"Since signing Paul Kariya on July 1, 2007, the Blues have been noticeably quiet on the opening day of free agency. In fact, in the last three summers, backup goaltender Ty Conklin in 2009 has been the only player to come in from outside the organization and sign with the club on July 1.

No major additions will be expected today, either, when the NHL kicks off the free-agent frenzy at 11 a.m. The Blues are looking to add a couple of complimentary players to their roster, but with the team still for sale, general manager Doug Armstrong will be studying his budget closely before considering a deal.

"You start with what you know you can accomplish," Armstrong said. "You don't try and attack areas that you know you have no business being in. I know where we're headed, I know how we want to get there. We're going to attack the players that we think fit into where we're at as an organization."

Since the lockout in 2004-05, and the advent of a salary cap in the NHL, there has been a direct correlation between the teams that spend the most and the teams that have enjoyed postseason success. Not all of those winning clubs spend their allotment on July 1, as Boston proved this past year. The Bruins had the sixth-highest payroll in 2010-11 at nearly $60 million, and despite being quiet in free agency, they laid claim to the Stanley Cup earlier this month.

But for a team like the Blues, who have missed the playoffs five of the last six seasons with a young core, can they get over the hump without being a significant player in free agency?

"We're going to have to do that," Armstrong said. "That's our mandate. I believe that we have to use this season to find out, 'Are we building with the right pieces?' Do we have the right core pieces here to take this organization to the next level?'

"The only way you find that out is you put them on the ice in those situations and you see how they respond. I was hoping quite honestly this was going to happen last year, but we had two major injuries that happened, and that's just the way life is. (But) we need to find that out, so we need to know what guys we move forward with or do we have to alter a few players to take a different approach.""