player with the right amount of term left that we could see growing with certain people, we would do that. But I see it more as a selection type of draft for us.â
If the Blues use the No. 16 pick, it will be just the second time since 2010 that șüÀêÊÓÆ” has drafted that highly. Of course, last year they used the No. 10 pick to select Dalibor Dvorsky. Prior to Dvorsky, Jaden Schwartz (No. 14 in 2010) and Tarasenko (No. 16 in 2010) were the most recent times the Blues picked 16th or higher.
The Blues are not expected to re-sign the three unrestricted free agents that were on the NHL roster to end the season: Kasperi Kapanen, Sammy Blais and Marco Scandella. They are also not expected to bring back Jakub Vrana or Calle Rosen, who were both with AHL affiliate Springfield (Massachusetts) for the majority of the season.
Armstrong said the Blues âwant to see whatâs available to us,â while also searching for internal growth. Up front, that could come in the form of more minutes for Zack Bolduc, Zach Dean or Dvorsky. On the back end, that could mean bigger roles for Matthew Kessel, Tyler Tucker or Scott Perunovich.
âWeâre going to let them test the market, and weâll see whatâs there,â Armstrong said of the pending UFAs. âWe havenât closed any doors on anyone, but as of now, (they wonât be back). That could change. All of a sudden, you end up trading a playerâs rights and that opens up a spot and you go back to the guy, âWould you like to come back?ââ
Of that group, Blais has the most history with the Blues. He was in his second stint with the organization after being traded to the Rangers as part of the deal that netted the Blues Pavel Buchnevich. He won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019 and has played 203 of his 257 career games in the Blue Note. Last year, he had one goal and six assists.
The buyout window opens two days after the Stanley Cup Final ends, but donât expect the Blues to be active in that area, either. Since Armstrong took over as GM in 2010, he has never bought out a contract.
âItâs not something that we have on the front burner,â Armstrong said. âBut I donât know what might happen between now and at the draft. If you add in X amount of dollars and you get a player, and one way to do that is to buy someone out, we can do it. Itâs not something that we put in stone like weâll never buy anybody out, come hell or high water. Thatâs not case. It has to make economic sense. So we havenât seen that yet.â
In order for it to make financial sense, the Blues would have to use that freed cap space on an acquisition that would make the team better. There are open questions whether the Blues would actually be a team that spends to the cap this year, simply because their roster may not warrant it.
Blues re-sign Perunovich
Blues defenseman Perunovich signed a one-year contract extension worth $1.15 million on Tuesday afternoon, a deal that will again make him a restricted free agent next summer.
Perunovich was a pending RFA before signing the deal, leaving the Blues with just Nikita Alexandrov left to sign from the NHL roster. Among AHL-rostered players, Mikhail Abramov, Keean Washkurak and Hunter Skinner are scheduled to be RFAs.
Perunovich just finished his first season exclusively in the NHL, as he had 17 assists in 54 games. He missed seven games with a lower-body injury in February but was also a healthy scratch 19 times, including under both former coach Craig Berube and current coach Drew Bannister.
The Blues retained Perunovichâs rights when he surpassed 74 total career games played (regular season and postseason). If he failed to reach that number, he would have become a Group 6 unrestricted free agent.
Perunovich returns to a blue line that should look familiar, with Krug, Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, Nick Leddy, Kessel and Tucker all under contract for next season. Scandella is the only anticipated departure as a UFA.
Former Blues goalie Brian Elliott joins organization as goaltending scout and development coach
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Another former Blue has made his way into the șüÀêÊÓÆ” front office.
Brian Elliott is now a goaltending scout and development coach in the organization, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Monday. Elliott played 181 games as a Blues goaltender as part of his 16-year NHL career, and he last played professionally in 2022-23 as the Lightningâs backup goalie.
Armstrong Elliott would âwork with our development staff, and heâs also going to work with our amateur staff on scouting some future players.â He will be at development camp on July 1 to begin his new role.
