Blues Could Opt To Trade 1-2 Bottom-6 Forwards Before Season

The St. Louis Blues took a nice step last season and got some strong contributions throughout their lineup. This jolted them back into the playoffs picture and they can't look back now. There has been some trade speculation surrounding Jordan Kyrou, but for the time, that makes no sense. Other than that, the team has made a couple of forward pickups in free agency with Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad while trading away Zack Bolduc for Logan Mailloux.

The Blues have been known for stronger forward depth and the year the team won the Stanley Cup, it was very clearly evident. They may be trying to get back to that sort of lineup and the team looks to get even better in the years to come with the prospects on the way, but there has to be some room for them to come in. A few are ready to graduate.

While the Blues could wait for an injury to open up an opportunity, at a certain point they have to make a spot available, especially with there being multiple young players ready to come in. Jimmy Snuggerud should be considered a lock for an NHL spot, especially after a goal and four points in seven regular season games and two goals and four points in seven playoff games. He is a little less who I'm talking about though.

The two other forwards ready for roles are Nikita Alexandrov and Dalibor Dvorsky. Alexandrov might be a tricky one as he has been given a couple of shots in the NHL already, but I think his game is now ready for the NHL at 25 years old. In his 51 career NHL games, he hasn't been given a role that allows him to play more than 10 minutes. That will stunt a player's offensive potential very quickly, especially playing with weaker talent too. He recorded just two assists in 23 games during the 2023-24 season and spent all last season in the AHL where he produced 21 goals and 49 points in 48 games. Someone of his age who can put up points like that should be given another shot.

As for Dvorsky, he appeared in his first two NHL games last season after 21 goals and 45 points in 61 games in the AHL as a 19-year-old. He is a top prospect and I believe he could find a third line role on the team.

Alexander Texier and Nathan Walker are also options to come into the lineup, so the two players I identified that could be moved out to make room are Oskar Sundqvist and/or Mathieu Joseph. The latter being the better option since Sundqvist has been more effective and has a cheaper contract, but Sundqvist will be easier to move. They are both UFAs after the season and don't produce great numbers. Sundqvist has a $1.5 million AAV cap hit while Joseph has a $2.95 million AAV hit.

The Blues could use a bit of cap flexibility if they moved one and it wouldn't hurt their team next season either.