Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We begin with a look at the Central Division; next up is St. Louis.
St. Louis Blues
Current Cap Hit: $86,732,208 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Jake Neighbours (one year, $835.8K)
Neighbours wasn’t expected to be one of the Blues’ top goal-getters in his first full NHL season but he did just that, notching 27 tallies, good for a tie for second on the team. That said, it makes sense for both sides to see if it that’s repeatable before approaching extension talks. A bridge deal at this point should check in around $3MM but another strong showing could push those discussions toward a longer-term agreement.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
F Radek Faksa ($3.25MM, UFA)
G Joel Hofer ($775K, RFA)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph ($950K, UFA)
F Kasperi Kapanen ($1MM, UFA)
D Scott Perunovich ($1.15MM, RFA)
D Ryan Suter ($775K, UFA)
F Alexey Toropchenko ($1.25MM, RFA)
D Tyler Tucker ($800K, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Suter: $2.25MM
Faksa was acquired from Dallas in a cap-clearing move but he still is a capable player in a checking role while consistently being above-average at the faceoff dot. That said, his limitations offensively will hurt him on the open market. His track record is good enough to secure another multi-year deal but the cap hit is more likely to start with a two than a three this time around.
Toropchenko has been a good depth scorer who has added plenty of physicality in his first two NHL campaigns. That said, with a limited role, he shouldn’t be able to land too much more than this, even with arbitration eligibility. On the high end, the 25-year-old might be able to get to the $2MM mark. Kapanen’s first full season with St. Louis saw him struggle, resulting in him taking a sizable pay cut to stick around. Now, the deal has a chance to be a team-friendly one if he can get back to the 30-point level. He’ll need to do so in order to have an opportunity to get any sort of notable raise next summer.
Perunovich has shown flashes of the offensive ability that made him a touted prospect but staying healthy has been a consistent problem for him. This contract buys both sides a bit more time for evaluation but he’ll need to stay healthy and be a consistent contributor to have a chance at a multi-year agreement. Joseph comes over from Pittsburgh after being non-tendered (a fate that could await Perunovich if he has another injury-plagued campaign) where he had a limited role. He’s likely to have a similar role with his new team so unless he’s willing to stay around this price point, he could be non-tendered again to avoid arbitration.
Suter signed with the Blues in free agency after being bought out by Dallas. There are four levels of bonuses based on games played; if he maxes those out, he’ll receive $1.725MM if he gets to 60 games ($1.125MM at 40) plus another $500K if his team makes the playoffs and he plays in 60 games. If the Blues are out of the playoffs and look to move Suter, that $500K potential bonus would transfer to the acquiring team which will be something worth noting. It’s a creative contract structure to say the least and if Suter wants to keep playing after 2024-25, he could very well sign another one like this. Tucker has had a depth role the last couple of years but hasn’t locked down a full-time spot yet. He’s likely to be in a similar situation this season which won’t help his marketability. If he plays in 28 games with St. Louis, however, the Blues can regain his RFA rights instead of him becoming a Group Six free agent.
Hofer did quite well in his first season as a full-time backup, putting up a GAA (2.65) and SV% (.913) that were better than league average. Another showing like that could push the asking price towards the $3MM mark, especially if the Blues wanted to buy out a UFA year or two. If he falters a bit this season, then the cost should check in closer to $2MM.
Signed Through 2025-26
D Philip Broberg ($4.581MM, RFA)
F Dylan Holloway ($2.29MM, RFA)
D Matthew Kessel ($800K, RFA)
F Mathieu Joseph ($2.95MM, UFA)
D Nick Leddy ($4MM, UFA)
F Brandon Saad ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Oskar Sundqvist ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Alexandre Texier ($2.1MM, RFA)
F Nathan Walker ($775K, UFA)
Saad hasn’t been able to get back to the scoring levels he had earlier in his career with Columbus but he has averaged 23 goals per season since joining the Blues. This price tag for that type of production is pretty well close to market value. That said, he’ll be 33 when his next deal starts so he’s probably not putting himself in position for a sizable increase next time out either. Joseph was acquired from the Senators in a cap-clearing move and will look to build off a career year in 2023-24. A capable checker, if Joseph could stay around that 30-point mark, he could earn a small raise two years from now.
Holloway came over from Edmonton in one of the offer sheets tendered earlier this month. His production thus far doesn’t justify that price tag but if he can secure a regular spot in the top nine, the scoring output to warrant that cost should come fairly quickly. Texier was acquired from Columbus and was quickly signed to this deal. Offensive consistency has been a problem so far in his career and he’ll need to improve on that if he wants to get to the next level contract-wise. He’ll be arbitration-eligible next time out and if his production dips a bit, he could get into non-tender territory as well but on the flip side, if the change of scenery helps, he could command at least $3MM in 2026.
Sundqvist had to settle for a minimum contract in 2023-24 and did rather well with it, earning this extension just before the trade deadline in March. With the extra depth they’ve brought in, it’s hard to see him boosting his production enough to warrant a considerable raise down the road; he seems likely to stay around this price point moving forward as a result. Walker has seen more NHL time than AHL time the last two seasons, giving him this two-year, one-way deal. But with the additions they’ve made, he could be on the outside looking in before too long. Any sort of extended AHL stretch on this contract could hurt his chances of a one-way agreement two years from now.
