The St. Louis Blues were one of the best teams in the league in the second half of the season last year.
They went 20-4-3 from February onward, including a 12-game winning streak from March 15 to April 5. Still, it took until the final game of the season -- a 6-1 win over Utah -- for the Blues to clinch a playoff spot by tiebreaker over the Calgary Flames.
The Blues then pushed the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets to the brink, ultimately falling in double overtime of Game 7.
But the Blues made some noise. They announced their presence back as a playoff team in 2025. Can they take it a step forward in 2026?
It's an uphill climb in a tough Central Division.
The Jets still have the two-time reigning Vezina Trophy winner in net in Connor Hellebuyck, but they did see Nikolaj Ehlers leave for the Carolina Hurricanes in free agency. They're likely to make the playoffs, but anything close to 116 points again would be a surprise.
Then you have the Dallas Stars, who finished with 106 points after making a big swing for Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline. They haven't had a very active offseason, mostly re-signing a few veterans and getting healthy on the back end. Dallas looks like a team that is built to compete for the long haul with its veteran talent and young budding superstars.
The Colorado Avalanche are an interesting case. They replaced the aforementioned Rantanen with Martin Necas, but he is now due a contract soon and could be moved at some point. MacKenzie Blackwood was great in net for the Avalanche, but we all know how volatile goalies can be. Still, with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, the Avs are a tough out.
That's not even mentioning the Minnesota Wild, who finished a point ahead of the Blues despite injuries to their key players throughout the season.
Can the Blues join two of those teams in the top three of the division rather than settling for a wild card berth? Anything is possible after an active offseason.