The St. Louis Blues are 9-9-2 through 20 games, and while the .500 record has kept the Blues and their fans whelmed, there is are some of the team's most important players who are heating up, while a few of the highest paid have gone quiet.
Trending Up
Robert Thomas
The Blues team captain started slowly, with one goal and six points through 10 games. Since then, he has been heating up with eight points over his last 10 and now has 14, tied for the team lead while playing 20:27 a night. It is a slow but steady pace, but Thomas is picking up the offensive pace.
Jimmy Snuggerud
The top line right winger leads the teams with 10 goals and leading the team in goals scored on a on a $950k contract. He has slowed a little from after scoring eight points in his first 10 games to only six in the last 10, while also scoring at a 23.3 percent rate. It would not be surprising to see that rate cool down a little, but 14 points in 20 games has helped him build a very strong start to the season.
Justin Barron
Barron might be the best waiver wire pickup of the season, and we aren't even at American Thanksgiving yet. He has three goals and seven assists in 17 games with the Blues, second among all Blues defensemen behind Philip Broberg's 13 points. He is doing this all while playing just under 17 minutes a night.
Trending Down
Pavel Buchnevich
The veteran winger had six points through the first nine games of the season and then managed only one goal over the last 10. His seven points in 19 games are quite low for his $8 million cap hit and only playing 17:28 a night. Blues head coach Jim Montgomery and the coaching staff will need to find a way to get him back even remotely on track to help support the team's secondary scoring.
Connor McMichael
The forward arrived in the Jordan Kyrou traded and signed a six-year, $6.75 million AAV contract. He had seven points in his first 10 games, and has gone without a goal and only two assists in his last 10. His two goals this season have with a 7.4 percent shooting rate, well below his career 11.7 percent rate, so a rebound is likely.
Cam Fowler
No goals, four assists, and no points in his last 10 games with a minus-8 rating, while averaging 20:48 a night. While he should not be judged on his offensive production alone, the defensive side of his game is slipping, and so is his offense. The 34-year-old is signed through 2029 at $6.1 million and will need to rebound and do so quickly.
Worth Monitoring
Mason McTavish
The Blues' second line center was one of the biggest risers in the first 10 games after scoring six goals and 10 points in 10 games. He has one goal and one assist since, giving him now 12 points on the season. His seven goals are still among the top on the team, so it should hopefully be a minor cooldown instead of a total collapse.
Jonatan Berggren
After going pointless in his last seven games, the Blues' third line winger has five points in 17 games, all of which have come in the first 10. He has competition coming up, with Kaskimaki attempting to push his way into the lineup on a consistent basis.
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