The St. Louis Blues have been linked to Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin for a while now, but the clock is ticking on that possibility. With preseason set to begin in just nine days, a deal feels less and less likely to come together before camp opens.
That has opened the door to another name: Boston Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei.
Lohrei would not come with the same pedigree as Nikishin, but he does bring a profile that makes sense for St. Louis.
He is cheaper to acquire, carries a more manageable $3.2 million AAV, and offers the kind of left-side help the Blues are clearly chasing. At 6-foot-5, he has the size teams want on the back end, along with puck-moving ability and offensive upside.
The 25-year-old has already logged 191 NHL games, and his production has been solid. He scored seven goals and totaled 26 points in 73 games last season, then followed that with five goals and 33 points in 77 games in 2024-25.
Even so, his role in Boston slipped as the year went on. His average ice time fell to 16:54 after sitting at 19:32 the season before.
Lohrei recently said he would love to stay in Boston and compete for his spot, but that battle is getting crowded. The Bruins have nine defensemen with NHL experience, and their left side already includes Nikita Zadorov and Hampus Lindholm, which makes the path to steady minutes even steeper.
That’s part of why St. Louis keeps showing up in this conversation.
The Blues are trying to reinforce their left side, and right now the options there come with plenty of uncertainty. Philip Broberg is their top left-handed defenseman.
After him, the picture gets murkier. Cam Fowler struggled during the 2025-26 season and looked more comfortable in a third-pairing role.
Tyler Tucker has not developed into more than a bottom-pairing option. Theo Lindstein is only 21, and the organization could decide he still needs more time in the AHL.
It makes sense, then, that GM Alexander Steen is keeping tabs on the market for defensemen who are around 25 and already established at the NHL level.
Lohrei fits that mold. He would be a strong fit behind Broberg both now and down the road, and his mix of size, skating and offensive touch lines up well with what the Blues want. NHL EDGE data also showed strong skating results in 2025-26, with Lohrei landing in the 66th percentile in max skating speed.
The buzz around him and St. Louis is still only marginal for now, but if the Blues’ search for help on the blue line intensifies, Lohrei looks like a name worth watching.
In Other News...
Blues Rebuild Could Hit A Turning Point With Another Snuggerud Scenario
The Blues are heading into what looks like a developmental season, and that makes Springfield worth watching as much as St. Louis. With the NHL roster expected to lean on youth and patience, the organization already has a few names in the pipeline, and the familiar path from the minors to a bigger role should feel a lot more real than it did a year ago.
Jimmy Snuggeruds late-2024-25 promotion provided a useful template for how quickly a prospect can move when the right opening appears, and the same kind of opportunity could surface again if the Blues need help during the season. For now, the timing remains tied to both roster need and performance, which keeps the door open without saying exactly when or for whom it will swing first. [Read more 🡒]
Blues May Already Have Berggrens Long Term Roster Threat Waiting
Jonatan Berggren has settled in as a depth winger for St. Louis after being claimed off waivers from Detroit and signing a one-year contract, but his long-term place on the roster may already have a clock attached to it. The Blues like the skill Berggren brings, yet his deal runs only through the 2026-27 season, which means his situation is going to keep coming back into focus as the organization maps out the next few years.
One name that sits in the background of that discussion is Dmitry Buchelnikov, a Russian winger still under contract with CSKA Moscow. Because of that arrangement, he would not be in position to come to North America until 2027, leaving the Blues with a possible future decision point right as Berggren approaches free agency. If that path develops the way the club hopes, St. Louis could be weighing whether to keep Berggren around or use his rights elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Former Blues Favorites Just Earned A Special Place In Hockey History
Two former Blues standouts are heading for a place in hockey history, a reminder of how much talent has passed through St. Louis over the years. USA Hockey announced its Hall of Fame Class of 2026, and the list includes forward T.J. Oshie and defenseman Ryan Suter, both long familiar names to Blues fans even though their careers ultimately took them in different directions.
Oshie arrived in St. Louis as a first-round pick and became a fixture for the club, playing 443 games before wrapping up his NHL career in 2024-25. Suter, meanwhile, built a marathon career that stretched across several teams and 1,526 regular-season games, and his induction also adds another chapter to a family already packed with Hall of Fame recognition. [Read more 🡒]