Blues Views

Directions Website

St. Louis Blues Views

A fan’s perspective of the 2019 Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues

10/30/2026

A 4-1 win against the Boston Bruins in these beautiful jerseys deserves an OG postgame post.

Despite the shot column not showing it, the Blues seemed in control most of this game. After trailing early, Snuggerud tied things up with a powerplay one-timer, followed by a Broberg goal, and Thomas's second goal of the year, his first at 5 on 5. The captain has struggled to start the year, once again, but hopefully his three points tonight (1 goal, 2 assists) can get something going. Neighbours added an insurance tally on the PP in the third, as the Blues cruised to a victory.

This concluded a five-game homestand where the Blues went 3-2-0. Pretty solid considering the opponents, which included both teams in the SCF last year. The Carolina game was the only bad performance, where they were outshot 39-24 and didn't seem on the same level as the champs. Getting shutout in back-to-back games is a bit embarrassing, but sometimes you get goalied, like they did against Montreal. I'll give a shoutout to waiver pickup, Justin Barron, who is averaging 16:15 a night, picked up four assists last Tuesday, and added an assist tonight. That's another smart, no-risk, high upside pickup by STL. Only 24 years old and a former 1st round pick.

Joel Hofer is the key to this team's success and he looks absolutely fantastic right now. Fundamentally he's as solid as it gets, he rarely gives up a softie, and has kept the Blues in games when they could've been trailing. He stopped 31 of 32 tonight and recorded 4.54 GSAx on the homestand. With that strong, consistent goaltending in net, that can mask a lot of flaws and steal a lot of games. If it wasn't clear before, he's absolutely the #1 on this team who should see 60+ starts this season.

Let’s Go Blues!

10/26/2026

Updated statement from the Blues organization.

10/08/2026

We're three games into the season and the Blues find themselves 1-2-0 after their first road trip.

After an impressive 4-0 win in Dallas to get our hopes up, they followed that up by getting manhandled by Colorado and giving the 0-3-0 Blackhawks their first win of the season last night. Losing to bad teams was a problem early last year, and seeing it happen again this quickly is a bit concerning. The top line that was one of the best in hockey after the Olympic break has disappeared. After the trade rumors, being named captain, and another offseason of hearing how underrated he is, Thomas has responded with zero points and three shots on goal. It's early, but this team runs through him and he needs to produce.

But tonight we’ll focus more on the positives, which include three new additions to the team this year: Adam Jiricek, Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish.

Adam Jiricek:

Adam Jiricek might be the most important player on this entire roster. Even if the Blues disappoint, miss the playoffs, and end up with another mid-first-round pick, this season can still be considered a relative success if Jiricek establishes himself as a future top-pairing defenseman. The blue line is where champions are made. You need that stud who can eat minutes, play both sides of the puck, move the puck in transition and provide offense. The Blues desperately need Jiricek to become that guy.

Through three games, he has zero official points. I don’t really care. Just watch him. The talent is obvious. He’s quick, confident with the puck, constantly finds open ice and isn’t afraid to jump into the play. He has averaged 18:10 of ice-time, recorded five shots, had a goal wiped away by the NHL’s dumb offside replay, and came close a few times to tying the game against Chicago last night. For a 20-year-old defenseman playing his first few NHL games, the confidence he plays with is probably the most impressive part.

There have been mistakes. Some bad giveaways, questionable decisions and moments where he’s gotten caught flat-footed. That’s going to happen. He’s 20 years old and defensemen take time to develop. But you can already see the skating, stickhandling and hockey sense. I’m not saying he’s going to become Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar, but you see little flashes of those elite puck-moving defensemen in his game.

We’ve heard about Jiricek as a prospect and seen the numbers he put up in juniors. People even compared him to our precious engine, Alex Pietrangelo, during the 2024 draft and in the offseason. Seeing some of those traits translate to actual NHL games so quickly is fantastic to see. Three games is nothing, but so far Jiricek looks like he might be exactly what this organization desperately needs.

