Is it already time for the St. Louis Blues to push the panic button?

It’s only preseason, but you can’t help but start panicking about the St. Louis Blues this season, or at least start inching toward the panic button. A few nights ago, against the Chicago Blackhawks, goaltender Jordan Binnington did not look good in the slightest, and now we just saw St. Louis look like they were just skating around against a team that doesn’t figure to compete for the playoffs this year. 

While the Blues came back and beat the Blackhawks on September 28th, they were also shut out in the first two periods before storming back and snagging the game in overtime. That could have been a turning point, but obviously, it wasn’t. 

While Lou Korac of The Hockey News summed up everything that went wrong, there was one common denominator to take away: This team is showing zero sense of urgency. Listen, if you want to win in any sports league even in a recreational league that means something to about tens (as opposed to millions) of people; displaying some urgency is how you win consistently. 

St. Louis Blues need to start showing urgency, or else it’s time to panic

Some fans may be pushing that panic button now, and for good reason. St. Louis still has a team with more veterans than youngsters, and they’re well-paid veterans. Yet you can’t help but reach a point of impatience and say something like, “If they’re going to play like this every night, why even do this?”

Remember when I insisted the Blues need to take the 2024-25 season as a developmental year and not worry so much about winning? It’s because I saw games like this occurring, matchups in which most of those players you saw take the ice last night will have a spot on the big club. 

This doesn’t mean I expect general manager Doug Armstrong to work the phones until he’s cleared enough spots for high-end prospects to gain more NHL experience between now and when the season kicks off next week. But it does mean that, if the Blues are still playing like this by the end of October, Armstrong needs to start getting rid of as many as he can via trade. 

At this point, I would expect it to happen unless the Blues enjoy a major turnaround, but have they given us any reason whatsoever to believe? Not right now, and the second Armstrong gets some inquiries, it’s time to move some older players if they agree to waive any no-trade clauses in their contracts.