The St. Louis Blues have not had a fantastic first stretch of the 2025-26 season, leading up to the Olympic Break. At 20-28-9 for 49 points, they are scraping the bottom of the Central Division and nearly the entirety of the NHL.
With this break in full swing, The Athletic released their most recent power rankings, and hit the nail on the head for the Blues. They ranked them where they should have been, respectively, and their preseason prediction of one Blues defenseman was not the truth this season.
Cam Fowler, who was electrifying when he was brought over from Anaheim in the middle of last season, was supposed to be a contender for this team's number one defenseman spot. Now, there is a valid argument that he is the worst of the bunch.
What happened, and can it get better in the last sprint of the season when the regular season resumes?
The regression is real
Fowler finished last season with nine goals and 27 assists for 36 points when he came over to the 'Lou. His best work came in the first-round playoff series against Winnipeg, in which he led the Blues in scoring with two goals and eight assists for 10 points in the seven-game series.
But the 2025-26 campaign has been a dud thus far. With only a sole goal and 18 assists on the season for 19 points, he is seriously lacking on the defensive end and on the power play. He has already played six more games than he did last season with the Blues, and his production has been cut in half.
The Blues knew what they were getting in a 34-year-old defenseman who has seen 1099 games of action, but the regression from last season to this one is a real problem. This team's entire defensive dynamic has been shaky at best, but No. 17 has been an eyesore at times.
Too late to salvage season?
With only a 25-game sprint ahead of them between either a miraculous Playoff appearence, or a chance at the first-overall selection in the NHL Draft Lottery, it is going to be an interesting couple of months.
Fowler's turnaround could be a pivotal part of a complete Blues comeback. He was a big reason why the Blues were able to win so much down the stretch at the end of last season, and he will have to be even more of an impact player this time around.
The Blues need Fowler to mirror what he did last season, but much faster.