2025-26 Puck Drop Preview: St. Louis Blues

Last Word on Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2025-26 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team’s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We’ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2025-26 St. Louis Blues.

2025-26 St. Louis Blues

2024-25 Season

The Blues entered the 2024-25 season expecting to continue their retool. However, general manager Doug Armstrong took advantage of some opportunities to expedite the process. In a bold move, offer sheets were tendered to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, each of whom had breakout seasons with the Blues. Next, Jim Montgomery was hired as head coach, replacing Drew Bannister. The last big domino was acquiring veteran defenceman Cam Fowler in December.

Behind the newcomers and returning faces, the Blue Note finished the season 44-30-8, clinching their first playoff spot since the 2021-22 season. However, the Blues lost in the opening round, including losing a 3-1 lead in the final two minutes of Game 7 to the Winnipeg Jets.

Jordan Kyrou led the Blues with 34 goals. Robert Thomas led the team in points with 78. Between the pipes, Jordan Binnington led the team with 27 wins, while Joel Hofer led with a 2.64 goals against average.

2025 Offseason

Forwards Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad joined the Blues over the summer. Joel Hofer was given a contract extension, keeping the Blues’ goaltender tandem together.

The team’s most significant move came via trade. Young forward Zachary Bolduc was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenceman Logan Mailloux. It was a surprising move at the time, given Bolduc’s production last season. However, the Blues do have quite a few forwards on the roster, with other young players likely to factor into the lineup this season. As such, Armstrong deemed it appropriate to deal the young Bolduc for a defenceman who has promise once he develops.

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud

Dylan Holloway – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou

Jake Neighbours – Pius Suter – Nick Bjugsatd

Alexey Toropchenko – Oskar Sundqvist – Nathan Walker

Top Six

After back-to-back seasons of over 80 points, the question for Thomas is, can he reach 100? Thomas is the Blues’ playmaker and can carry the offence with his puck handling. Buchnevich, meanwhile, saw his stats dip slightly last season, but still scored 20 goals and should be counted on to score 20+ again. Finally, Snuggerud enters his first full season in the NHL, including his first training camp with the Blues. Snuggerud got some NHL time last year, including the playoffs.

The second line features Kyrou, the Blues’ best scorer. Kyrou will be counted on for another 30+ goals and 65+ assists. The Blues would love to see him reach the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career. Joining Kyrou is Holloway, who had great chemistry last season with Kyrou. Holloway will look to build on his breakout season from last year. Centering that line is projected to the captain, Brayden Schenn. Schenn may be 34 years old, but he is coming off another 50-point season and continues to prove his worth to the Blues.

Bottom Six

It is a testament to the Blues’ depth that Neighbours, a back-to-back 20+ goal-scorer, is on the third line. He will be alongside another scorer, the newcomer Pius Suter. Suter is coming off a 25-goal season on a Vancouver team where he did not have the most flashy linemates. Playing alongside Neighbours should help Suter’s states increase. Bjugstad is projected to be the right winger on this third line. In addition to adding depth and size to the bottom six, Bjugstad is just a season separated from scoring 22 goals in 2023-24.

On the fourth line, the Blues will hope Walker can provide the spark he did last season. Sundqvist will centre the third line, returning to a role he had success with during the Blues’ 2019 run to the Stanley Cup. Lastly, Toropchenko will bring additional size to the fourth line. This third line has the potential to provide a big spark for the Blues.

Defence

Cam Fowler – Colton Parayko

Philip Broberg – Justin Faulk

Tyler Tucker – Logan Mailloux

Top Four

Parayko is coming off one of his best seasons as a Blue. He set career highs in goals and points. The 32-year-old settled into his role as the Blues’ top defenceman, something the Blues have really not had since Alex Pietrangelo left. Fowler will enter his first full season with the Blues seeking to build off his success last season. Furthermore, Fowler enters the new season seven points away from 500.

Broberg scored eight goals and added 29 points last season and was a strong defender. However, his offence was streaky. He recorded 12 points in his first 15 games before recording just 17 the other way. The Blues will look for a little more consistency in his offence. As for Faulk, he is 33, and age is starting to catch up to him. However, he can still be a leader among the youth in the locker room. On the ice, as long as he is not a detriment in the defensive zone and can help create opportunities in the offensive zone, the Blues will be satisfied.

Bottom Pair

Tucker set a career high in games played last season with 38. He is likely to see a bigger role this season. Tucker is a tall defenceman who is not afraid to be physical. That is a good combination for a bottom-pair defenceman. Mailloux, meanwhile, is the wild card of the Blues’ defensive depth. There is a lot of offensive upside. Mailloux will be an interesting player to watch, to say the least.

Goalies

Jordan Binnington

Joel Hofer

At age 32, Binnington is still the backbone of the team. The key for Binnington this season will be to avoid the slumps he had early and in the middle of last season. Consistency early on from Binnington could help the Blues improve their playoff position late in the season. However, once the lights are at their brightest, it is a safe bet Binnington will be rising to the occasion.

Hofer, meanwhile, will look to continue to develop. He has been a strong goalie the last two seasons, earning starts during the push for the playoffs. Hofer has played in at least 30 games each of the previous two seasons, and we expect that to continue this year.

Players to Watch

Jimmy Snuggerud

Blues fans were excited when Snuggerud joined the Blues late last season. Fans saw flashes of what Snuggerud can do on offence. Now, with a whole training camp this year, what could be in store for the rookie’s season? He will be playing on a line that will generate goals, primarily from Robert Thomas’s puck-handling skills.

Barret Jackman is the last Blue to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Could Snuggerud make a run at the trophy this year?

Colton Parayko

Can Parayko replicate his success from last season? Had it not been for an injury, Parayko likely would have scored 20+ goals. The Blues have been lacking a number-one defenceman. Parayko was that last season. If he can be that again, it will help the Blues as they look to return to the playoffs. 

Parayko may never be someone who gets looks in the Norris Trophy conversation. Still, he definitely has a significant role to play for the Blues this season. 

Predictions for 2025-26 St. Louis Blues

The Blues did not lose any major pieces this summer. In fact, they approved in some areas. As a result, the expectations for the Blues this season should be to make the playoffs again. The team boasts a nice combination of core players, youth, reliable goaltending, and a strong coaching staff. Anything short of a playoff berth should be considered a disappointment.

However, what is the ceiling for the Blues? The Central Division will be talented, but the Blues held their own last season against the division. Could the Blues sneak out of the wild card spot and grab one of the top-three spots in the division? Could they even find a way to earn home-ice advantage for the first round? 

The Blues should be a playoff team this season. Do not be surprised if they are higher in the standings than they were last season.