NHL: St Louis Blues – 2025/2026 recap
St. Louis finished the season on 86 points and in fifth place in the Central Division, missing the playoffs despite a second half that looked nothing like the first. After the Olympic break, the team produced one of the best defensive records in the league, a sharp contrast to a rough start. The youngsters made their mark too, with the most goals by rookies in the NHL.
Key data
2025-2026 record: 37-33-12 (231 goals for, 258 against)
2025-2026 NHL standing: 5th in the Central Division
Top scorer 2025-2026: Robert Thomas (25)
Top assister 2025-2026: Robert Thomas (39)
Top points scorer 2025-2026: Robert Thomas (64)
Average age of roster (2026-2027): 27,6 years
Available cap space (2026-2027): 4.37M$
Recent moves (off-season)
Arrivals:
- Connor Mcmichael (F)
- Brando Carlo (D)
- Mason McTavish (F)
- Ross Johnston (F)
Departures:
- Jordan Kyrou (F)
Franchise outlook
St Louis Blues – future contracts and draft picks
St. Louis has clearly decided to push now rather than wait around. The front office tweaked the attack this summer, sending Jordan Kyrou out for Connor McMichael before bringing in Mason McTavish from Anaheim at a steep price: two first-round picks. That move split opinion. McTavish is coming off a disappointing year, but he was still the No 3 pick for a reason, and he brings the sort of offensive centre presence this lineup badly needed.
At the back, it is about continuity and young legs, with Philip Broberg an established pillar and prospects like Logan Mailloux and Theo Lindstein expected to take on bigger roles. In net, the handover is official: Joel Hofer earned the No 1 job after a dazzling second half (.931 save percentage after the Olympic break), pushing Jordan Binnington, who was unrecognisable last season and posted the league’s worst goals saved above expected mark, into a backup role in the final year of his deal.
On contracts, the core is young and locked in for the long haul, with Robert Thomas, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway all tied up through 2030-31 or beyond. The draft cupboard took a hit in the McTavish deal, but the club still keeps a first-round pick every year through 2029. The message is plain enough: St. Louis thinks this group is ready to follow up, even top, last year’s late surge.
The surge needs backing up
St. Louis lived two seasons in one. Up to the Olympic break, the Blues were stuck near the foot of the standings, looking more like a lottery team than a playoff side, with a defence allowing more than 3.5 goals a game – among the worst marks in the league.
Then, almost overnight, everything flipped. The defence tightened into the best in the league, Joel Hofer turned into a brick wall in goal with a save percentage close to .930, and Jimmy Snuggerud erupted for 21 goals as a rookie, carrying a huge chunk of the offence along the way. The problem was timing. The turnaround came far too late to save the season, and the club still missed out on the playoffs by a whisker.
This time, the question is not whether the talent is there. They showed just how dominant they can look over a long stretch. The real test is whether they can bring that level from October, not wait until March when the race is already halfway gone. Mason McTavish gives them more down the middle, even if he cost plenty in draft capital, and Jim Montgomery remains in charge despite the disappointment, which at least offers some stability. Now St. Louis has to prove it can do it for 82 games, not just wake up for the final 40.
Player to watch: Joel Hofer (G)
Hofer won the starting job on merit, not by default. After a tough first half shared with Jordan Binnington, he took full control after the Olympic break, finishing with a save percentage close to .930. This season, there is no fight for starts. The crease is his from opening night.
That also brings a new reality: a much heavier workload, maybe 55 to 60 games, for a team that badly needs strong starts after blowing up its season early last year. He is also playing for his next contract, with his current deal expiring at the end of the season, so the pressure just keeps climbing.
2026-2027 target
Projected St Louis Blues lines 2026-2027
The public line is all ambition. Staios talks about bringing a championship to Ottawa, while Green says his team is closer to winning a Stanley Cup than not. Fine words and all that. But they jar with what actually happened over the summer: the club let go of its captain and most intimidating player, the one who embodied that hard-nosed identity.
A more realistic aim would be to prove last year was no fluke and push for a first playoff series win since 2017, without getting carried away with talk of an immediate title run. If Eklund and the centre depth do not fill the Tkachuk-shaped hole quickly, the gap between the front office script and the action on the ice could become a real source of tension with the fans.
My prediction
St Louis has improved quite a bit this summer, but I still think they are a touch thin beyond the top two lines, unless one genuine star steps up and drags them higher. The end-of-season run was excellent. But they need to carry that form into the new year. They had a similar late-season spark last year, then fell apart the following season. There is talent here, no doubt. Going further still looks tough.
Photo credit: wallpapersafari.com | mariac9
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