What the St. Louis Blues need to do to maximize their selections in the 2025 NHL Draft

The current Outlook

The St. Louis Blues will enter the 2025 NHL Draft with three picks: 19th overall, 147th overall, and 179th overall. The four other picks were traded away in deals to acquire Jakub Vrana and Cam Fowler, and most recently in offer sheets for Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Edmonton Oilers.

While the 2025 Draft class isn't considered particularly deep, there’s still good reason for the Blues to pursue strategic moves to strengthen the organization’s future depth. With several key transactions during the draft, the Blues have an opportunity to finally stock their prospect cupboard in key areas that still need to be addressed.

Assessing the Current Roster and Assets

Alexandre Texier is playing against his former team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, after being acquired by the St. Louis Blues.

To facilitate these draft-day moves, the Blues have several players who could be traded to recoup picks and relieve some salary cap pressure. Veterans like Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, Oskar Sundqvist, and Nick Leddy are potential trade chips. Younger players such as Matt Kessel, Mathieu Joseph, and Alexandre Texier could also be utilized in trades.

Among the current prospects, players like Mikhail Abramov, Nikita Alexandrov, Hugh McGing, Tanner Dickinson, Marc-Andre Gaudet, and Hunter Skinner could be moved—ideally in exchange for more than just late-round picks if another team sees value in their potential.

Trading up versus trading down

One strategy the Blues will need to carefully consider is whether to trade up or trade down from the 19th overall pick. While trading up could land them a higher-end prospect, the Blues would likely benefit more by trading back a few spots. The main reason is that moving back would provide additional draft picks, increasing their chances of finding quality players and addressing current gaps in their prospect pool.

Trading up poses a significant risk to the Blues’ long-term outlook, especially with Alexander Steen set to take over as general manager after next season. Doug Armstrong stated in his season-ending press conference that his goal is to position the club for long-term success under Steen. The best way to achieve that is by acquiring as many promising prospects as possible in this draft.

Strategic Recommendations for the Blues

Two specific teams I think the Blues should be talking to for trading back from 19th overall would be the Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Nashville Predators, and the Chicago Blackhawks. I would not try to help their rivals in the Blackhawks, but I can't deny the potential of getting a couple of their picks from the first 3-4 rounds they currently hold. The Flyers and the Predators also have great options if they are willing to part with some of the picks they have in the later part of the 1st round, the early picks in the 2nd round.

NONE OF THE TABLES BELOW ARE ACTUAL TRADES, THEY ARE VISUAL REFERENCES OF WHAT TEAMS HAVE THAT THE BLUES WOULD TRY TO NEGOTIATE FOR.

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If a trade were to happen between the Blues and the Predators, I could see the following trade happen:

2025 19th overall (1st)	2025 26th overall (1st) 2025 35th overall (2nd)

With this trade, the Blues could move back 7 spots and gain a high-end 2nd-round pick and potentially find a player that fell just out of the 1st round in a key area they would need to fill. Several right-handed Defensemen or some high-end forwards would be available around this time.

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If the Blues were to trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, the trade could have multiple outcomes, as the Flyers have 5 picks after they select 6th overall:

2025 19th overall (1st)	2025 31st overall (1st) 2025 36th overall (2nd) 2025 45th overall (2nd)

With Philadelphia in need a young goaltender and Joshua Ravensbergen currently projected to be available around are pick, the Flyers would be very interested in making a trade. I feel that if the Flyers did try to do this they could low-ball with a 1st and a 2nd pick or if the Blues play a little hard-ball on the trade might be able to get the Flyers to give up one of the 1st picks and two of the 2nd round picks.

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If San Jose is interested in moving up with some of their picks, we could see the Blues making a trade like this:

2025 19th overall (1st)	2025 30th overall (1st) 2025 33rd overall (2nd)

If San Jose saw one of the later prospects as fitting into their plans with finishing their rebuild in terms of drafting, the Blues could capitalize on that and get some more options in the draft.

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The Blues could bite the bullet and help their division rivals from Chicago, and could receive a package from the following picks:

2025 19th overall (1st)	2025 25th overall (1st) 2025 34st overall (2nd)

This trade partner would be a tough pill to swallow as helping a rival would leave a sour taste for Blues fans, but making the Blackhawks give up picks could be worth it in lowering the number of prospects Chicago could acquire for the Draft.

Final Thoughts

Philadelphia stands out as the top trade-down partner. With a clear need for a future goaltender and five picks after their 6th overall selection, the Flyers have the assets to make a strong offer. The Blues can leverage this to bolster their draft class and set up long-term success.

On the trade front, moving veterans like Texier, Faulk, Joseph, Kessel, and Leddy could help recoup missing picks and clear cap space. This would allow the Blues flexibility ahead of free agency on July 1st and help secure key extensions for core players during the offseason.