Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Blues.
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Kasperi Kapanen – The Blues took a flyer on Kasperi Kapanen when they claimed him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline. He’s since muddled around the team’s middle-six, posting a combined 36 points in 96 games in St. Louis. His role has varied throughout those games, playing as much as 16 minutes or as little as eight minutes any night. That flexibility helped the Blues fill up their bottom-six, though he may now need to cede minutes to the NHL hopefuls like Zachary Bolduc, Zach Dean, and Dalibor Dvosrky. Kapenen hasn’t been necessarily bad for the Blues – and that could be enough to sign him to a cheap deal – but he could just as easily find his way back to the open market, as the Blues look to prioritize younger talents.
F Adam Gaudette – Gaudette may be St. Louis’ most interesting pending-free agent, after leading the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds in scoring with a commanding 44 goals and 71 points in 67 games this season. It was a tremendous encore to his breakout year last season, when Gaudette posted a combined 51 points in 65 games between the Toronto Marlies and Thunderbirds. The last two seasons were the first two full AHL seasons of Gaudette’s career, after serving an NHL role from 2017 to 2022. And he’s made good work of the easier competition, not only scoring more but showing much more drive and creativity in his offense. Gaudette established himself as a top prospect during his years at Northeastern University, far exceeding his fifth-round draft selection after posting 142 points across 116 games with the school. But that hot scoring didn’t translate into the NHL, and Gaudette instead spent the first five years of his career battling for ice time on various teams’ bottom-six. He’s seemingly rediscovered his offense in the minor leagues – though he did go without a point in two NHL games this year. He represents a high-upside minor leaguer, who shouldn’t cost too much; unless he pushes to test the open market.
D Marco Scandella – Marco Scandella gradually lost his role with the Blues this season, ultimately falling to the fringe of the lineup in favor of players like Tyler Tucker and Matthew Kessel. He’s posted just 10 points across his last 85 games with the Blues, dating back to the start of last season, and has only managed to play in 50 or more games in two of his four seasons in St. Louis. Scandella won’t command much money on a new deal, especially at the age of 34, but he seems to be getting pushed out of the Blues’ lineup by younger and more promising talent. He may headline the free agents most likely to leave the Blues this summer.
Other pending UFAs: F Sammy Blais, F Will Bitten (Group 6), F Matthew Peca, F Jakub Vrana
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Nikita Alexandrov – Alexandrov has been an important utility player for the Blues over the last two seasons, stepping in when needed but also content to spend time in the press box or AHL. The 23-year-old centerman posted just two points in 23 NHL games this year – a small step down from his eight points in 28 games last year. Alexandrov has added 45 points in 48 AHL games over the last two seasons, showing his scoring upside, despite his role on St. Louis’ fourth line usually pitting him in the defensive end. The structure of St. Louis’ offense likely won’t change much this summer, with the team possessing both limited free agents and the money to re-sign their choices among them. That should limit Alexandrov to a minor role – and its associated cheap contract – against next season, though a new deal would represent a chance to play his way out of St. Louis’ press box.
D Scott Perunovich – If there were any one play that St. Louis had to re-sign this summer, it’d be Perunovich, who played through the first mostly-healthy season of his career this year. And after years of anticipation, Perunovich’s mostly-healthy year mostly lived up to expectations. He posted 17 points in 54 games, on an 82-game pace of a modest 26 points, while making noticeable strides in his ability to keep up with and beat NHL talents. Perunovich now boasts 27 assists across 77 career NHL games, including the postseason, and should be hungry for a bigger role – and his first NHL goal – as he approaches next season. Solidifying the 25-year-old in the daily lineup will be an important step for a Blues team carrying five NHL defenseman aged 30 or older.
G Colten Ellis – The emergence of Joel Hofer as a legitimate NHL talent – made evident by his 15 wins and .913 save percentage in 30 games this season – has given St. Louis a stability at goaltending that they haven’t had since the days of prime Brian Elliott and Jake Allen. But they can’t be quick to forget the depth chart. Colten Ellis was drafted in the top 100 of the 2019 NHL Draft, one year after the Blues selected Hofer. He’s fallen down St. Louis’ ranks a bit since then, with Malcolm Subban and Vadim Zherenko the de facto tandem for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Ellis curbed that this season, earning his way into an AHL role with 12 wins and a .923 in 21 ECHL games. And he stood tall in his AHL minutes, posting seven wins and a Springfield-leading .924 save percentage.
Other pending RFAs: F Mikhail Abramov, F Mathias Laferriere, F Keean Washkurak, D Hunter Skinner
Projected Cap Space
The Blues aren’t entering the summer wealthy by any means – but their projected $15.64MM in cap space should be more than enough for them to bring back any and all of the pending free agents they’d like to keep. The team seems prepared to part with at least a few options, if only to make room for the nine entry-level contracts they’ve signed since March. Those signees include prospects like Juraj Pekarcik, Simon Robertsson, Otto Stenberg, and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki – each options to rival top ice time with the Thunderbirds and maybe even an NHL call-up. The Blues fell just six points back from the postseason this year, though their roster didn’t seem to tilt the needle in any one direction. An influx of young talent – and potentially one or two lucrative free agents – could be the perfect pieces to move St. Louis’ roster forward.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
