The St. Louis Blues are one of the most intriguing teams in the National Hockey League, and this off-season, they’ve already made some massive moves with the 2026/27 regular season in mind as they look to get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs following a disappointing step back in 2025/26.
After acquiring plenty of assets at the 2026 trade deadline, the Blues under GM Doug Armstrong went to work early in the off-season, trading Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals before acquiring Mason McTavish from the Anaheim Ducks. That is on top of still drafting Tynan Lawrence and Maddox Dagenais at No. 11 and 16 overall, and with the team building a very promising young core, hopes are high for the future.
As a result, the team have started looking to get younger and younger, and while there’s still potential trades to come, the team made another move to bring in the youth on Tuesday ahead of free agency.
Blues buy out the Final Year of Jonathan Drouin’s Contract
GettyJonathan Drouin with the New York Islanders.
After arriving from the New York Islanders in a deal that involved Blues captain Brayden Schenn, Jonathan Drouin appeared in 9 games for the team, posting 1 goal and 3 points in that time. Many wondered how long he would remain in St. Louis, especially given that he was involved simply to match salary in the deal.
With one year remaining on his contract with a $4 million cap hit, the expectation was that he could be traded early in the off-season, but now, the Blues have confirmed they will simply buy out the final year of his contract, sending him to free agency on July 1st ahead of the buyout window that closes at 5PM ET.
Drouin Could Garner Interest on the Free Agency Market
With the arrival of McTavish and Connor McMichael in the Kyrou trade, the Blues forward group is looking very crowded, and with the team wanting to push younger players that are likely there for the long haul, that leaves the 31-year-old as the odd man out.
However, he will be garnering plenty of interest on the free agency market, as Drouin is just two years removed from a 56 point campaign with the Colorado Avalanche back in 2023/24, and given his history in the NHL, there’s no reason to doubt that he couldn’t get back to that in the right situation. The talented winger will bring immense experience and leadership to wherever he ends up, with 671 games of NHL experience under his belt alongside 43 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, making him the perfect fit for a team looking to go deep in the post-season.
He’s never going to be a top line player in the NHL, but as a middle-six winger, he could be a boost to any team with Stanley Cup aspirations, and now that he’s been bought out, there are many, many teams around the league that are expected to show interest in him over the next few days as he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
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