Blues depth chart: What it looks like after Torey Krug, Kyle Clifford signings

It’s hard to fathom, but when next season begins, the Blues are likely to be without eight players from their Stanley Cup roster.

Alex Pietrangelo is headed to Las Vegas. Jake Allen and Joel Edmundson are in Montreal. Robby Fabbri is in Detroit. Pat Maroon is in Tampa Bay. Jay Bouwmeester is expected to retire. Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen are likely to open the year on injured reserve. Of course, Tarasenko and Steen could be back at some point, but even so, that’s nearly half of the Cup roster that won’t be on the ice for opening night.

“Yeah, and that’s the frustration and the joy of today’s NHL with the salary cap,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “You’re always bringing in newer players, elevating younger players, hoping they can get the job done. But there’s turnover and there’s change and every team has to go through it. You try and keep the nucleus together as long as possible, but change is inevitable.”

The Blues brought in a couple of seasoned replacements in defenseman Torey Krug and left winger Kyle Clifford during the first few days of NHL free agency. In the wake of Pietrangelo rejecting the Blues’ 11th-hour proposal, the club shifted and signed Krug to a seven-year, $45.5 million contract on Friday, then Clifford to a two-year, $2 million deal on Sunday.

Krug has lost in the Stanley Cup Finals twice, including to the Blues in 2019, while Clifford won two Cups with Los Angeles. Both were lured to St. Louis, in part, because of how close they feel the Blues are to contending for another championship.

“Well, it’s a great opportunity,” Krug said. “I’ve come very close two times now … heartbreaking is the only word I can use here. For me, it’s a very important part of the vetting process, when I was looking at teams and trying to figure out who had an opportunity to win. This was one of them. Year in and year out, I think you’re going to see a group that can compete, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

As for Clifford: “I just wanted to set myself up for the best chance for success. I thought St. Louis, obviously they won a Cup, and I’m confident that I can contribute down there and hopefully we can bring another Cup home to St. Louis.”

In both cases, Krug and Clifford were pursued because of conversations Armstrong had with players already on the Blues’ roster.

“I talked to some players in our group today about how (Krug) was to play against,” Armstrong said. “They said he’s very elusive on the forecheck, very hard to get at.”

With Clifford, Armstrong was told in exit meetings with players that signing a free agent with some sandpaper would be a welcome addition. Clifford is definitely that, with 842 career penalty minutes and 83 fights in 11 seasons with the Kings and Maple Leafs.

As Armstrong alluded, the Blues had to bring in some veterans, but they’ll also be counting on younger players, such as center Robert Thomas and right winger Jordan Kyrou, to elevate their games. There might be a few rookies in the mix, too, with defensemen Niko Mikkola and Scott Perunovich and goalie Ville Husso.

So from top to bottom, let’s take a look at the Blues’ latest depth chart.

Forwards

Vying for spots: Mackenzie MacEachern, Jacob de la Rose, Klim Kostin

In the system: Sam Anas, Curtis McKenzie, Nathan Walker, Nolan Stevens, Hugh McGing, Nikita Alexandrov, Alexey Toropchenko, Dakota Joshua, Tanner Kaspick, Mathias Laferriere, Evan Polei

Likely to be placed on the long-term injured reserve list (LTIR): Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen

Restricted free agents: Austin Poganski

Unrestricted free agents/departures: None

This will largely be the same group that the Blues put on the ice in 2019-20, which finished 14th in the NHL with 3.14 goals per game during the regular season.

Yes, after averaging 2.98 goals per game with Tarasenko the prior season, the Blues managed OK without him. But can they do it again with Tarasenko on the shelf until February and perhaps longer?

Who will the Blues put in his spot? Well, during one of Armstrong’s recent Zoom calls with the media, he said: “I’m not the coach, but if you put your lineup (together), you have (Jaden) Schwartz and (Brayden) Schenn and potentially Robert Thomas.”

The Blues liked what they saw from Thomas at center last season, and perhaps he could start there next year. But Schenn has played primarily in the middle and on left wing, and not much on the right side, so perhaps the plan is to get Thomas top-six minutes on the wing.

“(Thomas) needs to earn that, but I’d love to see him play a more prominent role in our offense,” Armstrong said.