Connor McMichael:

McMichael has also had a surprisingly impressive start to the season. Last night especially, he was easily the Blues’ best forward. He was flying all over the ice, created the turnover that led to the McTavish goal, had a goal wiped away by an offside review that would’ve made it 2-0, and then finally got his first official goal as a Blue late in the game. His 63.4 xGoal% ranks third on the Blues through three games.

He has solid speed and he's extremely tenacious on the puck. He’s constantly moving, creating pressure and finding ways to get involved. He also appears to be a responsible, smart player, which makes sense since he has experience playing both wing and center. Even when he isn’t scoring, you notice him out there. You can see why the Blues traded for him and immediately gave him a six-year extension.

Mason McTavish:

One of the biggest players to watch coming into this season was Mason McTavish. The Blues sent two 1st round picks to acquire him with the hope that he can become their long-term 2C. Through three games, he has had a pretty solid start.

You can see some of the things his critics talked about. He’s not the fastest player, and defensively there have been moments where he looks a little lost. But he’s a big body, plays with a lot of heart and has been involved basically every time he’s on the ice. He has two goals in three games, has shown off a really nice shot and has been solid on the faceoff dot, winning 54.3% of his draws. I’ve probably noticed him more than any other Blues forward through three games, which is usually a pretty good sign.

I don’t know if there’s one elite trait that jumps off the screen. He’s not an elite skater or stickhandler. Maybe the shot gets there, as we saw in the opening goal last night in Chicago. But he doesn’t need to be a superstar. The Blues need him to become a legitimate 2nd line center who can score, win faceoffs and consistently impact games. And it’s also pretty tough to be a good 2nd center when your first line doesn’t exist right now.

It’s three games, so the book is obviously still out. But McTavish has slightly exceeded my expectations so far. Just like the Blues desperately need Jiricek to become that guy on the back end, they need legitimate centers if they ever want to contend again. McTavish is off to a good start proving he can be one of them. And he’s still only 23 years old.

Let’s Go Blues.

10/02/2026

Your St. Louis Blues are back. They take on the Dallas Stars in their season opener tonight at 8:00 CT on TNT.

There’s no getting around it, this is a huge season for the Blues. Over the last several years, they’ve committed not to a rebuild, but to whatever you want to call the middle ground they’ve taken instead. As you probably know, I haven’t always agreed with that direction. There were times I thought they should have torn it down further, and there were times I questioned whether they had enough high-end young talent to make this whole thing work. But at the end of the day, you can’t change the past. This is the direction they chose, this is the group they’ve built, and I’m cautiously optimistic about where it’s headed.

The Blues probably aren’t winning the Stanley Cup this year. Shocking, I know. But I also look at this roster and see a team that, on paper, should be very exciting and hopefully pretty good. There’s depth throughout the lineup, there are young players who should get plenty of chances to thrive, and there are enough pieces here that we should start getting an answer to the question we’ve been asking for years: is this "re-whatever" actually going to work?
_
What does success look like?

The expectation from the fanbase should be for the Blues to make the playoffs. Half the league makes it, they aren’t rebuilding, and they’ve made moves with the intention of getting better now. But I also don’t think the difference between finishing as the 2nd Wild Card and missing it by two points is what determines whether this season was successful. To me, this season is more about where we are sitting in April and how we feel about where this team is going.

I hate to bring the Cardinals into this, but I think it’s actually pretty similar. The Cardinals are going down a deeper rebuilding path and are further away than the Blues, but the feeling I have about their direction right now, (specifically their long-term contending status), is what I desperately want to have about the Blues.

Remember where we were a year ago? The Blues had just come within 1.6 seconds of eliminating Winnipeg and moving on to the second round, and it felt like they had turned a corner. Then the 2025-26 season started, and they came out flat again. Within a couple months, we were talking more about draft position and potentially trading Robert Thomas than we were about the playoffs. While the 17-5-3 post-Olympic tun tanked their draft position, it also gave us a reason to be excited about this group going forward. That needs to continue, or last year’s “meaningless” run really will have actually been meaningless.

