The least likely is reversing course but with how they finished the year, it can\u2019t be ruled out entirely.\u00a0 St. Louis picked up first-round picks for both Schenn and Faulk, giving them three in next month\u2019s draft.\u00a0 One or more of those could plausibly be trade chips if they want to add.\u00a0 They also have nearly $16MM in cap room for next season, per PuckPedia<\/a>, with only a few roster spots to fill.\u00a0 It\u2019s rather unlikely and given the current state of the division, probably unwise, but they have the ability to flip the switch if they want to.<\/p>\n More likely, the decision will be to rebuild or retool.\u00a0 A few months ago, it looked like the former was the plan.\u00a0 By putting the bulk of their veterans in play (including Robert Thomas<\/a> and Jordan Kyrou<\/a>), they seemed to be signaling a willingness to do a longer-scale rebuild, one that would likely see them out of playoff contention for several more years.\u00a0 If that\u2019s the case, basically anyone 26 and up (or thereabouts) would likely be in play at the right price.\u00a0 And with a lot of teams looking to buy, Steen could generate some strong returns for their services.\u00a0 They should have a good idea of each player\u2019s trade value going back to talks from before the deadline.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the retool option would likely see them pull players like Thomas and Kyrou off the block and look to move some of the older players like Parayko (who could still be moved to a team he\u2019s willing to go to) or goaltender Jordan Binnington<\/a>.\u00a0 That would still allow them to add to their prospect pool while allowing them to build around their current offense instead of overhauling it.\u00a0 This is the safer route and with a first-time GM, this might the path that the Blues are likeliest to take.\u00a0 With that in mind, the focus of this piece won\u2019t be on possible win-now additions or roster upgrades.<\/p>\n Work On Neighbours Extension<\/p>\n The Blues already took care of one significant transaction this offseason when they re-signed<\/a> pending RFA Dylan Holloway<\/a> to a new five-year deal.\u00a0 With an RFA list that isn\u2019t particularly large this summer, they can turn their focus toward trying to get an extension done with one of their other young core forwards.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll be owed a qualifying offer of $4MM next summer with salary arbitration rights.\u00a0 To get him to sign early, it\u2019s fair to say that it would cost considerably more than that to get him signed a year early, especially with the big increases set to come to the Upper Limit of the salary cap.\u00a0 We can use the deal they just handed out to try to benchmark what an extension might look like.<\/p>\n Holloway signed for $7.75MM three years away from UFA eligibility.\u00a0 Neighbours\u2019 next deal will only be two years away.\u00a0 Holloway has the better track record offensively so it\u2019s fair to say that his new price tag should be the upper limit in a negotiation.\u00a0 Considering that there is typically a premium for power forwards though, the gap between Holloway\u2019s new price tag and a potential Neighbours extension might not be as large as it might seem.\u00a0 Speculatively, a long-term deal (around six years) would carry a price tag of between $6.5MM and $6.75MM, even with the fact he\u2019s coming off a lower year offensively.\u00a0 If they\u2019re not willing to go that high, the winger is probably better off waiting.\u00a0 And if they are, locking up another piece of the long-term puzzle early would be a wise move.<\/p>\n Set The Starter<\/p>\n One of the storylines from the start of last season was if Joel Hofer<\/a> would take over the starting role from Binnington.\u00a0 The two wound up with very similar start totals with Hofer having 43 and Binnington 39.\u00a0 But after the Olympic break, it was Hofer who received the bulk of the workload as St. Louis looked to make the improbable late-season push to a playoff spot.<\/p>\n Both goaltenders have one year left on their contracts.\u00a0 Technically, they could keep this tandem intact for one more season but that wouldn\u2019t be the prudent approach.\u00a0 If the plan is for Hofer to be the starter moving forward, then the time is right to move Binnington.<\/p>\n In-season goalie moves aren\u2019t too frequent so this offseason will probably be their best time to try to move him for value.\u00a0 And while the 32-year-old isn\u2019t coming off a good season, there will be teams who look at his track record and think that with a change of scenery, they can get him back to form.\u00a0 Chances are that they\u2019d have to take a goalie back as part of the swap but if not, a second netminder can be signed in free agency.<\/p>\n Then, the time might be right to look at trying to extend Hofer.\u00a0 There are some reasonable comparables in Karel Vejmelka<\/a> and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen<\/a> ($4.75MM each) and Joey Daccord<\/a> ($5MM) to build the foundation of a contract off of.\u00a0 In a higher cap environment, Daccord\u2019s equivalent cap percentage would be $5.45MM next season and $5.98MM in 2027-28 when the contract would begin.\u00a0 \u00a0Basically, Hofer is probably heading for Binnington money if he signs an early extension this summer.<\/p>\n The Blues could wait and see how next season goes.\u00a0 But if they do and Hofer thrives as a full-time starter, the price tag will only go up from there.\u00a0 They don\u2019t have to try to sign him now but at a minimum, given the direction they\u2019re heading, it\u2019s time to set Hofer as the starter and give Binnington a chance elsewhere, netting some value in return in the process.<\/p>\n Round Out The Coaching Staff<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/jake-neighbours-blues-214x300.jpg\")
<\/a>That would be winger Jake Neighbours<\/a>.\u00a0 The 2020 first-round pick quickly established himself as a top-six winger and surpassed the 20-goal mark in his first two full NHL seasons.\u00a0 There\u2019s a good chance he\u2019d have gotten there this year had he not missed 13 games due to injury.\u00a0 Between his steady secondary production is his physicality.\u00a0 Neighbours has posted between 138 and 172 hits over the last three seasons, making him a rare top-six power forward.\u00a0 Those players aren\u2019t particularly easy to come by and it\u2019s safe to say that he\u2019s a building block that they\u2019ll want to build around.<\/p>\n