The Blues are also excited about Kyrou, so he could get a look in the top six, too. The 22-year-old, who has five goals in 44 NHL games, looked pretty good in that role in the playoffs, but it was a small sample size. Perhaps he’s a better fit higher up in the lineup, but for now, I’m listing him on the fourth line.

Armstrong indicated that David Perron, Ryan O’Reilly and Zach Sanford could stay together at the start of the season. It was Perron’s best year with the Blues, finishing with 25 goals and 60 points, and his chemistry with O’Reilly is still evident, so it’s no surprise they’ll remain a pair. But more will be needed offensively from O’Reilly, whose goals slipped from 28 in 2018-19 to just 12 last season. Part of the problem appeared to be a significant drop-off in his shot attempts, which fell from 2.85 per game in 2018-19 to 1.7 per game last season, so it’s vital that O’Reilly is shooting the puck more often.

It was a breakout campaign for Sanford with a career-high 16 goals and 30 points in 58 games, but he must continue proving himself if he’s going to hold down a spot with O’Reilly and Perron. When Craig Berube added Schwartz with those two in the playoffs, the line looked a lot better, but the Blues need Schwartz elsewhere. If Sanford can show that he can handle the job, it’s his. But if not, the club will be forced to look at other options.

The third line is setting up to be Sammy Blais, Tyler Bozak and Oskar Sundqvist.

Blais needs to stay healthy. He was limited to 40 regular-season games last season because of a wrist injury that required surgery, and he was hobbled in the playoffs, too. Bozak looked like trade bait to create salary-cap space for Pietrangelo, and he could still be, but at this point, it looks like the Blues would prefer to hang on to the veteran for the final year of his contract. Then you have Sundqvist, who can play center or wing, but with 12 goals in 57 games last season, making him a winger on the third line makes sense.

Now to the fourth line, where the Blues will be adding Clifford. He’ll play on the left side, moving Ivan Barbashev to the middle, where he likes to play. The spot on the right side has belonged to Alexander Steen, but listening to Armstrong lately, it doesn’t sound as if Steen will be ready anytime soon. That could help the Blues’ cap situation, which I’ll get into later, but without Steen, the Blues will need someone to play there, which could open up room for Kyrou, MacEachern, de la Rose or even Kostin.

“I do want to see if Kostin can come in here and push his way onto our team,” Armstrong said.

A couple of new names to also keep an eye on: Anas and McKenzie. Both were signed to two-way contracts by the Blues in free agency to provide depth in the American Hockey League. The 27-year-old Anas, a 5-foot-8, 157-pound winger, led Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, with 70 points in 63 games, but never got a call-up to the NHL. Meanwhile, McKenzie, a 29-year-old winger, has played 99 NHL games with Dallas, and has 10 goals and 23 points.

Defensemen

Well, raise your hand if you had Pietrangelo leaving and Krug arriving. Those of you being honest might have felt Pietrangelo would sign elsewhere, but few would have guessed that Krug would be his roster replacement. But Armstrong pulled off quite a coup, luring in the 29-year-old puck-moving and point-producing defenseman to St. Louis.

Many of Krug’s attributes were pointed out in this piece when the signing materialized last week. But to further illustrate his abilities, since the start of the 2013-14 season, he ranks seventh among all NHL defensemen in overall points (335) and fourth in power-play points (159). He may not be Pietrangelo, especially from a defensive standpoint, but his presence certainly fills what would have been a huge void.

So what does this mean for the defense as a whole? It means that Colton Parayko will likely have a chance to step into Pietrangelo’s No. 1 role. It means that Justin Faulk will get more of an opportunity after struggling in his first season with the Blues. It means that Vince Dunn might get less of a chance to play more minutes than last season. And it also means there will not be room on the roster — at least at the start of the season — for Mikkola and Perunovich.

Parayko has shown what he’s capable of in his five seasons in the NHL, but with two years left on his contract, he has a chance to prove himself and earn a huge payday. He can do that both at even-strength and with more responsibility on the power play.

“I would like to see Parayko take a bigger role in that also,” Armstrong said. “He’s got one of the harder shots in the league.”

The new arrangement could also be beneficial for Faulk, who didn’t do himself any favors with his play last season but was completely miscast. In five seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2014-15 to ’18-19, he averaged 23:14 of ice time per game, including 2:54 on the power play. In that span, he had 67 goals and 189 points, including 32 goals and 79 points on the power play. With the Blues, he played 20:35 per game and just 1:05 on the power play, and responded with just five goals and 11 points, including one goal and three points with the man advantage. That doesn’t mean he’ll be better; it just means that he could have more opportunities to make a better impression.

