The St. Louis Blues (37-33-12) looked dead in the water at the beginning of the season. After a surprising playoff berth in the 2024-25 season, along with a brutal defeat in the first round, they slumped out of the gate. By the end of February, they had a 21-29-9 record.

As a result, they sold off many pieces, saying goodbye to longtime faces Justin Faulk (Detroit Red Wings) and Brayden Schenn (New York Islanders). They had a deal in place to send Colton Parayko to Buffalo, but he declined to waive his no-trade clause.

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Still, they kept some faces of the core around (Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou), and as a result, the team surged. They went 16-4-3 from March onwards, but it was too little, too late. They missed the playoffs by just four points. Now, the Blues have a complicated offseason coming up.

Do they trade away franchise wingers?

Unfortunately, even with their surprise run to form, the question of trade availability remains. There are still plenty of players who will be available in trade rumors.

Let’s start with the first line of the team. Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Kyrou could all be available over the offseason. All of them have at least five more seasons of team control with their new contracts, and all of them have no-trade clauses. However, if the team wants to go through a rebuild, they could easily waive those clauses.

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I guess that if one of them is moved, it’s Kyrou. He had a disappointing season, with just 46 points in 72 games after averaging over 70 in the last two seasons. Still, he and Thomas were involved in trade rumors over the trade deadline.

It was wise to hold onto Kyrou, considering the disappointing free agency class at winger, and St. Louis should get a first-round pick and more from a team looking for a bounce-back year from him. He needs a change of scenery anyway.

What’s the status on Jordan Binnington?

Now we get to Jordan Binnington. It was an incredibly trying season for the netminder, as he was arguably the worst goaltender in the league with a .873 save percentage.

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No matter what direction the Blues decide to go this offseason, they are justified in trading Binnington. Joel Hofer already looks like the future starter in net, and Binnington has just one season left on his contract aftr this season, although has a modified no-trade clause.

I could see a goaltender-needy team trading for him and hoping he’ll bounce back. The San Jose Sharks seem like a good target, but I could see a team like the Florida Panthers or Pittsburgh Penguins entering the sweepstakes. Binnington’s just one season removed from a respectable .900 save percentage.

Are the Blues aggressive in free agency?

The Blues are in a spot where I could see them trading one of their franchise faces and still try to go for a postseason berth next season. They have a ton of emerging youth on the roster (Jimmy Snuggerud, Dylan Holloway, Joel Hofer), and with a few tweaks, they could maintain their momentum from last season.

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If they’re aggressive, they’ll need to get a good right-shot defenseman. Theoretically, their left side is set with Philip Broberg, Cam Fowler, and Tyler Tucker bouncing back.

However, they will need to get a right-shot defenseman, whether that’s winning the Darren Raddysh sweepstakes or making a trade, either for a veteran or a high draft pick. They have three first-round picks thanks to the Faulk and Schenn trades, so they have a lot to wheel and deal.