For all their storied past and great connection between the fans and team, the St. Louis Blues tend to have a problem holding onto team captains. Even back in the day, when player movement was less frequent due to a lack of free agency, Blues captains had a shelf life.
The longest tenured team captain is Brian Sutter, as he wore the "C" on his chest for nine seasons. David Backes and Chris Pronger were captains for five seasons. After that, there's a laundry list of guys who served the presidential term of four years. Then there's the odd case where Brett Hull was captain for part of four years, but had it randomly stripped because of Mike Keenan.
Sports are a "what have you done for me now?" kind of business, so nothing is forever. Nevertheless, with the departure of Brayden Schenn, not even three full seasons after we lost Ryan O'Reilly, it feels like a revolving door.
So, who's the next man up who we have to secretly hope isn't the next man out the door? There's one name that is the frontrunner, but I'm going to argue for another name - Jake Neighbours.
Everyone who follows the Blues knows that Robert Thomas has been labeled as the future captain for a few years now. He's the face of the franchise in terms of much of the marketing, does all those amusing/annoying car ads, and, whether we like it or not, is usually the team's leading scorer or close to it.
It makes sense. As far as pure skill, he's probably got the most talent on the team.
However, leadership is a different animal than just skill. We all like to think the best player should lead the team, but that's not always the best option.
It happens a lot. You've always got your Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, and Alex Ovechkin's of the world.
Sometimes, it's something else that isn't as tangible that leads teams. Was David Backes the most talented player on the Blues in his run? Not likely.
Depending on your criteria, Garth Butcher may not have even been the second-best defenseman on the Blues team he was the captain of. Some guys lead by example, and some guys just lead because they're leaders.
I think Neighbours is the latter, but also can lead by example in a matter of speaking. He would never be the kind of captain who leads the team in scoring. I think he can be a 30-goal scorer, but his style is just not suited to be a high-point producer overall.
However, he already leads by example by going to the front of the net. Listen to any analyst tell you what leads to success, especially in the playoffs, and 99.9% of them will include net-front presence as one of those keys. Neighbours might be the only member of the Blues who has consistently parked himself there over the last handful of seasons. Even if the Blues are turning the keys to the car over to the next crop, they can look to Neighbours for those examples of small things that lead to success as individuals and as a team.
Beyond just that intangible, he's got that It factor that you can't teach. He sees the game in a different way and thinks of it in a different way.
The things Neighbours was saying soon after he arrived as a draft pick and when he was just starting out as a rookie were things that some veterans never fully understand. His viewpoint on the game and the mindset players should have regarding selflessness, team, sacrifice, and the like were far beyond his age then and even now as a 23-year old.
Meanwhile, you have the golden child in Thomas, who has been the captain in waiting since they gave it to Schenn. Make no mistake, I don't think that would be a bad option, but I don't think it's the best.
While the rumored stress, the rumored trade that would've sent Thomas to Buffalo was very fair, Blues fans should still be glad he's on the team. When he's playing to his potential, he's an 80-point producer with a ceiling that could still be close to 100 points if he has the right pieces around him. Many think of the Blues as Thomas' team now, which was shown by the broadcast team saying just that about 10 times in their post-trade deadline broadcast against the San Jose Sharks.
Even so, there's just something there that doesn't fit the captaincy. For me, as a fan, I don't want my captain to be looking up at the ceiling every time something goes wrong. While body language doesn't mean he can't be a good leader, it still sends a message, and if one of your best players is constantly, visibly frustrated, it can trickle down to the team.
Unless he's showing some fire regarding a scrap or after a goal, Neighbours is pretty much even keel as far as visible emotions go.
Last, but not least, you have to consider the length of time each player might remain here. Neighbours is 23, and Thomas is 26.
Neither is approaching the back side of their career, but Neighbours still has more in front of him than Thomas does. Thomas has been signed longer since he won't be a free agent until 2031, and Neighbours will be in 2027, but Neighbours' next deal will still be less expensive than the current deal Thomas is on.
Even though they required a very large return, the Blues have already proven they're willing to listen to deals regarding Thomas. In the business of sports, it feels like once that door is open, it never fully closes. We haven't heard Neighbours' name in any potential deals, even as the team has struggled.
So, there's a case to be made if you make him captain going into 2026-27, he could wear the C for longer. If everything went right, he could wear the captain's letter for 10 seasons and only be 34.
If the Blues end up making Thomas the captain, we should all support it and hope he does the best job possible. At this point, it just feels like Neighbours would be the better choice for this franchise going forward.