Broberg was the big addition via the offer sheet route as the Blues feel he can become a core defender down the road. But right now, this is a fairly steep overpayment based on what he has accomplished so far. He’ll have a chance to change that over the next two years and if he becomes the blueliner they think he can, he could be the next Blues defender to get a long-term deal. Leddy has logged big minutes since joining St. Louis but it stands to reason that Broberg will start to cut into that with him being part of the long-term plans with Leddy, currently 33, not likely to be in those. Even so, if he can play a steady role at 18-20 minutes a night, another short-term deal around this price tag could be doable. Kessel held his own in 39 games with St. Louis last season but his waiver exemption is likely to work against him. Until he can secure a full-time role, he won’t be able to make a case for much more than this.
Signed Through 2026-27
G Jordan Binnington ($6MM, UFA)
D Justin Faulk ($6.5MM, UFA)
D Torey Krug ($6.5MM, UFA)
Faulk took a bit of a step back offensively last season while injuries didn’t help either. But for the most part, he has been an above-average contributor while spending a lot of time on the top pairing. He might not necessarily be a true top-pairing piece on every team but Faulk has made it work in that role, giving St. Louis a solid return so far. Krug hasn’t had as much success and now there are concerns about if he’ll be able to play again. At a minimum, he’s out for the season so if the Blues have some injuries, he’ll be LTIR-eligible, giving them some flexibility on that front and in doing so, it takes him off the table for their potential worst-valued contract.
Binnington has been hit or miss in recent years when it comes to playing at the level of a starting goaltender, let alone one of the higher-paid ones. Last season was one of the better ones as he finished sixth in the league in games played while being tied for eighth in save percentage (with Hofer, among others). Unfortunately, that’s the highest save percentage he’s had in the last five years. Binnington is the seventh-highest-paid goalie in the league in terms of AAV for 2024-25, sixth if you take Carey Price (who will once again be on LTIR) out of the equation. While the Blues received a level of performance at least close to that range last season, they haven’t had that with enough consistency to get a good return on this contract.
Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer
F Pavel Buchnevich ($5.8MM in 2024-25, $8MM from 2025-26 through 2030-31)
F Jordan Kyrou ($8.125MM through 2030-31)
D Colton Parayko ($6.5MM through 2029-30)
F Brayden Schenn ($6.5MM through 2027-28)
F Robert Thomas ($8.125MM through 2030-31)
Kyrou and Thomas are on identical contracts by design as GM Doug Armstrong envisions them as the focal points of the offense for the long haul. As is often the case with younger players getting these types of contracts, they haven’t necessarily delivered market value in each season but the expectation is that they should be club-friendly agreements in the back half. Thomas is coming off his first year of being above a point per game while Kyrou has had at least 67 points in each of the last three seasons. Assuming they can improve upon those numbers over time, both contracts should work out relatively well.
It’s no coincidence that Buchnevich’s extension checks in just below those two; it’s possible that the organization is viewing that price point as the number they won’t go above. While he’s coming off a quieter year, he has been pretty consistent since coming to St. Louis and with 206 points in 216 games over three seasons with them, that’s the type of production that was going to get him that price tag from someone had he made it to the open market. Schenn saw his output drop considerably last season and with the wear and tear he has from his physical style of play over his career, there will be some concerns about his ability to perform at the end of his contract. For now though, he should be able to live up to the price tag for another year or two.
Parayko has managed to stay healthy over the last three seasons, an area that was of some concern before that time. While he has shown flashes of being above-average offensively, he hasn’t been able to do so consistently enough to become that true two-way threat. That said, he plays the toughest minutes while bringing a solid defensive presence to the table and at least some periodic offensive upside. At this price point, that’s still a reasonable return although the track record of back trouble will continue to linger.
Buyouts
None
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
Alexandrov had a very sporadic role when he was up with St. Louis and spent more time on the bench than in the lineup. With just nine career points in 51 NHL games, he doesn’t have the track record to command any sort of significant raise from his entry-level salary. This is the type of situation where the team might be offering a one-way deal at a pay cut in terms of his cap hit. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the final agreement come in close to that.
Best Value: (non-entry-level) Hofer
Worst Value: Broberg
Looking Ahead
Armstrong was able to leverage his cap space well this summer, resulting in them adding a couple of intriguing young pieces via the offer sheet route while still having enough flexibility to potentially bank some in-season room. Even if injuries make that impossible, they’ll still have the ability to place Krug on LTIR, giving them ample security on that front. As a result, they’re in better shape than a lot of teams heading into the season.
With nearly $79MM in commitments for 2025-26 already, the Blues aren’t going to be in a spot where they can add much next offseason. However, that drops to just $31.75MM for 2026-27, giving incoming GM Alex Steen a relatively clean slate to work with as he’ll look to put his stamp on the roster at that time.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blues will finish last in central division.