The St. Louis Blues brought in Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael as two of their biggest offseason swings, and both players flashed right away. Lately, though, the goals have dried up.
McMichael opened the year looking like a strong return on the price the Blues paid to land him and the six-year, $6.75 million AAV it took to keep him. In his first six games, he put up two goals and four assists. Since then, he has only two assists over his last nine.
McTavish started even hotter. Over the first 10 games, he delivered six goals and 10 points, exactly the kind of impact St.
Louis was hoping for after giving up two 2026 first-round picks to get him. Since that burst, he has been held without a point.
That slump stings more when you look at what the Blues gave up. Jordan Kyrou has produced five goals and 14 points in 14 games for the Washington Capitals, tying for the team lead in points and ranking third in goals.
The Anaheim Ducks used the 15th overall pick they got in the McTavish deal on Nikita Klepov, who impressed in the preseason, earned a roster spot, then played only four games before being sent to the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. Even so, he appears more developed than many expected.
There is at least some encouraging underlying play from McTavish and McMichael. Their line with Jonatan Berggren has controlled 53.4 percent of the expected goals, according to moneypuck.com.
Individually, McTavish sits ninth on the Blues in Corsi For percentage at 50.28 percent and sixth in expected goals percentage at 52.90 percent at 5-on-5, per naturalstattrick.com. McMichael ranks second on the team in both categories, with a 54.55 percent Corsi For percentage and a 57.02 percent expected goals percentage.
Still, the Blues need the production to catch up with the process, and coach Jim Montgomery is making a lineup tweak to try to spark things. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki is going in for Jonatan Berggren, who will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season.
Kaskimaki will appear in his seventh game, and the 22-year-old Finnish forward has one goal and one assist. Berggren has two goals and five points in 15 games.
The timing matters with the New Jersey Devils coming to town tonight. They have plenty of depth up front and a top-end shot-stopper in Connor Hellebuyck, and they’ve won six of their last seven. If the Blues are going to handle that challenge, they’ll need McTavish and McMichael to start finishing again.
In Other News...
Blues May Have A Quiet Roster Answer Developing In Springfield
One of the quieter developments in the Blues system is unfolding in Springfield, where Jakub Stancl is getting a look in the middle after arriving as a 2024 fourth-round pick. The Thunderbirds have used him as a center as he continues to round out his game, and the shift gives St. Louis a better sense of how his skill set might translate if he keeps moving up the organizational ladder.
For the Blues, the appeal is obvious: a young forward who is learning the defensive side of the position while also getting real work on faceoffs. The results are still a work in progress, but Stancl is showing enough growth to keep the conversation going about whether he can eventually settle into a dependable bottom-six role in St. Louis. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Need A Road Trip Response Before This Slide Gets Worse
The Blues head into their Metropolitan Division road trip looking for a cleaner response after a 3-1 loss to the Rangers, a game that left them needing more finish and more push from their top players. Robert Thomas, Jimmy Snuggerud and Pius Suter are all expected to matter in the next one, and the matchup with New Jersey brings a different kind of test, especially with the Devils carrying a power play that has clicked at 19.1 percent this season.
Jordan Binnington is also part of the conversation as St. Louis sorts out its plan for net, though the Blues have not yet confirmed who will get the start against New Jersey. However they line up, this feels like the kind of early road-game pivot that can either steady a team or let a slide linger, and the Blues could use a sharper answer before the trip starts to define them. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Built For More Bite But One Big Doubt Is Growing
The Blues came into the season with a reputation for wanting more edge, but through 15 games the numbers have not quite matched the image. St. Louis has logged 274 hits, a total that leaves it tied for 25th in the NHL, and some of that drop-off traces back to the lineup shuffling caused by injuries and absences among the clubs more physical players.
With Tyler Tucker still sidelined and Alexey Toropchenko and Ross Johnston also having missed time, the conversation around adding more bite has started to turn toward Springfield. Oskar Sundqvist and Nathan Walker are among the names in the mix, and while that kind of move could help restore some of the teams identity, it is only part of a bigger picture that also includes the power play and the defense. [Read more 🡒]