The Blues’ 2025-26 season ended with a 37-33-12 record, just a few points shy of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, and the margin came against the backdrop of a brutal Central Division. Injuries mattered, but they weren’t the whole story. Some veterans fell short, Jordan Kyrou among them, and some of the younger players simply didn’t progress fast enough to help save the season.
That’s why the spotlight heading into 2026-27 falls hardest on three players in particular. Two of them are new to St.
Louis, and all three sit at the center of what the Blues are trying to build. If this retool is going to work, the team needs its young, high-upside talent to start delivering.
Mason McTavish is the biggest offseason addition so far, and he arrives with the most obvious burden. A third-overall pick in the NHL draft, he has to show the Blues why that pedigree still matters.
His last season with the Anaheim Ducks was a letdown, and the source of that disappointment appears tied in part to Pat Verbeek’s hardball contract negotiations, which left McTavish out of training camp. The result was a season that included a healthy scratch and a move to the wing.
St. Louis paid two first-round picks to get him, so the expectation is simple: he has to prove he was worth the price.
Connor McMichael is in a different kind of pressure spot, but it’s pressure all the same. He came to St.
Louis as a key piece of the Jordan Kyrou trade return, and on paper that means the Blues are asking him to replace a player with a higher offensive ceiling. The hope is that McMichael can rebound to the 26-goal form he showed in 2024-25 after dropping to 14 goals last season.
He also arrives with a new extension in hand, which only sharpens the attention on his first year with the Blues.
Then there’s Logan Mailloux, whose season was a study in extremes. He spent most nights in and out of the lineup, and when he did play, he often saw limited minutes.
By early January, he was sitting at minus-19 through 28 games. But after the Winter Olympic break, the script changed.
Mailloux finished the season as one of St. Louis’ best defensemen, and now the challenge is proving that surge was real.
The Blues’ blue line remains pretty suspect, so they need that late-season version of Mailloux to show up again, not just for a stretch, but as part of his continued development.
In Other News...
Ryan Reaves Is Pushing For One Final NHL Chapter
Ryan Reaves is giving himself one more shot to extend an NHL career that has already spanned 962 games, and the former Blues winger says the finish line he has in mind is a big one. In an interview on TSNs 1050 in Toronto, Reaves said he wants to play another season, has been training all summer and feels his body is holding up well enough to keep going.
For a player who built his reputation on toughness and staying power, the appeal is obvious: one more year would put him within reach of a rare milestone that has long carried weight around the league. The path back, though, may not be simple, and it could require him to work his way into a deal before he gets the chance to chase those final games. [Read more 🡒]
The Central Division Threat Blues Fans Should Fear Most
The Central Division is shaping up as one of the NHLs toughest battlegrounds again, with Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota still setting the standard and Utah emerging as the most obvious new threat. Nashville also looms as a team that could climb back into the mix, which leaves the Blues staring at a division where even a modest step forward can feel hard-earned.
St. Louis should be better on paper next season and at least has a more realistic playoff path than it did a year ago, but the real question is whether the younger group can handle the jump. New arrivals Mason McTavish, Connor McMichael and Brandon Carlo give the roster more substance, yet their fit and the pace of their adjustment may end up deciding whether the Blues are merely improved or suddenly dangerous. [Read more 🡒]