ST. LOUIS — The latest news from the St. Louis Blues was expected.
Defenseman Torey Krug, who will address the media Wednesday at the team’s practice facility, will have surgery on his left ankle in the coming weeks and miss the entirety of the 2024-25 season.
The update likely changes nothing about the Blues’ plans, as they weren’t expecting Krug to be part of the mix entering training camp in two weeks, already making moves to fill his roster slot.
The first day of on-ice activities for players is Sept. 19, and the first preseason game is Sept. 21 against the Dallas Stars.
But the development allows us to speak with some certainty when discussing Krug’s status this season and perhaps beyond.
BREAKING NEWS: Torey Krug will undergo surgery on his left ankle and will miss the entire 2024-25 season. #stlblues
DETAILS ➡️ https://t.co/kD3aFpknYH https://t.co/kD3aFpknYH
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 3, 2024
It’s one of many topics subscribers wanted addressed when they sent in more than 100 questions and comments for our Blues mailbag.
Note: Some questions have been edited lightly for length and clarity.
What is a realistic outlook for the 2024-25 season? Do the Blues make the playoffs? They seem to have gotten younger and faster, but have they done enough to compete in a crowded Western Conference? — Patrick C.
The Blues are a better team than they were at the end of the 2023-24 season, and yes, they’re capable of being a playoff club. The upgrade to the bottom-six forward group — adding Dylan Holloway, Mathieu Joseph, Alexandre Texier and Radek Faksa — wasn’t splashy, but it was significant, and putting Philip Broberg in your defensive top six gives the blue line a new look and more strong suits. And beyond the roster additions, the Blues also won’t be dealing with the dismissal of a popular coach in Craig Berube, and they’ll be more familiar with Drew Bannister.
I can’t say with certainty that they’ll be contending for the top three spots in the Central Division, but with what Blues general manager Doug Armstrong did this offseason, they’ll likely be in the wild-card conversation.
Who’s in? Who’s out? — Patrick H.
This will be my 20th season covering the Blues, and this roster is as crowded as I can remember. Thirteen forwards are on one-way contracts, which doesn’t include Jake Neighbours, Zack Bolduc, Zach Dean or Dalibor Dvorsky, and even after the Krug announcement, there are still nine defensemen on one-way contracts. So that’s 26 skaters competing for about 21 spots.
There’s a decent chance the Blues will keep 13 forwards and eight defensemen to start the season.
Forwards: Neighbours, Holloway, Joseph, Texier, Faksa, Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Brandon Saad, Brayden Schenn, Alexey Toropchenko, Oskar Sundqvist and Kasperi Kapanen. Bolduc could make the roster with an impressive camp, but the Blues will want him in the lineup, not sitting. The same goes for Dvorsky, but it’s more likely he’ll start in the AHL. That leaves Walker and Dean; I like Walker, but the new additions might’ve forced him out at the start of the season, and there’s no room for Dean.
Defensemen: Nick Leddy, Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Matt Kessel, Ryan Suter, Scott Perunovich, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Broberg. It’s not ideal keeping eight, but the Blues will likely want to keep Perunovich in the mix and give him some power-play ice time. They also might want to get a look at Joseph after signing him this summer. That leaves Tucker. The team still likes him, but he might need consistent playing time in the AHL to continue his development. He would have to clear waivers, though.
Who would be your two potential “breakout” players this season? — Tom L.
At forward, the only candidates for this, to me, are Dvorsky, Bolduc and Holloway if he’s playing more consistently than he did in Edmonton. On defense, like Holloway, I’d put Broberg on that list.
Of the following players, who do you think will be our second-line center to start the season, and who will it be at the end of the season: Buchnevich, Texier, Dvorsky or Schenn? — Andrew W.
I like Buchnevich much better on the wing, where he’s more of a goal-scoring threat. They have players who can score goals, but not many with 30- to 35-goal potential like Buchnevich has. If Dvorsky can grab the job, it would be a great development for the Blues, but The Athletic’s prospect gurus (Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler) seemed skeptical when I asked them that question in June. If not Buchnevich or Dvorsky, it’s probably Schenn, which might be the safest bet since he’s been there for so long.
As far as the end of the season, I’d go with Schenn unless Dvorsky wows the Blues during the season (even in the minors) and they have no choice but to give him a shot and he runs with it. Texier, by the way, is listed as a center but has played a lot of wing, and that’s where Armstrong told me the Blues plan to play him.
How do you see the lines after training camp? — John E.
Let’s look at the possibilities with Buchnevich at center and wing, and also with Bolduc.
Neighbours – Thomas – Kyrou
Saad – Buchnevich – Schenn
Joseph – Faksa – Holloway
Toropchenko – Sundqvist – Texier
Extra: Kapanen
Or …
Buchnevich – Thomas – Kyrou
Neighbours – Schenn – Bolduc
Saad – Faksa – Holloway
Joseph – Toropchenko – Sundqvist/Texier
Extra: Kapanen
With all of the players coming in, I see Sundqvist being the odd man out this season or having a much-reduced role. Do you see this as a possibility? — Thomas F.
It’s possible, but we know what the Blues think of Sundqvist, bringing him back and signing him to a two-year contract extension. Fans know that when he’s in the lineup and healthy, few players work harder. But coming off another ACL tear, it’s valid to wonder how well he’ll get around the ice. He recently started skating and plans to be ready for the start of the season, so it’ll come down to how he looks compared to the newcomers.
Do you think it would be prudent to keep Bolduc, Dean and Dvorsky playing top-line minutes in the AHL while the Blues sort out who is part of the future from their current roster? — Jason C.