The Blues cannot spend October and November digging themselves another hole and then expect some ridiculous second-half run to save them. There needs to be some consistency. By the end of this season, I want to look at the Blues and genuinely believe they are two or three pieces away from being a legitimate contender. Maybe they make the playoffs and lose in the first round. Maybe they barely miss. Obviously I’d rather they make it, but the bigger thing is that when this season ends, there needs to be a clear path forward. We need to feel better about this team in April than we do right now.
_
Players to watch:

A lot of this season comes down to the players the Blues have bet on. Start with Robert Thomas. He’s 27, the captain, the face of the team, and after last season’s trade rumors, he’s still here. Injuries hurt him last year, but even when healthy early on, he wasn’t producing like expected. If this team takes the next step, its best player and captain needs to lead it there.

Then there’s Mason McTavish. You don’t give up two 1st round picks for a former 3rd overall pick to be a decent middle-six forward. The Blues acquired him to hopefully become their long-term 2C. He doesn’t have to be that player tonight, but we need to see throughout this season why they made that bet.

McMichael needs to prove he’s a long-term piece worthy of the 6-year contract signed this offseason. Holloway, Broberg, Snuggerud , etc. need to keep building. Lindstein needs to show those 17 games weren't a fluke. Adam Jiricek will get an opportunity immediately and could be one of the organization’s most important and exciting prospects, considering two-way RHD don’t grow on trees and can be a battery of a roster. Stenberg will get his chance, while Dvorsky needs to show he can be at least a strong 3C.

Joel Hofer seems like he’ll get his chance to take over as starter, while Jordan Binnington suddenly has something to prove again. I think this could be a top-10 duo. Binnington has always seemed to play his best with a chip on his shoulder. And depending where the Blues are at around the deadline, he could be a trade candidate too.

There should also be improvement on the backend. Carlo should help a penalty kill that struggled last year, Parayko is still here, and hopefully we get more of late-2025 Fowler than the disappointing version we saw last season. Mailloux also will hopefully build off what he showed late last year once he returns from injury. Add Broberg and Jiricek that were mentioned above, and the blue line looks pretty decent entering the season. And who knows, maybe they’ll add Alexander Nikishin from Carolina here soon.
_
If it doesn't work?

Here’s the other side of this, though. What happens if we get to Thanksgiving and the Blues are once again one of the worst teams in hockey? What happens if February 1st rolls around and they’re 10 points out of a playoff spot? Because as optimistic as I am about this team, I also think this is a season where we start needing answers. The Blues have a strong prospect pool, but they don’t have some obvious superstar prospect waiting to come save everything. At some point, the players already here have to prove that this core is good enough to build around. Al

And I think what happened with Parayko last season is another perfect example of just how close the Blues were to going in a different direction. They were prepared to move him to Buffalo, Parayko wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause, and now he’s still here. Add that to everything we know about the Thomas trade talks, and the Blues were a couple decisions away from this roster looking VERY different right now.

That’s why I keep coming back to “expected value” with this team. Management has spent the last few years constantly weighing how far to take this thing. Is the value of trading Thomas or Parayko and taking another step backward greater than the value of keeping them and trying to build around what you already have? Last year, for one reason or another, they didn’t completely blow it up. Then the team caught fire late, and that helped push them even further toward trying to make this thing work.

I’m fine with that. But that doesn’t mean this path gets unlimited chances. If we’re sitting here three months from now having the exact same conversations we had last January, then I think every conversation has to be back on the table. There are going to have to be some serious discussions about whether this retool is actually getting the Blues where they need to go.
_
Overall thoughts:

Even with the doomsday talk, I genuinely think the Blues are going to be in the playoff race all year, and right now, I think they make it. Maybe that’s just the delusion talking because I desperately want something to believe in. If I’m just a delusional loser holding out hope for nothing, sue me!

