There could be an unexpected turn of fate, no matter what moves the Blues make this off-season, as they must choose carefully how they move the franchise forward
BY JASON FINK | APRIL 24, 2426 | @THEJASONFINK ON X
The St. Louis Blues find themselves in an enviable position at the 2026 NHL Draft. The owners of three first-round draft picks, the Blues have the opportunity to have a quick retool after missing the playoffs this past season. They were two seconds away from the second round of the playoffs in 2024-’25, but the Winnipeg Jets unfortunately had a say in the matter and tied the game and then ousted the Blues in double overtime with a 4-3 victory in Game 7. What looked like a team on the rise coming into 2025-’26 turned out to be a team in complete disarray.
The Blues started the year 3-2, but then a seven-game losing streak turned them into “The Tiger King” Joe Exotic, and they were never able to “financially” recover from it. They staged into the Olympic break with a disappointing 20-28-9 record.
Fans and experts were preparing for the Blues to get an opportunity to win the draft lottery, with the top coveted prizes being 18-year-old Gavin McKenna, who just finished up his freshman year at Penn State, and 18-year-old Ivar Stenberg, brother of Blues center Otto Stenberg, who just completed his first season with the Blues while tallying a respectable 10 points in 32 games.
Remember those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books that we used to read in grade school? Blues general manager Doug Armstrong currently has his own “Choose Your Own Adventure” dilemma in front of him.
Does he hold onto their three first-round draft picks, two of which came from trades with the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders for Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn, respectively? Does he use the three picks as trade bait and attempt to leverage the Blues into the top three picks, or does he use the three picks and try to reel in a giant fish? Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators comes to mind.
The Blues currently hold the 11th, 15th, and 31st picks of the first round. They have a 3% chance of winning the draft lottery, and while a long shot, stranger things have happened.
Does anyone remember the 1993 NBA Draft lottery when the Orlando Magic won with a 1.52% chance of winning? They had already won the year before and took eventual Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal out of LSU, and ended up taking Michigan sophomore forward standout Chris Webber in ’93. Later in the draft, the Magic traded Webber to Golden State for Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, who would form quite the one-two punch with O’Neal with the Magic in the mid-90’s.
Now, let’s say the Blues miraculously win the lottery and get the first overall pick. Does Armstrong take McKenna, or does he take Stenberg?
My head says Stenberg due to his blood relations to Otto while my heart says McKenna due to his overwhelming superstar potential. The Blues can’t go wrong either way, as both McKenna and Stenberg have all the boxes checked as far as game-changing players go.
Stenberg brings great hockey sense to the table; McKenna’s puck vision is outstanding. McKenna elevates the game of those playing around him, which could help someone like Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, who regressed this past year with 18 goals and 46 points after he potted 36 goals and 70 points in 2024-’25.
If the Blues fail to win the lottery and there’s a really good chance that they will, they could just hold onto their picks and draft according to their order. While there are good players available where the Blues are slotted, they are currently ranked 10th overall in the team prospect rankings.
With youngsters like Justin Carbonneau, Adam Jiricek, Felix Trudeau, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, and Lukas Fischer potentially on the horizon, the Blues could have a situation where they will need to stock more talent into their prospect pipeline to keep things running smoothly for upcoming seasons to come.
Army could also use the draft picks to make a couple of splashes, which he loves to do. Would Army consider packaging all three picks to move up into the top three? It’s tempting. After McKenna and Stenberg, there’s six-foot-four defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, who just came off a fine season at the University of North Dakota, where he finished up with six goals and 20 points in 36 games. He could give the Blues another offensive/defensive weapon to go along with current defenseman Philip Broberg. Something the Blues haven’t had since the days of Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk.
Now here’s where Armstrong could blow the lid off the entire draft. Would Army consider moving all three draft picks and a player off the current roster in exchange for the Senators’ young power forward, Tkachuk? Here’s where it gets fun to analyze a potential deal that could make sense for both sides. NHL expert Scott Wheeler currently has the Blues sitting 10 th in the NHL prospect rankings, while he ranks the Senators 26th overall.
If the Blues fail to win the lottery and there’s a really good chance that they will, they could just hold onto their picks and draft. Those three picks could certainly help the Sens fill a depleted cupboard, while the Blues would get the highly coveted scoring power forward they’ve been missing since the days of David Backes in Tkachuk.
Does Armstrong cast his reel in hopes Ottawa bites on the bait? What about a potential deal of the three draft picks and Kyrou in exchange for Tkachuk? Yes, Kyrou had an off year, but he is a three-time 30-goal scorer and three-time 70-point scorer.
Tkachuk has topped 70 twice, but he does bring size and physicality, which is something that the Blues have been lacking since winning the Stanley Cup in 2019. Not only would Tkachuk inject new life into the Blues roster, but he would also inject excitement into the fanbase.
Tkachuk’s dad, the great Keith Tkachuk, played for the Blues for nine seasons and is one of the all-time great power forwards to play the game. Brady plays just like his dad and his brother Matthew, who currently plays for the Florida Panthers. Brady and Matthew spent the majority of their childhood and teenage years in St. Louis.
To me, Brady Tkachuk and the St. Louis Blues fit like a glove.
At the end of the day, Doug Armstrong is standing at the crossroads with three paths in front of him: build for tomorrow, gamble for today, or swing for something bigger than both. The beauty and the pressure of it all is that there’s no clear right answer.
So what would you do, Army? Turn to page 11… or rip the whole book up and write your own ending??