The St. Louis Blues, as well as the rest of the National Hockey League, are going on an Olympic Break. Now, the focus is on the selected players from around the world to represent their home country on a global scale.
With this time off, the Blues do not resume play until February 26 against Seattle, and that makes it just about 20 days of rest time. Outside of Jordan Binnington, Colton Parayko, Pius Suter, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Philip Broberg, everyone else is going to be on a break.
Which three players need to benefit from this time off the most? Who has to use this time away from the game to physically and mentally heal from this grueling season?
Let's talk about it.
Brayden Schenn
These could be the last couple of games for Brayden Schenn as a Blue. The captain is among the many highlighted in a number of sources around the NHL that General Manager Doug Armstrong is actively shopping around.
This time away could help him try to refocus on how to rally these troops for the upcoming games prior to the Trade Deadline on March 6. If a deal is not made for Schenn by then, the emphasis on him being the long-term captain of this team will be crucial in the next phase.
Up to this point has not been too kind for Schenn, who is near the bottom of the NHL leaderboard for +/-, at -25. He also has 12 goals and 12 assists on the season for 24 points, which is on pace for one of the worst performances of his career.
Jimmy Snuggerud
On the other end of the Blues' future is the blooming legacy of Jimmy Snuggerud. In his first full season, No. 21 has been a major fixture of this lineup, and his impact has been everlasting. The Blues sure have something special in this kid, and the ceiling could be legendary.
Snuggerud has 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points this season, which may not seem like a lot, but it was in a much smaller sample size due to his injury. It was clear in the 12 games that he was missing from action that this team needed the kid on the ice.
Joel Hofer
The goaltending has been suspect all season long, and much of that was due to Binnington's woeful season thus far. Joel Hofer, on the other hand, was a bit better this season, but it did not start that way. He was atrocious in the beginning part of the season, but has turned it around to secure a 12-11-3 record at this point in the season.
Once the Blues come out of the break, there will be an uncertainity with the direction they choose to take with Binnington, and Hofer could be the guy going forward, the last sprint of 2025-26 and beyond. It is obvious that the player with the most amount of pressure on them to succeed, post-Olympics, is Hofer.