The St. Louis Blues upgraded their roster this offseason, with an emphasis on fixing what went wrong last season. For 2025-26, the expectation is that they will go even further beyond what they accomplished a year ago, and that this team is trending in the direction of claiming the sport's ultimate prize.
Before we get that far, there is one area of the game that the Blues have been considerably lacking over the last couple of seasons. It is an important stat that dictates winners and losers of the hockey game.
The Blues have been outside of the top-10, even outside of the top-20 in this category, since the 2021-22 season, in which they finished the season with the third-most in the NHL. So, what could it be?
Let's find out.
Goals Forced
The Blues have been lacking in the goal-scoring department as a team for a number of years now. With an aging Jordan Binnington and a defensive core that is heading that direction as well, the emphasis on scoring goals needs to be put at the forefront.
The last three seasons have seen the Blues score 260 goals (17th), 234 goals (24th). and 250 (13th). To help push themselves into another chance at the Stanley Cup playoffs, they need to strive to be in that top 10 once again.
There is certainly enough talent to get them to that threshold. Jordan Kyrou is a candidate for 40+ goals, Jimmy Snuggerud, with a full season, has a chance to be knocking on the door of 30+ goals, and watch out for Colton Parayko from the blue line with a possible 20+ goals. That right there is 90+ goals just from three players, and those markers are not improbable for them.
Why is it important?
You might be thinking, so what? Well, this team has to be able to put the puck in the net on a consistent basis, especially if they do not want to have a repeat performance of last season's mediocrity for 75% of the year.
Up until the 4 Nations faceoff, this team was inconsistent on offense, and it showed with the inability to string together win streaks. It wasn't until the 12-game win streak that the offense was firing on all cylinders. That is much to late to be considered a Stanley Cup contender.
The 2025-26 Blues have to crack the top-10 in goals forced, or it could be a a shaky year.