Jake Neighbours has built his reputation on being the kind of winger every coach wants in the room and on the ice. He finishes checks, he competes hard, and he brings a jolt every time he hops over the boards.
But with a contract year underway, the Blues need more than the energy. They need the goals that once made him such a valuable piece.
At 24, Neighbours carries a $3.75 million cap hit and is headed for restricted free agency after this season, which gives him only a limited window to strengthen his case. So far, his physical edge is still very much intact.
Through 17 games, he has 52 hits at even strength, a little more than three per night, up from two a game last season. He has also picked up 20 penalty minutes, though that comes with the territory for the way he plays.
The issue is production. Neighbours scored 27 goals in his first full NHL season, then followed that with 22, which helped lock him into a top-nine role rather than leaving him as a depth option.
Last season, though, that total slipped to 15. This year, he has four goals and is on pace for another 20-goal season, but the broader offensive dip is hard to ignore.
That slide is showing up in the underlying numbers, too. Two seasons ago, Neighbours was getting about seven shots on net for every hour he played at five-on-five.
This season, that rate has fallen to just over four. Less shooting has meant less scoring, and the drop in goals has followed naturally.
The Blues have also been spending more time defending when he is out there. They are controlling just under 46 percent of the shot attempts with him on the ice, a step back from last season’s mark of above 49 percent, which was the best of his young career.
There is still time for the picture to change. Seventeen games is a small sample, and one strong stretch could swing things back in his favor.
Four of his nine points have come on the power play, and that special-teams production helps, but it will not be enough on its own. Neighbours has to show he can drive offense at five-on-five again if he wants this season to carry real weight in his next contract negotiation.
The Blues do have other wing options coming through the system, but none are truly pressing him for his spot. Aleksanteri Kaskimäki has been trying to stick in the NHL and has spent most of his time on the fourth line, while Otto Stenberg has bounced between St. Louis and the Springfield Thunderbirds without showing the same jump that helped him hold the role last season.
That means Neighbours still brings something the Blues need. His versatility and edge can lift a lineup that sometimes needs a spark.
But if he wants to turn that usefulness into something more lasting, he has to rediscover the offensive touch that produced 27 goals in 2023-24. That is the difference between being a valuable winger and becoming a true foundation piece.
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