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While Stanley Cup contenders made blockbuster move ahead of the NHL trade deadline, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong sensibly stood pat.

The franchise still operates on two tracks: retooling to a younger roster nucleus over the next few years while also trying to stay in the playoff chase this season.

The Blues veered off the latter track after the holiday break but got back on the right path after the 4 Nations Face-Off break. That season-altering surge inspired Armstrong to correctly keep his key veterans when other teams came calling.

This team is finally establishing its collective will to compete and execute under coach Jim Montgomery.

“We’ve established an identity,� Blues winger Jake Neighbours noted Tuesday. “We understand what it is that we do that makes us successful. When you start doing that consistently, it becomes fun. Then eventually it becomes just second (nature). You don’t even notice that you’re doing it, it just happens.�

That’s an elusive quality many retooling teams fail to gain year after year. Ask the long-struggling Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings about that.

The Blues hope to maintain that collective will as it blends in key prospects. Developing Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg, Theo Lindstein, Adam Jiricek, et al within a strong team culture will be paramount.

That certainly looks doable. Here’s just one example: Consider the progress young defenseman Tyler Tucker has made with the help of Ryan Suter’s mentoring.

But here’s the bad news: While the Blues keep moving in the right direction on their two tracks, they have lost ground to their most powerful rival.

The Dallas Stars were the big winner ahead of the trade deadline, adding superstar winger Mikko Rantanen to an already loaded team while locking him into an eight-year, $96 million contract.

Now the Moose is loose in the Metroplex. This is really bad news for teams on this side of the league.

The Stars already had terrific structure, culture and talent. Now they have added a game-breaker in his prime, one of the top 10 forward talents in the game.

Rantanen is 28. So is center Roope Hintz. Goaltender Jake Oettinger is 26. Winger Jason Robertson and defenseman Miro Heiskanen are 25. Thomas Harley is 23. Center Wyatt Johnston is 21.

Now that is a team nucleus that will produce enduring success.

Rantanen failed to reach a contract extension agreement with the Colorado Avalanche, a perennial contender that must invest staggering sums in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar going forward. Long-term budgeting for three superstars is difficult.

That’s why Avalanche shipped Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in a bold trade well ahead of the trade deadline. That move ultimately triggered a sweeping reload.

They salvaged a tough situation while getting skilled winger Martin Necas in return at a manageable $6.5 million salary cap number through next season.

The ’Lanche also got forward Jack Drury in that deal, then they upgraded their depth for this playoff run by adding goal-scoring center Brock Nelson, sturdy No. 3 center Charlie Coyle and defenseman Ryan Lindgren, among others, with subsequent moves.

To the surprise of nobody paying attention, Rantanen declined to sign an extension with the Hurricanes. With unrestricted free agency on his horizon, why would he commit to a grind-it-out team playing in the Raleigh market?

“When he showed, he said, ‘There’s four teams I’ll go play for, but you’re not one of them,’� recalled Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour.

Ouch. Rantanen welcomed his subsequent trade to the offensively talented, Finn-friendly Stars in dynamic Dallas. He took less money from that team than what the Hurricanes offered.

There is no state income tax in Texas, so he was comfortable making “only� $12 million on his average annual value on this new deal when the marketplace might have yielded $14 million from a lesser team with huge cap space.

Now the reloaded Stars seem destined for a first-round Central Division showdown with the reinforced Avalanche.

While the Stars have a long-term talent edge on the Avalanche, Colorado should have some staying power if it retains Necas (26 years old) to stick with Makar (26) and MacKinnon (29) for seasons to come.

In the near term, the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights are all formidable. In the long term, they will all be chasing the Stars.

So will the Blues, who took a big step last summer by adding Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to the nucleus of Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours and the recently emerging Zack Bolduc.

Moving forward, the Blues must develop their prospects, clear some big contracts, lock Holloway and Broberg into longer-term deals and add more prime-age star power.

While the Blues have stayed within range of the No. 8 playoff spot this season, the top of the Western Conference looks much further away.