Who plays with whom? Armstrong indicated that Berube could partner Krug with Parayko, or Krug with Faulk and Parayko with Marco Scandella. Either way, there appears to be more balance in the top four, especially with regard to the lefty-righty setup.

That said, Krug’s arrival has created a bit of a logjam on the left side, where the Blues also have Dunn, Mikkola and Perunovich.

Dunn, a restricted free agent with no arbitration rights, remains unsigned. His situation was being tabled until after the Pietrangelo decision, but a resolution still won’t be easy with a defenseman who has scored 21 goals in the past two seasons while making a base salary of $775,000. He played just 16:16 per game last season, and though Armstrong said there might be a chance for him to slide into the top four, he could also be relegated to the third pairing again in 2020-21.

“There’s an ability for him to come in here and poke and prod and push for ice time,” Armstrong said. “That’s part of what we hope, that ice time is not a given, it’s earned, and he understands that. I’ve got a lot of faith in Vince that he’s going to put the work in this fall to be ready when we start to play.”

But with Krug, Scandella, Dunn and don’t forget about Carl Gunnarsson, on the left side, it doesn’t appear the Blues will have much room for Mikkola and Perunovich in the regular rotation. Both will be waivers-exempt next season, so they can be assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds, the team’s new AHL affiliate, without any concern.

Meanwhile, the Blues signed right-shot defenseman Steven Santini in free agency, and he’ll bring 116 games of NHL experience to the team. The Blues will also have Jake Walman and Mitch Reinke, who are both currently unsigned RFAs.

Vying for spots: Niko Mikkola, Scott Perunovich

In the system: Steven Santini, Tyler Tucker

Restricted free agents: Vince Dunn, Jake Walman, Mitch Reinke

Unrestricted free agents/departures: Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, Derrick Pouliot, Jake Dotchin

Goaltenders

Vying for spots: None

In the system: Jon Gillies, Joel Hofer, Evan Fitzpatrick

Restricted free agents: None

Unrestricted free agents/departures: Jake Allen

After Jordan Binnington led the Blues to a storybook Stanley Cup victory two years ago, the club and the goalie weren’t ready to commit to a long-term agreement, so he signed a two-year, $8.8 million extension.

The 27-year-old will be entering the last year of that deal, so there will be a lot riding on his season. But after the trade of Allen to Montreal, there will be a lot riding on it from the team perspective, too. Binnington was one of only three goalies with 30 wins in the regular season, but his .912 save percentage ranked 26th in the league (among goalies with at least 24 games played).

Allen bailed out the Blues with a terrific season, but now it appears the backup job belongs to Husso, who hasn’t played a single minute in the NHL. With the NHL expected to play a condensed schedule, more teams are expected to employ tandems, and it remains unknown how many games the Blues will be able to count on from Husso.

The Blues were in the market for a minor-league goalie and signed Gillies, 26, but he has appeared in just 12 NHL games. So barring a late signing, there won’t be much experience at the position after Binnington going into the season.

Salary cap

Projected salary cap: $82,675,515 (courtesy of Capfriendly.com)

Salary cap space: $0

Projected LTIR used: $1,175,515

According to Capfriendly.com, the Blues are about $1 million over the $81.5 million cap for next season. But as Armstrong said recently, Tarasenko and Steen could start the year on LTIR, which would allow the club to exceed the cap by the combined total of their salaries ($13.25 million) while they were out.

But keep this in mind: The Blues would need to be cap-compliant when they return. With both players, particularly Steen, there’s some question whether they will return, but the point is Armstrong can’t add salary willy-nilly in case they do come back. And let’s not forget that ownership will be paying players during a pandemic, in which it’s still not certain if fans will be attending the games.

Just for fun’s sake, though, let’s look at the top remaining UFA forwards, according to Capfriendly.com: Florida’s Mike Hoffman and Evgeni Dadonov, Nashville’s Mikael Granlund and Ottawa’s Anthony Duclair to name a few. They remain unsigned six days after the opening of free agency.

“Obviously you’re seeing a very constipated market right now,” Armstrong said.

Fortunately for the Blues, they’ve got most — if not all — of their work done.

(Photo of Torey Krug: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images)