The St. Louis Blues have made sensational strides in 2024-25, and nobody can argue that. They’ve gone from a team that looked like a middle-of-the-road group to one that may end the season as the No. 1 wild card.
Yeah, that puts on the facade that the Blues are a talented hockey team, but in reality, they’re nowhere near as good as we think. That doesn’t mean they’re not a top-eight team in the NHL’s Western Conference - they’ve slowly proven they’re for real and deserve a spot as one of those eight postseason teams.
But still, the Blues team you’re seeing right now is nothing close to the one you will see a year or two from today. And that’s one scary thought, considering how the Blues jumped quite a few teams to currently stand at 83 points with a 38-28-7 record.
At 38-28-7 the St. Louis Blues are talented but a shell of what they will be
Recently, we watched Dalibor Dvorsky make his NHL debut, and considering how well he’s played in the AHL this season, with 20 goals and 43 points in 57 games, he alone will make the Blues a deeper hockey team. No, we won’t see him in action often as the year winds down, considering the circumstances, but just wait until he figures things out in the NHL.
Jimmy Snuggerud may be the best player in the NCAA this season, with 49 points and 22 goals in 39 games for the University of Minnesota. It won’t be long until Snuggerud is NHL-ready, and as with Dvorsky, he too makes the Blues a deeper team.
Not to mention the number of blueliners currently in the system, many of whom will find their way to Arch City at some point during the latter half of the decade. That’s telling, but in actuality, the Blues won’t need to wait for any of the above prospects to join the big club. So, even if they’re not ready next season, expect quite a few old faces in Gateway City next year.
St. Louis will be a hotspot for future free agents and trade acquisitions
While St. Louis isn’t the largest market out there, nor does it boast warm weather year-round like the Florida and Los Angeles teams, among others, something funny happens when you become a relevant team again. You start attracting potential assets to your club, and that’s what you’ll see from the Blues starting this offseason.
While general manager Doug Armstrong will still need to sell the organization to lure free agents and potential trade targets - those with no-trade/movement clauses attached - he’ll have an easier time bringing players in as opposed to franchises like the Seattle Kraken or Buffalo Sabres. He may even have an easier time than nearby Original Six teams like the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.
Hey, the Blues have proven they can win with a team that’s, for all intents and purposes, not the most complete. That should be refreshing to fans, and so should the fact that although they’re watching a talented group right now, they’re nowhere near as good as they can be. For the rest of the NHL, that should be one scary thought, considering what the Blues have accomplished.