For years, the St. Louis Blues have been hovering between contender and pretender — not bad enough to bottom out, not strong enough to break through as an elite contender.
Ever since they won the Stanley Cup in 2019, the Blues have been trying to maintain their identity as a gritty, physical team, but slowly and surely, pieces of the core moved on, forcing the team to shift towards faster, younger, more dynamic talent.
General manager Doug Armstrong understood the need to evolve and retool on the fly, but he’s certainly faced his challenges and tough decisions.
He was forced to make a drastic change behind the bench, hiring Jim Montgomery to replace Drew Bannister, which seemed to inject life and structure into a team that was underachieving. Over the 60 games under Montgomery, St. Louis was playing at a 100-point pace, had a plus-13 goal differential, and was eighth in the league in goals-against per-60 minutes.
The Blues’ roster is in an intriguing place going into this season with veterans like Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou continuing to drive the offence, while goaltender Jordan Binnington has proven to be the difference maker when he’s on his game. Then there are young players like Dalibor Dvorsky and Jimmy Snuggerud who are being counted on to take the next step.
We continue our look at all 32 NHL teams in 32 days by checking in with the Blues.
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Newcomer to watch: Pius Suter
Signing Suter was a subtle but meaningful addition this off-season. While he wasn’t a marquee name, in his last season with the Vancouver Canucks he scored 25 goals and put up 46 points while showing that he can be a reliable middle-six centre option.
A player who can provide a bit of scoring punch without demanding the top-line usage is something the Blues desperately needed.
Suter provides Montgomery a guy he can trust down the middle, someone who can fill in defensively and chip in offensively. He can also be bumped up the lineup should injuries strike.
Under-the-Radar player to watch: Philip Broberg
The Blues made headlines when they signed Broberg to an offer sheet, and the move proved to be a worthwhile gamble for Armstrong.
Broberg posted a plus-21 rating in his first full NHL season while averaging 20:30 of ice time. The 24-year-old chipped in with eight goals and 29 points in 68 games, leaving some room for improvement. If he continues to show growth, Broberg could become one of the cornerstones on a retooled blue line.
There is also something on the line for Broberg this season, as he will be entering the final year of his deal, which will make him a restricted free agent.
Broberg will need to show Montgomery that he can be trusted to play in tough minutes, especially considering he has impressive size that most teams covet. He also showed that he can be counted on to step up his game when called upon after Colton Parayko went down with an injury.
Top prospect: Jimmy Snuggerud
If there’s a forward prospect capable of reshaping the Blues’ offence in the near future, it’s Jimmy Snuggerud.
The 23rd overall pick in 2022 has steadily developed into one of the more exciting young scorers outside the NHL.
He amassed an impressive 66 goals and 135 points in 119 career NCAA games with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Blues decided this was enough to get him signed to an entry-level deal so he could play a prominent role in the late season push to make the playoffs, and then was rather productive in the post-season with four points in seven games.
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Beyond pure finishing, Snuggerud has shown growth in the details of his game, as Montgomery noted before training camp.
“Very impressed with the young man,” he said. “His hockey sense is off the charts, and I think with a really good summer putting on some lean muscle mass, he’s just going to be better.”
He put on about six to seven pounds ahead of training camp which shows that he is preparing for the grind of an 82-game season.
The question is timing. St. Louis has been patient with Snuggerud’s development, but his performance in college and international play suggests he’s close to NHL-ready.
Surely, the Blues would love nothing more than to see Snuggerud force their hand and have him start the season in the NHL. Even if he starts the year in the AHL, it’s hard to imagine him staying there for long.
“We expect big things from him. I know ‘Monty’ really expects big things from him, the way he used him last year with our top players. He’s going to get that opportunity,” said Armstrong about Snuggerud. He’s put a ton of work in this summer, but again, with a player like ‘Snuggy’, a player like [Logan] Mailloux, I’m not concerned what they look like the first two weeks of the season. We’re in the long haul with some of these guys, but we’re also in the winning business, and if they can’t do it, that’s OK. Somebody else will until they’re ready.”
In many ways, Snuggerud represents the kind of upside this organization has been patiently waiting for. If he transitions smoothly, St. Louis gains not just another young contributor but a player who can keep their playoff contention window open.
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Three burning questions
1. Was last season’s success sustainable — or was luck involved?
The Blues were 2.2 seconds away from pulling off a massive upset over the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, the real question is whether the success they found under Montgomery will be attainable once again this season. A 12-game winning streak allowed them to get into the playoffs, but this team can’t always rely on runs like that.
The Blues outperformed some of their advanced metrics with a league-high PDO (combined shooting and save percentage) which suggests that they got hot on offence at the right time. Can St. Louis maintain structure without leaning on “running hot” bounces?
Adding some offensive firepower should hopefully improve their ability to score goals. Colton Parayko had a career-high 16 goals and his fourth season with 10-plus goals, while the addition of Cam Fowler also helped provide some much-needed offence from the blue line.
All signs show that this team has the right pieces on offence to compete but will need to see if their goaltending can avoid a regression.
2. Are the Blues too top-heavy?
Behind Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Dylan Holloway, the depth is less proven.
There is a big offensive burden on the Blues’ top-six to contribute, which is why Suter was brought in and the team is hoping that the young guys like Snuggerud, Dvorsky and Jake Neighbours can bring more offence outside of their top players.
Can Brayden Schenn get back to being a 58-60 point player who can score closer to 25 goals? Alexey Toropchenko went from back-to-back double-digit goals to just four in 80 games last season.
3. Will the bet on young talent pay off?
The Blues’ future has been carefully tied to the wave of young talent they’ve drafted and developed over the past few years.
They haven’t been bad enough to completely bottom out, meaning their prospect pool doesn’t feature a superstar talent. Instead, they’ve relied on prospects that carry high upside who can hopefully take the next step and join this current core.
The danger is that these prospects have to line up with the current timeline and trajectory the team is on, and having these young players hit the ground running.
How much Snuggerud can chip in secondary scoring, or if Logan Mailloux can handle third-pair minutes, is going to be a big test for this coaching staff because these players are expected to be key contributors. If the pressure and expectations are too much for the young core coming in, then that puts a big burden on their veterans to carry the load.
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