The St. Louis Blues haven’t been a regular fixture in the Stanley Cup playoffs lately, but this season has a different feel to it. Better young talent, a handful of fresh additions, and a lineup that suddenly has more bite could make them a team nobody wants to run into by next April.
Start with Jimmy Snuggerud, who looks ready to keep climbing. The 22-year-old Minnesota standout put together a strong sophomore NHL season, finishing with 21 goals and 30 assists for 51 points in 70 games in 2025-26.
He gives the Blues a dangerous right-side weapon, especially alongside centre Robert Thomas and left wing Dylan Holloway. That trio has the look of a real scoring line, and Snuggerud’s one-timer power is what makes him such a breakout candidate.
One wrinkle: the league is moving to 84 games for the first time since 1993-94, so there’s even more room for players like him to make noise.
Holloway might be the other half of that young offensive punch. Since arriving from Edmonton with Philip Broberg, he’s turned into a major piece for St.
Louis. In 2025-26, he scored 22 goals and added 29 assists for 51 points in just 59 games, giving him a second straight 20-goal season.
His first year in St. Louis was even more productive in raw totals, with 26 goals and 37 assists for 63 points in 2024-25.
The numbers point to a player who could have done even more if not for missed time. If he stays healthy and gets through all 84 games, a 30-goal season is on the table, and that kind of year can put a player in All-Star territory.
The Blues also made sure to add more help this offseason. Mason McTavish comes over from Anaheim after posting 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points last season.
The year before, he was at 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points. He’s only 23, so there’s still plenty of room for growth.
Connor McMichael also joins the mix after being swapped for Jordan Kyrou, and he brings six years of NHL experience plus numbers similar to McTavish over the last two seasons. Both are expected to fit into St.
Louis’ secondary scoring line with Pavel Buchnevich, with McMichael on the left side and McTavish at center.
In net, Joel Hofer has made a real case to take over the starter’s job from Jordan Binnington. Since the middle of last season, Hofer has pushed hard for more responsibility, and the numbers back it up.
He appeared in 46 games to Binnington’s 41 and went 24-13-5, while Binnington finished 13-20-7. Hofer also posted a 2.61 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage, both better than Binnington’s 3.33 and .873.
The 26-year-old Winnipeg native is in his sixth season, and how much he plays this year could go a long way toward deciding where St. Louis ends up.
Jim Montgomery’s group also has reason to believe the late-season surge can carry over. The Blues caught fire after the Olympic break and looked like a wild-card team before the momentum faded.
Now, after a full offseason, Montgomery has a roster that feels more balanced, with a rebuilt power play, added depth, and a top line that looks dangerous. Broberg gives the defense another boost, Colton Parayko is still in the mix, and the whole team has a chance to be a serious spoiler in a deep division.
In Other News...
Blues Could Be Headed For A Brutal Goalie Decision
A hypothetical 2027 expansion draft would force the Blues to start thinking well ahead about how they would handle their goaltending, and the conversation gets complicated fast under a 7-3-1 protection setup. St. Louis would already be juggling difficult decisions at several spots on the roster, but the net is where the tension really sharpens because both Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington would be part of the calculation.
Jordan Binningtons age and contract timeline make this more than a simple depth-chart debate, and the Blues could find themselves facing a choice between protecting short-term stability and preserving long-term value. If an expansion draft ever does land on that schedule, the front office may have to decide whether to move on from Binnington earlier rather than risk a scenario where he is left exposed and the Blues get nothing back. [Read more 🡒]
Blues May Have A Center Debate That Changes Their Future
The Blues have spent the offseason reshaping their forward group, and the additions of Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael give them a different kind of center depth than they had before. With Robert Thomas already anchoring the middle, the possibility of keeping Dalibor Dvorsky at center instead of sliding him to the wing suddenly looks less like a developmental footnote and more like a roster decision with real long-term value.
St. Louis wants a lineup that can flex through the middle with Thomas, McTavish and Dvorsky, rather than forcing one of its young pieces out of position just to make the puzzle fit. That approach would also let the Blues keep prospect Tynan Lawrence on a slower developmental track, while the bigger question remains whether Dvorsky is best served by staying where he is or taking on a new role for the sake of balance elsewhere on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Entering A New Era With One Huge Leadership Decision Ahead
The Blues are heading into a rare stretch of uncertainty at the top of the organizational ladder, and it is one of the bigger signs that a new era is taking shape. For the first time since 1996-97, St. Louis will begin a season without a captain, forcing the club to decide how it wants to define its next leadership core as the roster continues to evolve.
Several names are in the mix, including Robert Thomas, Jake Neighbours, Philip Broberg, Jimmy Snuggerud and Colton Parayko, with a few others still lingering as long shots. The bigger question now is not just who gets the job, but when the Blues decide to make it official, since there is a growing sense around the team that a pre-season announcement would make sense if the choice is clear enough. [Read more 🡒]