Blues Bet on Youth and Fresh Faces for a New Era

The Blues finished fifth in the Central last season at 37-33-12, outscored by 27 goals and well outside the playoff picture. The front office responded with a genuine reset: new general manager, new additions up front, and a clear commitment to building around a young core. The pieces are more interesting than they were in May, but the division is brutal and the questions are real.

Last season in review

The 2025-26 numbers told a straightforward story: not enough offence, not enough consistency in goal. St. Louis scored 230 times and allowed 258, a differential that explains the 86-point finish. Robert Thomas led the team with 64 points, and Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway each posted 51, but the offence ranked 24th in the NHL at 2.80 goals per game. The power play sat 26th at 17.6 per cent; the penalty kill was 25th at 76.7 per cent. Special teams were a drag all season.

In goal, Joel Hofer outplayed Jordan Binnington in nearly every category. Hofer went 24-13-5 with a .910 save percentage and six shutouts, second in the NHL. After the Winter Olympics break, he was among the league leaders in wins, save percentage, and goals-against average. Binnington went 13-20-7 with a .873 save percentage, and at 33 he is entering the final year of his contract. The goaltending picture is shifting, and fast.

Ins and outs

• In: Mason McTavish (traded from Anaheim, June 26)
• In: Connor McMichael (traded from Washington, June 23)
• In: Brandon Carlo (traded from Toronto, June 27)
• In: Milton Gastrin (prospect, acquired in McMichael trade)
• In: Alexander Steen (named general manager, replacing Doug Armstrong as day-to-day GM on July 1)
• In: Sergei Zubov (hired as advisor to hockey operations, July 24)
• In: Greg Cronin (added as assistant coach)
• In: Vaclav Prospal (added as assistant coach)
• Out: Jordan Kyrou (traded to Washington in McMichael deal)
• Out: Jonathan Drouin (departed)
• Out: Justin Holl (departed)
• Out: Claude Julien (not retained as assistant coach)
• Out: Mike Weber (not retained as assistant coach)

McMichael also signed a six-year, $40.5 million extension ($6.75 million cap hit) on July 21, locking him in through 2032. Robert Thomas was named the 25th captain in franchise history in September, with four alternates named alongside him.

The big question

Can McTavish and McMichael actually fix the offence? St. Louis lost Jordan Kyrou, its leading goal scorer in three of the past four seasons, to get McMichael. McTavish posted just 41 points in 75 games last year, the fewest of his four full NHL seasons. Both players are capable of more, but the Blues are betting a lot on bounce-back seasons from two forwards who underperformed in 2025-26.

X-factor

Joel Hofer. His second half last season was as good as any goaltender in the league: 12-2-2 with a 2.04 goals-against average and .933 save percentage in 16 starts after the Olympic break. If he carries that form into a full season as the clear starter, he can paper over a lot of the Blues' structural weaknesses. If Binnington reclaims starts and the tandem situation becomes murky again, St. Louis will bleed points it cannot afford to lose.

Bold prediction

Hofer gets the lion's share of starts by December and finishes as a Vezina Trophy conversation piece, even if the Blues fall just short of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The outlook

St. Louis opens the season Oct. 2 on the road in Dallas, a measuring-stick game against one of the West's best. The Blues are a team in genuine transition: Doug Armstrong handed the keys to Alex Steen, a youth movement is underway on defence with Philip Broberg and Logan Mailloux, and the new-look forward group has something to prove. A playoff spot is possible but far from guaranteed in a Central Division where Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota are all ahead of them. The foundation is more interesting than it has been in a few years. Whether it translates to wins in 2026-27 is the whole question.