The St. Louis Blues’ top six is starting to take shape for the 2026-27 season, and the most interesting part of the puzzle may be the fit of Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael.
Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud are already established as the top line. That leaves four names in the mix for the second-line trio of spots: McTavish, McMichael, Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Neighbours. It looks like a group that could do real damage, but the final call will come in training camp.
For McTavish and McMichael, the expectation is that both belong in the top six. The real question is whether one settles in at center while the other shifts to the wing. Either way, their arrival is set to matter immediately and well beyond this season.
The Blues have moved on from some older pieces to make room for a younger core, with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou out and McTavish and McMichael in. That new wave fits neatly around a roster that is under 25 everywhere except Thomas.
Both players also bring the kind of traits St. Louis has long valued: speed, grit and 200 feet of effort. Those qualities should make them nightly difference-makers from the start.
There’s also a redemption angle here for both. McTavish had become a key piece for the Anaheim Ducks, but the rise of Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke pushed him out of the picture. McMichael had a chance to stay with the Washington Capitals, but they needed the goal-scoring from Kyrou more.
Now both arrive in St. Louis with a fresh start and a fan base ready to embrace them. The expectation is that each can produce 50+ points, and if they hit the ground running in 2026-27, they could become a major part of what the Blues build next.
In Other News...
Theo Lindstein Faces A Big Blues Test Before 2026-27
Theo Lindstein is headed toward an important checkpoint in his development as the Blues look ahead to the 2026-27 season. The 21-year-old defenseman, taken 29th overall in 2023, already gave the organization a glimpse of his potential during a 17-game NHL stint last spring, and that brief look only sharpened the sense that he could be part of the next wave on the blue line.
The harder part will be turning promise into a full-time job. Lindstein figures to be in the mix for a roster spot, but his path depends on how he stacks up against other defensemen in camp and whether he can earn a role that keeps him in St. Louis rather than shuttling between the NHL and AHL. If he does stick, the Blues will have options for how to use him, and the assignment could help determine just how quickly his offense starts to show at the top level. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Already Facing Doubts About How Far This New Roster Can Go
The early read on the Blues new-look roster is hardly encouraging, at least if you trust the kind of projection models that try to map out a season before the puck even drops. Tankathons latest forecast has St. Louis sliding toward the middle of the lottery picture for the 2027 NHL Draft, a reminder that offseason changes and player development questions do not always add up to immediate progress.
That kind of outlook naturally puts the spotlight on how much stable goaltending and internal growth this group can count on after a summer of turnover. There are enough moving parts to see why the models are cautious, from the way some veterans finished last season to the uncertainty around the younger forwards, but the Blues still have a chance to outplay the numbers if the new roster settles quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Prospect Matthew Mayich Faces A Deeply Concerning Medical Situation
A frightening situation has sent attention far beyond the usual summer workout chatter, with Blues defense prospect Matthew Mayich hospitalized after an off-season session at Arizona State University. Mayich, who had transferred from Clarkson University and was preparing for his first season with the Sun Devils, was in the middle of team-sanctioned outdoor exercises when the episode occurred, adding an urgent and unsettling layer to what should have been standard preseason preparation.
For St. Louis, the concern is obviously first and foremost for Mayichs health, but the circumstances around the workout now matter, too. Arizona State has opened an investigation into what happened, and the scrutiny will linger until more is known about the conditions surrounding the session and the status of a player the Blues selected in the 2023 NHL Draft. [Read more 🡒]