3 Upgrades St. Louis Blues Need In The New Year

The St. Louis Blues are hanging around early, but they expected themselves to be in competition for a playoff spot. Overall, their players aren't performing poorly, so I expect them to stay in the hunt for most of the season. Whether they add or not, that is another question. Assuming they do, and it doesn't have to be this season, it could be the offseason, this is what the team needs.

2nd Line RW

The Blues are good down the middle on the first three lines, but have sacrificed the wing. The second line in particular is questionable with Kasperi Kapanen manning the right side of the ice. He has been streaky throughout his career and this season has not gone as planned offensively. With only three goals on the season, I don't believe he should be higher than a third line role. The team doesn't really have great options to take his spot either. If they can get a more consistent middle-six winger for that role, they would be happy about that.

Top-4 LD

The top-four of the Blues seems to be locked in, but if they could trade one of those players, it would greatly benefit them. The easiest to move is Nick Leddy, and I'm not saying he will be easy to move. Of the four, he has the shortest term remaining, but still has a no-trade clause until the summer of 2025. Whether it is new blood or the possibility of different defense pairings, it would help shake things up on the Blues' back-end.

Bottom-6 Forward

I think the Blues have had enough of Jakub Vrana, so that removes an option for the team's bottom-six. Nikita Alexandrov hasn't been trusted yet, and there is room to add someone impactful that fits the role at the bottom of the lineup for the Blues. It would probably come cheap, and if the team is still in the playoff hunt closer to the deadline, this is the most likely move they can make.