The St. Louis Blues' signing of Connor McMichael was a wise move. They locked up the most important piece from the Jordan Kyrou trade.
But that situation also poses a question: How does keeping McMichael affect the Blues' depth down the middle?
For starters, McMichael seems earmarked to play as a winger, not a center. But he can and has played down the middle.
That’s important because the Blues will need as much depth behind Robert Thomas moving forward. So, if we automatically assume that Thomas is the first-line center, that leaves the rest of the depth chart up for grabs.
Dilemma of the second line
Now, there’s also the matter of Mason McTavish. He came over in a deal with the Anaheim Ducks leading up to the 2026 NHL Draft. McTavish would seem like a lock for the second-line center role.
But that’s just the thing. McTavish can also play on the wing if needed. That’s a crucial bit of depth as both McMichael and McTavish could play down the middle. For now, we’ll assume that McTavish leads the second line with McMichael on the wing.
Third line battle
That brings us to the third line. Pius Suter figures to be the third-line center. However, he didn’t really impress in his first season in St. Louis. In fact, the career year he had in Vancouver in 2024-25 seems like an outlier now. His numbers were essentially identical to those seen in 2023-24.
As such, with Suter entering the second year of a two-year deal, he could be on the block. Teams looking for some bottom-six help down the middle could find value in Suter, $4.125 million cap hit notwithstanding.
Let’s assume for a minute that some team out there wants help and sees Suter as an option. That could well leave Dalibor Dvorsky as the third-line center. He’s not a bad choice. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old’s ceiling is much higher. He’s a former 10th overall pick and could be well on his way to the top six.
At the moment, nonetheless, Dvorsky stays in a bit of a sheltered role in the middle six. If he proves he’s ready for prime time, Jim Montgomery can bump him up the lineup. But that’s a bridge everyone will cross when it comes up.
What about the fourth line?
Jack Finley, all 6’6” of him, could get a shot out of camp to make the team as the 4C. He would fit in nicely with UFA signing Ross Johnston and his 6’5” frame. Such a tough fourth line would give opposing teams headaches. They won’t score much, but they’ll be the kind of duo that can play valuable minutes in between top-six shifts.
The guy I’m wondering about, however, is Dillon Dube. The 27-year-old signed a one-year deal this offseason for the league minimum. He seems to have some upside left in him. Even though he’s not a towering presence, his gritty style could mesh well with the fourth-line ethos the Blues want to instill.
Would it be crazy to imagine a fourth line consisting of Dube down the middle with Finley and Johnston on the wings?
That would be a wild experiment. It would not only deliver punch, but there might be some depth scoring there. Dube put up 20 goals in 46 AHL games last season. That situation could give the Blues something unique to deploy on the fourth line.
All told, we can earmark the top three centers as Thomas, McTavish, and Suter. But it’s the bottom six that may see the biggest changes as the season progresses. And if Dube can become an X-factor in camp, the Blues might just want one of the most enviable center cores in the league.
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