Cam Fowler’s first full season in St. Louis has taken an uncomfortable turn.
The Blues paid for the version they got after acquiring the defenseman from the Anaheim Ducks in December of 2024: a player who produced right away, helped push St. Louis back into the playoffs, and finished with 36 points in 51 games.
That stretch led plenty of people to wonder whether the rough years before the trade were more about the Ducks’ environment than Fowler himself. St.
Louis clearly believed enough to lock him in with a three-year extension carrying a $ 6.1 million average annual value. But one season into that deal, the conversation around Fowler has shifted hard.
This year, he has been pushed into a role that doesn’t fit the way he’s usually used. Rather than leaning on him for offense, the Blues have slotted Fowler into a third-pairing job alongside Brandon Carlo.
Head coach Jim Montgomery sees that duo as a stabilizing presence on the blue line, a veteran pair meant to keep things tidy while a younger group gets more exposure. That group includes rookie Adam Jiricek, waiver claim Justin Barron, and Theo Lindstein, the former first-round pick who was recently sent down.
The problem is that Fowler hasn’t delivered the kind of steady game that assignment demands.
Through 10 games, he has four points, with three of those coming in one outing against the Minnesota Wild. His minus-4 is the worst mark among Blues defensemen, and the numbers behind him aren’t much kinder.
Among the 75 defensive pairings that have logged at least 75 minutes together, Fowler and Carlo rank 12th in xGoals Against. That doesn’t tell the whole story on its own, but it matches what the eye test is showing: Fowler has looked a step slower, and that lost burst has shown up in his defensive work.
Add in repeated puck-handling mistakes and shaky decisions that have turned into turnovers, and the picture gets even bleaker.
The Blues are also looking elsewhere on the back end.
They’ve reportedly been in trade conversations for Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin, though that Nikishin pursuit looks less likely after his recent contract extension. At the same time, St.
Louis is expecting help back in the form of Logan Mailloux, who is coming off an upper-body injury. That creates a squeeze, especially with Barron playing well and Jiricek continuing to trend upward.
When Mailloux is ready, the Blues will have a real decision to make. If Fowler keeps scuffling and the younger options keep pushing, he could find himself in the press box or even on the trade block. His upside and age won’t matter nearly as much if his play doesn’t rebound, and the Blues have to decide how much patience they want to show.
There is still time for Fowler to turn it around. The season is young, and roster math can change quickly once injuries start to clear.
But if the current version of Fowler sticks around, and if St. Louis keeps exploring upgrades or leans into the youth movement on defense, he becomes a name to watch.
The question is whether another team would take on two more seasons at his current cap hit. That part, for now, remains unclear.
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The changes do not stop there, either. St. Louis is also tweaking its defensive look, with Brandon Carlo and Philip Broberg set to be paired together for the first time, while Jordan Binnington gets the start in goal. With several players still out injured, the Blues are leaning into a reset that may say plenty about how they view this stretch, even if the bigger answer will have to wait until the puck drops. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Playoff Push May Depend On One Goalie Question
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Binningtons presence still gives the Blues a safety net few teams can match. The Stanley Cup winner is expected to serve as dependable support and help manage the workload over the long haul, which could be a major factor as the season grinds on. The real question for St. Louis is how long this arrangement holds and how well the Blues can keep both goalies in the right rhythm when the games start carrying more weight. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Suddenly Have A Scoring Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Blues had plenty of looks but nothing to show for them in a 2-0 loss to the Canadiens, a game that turned into another frustrating reminder that chances alone are not enough right now. Montreal got goals from Zack Bolduc and Florian Xhekaj, while Jordan Binnington faced a light workload by comparison, stopping 18 of 20 shots in a night where St. Louis never found a way to break through.
St. Louis has now been blanked in back-to-back games, a stretch that is going to sharpen the focus on a lineup that is generating opportunities without finishing them. The Canadiens, meanwhile, kept rolling with their third straight win and fifth straight game with a point, but the bigger takeaway for the Blues is how quickly a scoring issue can become impossible to ignore when the goals dry up twice in a row. [Read more 🡒]