The St. Louis Blues made a bunch of moves this offseason to try to improve upon their successful 2024-25 season. As of 14 games into the 2025-26 campaign, some have worked out well, and others might have doomed this season from the start.
There are two in particular that might have been the wrong choice for General Manager Doug Armstrong in his final offseason with the Blues. As things continue to unfold, and in hindsight, the Blues are reeling from these moves and scrambling to try to fix them.
Let's go over them.
Mailloux for Bolduc
Of the two, this trade might have really been the nail in the coffin. Promising and blossoming young forward Zack Bolduc was traded to Montreal for Logan Mailloux, as the Blues needed some aid on the blue line. With the "retirement" of Ryan Suter and then Torey Krug walking away from the game and being placed on Long Term Injured Reserve with the intent of never playing again, the Blues had some holes to fill.
On paper, it was a slightly lopsided trade in favor of the Canadiens, as Bolduc was already an established player. Mailloux did not have all that much experience at the NHL level, but was impactful in the minors.
Now, as the season has gone on, the trade is a home run for Montreal and a complete dud for the Blues. Bolduc, who started off the season as hot as you can be with three goals and an assist in the first three games of the year, has settled down a bit to four goals and two assists overall on the season.
The bigger story here is the disappointment that is Mailloux this season, and his inability to grasp the NHL pace. He has been benched multiple times, with Matthew Kessel and Mailloux swapping almost every single game as the third-line defenseman with Tyler Tucker and Cam Fowler. At -12, the growing pains are painting a picture that he might not be what many thought he could be.
Ellis claimed off of waivers by Buffalo
The next move that might have doomed the Blues was another unexpected one, but not because of the player in question. Colten Ellis, who had a rock-solid training camp and preseason, was placed on waivers on October 6 and was picked up by the Buffalo Sabres.
It was a shocking loss, as even the Blues front office did not think that he would be taken. "I'd say somewhat surprised," General Manager Doug Armstrong said. "Only because he doesn't have that NHL resume. When he gets put into that first contest with the Sabres, it's his first contest (in the NHL). Sometimes when you're dealing with injuries, you're looking for stability of someone that's got a proven track record that the players can see. But he had a great year last year. He's progressed very well."
What would follow is Ellis making his debut and winning handily against the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2, on October 22.
Now this is where we get to why it hurts the Blues even further. Backup Joel Hofer, who just signed a new two-year extension after having a fantastic year in 2024-25, has been all over the map this year. He has allowed an average of 5.02 goals per contest, and has a floundering save percentage of .836.
Having Ellis in their back pocket, down in Springfield, would have been an option to slow the hurt so far this season. There was a point in the seven-game losing streak where both Hofer and starting goaltender Jordan Binnington were borderline unplayable. Despite Ellis only having that sole victory, Buffalo will likely go to him once again in the future.