Jake Neighbours has long been one of the easiest members of the St. Louis Blues to root for, a hard-hitting winger who plays every shift like it matters. Now, in a contract year, the Blues need the goal scorer who made that energy so valuable. At only 24 years old, with a $3.75 million cap hit and restricted free agency coming at the end of this season, he has only a few months to make his case.
What Jake does well
Neighbours is the kind of winger that coaches trust. He hits, he competes, and he can slide onto almost any line and situation. Through 17 games, he has 52 hits at even strength, a little more than three a night, up from two a game last season. While he does have 20 penalty minutes this season, some of that is just a byproduct of the physical game he plays.
His energetic playstyle is one of the biggest factors that earned him a seat at the table, but the goals and point production will ultimately decide where he sits. Neighbours scored 27 goals in his first full NHL season, and 22 the next, which made him settle into a top-nine role, instead of just a depth piece. However, his goals continued to drop to 15 last season, and with only four on the season, he is on pace for another 20-goal season.
While he has not experienced a goal-scoring collapse, he has certainly experienced a drop-off offensively. With the 2026-27 roster changes, he now has competition for valuable ice time with Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael as additional options for head coach Jim Montgomery.
What is going wrong
Two seasons ago, Neighbours was putting roughly seven shots on net for every hour he played at five-on-five. This season, that number has sharply dropped to just over four. Fewer shots has led to fewer goals, and his goal totals have followed.
The Blues are also getting outplayed a bit when he is on the ice, controlling just under 46 percent of the shot attempts. Last season, that number was above 49 percent, the best of his young career.
While 17 games is a small sample size, one hot week could help change all of this for him. With four of his nine points coming on the man-advantage. The power play role can help his case toward his next contract, but he will need to show he is capable of producing at even strength again as well.
The building pipeline
The Blues prospect pipeline is littered with players on the wing trying to crack their way into the NHL. Forward Aleksanteri Kaskimäki is doing all he can to make his case to remain in the NHL this season, but has been in and out of the lineup, mostly on the fourth line. Forward Otto Stenberg has been moved between the NHL and AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds but has not shown the jump in his game that helped him hold on to the role last season.
None of the prospects are truly ready to threaten Neighbours for his ice time and the Blues are better with a player like him in the lineup. His versatility and style of play is what the team sometimes needs to inject energy into the lineup. However, they do need to have him reclaim a bit of his offensive flair that helped him score 27 goals in the 2023-24 season, because that is what turns a useful winger into a lasting, foundational piece for the organization.
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