Utah's depth took a bit of a hit on Thursday as they opened training camp and announced Nick Bjustad would be out week-to-week. The 32-year-old is entering his 13th NHL season and second with Arizona/Utah after putting up his highest point totals since 2017-18 (45 Pts) in 76 games with Arizona in 2023-24. He is expected to be a staple in Utah's bottom six when he does return.
Krug will undergo surgery to address pre-arthritic changes in his left ankle, which will force him to miss the 2024-25 season. According to the Blues, "the decision to undergo surgery was reached following an effort to rehabilitate the injury through non-surgical interventions." In an effort to replace Krug in 2024-25, the Blues signed Philip Broberg and Ryan Suter in the offseason.
The Edmonton Oilers will not match St. Louis' offer sheet to restricted free agent Philip Broberg which means the 23-year-old has signed a two-year, $9.16 million contract with the Blues. Due to the signing, Edmonton has been compensated a 2025 2nd-round pick. In 12 games with Edmonton in 2023-24, Broberg had two assists, six SOG, and a -3 plus/minus while averaging only 11:37 TOI/GP.
Alongside Philip Broberg, Edmonton has decided to not match the two-year, $4.58 million offer sheet St.Louis presented to Dylan Holloway and will therefore lose the 22-year-old forward for a 2025 3rd-round pick. Holloway was Edmonton's 2020 1st round pick (14th overall) and had six goals, nine points and 29 PIMs in 38 games played in 2023-24.
Krug will be evaluated in 6-8 weeks to determine if surgery on his ankle is needed. If he does require surgery he is expected to miss the entire 2024-25 season. The 33-year-old defensemen just completed his 13th NHL season and had four goals, 39 points and a -31 plus/minus in 77 games played in 2023-24.
The Blues selected Jiricek with the No.16 overall pick in this year's NHL Draft. The 18-year-old blueliner spent the 2024 season in Czechia, posting one assist in 19 games with Plzen HC. He also represented Czechia at the World Juniors but played just one game before suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss the rest of the tournament.
St. Louis locked up one of their key core pieces on Tuesday as they signed 29-year-old Pavel Buchnevic to a six-year, $48 million ($8,000,000 AAV) contract extension. The Russian left-winger just completed his eighth NHL season and had 27 goals, 63 points, 48 PIMs and 207 SOG in 80 games played in 2023-24.
In one of two 'Cash Consideration' deals made by St. Louis on Tuesday, the Blues have acquired Mathieu Joseph and a 2025 3rd-round pick from Ottawa for future considerations. The 27-year-old right-winger is entering his eighth NHL season and had a career year in 2023-24, picking up 11 goals, 35 points, 51 PIMs and124 SOG across 72 games played.
Schueneman spent the entire 2024 season with the Colorado Eagles (AHL), scoring four goals with 18 assists (22 points) in 64 games. Expect him to report to Springfield (AHL) to start the 2025 season.
After acquiring the RFA rights from the Blue Jackets in a trade, the Blues signed Texier to a two-year deal worth $2.1M AAV. Texier should continue to operate as a middle-6 winger in St. Louis after scoring 12 goals with 18 assists (30 points) in 78 games a season ago.
St. Louis completed a sign-and-trade on Friday as they acquired Alexandre Texier from Columbus for a 2025 4th-round pick and signed him to a two-year, $4.2 million contract extension ($2,1M AAV). The 24-year-old French winger had career highs in almost all statistical categories in 2023-24, with 12 goals, 30 points, 109 SOG, and 38 PIMs in 78 games played with the Blue Jackets.
Stancl is St.Louis' 2023 fourth-round pick (106th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blues on Thursday. The 19-year-old left-winger appeared in seven games for Vaxjo Lakers HC (SHL) and had a goal and zero assists at Sweden's top level.
Pekarcik is St. Louis 2023 third-round pick (76th overall) and has signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday. The 18-year-old forward spent the entire 2023-24 season with Dubuque of the USHL and had nine goals, and 59 points in 43 games played in his first season in North American hockey.
Broberg has yet to appear in any of Edmonton's 2023-24 playoff games so far but is expected to make his debut as he replaces Vincent Desharnais for Game 4 on Wednesday. The 22-year-old defenseman appeared in 12 regular season games and had two assists, six SOG and a -3 plus/minus.
Kaskimaki was St. Louis' 2022 third-round pick (73rd overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Tuesday with the Blues. The 20-year-old centre spent 2023-24 with HIFK of Liiga in Finland and had 10 goals, and 17 points in 48 games played.
McGing spent the majority of the 2023-24 season with Springfield (AHL) and has signed a two-year, two-way contract extension worth $775,000/$250,000 with St. Louis on Wednesday. The 25-year-old appeared in a career-high five games with the Blues in 2023-24, but failed to pick up a point while adding four SOG and a -5 plus/minus.
Stenberg was St. Louis' 2023 first-round pick (25th overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday. The 18-year-old left-winger just finished his second full season with Frolunda HC (SHL) and had three goals and six points in 31 games played during the 2023-24 season.
Robertsson was St. Louis' 2021 third-round pick (71st overall) and signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday starting in 2024-25. The 21-year-old just finished a split season between Skelleftea AIK (SHL) and Brynas IF (HA) where he played in 39 games played.
Johannesson was the 176th overall pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft but has played exclusively in the Swedish Hockey League. In 43 games with Orebrok HK (SweHL) this season, the 23-year-old defenseman scored 27 points (11G / 26A).
Broberg was originally recalled for some defensive depth to start the playoffs but has been loaned to Bakersfield (AHL) on Tuesday to help them with their playoff push. The 22-year-old third-year veteran appeared in a career-low 12 games this season with the OIlers and had only two assists, six PIMs and a -3 plus/minus.
