Well, we're back. After a thrilling Olympics, it's time for the NHL's regular season to get underway again. While St. Louis Blues fans should be proud of what their players did in Milan, let's remember the situation they're returning to: a team that's 20-28-9 with 25 games left in the season, whose 49 standings points are the second-worst mark in the league. The playoffs are nigh impossible, and the Blues should be well-positioned to make a pick at the top of the draft this summer. That'll start with an active trade deadline, but also give the young players on the roster prime minutes--we're on the path to a new era of Blues hockey.
Before all that, though, there are games to play--and the Blues have three on the schedule this week, starting with two at home. Their first post-break game is against the Seattle Kraken, who are, in a weak Pacific Division, in a playoff spot. The Kraken aren't exactly juggernauts (a minus-3 team goal differential is never a good sign), but they've gotten solid goaltending and have enough lineup depth to give a team fits. They may make the playoffs simply because nobody else in the Pacific is very good, but this game is winnable for the Blues.
Next up, the Blues host the New Jersey Devils, featuring golden goal scorer Jack Hughes; it's the first half of a back-to-back for the Blues. The Devils are second to last in a jumbled Eastern Conference, same position as the Blues in the Western Conference--but the Devils have nine more standings points than the Blues. The East, far more than the West, is a shining example of parity in the NHL. The Devils have disappointed this season and look on track to miss the playoffs, but this is a talented roster that can bulldoze a team when they're firing on all cylinders.
The Blues' final matchup of the week is on the road against the Minnesota Wild, featuring Olympic standout (and brother of Jack) Quinn Hughes, not to mention Bill Guerin, general manager of both Team USA and the Wild. As the Colorado Avalanche floundered into the break, the Wild have been on fire and closed the gap on first in the Central Division: they're 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and were on a five-game win streak before the Olympics. This could get ugly if the Blues struggle.
We're in the home stretch of the 2025-26 season now, with about a month and a half of the regular season left to play. For the Blues, there's not much to play for, but GM Doug Armstrong has an opportunity to dramatically reshape the roster at the deadline before his tenure as general manager is over this summer. This may be one of the last weeks we see several players in a Blues sweater.