It is no secret that the St. Louis Blues have not had the greatest start to the 2025-26 season. They have been underwhelming, disappointing, and overall a complete shell of what they were from a season ago.
ESPN just graded all 32 NHL teams on their first quarter performance of the 2025-26 season, and they couldn't be more spot on with the Blues. Let's take a moment to see what that looks like and what grade they recieved.
Grading?
The Blues were awarded a D- grade, and it makes perfect sense. If not for the horrid start down in Nashville, it is a valid argument that the Blues would be the last team on the list and the only one in the "F" grade pool.
At 7-10-6 for 20 points, the Blues have not been able to gain much momentum through the first 23 games, aside from this five-game road trip. They have not gained a ton of wins, with a record of 1-1-2 over the first four games, but they did muster to grind out four big points. Anything is better than nothing at this point.
The fall from last season is the main highlight here. From a playoff team to the potential first-overall pick, all the while using the offseason in between to "upgrade" the roster.
Onto the midway point
Moving onto the midway point of the season, the emphasis is on the Blues trying to string together wins. This team has to figure it all out right now, and not wait another game to "shuffle things around" to make it work. Find the winning formula right now and keep it forever.
This season, no matter where it ends up, will be a crucial one for the franchise's history. If they can pick it up and get back in the win column more often, this team's dynasty hopes and dreams are still alive. But if a short season and a lottery pick is the outcome, the Blues may have to go back into a full rebuild to really round this team's hard edges.
Either way, ESPN nailed it with this one.