The Blues’ first weekend of games kicked off with the highest of highs and ended with the lowest of lows. We saw them go into Dallas and blow them out 4-0, then go to Colorado and take the other end of a 6-1 blowout.
Though it’s important not to overreact, there are still some key takeaways we can take from the first few games, while some takes remain major overreactions.
Joel Hofer has become the clear starter, and it’s no longer a 1A/1B - Overreaction
Hofer looked fantastic during the first game, but he also had a fresh defense in front of him. Jordan Binnington certainly fell off the rails on Saturday and made some crucial mistakes, but the first few goals came from defensive letdowns and a really bad turnover by Robert Thomas.
Hofer has proven throughout his career that he tends to be streaky, and we haven’t seen enough to say he can start 60 or more games in a single season yet.
Jimmy Snuggerud could be the best player on the team by the end of the year - Not an Overreaction
Snuggerud checked every box in the first game against Dallas. His passing was on point, his skating looked good, he made a nice play for an empty-netter, and he even defended Jake Neighbours after a questionable hit into the boards.
Though it felt like the entire top line failed to show up versus Colorado, Snuggerud’s 51 points in 70 games last season are reason enough to show the elite potential he has.
Adam Jiricek will play all 84 games for the Blues - Overreaction
Jiricek was one of the brightest parts of their first game, even despite his first NHL goal being called back due to offside. With that being said, Jiricek was only on the roster in the first place due to injuries to Tyler Tucker and Logan Mailloux.
Jiricek is going to have to jump Theo Lindstein at the very least to stay in the majors unless the team decides to release Brandon Carlo at some point. Though it’s entirely possible he can do this and/or there are injuries to players above him, as of now, he’s still likely the first man to go down when Mailloux returns.
It’s time to be concerned about Pavel Buchnevich - Not an Overreaction
Buchnevich is one of the few players who not only struggled on Saturday but on Friday as well. He looked slow and wasn’t finishing well, and this culminated in his offside, causing Jiricek’s goal to be called back.
Buchnevich has recorded fewer points than the year before in every season he’s had here, and he’s now on the wrong side of 30 and just in the second year of his six-year extension at $8 million a year. That’s a lot of money to commit to a player who seems like a middle-sixer at best.
Robert Thomas is not an elite center - Kind of an Overreaction
One of the most frustrating parts of this first weekend was the performance we saw from Thomas following his being named captain. He didn’t contribute any points in either game and made the mistake that allowed Colorado to go up 2-0.
Throughout the first eight seasons of his career before this year, Thomas had put up just five goals and 25 points in his first five games of each season combined. He’s becoming a notorious slow starter, and if he cannot figure things out in the next few games for the Blues, he’s only going to reinforce that point. With that being said, we’ve seen Thomas put up elite numbers throughout the middle and end of almost every season he’s played, so it’s questionable whether this slow start is a critical flaw or not.
The Blues have games against Chicago, San Jose, and Columbus coming up this next week, and these games will be a critical second milestone for testing whether these turn out to be overreactions or reality.
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