The NHL offseason is a fun time to make projections, and guessing what the lineup could primarily look like to kick off the 2024-25 season is one of them. For the St. Louis Blues, what this team’s goaltenders, defensemen, and forwards may look like at the beginning of the year may take on a dramatically different look come December or later, depending on how they fare early.
As you may be aware, the Blues are expected to struggle this season, so some of the older talent, especially at the blue line, may find itself shipped out in favor of bringing in or even calling up younger players onto the big club. But as you’ll also be aware, anything can happen, and there’s still a lot of talent on this team, especially in the top-six.
So, if we were to project what the Blues would look like heading into 2024-25 right now, who would primarily be playing on each line and pairing, and why?
Forwards
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
Pavel Buchnevich | Robert Thomas | Jordan Kyrou |
Brandon Saad | Brayden Schenn | Jake Neighbours |
Kasperi Kapanen | Oskar Sundqvist | Mathieu Joseph |
Alexey Toropchenko | Radek Faksa | Zack Bolduc |
Alexandre Texier | Nathan Walker |
Projecting the first line was easy as I rolled with the Blues best scorers and playmakers. Robert Thomas will pick up from where he left off, and he’ll enjoy another stellar season, while Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich will once again be among the team’s best playmakers.
The projected second line is intriguing, with Jake Neighbours looking to build on his breakout campaign while Brandon Saad and Brayden Schenn make up strong veteran presences. St. Louis should also have at least one decent depth points-producer on the third line in Mathieu Joseph, and I’ll be interested to see what Kasperi Kapanen is capable of, as there was a time when he fared well for the Blues.
Oskar Sundqvist is another established veteran who can enter a mentorship role this season and beyond. On the fourth line, Alexey Toropchenko and Radek Faksa will be a pair of hard hitters, while Zack Bolduc is the first prospect to land a potential full-time spot with the big club following some encouraging performances last year.
Defensemen
Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
Colton Parayko | Scott Perunovich |
Ryan Suter | Justin Faulk |
Nick Leddy | Tyler Tucker |
Olivier Pierre-Joseph |
This is the unit that could see an upheaval if the Blues struggle early, but there’s also a lot to like here. Initially, I rolled with pairing the veterans together, but I instead liked what they did late last season and went with veterans and youngsters on two (or more) of the three pairings.
Going this route won’t put the younger players on an island on, say, the third pairing and should instead create more balance. This is especially the case with one of the league’s more established blueliners in Colton Parayko pairing up with the high-potential Scott Perunovich.
Plus, it’s just a starting point for the 2024-25 season, and it’s easy to wonder what this group will look like should general manager Doug Armstrong start moving veteran talent if the Blues don’t contend. Doing so would open up room for players like Olivier Pierre-Joseph and potentially Matt Kessel, transforming this into a much younger unit.
Goaltenders
Jordan Binnington |
|---|
Joel Hofer |
This was by far the easiest one to project; as we know, Jordan Binnington remains the top goaltender in the system, while Joel Hofer will continue to grow as a 1B. We shouldn’t see much variance this year, but I also wouldn’t mind seeing Hofer cut a little more into Binnington’s playing time if he manages to give us output similar to what we saw in 2023-24.