The St. Louis Blues have made a lot of noise this summer, altering the core of their team drastically. It was clear that the Blues had to make some type of change after yet another early round playoff exit at the hands of the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2015 playoffs.

The move which has attracted the most attention was the trading of T.J. Oshie to the Washington Capitals. This was a tough move for the Blues to make, but it allowed them to clear some crucial salary cap space, and they were able to give Vladimir Tarasenko an eight-year, $60 million deal. Along with Tarasenko, the Blues were able sign multiple forwards, including Dimitrij Jaskin and free agent Kyle Brodziak, both to one year deals. The Blues also re-signed Magnus Paajarvi to a one-year deal, and gave Jori Lehtera a three-year extension. In return from the Capitals, the Blues received forward Troy Brouwer who should fit in perfectly on the Backes line. The “STL” line of Jaden Schwartz, Tarasenko and Lehtera is now the Blues top line, but the hard hitting and veteran presence of Brouwer, Backes and Alexander Steen will provide good leadership and energy for the rest of the team.

The Oshie trade was a tough move to make, but the Blues were rewarded with financial options for the rest of their forward core. The Blues were able to re-sign/extend five solid forwards while also acquiring another in the initial trade, all for the departure of Oshie. That is a win for St. Louis.

The Blues parted ways with free agent defenseman Zbynek Michalek and Barret Jackman. Both players were extremely reliable defensemen, but with both of them in their thirties it made little sense to sign the aged pair to long-term extensions and miss out on signing younger players who will provide more potential for the future. This was the right move, and it allowed the Blues to re-sign defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to a two-year deal.

In net, the Blues chose to re-sign free agent Jake Allen to a two-year deal. Along with Allen, the Blues acquired prospect goaltender Pheonix Copley from Washington as part of the T.J. Oshie trade. Copley (22) is a promising young net minder who recorded a mark of 17-4-3 with the Hershey Bears (AHL) last season. With two years of experience in the minors, the Blues may look to promote Copley to Allen’s backup in 2015-16, and if Allen struggles he may just become the Blues’ next starter.

With the core of the team altered, the Blues now have four solid lines with a young and promising defensive core. This summer the Blues made the right moves to allow their team to be competitive in both the present and future. For that, the Blues get an A- as their free agency grade.