With the news of Toronto superstar Auston Matthews becoming the Maple Leafs' 26th captain in franchise history, replacing 33-year-old veteran John Tavares, that raises a question for the Blues- should they follow the Toronto pattern when choosing their next team leader?
Brayden Schenn has captained the Blues as their 24th in franchise history since before last season. But at age 32, he may only have a few years left in his career, even though it will most likely finish in St. Louis, where the Saskatoon native is under contract till the 2028/29 season.
So who could become the Blues' 25th captain in franchise history? There are the obvious choices, and also the ones who are most deserving of the block letter C on their sweaters.
Robert Thomas
Thomas was the third consecutive Blues player to be selected for the NHL All Star Game, and it's not hard to see why. The 25-year-old Toronto native played in all 82 regular season games last season, making his first ASG appearance while totaling a solid 26 goals and 60 assists for a sharp 86 point season.
Thomas is like many of the Blues' young superstars that may be an obvious choice for the captaincy, but what sets him apart is his consistency, the 2023/24 season being his 3rd straight with almost 20 goals or more. And for a player that's still that young, you want someone like that for the deep playoff runs and all the other important season goals.
Colton Parayko
Parayko may be towards the bottom of the captaincy candidates list seeing as he's 31, but the St. Albert, Alberta native still managed a good 2023/24 campaign with 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points. Not too shabby for a defenseman who, like Thomas, played in all 82 games last season and who's been with the Blues for his entire career now spanning nine years.
Last season was also a comeback for Parayko, as his 10 goals were the first time since the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons he scored goals in double digits, albeit at the bare minimum. But he won the Cup the former season, so that doesn't matter too much now does it?
Pavel Buchnevich
The Blues' hottest player during the regular season and the offseason, for that matter, St. Louis, avoided major catastrophe by re-signing Buch to a six-year extension, keeping him in St. Louis until at least 2030/31. The 29-year-old Russian RW also had a stellar 2023/24 campaign, with 27 goals, 36 assists, and 63 points in all but two regular season games played.
Buchenvich has maintained a 20+ goal-scoring streak for four consecutive seasons now, and there's no reason other than maybe injury, such a streak wouldn't be broken. Many NHLers strive for the kind of consistency Buchnevich has, and it may make him the more deserving candidate for the captaincy than even Robert Thomas. Fending off a relentless trade pursuit from a Western powerhouse is no small feat, and St. Louis keeps their best playoff puzzle piece for the next seven or eight years.
Of course, above all these options is the option that Schenn stays captain for a few more years, seeing as how last season was only his first as team leader. Maybe by the 2027/28 season we will see a changing of the guard for the Blues' leadership, and it may very well be one of these three big-name players that wears the block letter C on their St. Louis sweater.