Bolduc is the one I’m curious about. He had a pretty good finish to last season, so it’ll be interesting to see how he looks in camp. Assuming he’s done the work this offseason to keep that momentum going, I wouldn’t stunt that growth by sending him to the AHL just because the Blues have other bodies. With Dean, it’ll probably be a numbers game unfortunately and his time will come. And with Dvorsky, the Blues will probably play it safe with him, and yeah, if top-line minutes with AHL Springfield make sense, there’s nothing wrong with that.
With the announcement that Krug is out for the season, how do you see our defensive pairings shaking out? — Gabe P.
I’m going to stick with what I wrote earlier and say the Blues will keep eight defensemen at the start of the season.
Leddy – Parayko
Broberg – Faulk
Suter – Kessel
Perunovich – Joseph
As mentioned, Perunovich might be needed on the power play with Krug out, so perhaps he will take some ice time from Suter.
Suter? Really?! Why? — Terry C.
Suter’s signing came a week before Krug’s injured ankle was announced, so it was clear they wanted a backup plan. Remember, they had no idea at the time that they were going to get Broberg. (I do wonder: If the Blues had known they were guaranteed to get Broberg, would they still have signed Suter? Maybe so, thinking a veteran could help a young partner like Kessel.) If you’re skeptical about Suter, the best way to look at it is that Suter will likely be here for one year and you just hope for the best.
How much money is saved relative to the salary cap with Krug done? — R.L.
The Blues can put Krug on LTIR (long-term injured reserve), but that doesn’t mean they’re going to spend his $6.5 million in cap space. According to PuckPedia, the club is about $2.2 million under the NHL’s $88 million cap for the 2024-25 season. To take advantage of Krug’s cap space, the Blues would have to construct a roster that reaches the $88 million ceiling and then enter LTIR. If they did that, they’d be allowed to eclipse the $88 million ceiling by Krug’s $6.5 million cap hit.
Do you think Armstrong will make any moves before the start of the season? — Harrison M.
This feels like a trick question, haha! I thought he was done, and then he signed Suter — and then he signed Broberg and Holloway, and I thought he was done again. I’m going to try this a third time and say he’s done, but really, what do I know?
Do you think Armstrong will try to trade any surplus players? — Scott F.
The GM might have to consider moving players at some point. Everyone likes the depth, and several of those depth players aren’t making a lot of money, but not every club can afford to be paying multiple players $775,000 to suit up in the minors. The problem is they’re worth more to the Blues than they are on the trade market, so moving them isn’t going to be all that beneficial.
I was surprised Pronman ranked the Blues’ pipeline No. 16. What were your thoughts? — Scott F.
This question is in reference to Pronman’s annual prospect rankings, which you can find here. I wrote my reaction in a separate article, in which I said I thought they’d be a little higher than No. 16, maybe 10 to 12. But Pronman’s evaluations are based on seeing the prospects in person and talking to their coaches and other NHL scouts; mine are more from seeing them at Blues prospect camp. Individually, I like Dvorsky more than Pronman’s reports on him, which is probably why I thought they’d be higher than middle of the pack.
Poring over Pronman’s rankings, I noticed the Blues emphasized their prospects’ compete and their shot. The one thing that stuck out was a majority of the prospects had below NHL skating. Have the Blues invested in a skating coach? — Tony B.
The Blues love picking players with high compete levels, and I don’t blame them. They’ve also found some players, like Jimmy Snuggerud, who have good shots. Skating is a tough animal. Some of the better prospects in the draft aren’t great skaters, or aren’t up to NHL standards, which is understandable when they’re 18.
But it is something teams can work on with them, and yes, the Blues employ a skating coach: John Standbrook. I wrote an article about Standbrook and his thoughts on Kyrou’s skating when Kyrou won the NHL’s fastest skater competition in 2022. Standbrook mostly works with prospects. The club has seen a lot of improvement with those he’s coached, but again, NHL skating is a different animal, and it’s hard getting everyone up to the level that’s considered good or even above average.
I know you’re in love with Jordan Binnington, but for this team to really grow, Joel Hofer has to play more than once a week, right? I’ll await the usual response to tell me why I’m wrong. — Mark S.
You’re wrong, Mark! Kidding. Yes, I think Binnington is a good goalie, and he showed that last season. Yes, Hofer needs to play, but it doesn’t have to be much different from last season. He started 27 games and played in 30 as a rookie. When he struggled, he sat out a bit and hit the reset button, then came back and played well. Hofer is in a great situation, and as he continues to build his game and confidence, he’ll play more.
If both goalies have similar seasons to last year, how much longer can the Blues realistically keep both? — Donald G.
To provide some context on their contracts, Binnington has three more years on his deal (including 2024-25) with a $6 million cap hit. Hofer will make $775,000 this year and, if he’s still unsigned next summer, will become a restricted free agent and be in line for a raise.
The way this plays out depends on how competitive the Blues are for the next couple of seasons. If Binnington is keeping them in the playoff mix, he might be here for the final three years of his deal, or at least two of them, before they think about moving on. Of course, if he’s playing well, there might be a decent trade market for him, and it might make sense to go that route. If he’s not playing well, it would be hard to deal him, but at that point, the Blues are probably turning to Hofer.
The bottom line is this: The Blues probably won’t (1) trade Hofer in favor of keeping Binnington longer or (2) delay Hofer from being a No. 1 goalie in the NHL if he’s ready.
(Photo of Jordan Binnington and Robert Thomas: Jeff Curry / USA Today)