Elliott, nicknamed âMoose,â is seventh in franchise history with 181 games played and is sixth with 104 wins. His .925 save percentage is the best in Blues history among goalies with at least 70 games played.
Armstrong said goaltending coach David Alexander would work with the goalies in the NHL, set up to be Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Dan Stewart will work with âany non-NHL goalie under contract,â which likely means Vadim Zherenko, Colten Ellis and Will Cranley.
Elliott will oversee âany drafted goalies that we donât have in development,â in addition to scouting goalies, both on video and in person. Armstrong said Alexander would oversee the goaltending department.
Elliott is the latest former Blues player to get into management in șüÀêÊÓÆ”. Alexander Steen is the most high-profile example recently, as he joined the organization last summer as a European development consultant and was promoted to special assistant to the GM before he ultimately takes over as GM in 2026.
âI think it was Steener who said he talked to Ells, and Ells was looking to get back into it,â Armstrong said. âSo I called him the next day, and he was. Thatâs just sort of how things work.â
Development camp set
The Blues announced their development camp schedule and preliminary roster on Monday morning, with the three-day camp scheduled to begin on July 1. All sessions are free and open to the public.
There will be 10:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. practice sessions on July 1, followed by a scrimmage at 2:30 p.m. On July 2, practices are at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., with an autograph session for kids from 4 to 5 p.m. and a scrimmage at 6 p.m. Camp finishes on July 3 with practices at 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., with a scrimmage at 2:45 p.m.
Dalibor Dvorsky highlights the preliminary roster (which will be finalized after the draft), as the No. 10 pick in the 2023 draft has the potential of cracking the Blues roster in the fall. Armstrong and the Blues expect a big showing from Dvorsky in July.
âDevelopment camp is development camp,â Armstrong said, âbut heâs going to want to make a statement physically for us in his testing, where he is (with his fitness). All those things that are going to help him. Heâs going to get an opportunity to make our team. But (so) is (Zack) Bolduc and so is (Zach) Dean. Whether they seize that opportunity, I canât control that. Weâre not going to exclude them because of age. Weâre not going to include them to make people think that we have a plan, and look at all the young guys we have in our lineup.â
Bolduc and Dean were at camp last year but have graduated beyond that stage this year. First-round draft picks Jimmy Snuggerud (2022), Otto Stenberg (2023) and Theo Lindstein (2023) are also expected to attend camp.
Landon Sim was invited to camp despite the Blues allowing his rights to lapse when they did not sign him by June 1. He is eligible to be redrafted this summer.
âHeâs battled a lot of injuries the last couple of years,â Armstrong said. âWe really liked how he played when he played, but I think using a contract right now wasnât in our best interest. Weâve talked to him. If he gets drafted, we wish him nothing but the best. But if he doesnât get drafted, weâd like to talk to him about maybe a future with the team coming at a different level than an NHL contract.â
Here is the preliminary roster:
Forwards: Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Callum Arnott, Dalibor Dvorsky, Dylan Peterson, Jimmy Snuggerud, Juraj Pekarcik, Lucas Wahlin, Landon Sim, Jakub Stancl, Nikita Susuyev, Otto Stenberg, Simon Robertsson, Tanner Dickinson.
Defensemen: Anton Malmstrom, Arseniy Koromyslov, Isaiah Norlin, Jeremie Biakabutuka, Marc-Andre Gaudet, Matthew Mayich, Michael Buchinger, Paul Fischer, Quinton Burns, Steve Leskovar, Theo Lindstein.
Goaltenders: Gibby Homer, Owen Willmore, Will Cranley.
With July approaching, Blues and Pavel Buchnevich's camp discuss possible contract extension
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In two weeks, Pavel Buchnevich is eligible to sign a contract extension with the Blues, and the sides spoke this month about that possibility.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong â speaking during a pre-draft media availability on Monday morning â said he and special assistant to the general manager Alexander Steen met with Buchnevichâs agent, Todd Diamond, during the draft combine in Buffalo.
