COLUMN: New faces will be key in accelerating Blues’ rebuild

It’s no secret that the 2022-23 campaign has been below expectations for the St. Louis Blues.

They’ve traded away longtime star Vladimir Tarasenko, 2019 Conn Smythe trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly and fan-favorite Ivan Barbashev, all of whom were on expiring contracts.

What Blues general manager Doug Armstrong did however is claim Kasperi Kapanen off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins and acquire forward Jakub Vrana from Detroit. Vrana scored his first goal with St. Louis and highlighted the Blues' 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

The trades of O’Reilly and Tarasenko netted the Blues a pair of first-round picks, giving them three in the upcoming 2023 draft which is one of the most loaded drafts in recent memory.

The Barbashev trade brought in former Vegas Golden Knights first-round pick Zach Dean.

Obviously, the trades of O’Reilly, Tarasenko, and Barbashev were much to the dismay of the fans, but the duo of Kapanen and Vrana will be key in accelerating the rebuild.

In Thursday’s 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks Vrana scored his first goal as a member of the Blues that served as the game-winner.

Vrana is a 27-year-old 6-foot 170-pound winger that brings a good combo of physicality and skill to a lineup that is otherwise lacking it.

Vrana’s contract expires at the end of next season which makes him someone to watch as a key contributor moving forward.

Kapanen is a 6’1” 194-pound winger that also is under contract for next season.

Kapanen is a fun player to watch, he’s not afraid to throw the body and get to the dirty areas and he also has a decent shot as well.

It’s no question that this Blues team is missing a lot and with the 8-year extensions to Thomas and Kyrou kicking in next season, Armstrong doesn’t have much wiggle room.

So, it begs the question: How do you free up money and make the team better?

To me, it starts on the blue line. When Alex Pietrangelo signed with Vegas, Armstrong panicked and inked Tory Krug to a 7-year 45 million dollar deal.

Add that to a blue line that has Justin Faulk who is making $6.5 million a year until 2026 and Colton Parayko who is in the first year of his 8-year $52 million deal, and it complicates things, to say the least.

You have to look to move one of those three defensemen. Parayko seems to be the best candidate as he’s still just 29 years old.

Regardless, this team needs forward help and guys like Kapanen and Vrana could be critical in helping keep the Blues relevant.

Another area the Blues could look to improve is the NHL Draft. The 2023 draft is headlined by Connor Bedard who is the consensus first-overall pick.

The odds are slim the Blues end up with the first pick, but there are plenty of options that could improve the team immediately and in the future.

No matter what route the Blues go the summer is sure to be an interesting time for Blues fans everywhere.