ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues' 2022-23 season is set to kick off this Saturday, Oct. 15 at Enterprise Center.
The Blues' 2021-2022 season ended in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after the eventual winner, the Colorado Avalanche, beat them in Game 6 at home.
After their exit, the team switched their focus to offseason acquisitions, NHL draft and signings to create another playoff-contending group.
Before the season starts for the Blues, here are five things you need to know about the team:
Off-season acquisitions and departures
The Blues were active this offseason, especially around the NHL 2022 Draft, with numerous trades and signings, bringing new players to the team.
One of the biggest storylines of the offseason was letting veteran Blues player, David Perron, sign with the Detroit Red Wings. Doug Armstrong did not offer Perron a contract.
Perron had three stints with the Blues since his first season in 2007-2008 but ultimately signed with the Red Wings on a two-year contract.
The Blues also traded goaltender Ville Husso to Detroit on Day 2 of the 2022 Draft. Husso later signed a three-year contract with Detroit.
Other significant departures include goaltender Charlie Lindgren signing with the Washington Capitals and Dakota Joshua signing with the Vancouver Canucks.
While many players departed the team, Armstrong signed many current Blues and new players to contracts.
After trading Ville Husso, Armstrong signed Thomas Greiss, goaltender, to a one-year contract. He is likely to start as the backup goaltender to Jordan Binnington.
The team also signed Joshua Leivo to a one-year, one-way contract. Leivo spent most of the 2021-2022 season with the Carolina Hurricanes AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. He recently won the AHL Playoff MVP award and the Calder Cup Championship. Leivo is currently listed on the Blues' opening night roster.
Other significant signings Armstrong made were locking down many Blues players to stick with the team.
Scott Perunovich and Nathan Walker signed one-year, one-way contracts and Nick Leddy signed a four-year contract to stay with the Blues after being traded to the team in March.
But, the two biggest signings were ones that made the headlines this summer.
Kyrou, Thomas eight-year contracts
Doug Armstrong is putting his faith and the Blues' future into their two young forwards for the next eight years.
The St. Louis Blues announced signed Robert Thomas to an eight-year, $65 million contract on July 13. The forward was set to become a restricted free agent after the upcoming season.
Thomas played 72 games during last season, recording 20 goals and 57 assists. Both are career highs in all categories, including points.
Just two months later, the Blues announced they had signed Jordan Kyrou to an eight-year, $65 million contract extension, matching Thomas'. The All-Star was also set to become a restricted free agent after the upcoming season.
Kyrou was third on the team with 27 goals and second on the team with 48 assists in 74 games last season.
Both Thomas and Kyrou were a part of the nine Blues players to record 20 goals last season.
The matching contracts show the faith and hope the Blues management has in their young star forwards as they are now the face of the Blues' future.
Contracts expiring
While the Blues were able to lock down many of their players during the offseason, there are still a few key players who have not seen a contract extension yet.
Players including Ryan O'Reilly, Ivan Barbashev and Vladimir Tarasenko all have contracts expiring at the end of the 2022-23 season. They are set to become unrestricted free agents if no contract is set before free agency opens next summer.
Armstrong and Blues management will have to consider their options throughout the season on how to open up cap space and if they want to sign these core players. Tarasenko made headlines in the summer of 2021 when it came to light that the forward requested a trade from the Blues.
While a trade never happened this past season, the request still looms over the head of Blues fans and Armstrong as Tarasenko is set to become an unrestricted free agent soon.
Other notable players whose contracts will be up soon (unrestricted and restricted) are Noel Acciari, Logan Brown, Alexei Toropchenko, Niko Mikkola, Scott Perunovich and newly signed goaltender Thomas Greiss.
Injured players
The Blues will have two players who will start on the Long Term Injured Reserve list after surgery.
Marco Scandella was announced to be on the LTIR in September after undergoing surgery on his right hip. The 32-year-old will be reevaluated in six months.
Scott Perunovich suffered an injury on Sept. 27 during a preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Perunovich suffered a fractured left shoulder and underwent surgery to repair it.
He also will be reevaluated in six months.
Perunovich suffered a torn left labrum that sidelined him during the 2020-21 season and sidelined again for a significant period of time due to surgery on his left wrist.
Opening night roster
Blues first-round pick of the 2020 draft, Jake Neighbours, is set to start the season with the team. Neighbours started the season with the Blues last year but was returned to juniors after nine games.
New additions including Noel Acciari, Joshi Leivo and goaltender Thomas Greiss are listed on the opening night roster.
The roster sees familiar faces on it including O'Reilly, Schenn, Faulk, Krug and more.
The starting lineup has not been announced as of Wednesday but will be set before Saturday's opening game.
The puck drops on Opening Night versus the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.
