The Chicago Blackhawks just gave Connor Bedard a long-term payday, and for the St. Louis Blues, that deal lands right in the middle of their own youth movement.
Bedard, who will miss some time to open the year after shoulder surgery, signed a 5-year, $15 million AAV contract. For a Blues team trying to climb back into relevance with a young core of its own, it’s another reminder of how quickly the financial picture can shift when a franchise centerpiece emerges.
That’s where the Blues’ next round of contract business starts to get interesting. A sizable group is heading into the final year of its initial deal or is set to become a Restricted Free Agent, and the list is headlined by Jimmy Snuggerud. Jake Neighbours and Jonathan Berggren also need new deals, while Logan Mailloux is the only pending RFA on the blue line.
The expectation is that the Blues will have more money to work with before next season, and that extra room should go toward keeping that group together. Each player has a role in what comes next, and St. Louis will need all four if this rebuild is going to keep moving in the right direction.
Bedard is in a different class entirely, and no one on the Blues roster is at that $15 million level. In fact, St.
Louis doesn’t even have a player above $10 million AAV right now. But if Snuggerud follows up his first NHL run with another strong season, that could change in a hurry.
In Other News...
Blues Just Sent A Clear Message About Their New Identity
The Blues spent the offseason making their intentions pretty plain: this is a roster that wants to be bigger, harder to play against and more willing to lean into a physical game. Moves such as bringing in Mason McTavish and Ross Johnston, along with the additions of Brandon Carlo and two first-round picks in Tynan Lawrence and Maddox Dagenais, all point in the same direction, while Jim Montgomery has already signaled that training camp is going to be run with a tougher edge.
There is also a real reason for the shift. St. Louis lost some of the tenacity that came from Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk, so the new-look group is being asked to replace more than just minutes or skill. The challenge now is whether the Blues can turn that offseason message into a nightly identity once the games start and the checking gets heavier. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Suddenly Face A Goalie Question Fans Cant Ignore
Joel Hofers rise has become one of the more interesting long-view questions around the Blues, especially after the way he handled last seasons workload. Even behind a defense that did not always make life easy and with offense that could be inconsistent in front of him, he gave St. Louis a steady enough presence to keep the conversation going about what comes next in net.
The contract side only adds to the intrigue. Hofer is in the final year of his bridge deal and will be a restricted free agent after the 2026-27 season, which means the Blues are approaching a stretch where they will have to sort out not just his future, but the shape of the crease itself. If the next step goes the way some around the team are already imagining, it could leave Jordan Binnington in a different role than the one fans have grown used to. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Prospect Colin Ralph Took An Encouraging Step Toward The NHL
Colin Ralphs path has already taken a notable turn for a Blues prospect who only entered the system as a 2024 second-round pick. After starting at St. Cloud State, the 6-foot-4 defenseman transferred to Michigan State for his sophomore season and logged 37 games there, then got a first taste of pro hockey with Springfield in the AHL, where he began seeing the speed and workload that come with the next level.
For St. Louis, the encouraging part is not just that Ralph got into games, but that the organization could start measuring how his game translates against professionals. He is expected to keep developing in the AHL during the 2026-27 season, and that runway should give the Blues a better sense of how close he is to becoming more than a long-term project. [Read more 🡒]