The sportsbooks don’t seem love the Blues. They are around +200 to make the playoffs (33% implied odds), and DraftKings has them T-28th to win the Cup, behind the Jets, Islanders, Red Wings, and tied with the lowly Predators. Despite those low expectations in the betting market, I’ve also seen plenty of people around hockey point to the Blues as one of the more underrated teams heading into this season. I can see why. There’s enough talent here for this team to surprise some people. Now they need to prove those people right.

There are obviously teams in the West that are on another level, but after that top group, I think things are relatively wide-open. The Blues don’t need to suddenly become one of the best teams in hockey. They need Thomas to be Thomas, the young guys to take steps forward, the new additions to fit, and Hofer and Binnington to give them consistently good goaltending. More than anything, they just can’t spend the first two months of the season trying to recover from another terrible start. I don’t think I can handle a “DoSh*t for DuPont” first three months, that ends with the Blues finishing 18th overall....again.

For years we’ve talked about the retool. We’ve talked about prospects, draft picks, development and what this team could eventually become. Well, eventually has to become now at some point. The Blues have made their decisions. They’ve picked the players they believe in, they’ve chosen their direction, and they’ve decided they can build another contender without tearing the entire thing down. Now we get to see if they were right. This probably isn’t the year they become contenders, but it’s the year we get a sense whether there’s hope in the direction they chosen.

06/27/2026

The Blues have acquired Brandon Carlo from the Maple Leafs for the 73rd and 76th overall picks in the 2026 Draft.

Carlo is a 29-year-old, 6-foot-5, right-handed defenseman who’ll add some extra veteran presence to an overall young blue line. He’s a steady, defense-first player who averaged 19:22 of ice time last season in Toronto. You can’t expect much offense or excitement from him, with 0 goals and 10 assists over his last two seasons (73 games). The Leafs gave up a 1st-round pick and a top prospect to acquire him in 2024-25, so paying two third-round picks doesn’t seem too shabby.

Right now, the blue line looks something like this (pairings will change):

Broberg - Parayko
Lindstein - Carlo
Fowler - Mailloux
Ex: Tucker

With this trade, it appears the Blues don’t expect Adam Jiricek to make the roster out of camp, which makes sense considering he’s coming straight from juniors. Carlo is a nice transition piece who’ll help the Blues in their goal to “compete” and fight for a Wild Card spot. He’s also a great player to dangle at next year’s trade deadline if Jiricek is ready and/or the Blues aren’t in the playoff picture. He has one year remaining on his contract at a $4.1M AAV.

Overall, it’s a solid trade for what the Blues are trying to accomplish. They want to make the playoffs, and Carlo helps them do that without getting too much in the way of the organization’s long-term development.

06/27/2026

With the 11th and 16th overall picks, the Blues selected two forwards: Tynan Lawrence and Maddox Dagenais.

Tynan Lawrence

Lawrence was a player on the Blues’ radar for a while. He has slipped a bit in recent rankings, but he seems like a pretty safe pick who, at worst, projects as a future bottom-six center. Ideally, he develops into the top-six center the Blues have been searching for in the long-term.

His stats don’t jump off the page, with seven points in 18 games at BU last season and 54 points in 56 USHL games in 2024-25. But the fact that he was still considered a consensus top prospect despite those numbers says a lot about the “intangibles” in his game. He’s described as a strong skater with a high hockey IQ, excellent playmaking ability, and a solid finishing touch. He’s also one of the youngest players in the draft, so this will likely be a long-term project. If McTavish and/or Dvorsky emerge as legitimate top-six centers, Lawrence could eventually become valuable trade ammo as well. From the little I know, I like this pick a lot.

