Bolduc Is Still a Restricted Free Agent. That's Worth Noting in St. Louis.

Zachary Bolduc, the Blues' 2021 first-round pick, remains without an NHL contract as Montreal works to re-sign him as a restricted free agent. It's a Montreal problem right now, not a St. Louis one. But it's the kind of item that lingers a little when you're covering a team that has spent this summer trading draft picks for established players rather than watching its own picks develop into them.

The Blues moved Bolduc at some point before he landed in Montreal, and the transaction is what it is. Organizations make those calls. But with St. Louis now carrying a six-year, $40.5 million commitment to Connor McMichael, a significant trade for Mason McTavish, and a defensive acquisition in Brandon Carlo who still has no return timeline, the roster math depends almost entirely on acquired players delivering. The homegrown pipeline — the part that's supposed to give a rebuild its floor — is thinner than you'd like it to be heading into camp.

None of this is a crisis on its own. Tynan Lawrence is in the system after being drafted 11th overall this summer, and Jimmy Snuggerud showed enough last season to suggest the development track isn't empty. But Bolduc sitting unsigned in Montreal is a small, quiet reminder of what the Blues gave away to get where they are — and where they are still isn't the playoffs.