Armstrong said the talks âhave been really good,â with the added wrinkle that Steen will become Blues GM in two years as he succeeds Armstrong.
âWeâre not talking economics now because we donât need to,â Armstrong said. âFor Buch, when he starts this contract, heâs going to be 30. We have to provide him information (on) where he wants to be between 30 and mid-30s, whatever that term is. Now, he has to weigh two different (GMs). He has to weigh what I believe the next two years, then he has to talk to Alex about what he believes moving forward.
âThereâs synergy between what Steen and I think, but weâre not lockstep in everything. I think thatâs good. He has a vision of what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. They have to have those, and theyâve had those conversations of what I want to see over the next two years and what Alex wants to see moving forward. Does it correlate to what he wants out of his career?â
Diamond told the Post-Dispatch that Buchenvichâs priority is to play âhighly competitiveâ hockey and confirmed that the Blues gave Buchnevich and Diamond a heads-up on the then-unannounced transition of power in șüÀêÊÓÆ”.
Buchnevich, 29, has one year remaining on his current contract that carries a $5.8 million salary-cap hit. He is eligible to sign an extension on July 1.
He has spent the past three years in șüÀêÊÓÆ”, after he was acquired from the Rangers, and has averaged close to a point per game with the Blues (206 points in 216 games). Buchnevich has been one of the teamâs most versatile players, capable of playing big minutes on the power play, penalty-killing unit and in all situations at even strength. Primarily a winger, Buchnevich has spent some time playing center.
Some recent contract comparisons for Buchnevich could include Mark Schiefele (seven years, $8.5 million cap hit) or J.T. Miller (seven years, $8 million cap hit). Currently, the highest-paid players on the Blues are Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, who have matching $8.125 million cap hits.
Should the Blues and Buchnevich not be able to reach a deal, he could become one of the top trade chips in the next year as a rental forward on a team-friendly contract. Buchnevichâs name was in trade rumors this spring before the deadline.
On a larger scale, Steenâs involvement with Buchnevichâs negotiations is noteworthy. It is perhaps the first transaction since the succession plan was announced that could impact Steenâs tenure as GM beginning in 2026.
So what kind of a voice or input does Steen have in such matters?
Armstrong said he has an inner circle of decision-makers within hockey operations â including Peter Chiarelli, Ryan Miller, Tim Taylor, Al MacInnis and Scott Mellanby â that Steen was brought into around Christmas, and âthey all have a say in it.â
âI know what (Steen) knows, and I know what he doesnât know,â Armstrong said. âAt the draft, weâre picking 16. Iâm not going to rely on him if itâs a good value to go to 18 or 20 because he really has no clue. I am going to use his value on: OK, hereâs a player on our team now. This is where I see us moving forward. These are the players we have coming. How do you view that not only today but tomorrow?
âI will take his input on things that I know heâs comfortable giving. The one thing about Steener that I really like is he doesnât have to be heard if he doesnât know what heâs saying. Some people have the desire to want to just be part of a conversation when they really donât know what theyâre talking about. Thatâs not him.â
Armstrong said Steen âhas a lot of that âmeasure-twice, cut-once,â âthink before you speak,â âget all the informationââ thought process. He also compared Steenâs demeanor to Bob Gainey (under whom Armstrong worked in Dallas) and Steve Yzerman (who Armstrong has worked with at Hockey Canada).
âI had a chance to work with Steve on a couple of international events, and his attention to detail is a lot like Steenerâs,â Armstrong said. âOr Steenerâs is a lot like his. As a manager, Iâd been managing 10 years, and I was like âCome on, Steve. Letâs make a decision. Letâs move on.â He had his thought process, and itâs worked for him very well. I think Steenerâs going to find his own rhythm, but I think itâs going to be one where itâs very calculated and I really appreciate that.â