The St. Louis Blues are in an interesting position heading into the 2025-26 NHL season. They're coming off a campaign that looked lost in a tough Central Division until a fantastic stretch pushed them into the playoffs on the last day of the season.
And then it looked like the Blues would continue that into the playoffs, holding a two-goal lead late in Game 7 against the Winnipeg Jets. But, of course, we all know how that ended up.
The Blues have been a Jekyll and Hyde team in years past, but are they more likely to boom or bust in the upcoming season?
Well, we should first try to define what each of those terms would mean for this team. Of course, every team is vying for the Stanley Cup. That's the ultimate goal. But is it fair to set that as the goal for this season? Probably not.
Could a Stanley Cup Final appearance fit the bill? Possibly, but it's more likely that a "boom" for the Blues would be winning a round (or likely two) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
We've all seen how a team can get hot and play its way to a Stanley Cup, like the Blues did in 2019, and anything can happen in a seven-game series. St. Louis is on the cusp of the playoffs by most projections, so simply making the postseason isn't enough for a "boom" in this case.
Having said all of that, a "boom" of a season for the Blues would likely be winning a playoff round or two, potentially the Western Conference, depending who you ask.
And what would a "bust" season be?
Missing the playoffs is the easiest answer, but as stated above, some already expect them to do that -- or just have a 50-50 chance at it.
This roster shouldn't be bad enough to finish in the bottom-five or bottom-10 teams in the league, though, to give them a better chance at Gavin McKenna. So, the worst-case scenario for the Blues in this "bust" thought process looks something like last season: an up-and-down team (with mostly downs) for the majority of the season before a late push puts them on the playoff bubble.
But this time, they'd fall short and be left with a draft pick in the low teens as the team kicks the can down the road another year.
Which is more likely? Let us know what you think, but only time can tell.