Will St. Louis re-sign their two remaining RFAs before the start of the season?
July is almost over and August is right around the corner. Soon the leaves will start to change colors and September will roll around. And with it comes training camp season.
The St. Louis Blues have their roster set for the 2024-25 season, barring any surprising trades, and there most certainly be a lot of jockeying for a spot on the team’s opening night roster on Oct. 8 against the Seattle Kraken.
However, while everyone was enjoying their summer breaks, two players from the organization soaked up the sun with uncertainty regarding their status with the team.
Forwards Nikita Alexandrov and Mikhail Abramov are the remaining two RFAs for St. Louis who do not have a contract for the 2024-25 season. Both players were qualified before free agency opened up.
Surely, both players aren’t holding out because of contract negotiations. It is more likely that either Alexandrov and Abramov are concerned about where they will play next season, or the organization is putting more value in their younger prospects and pushing those two down the depth charts.
Alexandrov, 23, has had a sniff of what it is like to play in the NHL over the last two years. He’s suited up in 51 games for St. Louis, recording nine points, and averaging around 7 to 10 minutes on most nights.
Nikita turns 24 in September and he has proven that he is a top-line AHL player for the Springfield Thunderbirds, collecting 45 points in his last 48 AHL games.
There’s a good chance that the Russian center wants to find a new home where he will be given a better opportunity to play more consistently and more minutes on an NHL team's fourth line.
The Blues have a lot of players scheduled to compete to make the team’s roster. Players like Kasperi Kapanen, Oskar Sundqvist, Dalibor Dvorsky, Zachary Bolduc, and Nathan Walker will be competing against one another for the last two forward spots.
Abramov, 23, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019. The Blues acquired him as part of the return that sent Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari to the Six in 2023.
Mikhail’s playing future isn’t as cloudy as Alexandrov’s.
It was reported back on Jun. 3 that the Blues forward had signed a one-year deal with the Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of Russia’s KHL.
Abramov grew up playing in Russia before switching to play for the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL in 2018. In the 2020-21 season, he captained the Tigres to win the QMJHL Championship.
The Russian centerman had a solid season with the Springfield Thunderbirds last year with 36 points in 59 games. He was rated as a B- prospect and had the offensive skills and playmaking vision to one day reach his NHL potential of becoming a bottom-six contributor.
St. Louis will hold onto his rights while he plays out the 2024-25 season in the KHL and keep a close eye on his development.
Abramov could return for the 2025-26 season if he puts together a strong season over in his home country and shows progression in becoming a better two-way player and harder to play against.