The Blues have a Cam Fowler problem

In the midst of a three-game losing streak, the St. Louis Blues have tumbled down the standings. With all of 16 points to show for their 7-8-2 record, they're seventh in the Central Division--above only the miserable Chicago Blackhawks--and the fourth worst team in the entire Western Conference. It's looking like a long, bleak season.

There is plenty of blame to go around: the team's top players underperforming, a lack of answers from the coaching staff, stagnated development, and injuries on defense, to name a few. However, one weak link in particular should be concerning to fans: Cam Fowler.

What's gone wrong?

That's a bit of a loaded question because, aside from Fowler's initial stint with the Blues after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks, he's been underwhelming. That stretch of 51 games in the 2024-25 season made then-general manager Doug Armstrong look like a genius; Fowler'd been declining rapidly in Anaheim and looked washed, but became arguably the Blues' best defenseman in short order. Armstrong rewarded him with a three-year, $6.1-million AAV extension a year before his contract even expired.

Boy, does that look like a misstep in hindsight.

Ironically, Fowler's underlying statistics so far this year are slightly above last season's final numbers: at 5-on-5, he's gone from a 48.79 CF% to a 49.42 CF, and a 48.48 xGF% to 50.09 xGF% pet Natural Stat Trick. He's basically break even. So why all the frustration?

Partially it's a symptom of a larger issue with the way the Blues' defense is constructed. Philip Broberg is clearly the top dog, but after that it gets muddy--Colton Parayko and Brandon Carlo have both had turns on the first pair, but the skater with the second most ice time after Broberg is, in fact, Fowler, averaging 21:19 per game. That's a heavy workload for a 34-year old, and his minus-9 goal differential is the worst of all Blues defensemen, and second to Connor McMichael's team-worst minus-10. Fowler's four points--all assists--doesn't help matters, either. He's clearly no longer capable of handling that sort of role.

Is there a fix?

The hope is that Logan Mailloux's return from injury will slot the defense better: Parayko on the top pair with Broberg, Mailloux with Justin Barron, and Carlo with Fowler on the third pair. The problem is that leaves Adam Jiricek out of the lineup, and he's been one of the Blues' better defensemen--certainly better than Fowler.

If the Blues want to ice the best possible defense group, a healthy scratch for Fowler may be the solution. That does mess with the handedness (Barron, Mailloux, Jiricek and Parayko are all righties), but it's generally less of an issue than NHL coaches like to make it out to be. That's a short-term solution: let Jiricek get some more NHL experience, allow Mailloux to work his way back into a top-four role, and give Fowler a reset.

Long term, things get more complicated. Fowler has two additional seasons on his contract with a full No-Trade Clause until January 1, 2029--the middle of the final year. If Fowler ends up being an overpaid third-pair defenseman, you can live with it; the probelm is he's trending towards not even being that, and the contract has the Blues handcuffed. To have any hope of contending, the Blues need to find the right role for Fowler, fast.