Maddox Dagenais

According to many draft rankings, Dagenais is a bit of a reach, but the Blues’ scouting department seem to be correct on a lot of their recent reaches. His size stands out at 6-foot-4, and while he primarily has plays center, most scouts project him as a left wing at the NHL level. He recorded 30 goals and 62 points in 63 QMJHL games last season, which is solid production even if the QMJHL isn’t viewed very strongly in the junior hockey world. Reports describe him as a player who isn’t afraid to use his size, competes hard every shift, and has intriguing offensive upside. Seems like a high upside pick with a lot of offensive potential, which you like to see.

Overall, they appear to be two solid picks. But the reality is nobody really knows. I’m a little disappointed there wasn’t a defenseman the Blues felt strongly enough about to move up for, but once again, you have to trust the people who are paid to scout these kids. One thing was clear: the Blues are looking for future centers. Two drafted and one 23 year-old traded for.

Not a great night. Not an awful night. Time will ultimately tell.

06/27/2026

There’s a lot going on tonight. But we’ll start with the trade: Mason McTavish for the 15th and 29th overall picks.

Many people are going to hate this trade, and I get it. McTavish has been a disappointment in Anaheim, was a healthy scratch at times down the stretch last season, and most NHL fans think the Blues overpaid. I probably would’ve preferred keeping both 1st round picks and continuing to build the prospect pool, but the Blues clearly want to turn this thing around fast. They’re hoping McTavish can help jumpstart that. I hope they’re right.

McTavish is a 23-year-old with plenty of upside. He was the 3rd overall pick in 2021, put up 17 points in seven games at the 2022 World Juniors, and has recorded four straight 40+ point NHL seasons, including 22 goals and 52 points in 2024-25. His skating and defensive play are viewed as weaknesses, which isn’t exactly what you want to hear, but he also brings some grit and reported hockey sense that the Blues love to target.

Honestly, it feels a bit desperate and rushed. I’m not sure the Blues needed to make this move right now for a player that a lot of hockey analysts are still wary of. It’s definitely a risk, but all we can do is trust the people who are paid to make these decisions. They’ve spent years evaluating McTavish and clearly believe he has the potential to become the true top-6 center they’re looking for. I believe they are correct…because what other choice do we have?

06/26/2026

It’s no exaggeration to say tomorrow’s NHL Draft could be one of the most franchise-defining days in recent Blues history.

As of right now, STL holds four 1st round picks (11,15,16,29). If they use all four, they’d become the first team in 27 years to make four selections. I wouldn’t hate that route. Adding four 1st round prospects would give them one of the deepest pools in the league. But my gut (and most people’s) says that won’t happen. There are simply too many options.

Trade for current talent

Using some of those picks to acquire an established player is one option. Matthew Knies’ name continues to come up, and his age (23) and contract (5 x $7.75M) fit STL’s timeline perfectly. He already has chemistry with Snuggerud and would slide nicely into the top-6. But the price will be steep. Elias Pettersson and his scary 6 x $11.6M contract has also been mentioned since STL is looking for a top-6 center. I’d personally stay far away, but if VAN wants to clear cap space, the price could be reasonable and retention may be on the table. The Blues rarely make the moves everyone expects, so there are definitely names being discussed that nobody’s talking about.

Trade up

This is the route I’m hoping for. I doubt SJ would move the 2nd, even for all four 1st rounders, but maybe there’s another miracle path to Stenberg. My expectation is that STL has a small group of players they’d move up for if the board falls a certain way. Who those players are is anyone’s guess. Maybe it’s one of the top defensemen like Reid, Verhoeff, Smits, or Carels. Maybe they target a center like Malhotra, Bjork, or Lawrence. Or maybe they fall in love with the upside of 6’5 winger Belchetz. We can speculate all we want, but the Blues have their guys. They have a plan. All we can do now is wait and see.

In the end, the Blues have turned Schenn, Faulk, and Kyrou into an opportunity to do something huge at the draft. Their long-term outlook is miles ahead of where it was four months ago, or even a year ago. It’s refreshing to see, and now it’s time to trust the scouting department to maximize the opportunity. Hopefully the 2026 Draft is one we talk about for decades. Let’s Go Blues.

