Jaws dropped when the St. Louis Blues traded Zack Bolduc this past summer, especially since the unproven Logan Mailloux was their compensation. On the surface, the trade made zero logic, as Bolduc looked like a 20-plus goal scorer heading into 2025-26, and he probably will be in Montreal.
But fans may have forgotten about the impact Jimmy Snuggerud made at the end of the regular season and during the Blues' seven-game playoff run. He had eight points in that span, plus three goals, and Snuggerud has kept impressing since camp began, routinely seeing time on the top line alongside Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.
And this is where the Bolduc trade started looking more logical. Snuggerud already showed he belonged during those seven regular season games and seven playoff games. Then, you add in the fact he's already established himself as a top-six talent, plus the need for younger, high-potential defensemen like Mailloux, and the Blues are way better off.
Jimmy Snuggerud will be an upgrade over Zack Bolduc
Bolduc was one of those players who showed potential with 19 goals in his first full season. It was even more impressive because he played strictly a bottom-six role, averaging 12:48 of ice time in 72 contests. But his ceiling was likely in the middle six, and that was something the Blues could fill with offseason acquisitions like Pius Suter, plus seasoned veterans like Brayden Schenn.
In comes Snuggerud, who has a much higher ceiling, which could lead to a 50-55-point outburst in his first full season, or else he wouldn't be skating on the first line with Buchnevich and Thomas. That is also higher than other youngsters like Jake Neighbours, who is good but inconsistent, and even Dylan Holloway, who wasn't skating on anyone's top line so soon, be it in Edmonton or St. Louis.
Very rarely do you see a player skate onto the scene like Snuggerud and play like a veteran in midseason form the way he did toward the end of last season. That alone had to have given Doug Armstrong confidence to send Bolduc to Montreal because of the way Snuggerud arrived, while a player who would help them as a right-shot defenseman, something the Blues needed.
Snuggerud will take the St. Louis Blues scoring up another level
I'd be surprised if, barring injury, Snuggerud didn't end up finishing in the top three for the Calder Trophy after landing 20-plus goals. And if his five assists in those 14 combined regular-season and playoff games are any indicator, it means he's more of a playmaker in the NHL.
So what does that mean for potential linemates like Thomas and Buchnevich? Thomas is a playmaker in his own right, but Snuggerud's presence could give him a career-high in goals scored. As for Buchnevich, Snuggerud's presence could transform him back into the 26-plus goal scorer he was.
While a youngster like Bolduc was a good player in St. Louis, he was still expendable because of Snuggerud clawing his way onto the big club and delivering. For a team that finished 13th in the league last year with 250 goals, Snuggerud, the latest piece of the Blues' core at forward, can easily take them up another notch.