The St. Louis Blues may not have played as well as their overall record and points total suggested, but it shouldn’t mean this team is on more of a backslide. No, they didn’t enjoy a phenomenal year, but 92 points in 2023-24 means this team would shock nobody if they snuck into the NHL Playoffs next season should another quality player or two wind up in Gateway City.
The Blues also proved they still have plenty of strengths, including one at arguably the game’s most important position. That strength should continue improving as the 2024-25 season progresses after it begins in October, and expect it to bring a few more wins.
So, despite the rather bleak results in 2023-24 despite 92 points in the process, let’s elaborate further on why you can be optimistic about this team before the 2024 offseason even commences.
The Blues scoring won’t take any more steps backward
If you want some reassurance, take one look at the Blues statistics from this past season and check out who their highest points-producers were: You had Robert Thomas in his age-24 season and Jordan Kyrou (age-25) leading the way, but it gets better when you look at players who found the net more than anyone else.
Kyrou led the team with 31 goals, and Thomas finished tied for fourth with 26, but Jake Neighbours (age-21 season) tied for second with 27. While he had just 21 points in 2023-24, Alexey Toropchenko also showed off some scoring upside with 14 goals in his age-24 campaign.
Zachary Bolduc is one player who I can see joining them next season if the 25-game sample size he put forth holds any water. Bolduc scored five goals and logged nine points, putting him on pace for between 16 and 17 goals through 82 games, and this was during his age-20 season.
This is a pivotal offseason for Bolduc, but he’s shown enough scoring potential to where it shouldn’t surprise you if he ended the 2024-25 campaign with between 20 and 25 goals at minimum. If and when he hits that mark and if the players listed earlier keep improving, the Blues will have a stellar albeit underrated scoring group.