06/24/2026

The Jordan Kyrou era has come to an end in St. Louis…

Kyrou was one of the most polarizing players in recent Blues history. Some fans loved him, some hated him. For every Kyrou compliment, there were several Kyrou complaints in response, and vice versa. Some people thought he was lazy and poor defensively, while others pointed to the analytics and believed he developed into a strong forward in all three zones. Like most things, the truth was somewhere in the middle.

Kyrou is not good enough to be a serious team’s top-2 forward. He’s probably not even a true first-line winger on a Cup-contending team. He’s a great complementary 2nd line scorer who can thrive when not asked to carry an offense and won’t be too detrimental defensively. It’s not really his fault the Blues relied on him to be a star on a team that lacked star power. After signing his 8 x $8.125M deal in 2022, he largely lived up to it, posting back-to-back 30-goal seasons before last year’s disappointment. At times, he looked like an elite player. Other times, the only time you noticed him was when he fumbled the puck of the half-wall or tried forcing a pass through three defenders.

There was always something missing with Jordan Kyrou. It wasn’t necessarily an effort issue, but you never got the feeling he had the “it” factor to be a true star or leader. There isn’t an analytic for grit or championship-level compete, but I don’t think he had it. Washington is getting a very good player, which is why the return was so strong, but it was clear he wasn’t going to be a long-term core piece / veteran leader in STL. It was best for both sides to move on.

I have nothing but respect for Jordan Kyrou. As a 2nd-round, 35th overall pick (acquired for Brian Elliott), he developed into one of the organization’s “big three” prospects alongside Thomas and Thompson. Even after early struggles, he ignored the Jaskin and McRae comparisons and became a player who put up three straight 67+ point seasons. I’ll always remember his two-goal, four-point performance at the 2022 Winter Classic. An all-time game that’ll go down in Blues history forever.

Thank you, Jordan. Both you and the Blues are now free.

06/23/2026

The Blues have traded Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals for the 16th overall pick, Connor McMichael, and Milton Gastrin.

A major move was always going to be necessary to shake up this core, and Jordan Kyrou was the obvious, ideal choice. We saw his elite potential in stretches, including a 37-goal, 73-point season in 2022-23, but after last season’s disappointment, this move felt inevitable. While he probably took more blame from the fanbase than he deserved, and it really wasn’t his fault that the team never reached its potential, he was the ideal player to move in order to change the direction of the roster. Both sides needed a fresh start.

It’s a fantastic return. Kyrou’s value has never been lower, yet the Blues still land a 1st round pick, a young NHL center, and a solid prospect. It’s especially impressive considering Kyrou held a full-NTC and had major control over where the Blues could trade him. The 16th overall pick now gives the Blues FOUR 1st round picks in the upcoming draft. Like most people are predicting, I’d be shocked if the Blues use all four selections on Friday. They can package some of those picks for current NHL talent, or more likely, and my preferred option, move up into the top 6ish to grab an elite player they’re targeting. You know the front office has a plan. Now it’s all about executing it this weekend at the draft.

Connor McMichael is a 25-year-old center who has recorded 57 and 46 points over the last two seasons. He should slide perfectly into the Blues middle six and fits the timeline of this core. He is currently an RFA and I would guess his AAV will land in the 4-5 million range, based on his production. Then there’s Milton Gastrin, who’s nothing to sneeze at either. He’s a 19-year-old center prospect who was selected 37th overall in last year’s draft and recorded 10 goals and 24 points in Sweden’s 2nd best league last season. May not be anything there, but he’s another solid prospect added to an already strong system.

It’s a Doug Steen cook. But jobs not finished. These next couple weeks will determine a lot about this team’s future. This is a terrific start. Let’s Go Blues.

Address

St. Louis, MO

Website

https://www.patreon.com/STLBluesViews?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&fbclid=PAAaZRLKMO1EcjOFX8lCDnkY45ZXj075BRFsTNDlV

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Blues Views posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.