The season did not end where most fans thought the team could get to, especially given the context of the game and the series at large. However, looking back at the differences in this club since this time last year compared to where they are now is a stark difference, and one for the better.
The 2024 St. Louis Blues: questions and more questions
Coming into the season, the 2024 St. Louis Blues were a team and an organization full of questions. Who was Drew Bannister? Did Doug Armstrong and his new succession plan mean a promising future for the club or were there too many mistakes to recover from? Could Jordan Binnington finally take the next step to approaching Vezina territory? Who were the new acquisitions, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg? Among many others.
The roster was a weird mix of old veterans (Brayden Schenn, Torey Krug, Ryan Suter, Brandon Saad), league journeymen (Kasperi Kapanen, Jakub Vrana, Alexandre Texier), and fresh young talent (Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Pierre-Olivier Joseph). Needless to say, there were a lot of unknowns on this roster.
These doubts came to fruition, as the club sauntered to a 4-3-0 start before star center Robert Thomas was sidelined with a potential long-term injury. Then a few games later, they sat at 6-6-0 before young developing star Philip Broberg hit the shelf for an extended period of time as well.
The season up to this point had been a disappointment for optimistic fans, but maybe about expected for those with doubts and critiques of Doug Armstrong's offseason plan.
Then, everything changed when Boston cracked
November 25, 2024. Drew Bannister fired, Jim Montgomery returns to St. Louis as the new head coach of the club.
The former Jack Adams winner had an impressive resume as well as experience in the Blues organization as an assistant coach under Craig Berube, so the decision to get Monty was a no-brainer for Doug Armstrong and company.
Jim Montgomery's tenure in St. Louis ultimately ended in a historic run and turnaround of a team with very little hope in the moments before the hiring was announced. Before Monty, the Blues went 9-12-1; under Monty, the club swerved away from stagnation and rocketed to a 35-18-7 record to finish the season with 96 points and a playoff berth.
The miraculous turnaround of the Blues this season does not happen without hiring Jim Montgomery, a decision which will have implications for years to come.
Doug Armstrong's work from the shadows
The roster construction of the 2024-25 St. Louis Blues was a beautiful puzzle or mosaic that took several months to come together, but stepping back and looking at the whole picture reveals the genius of Armstrong's master plan.
Defense had been a calling card of the 2019 Stanley Cup-winning team, with size and physicality able to outlast other teams. The league adapted to this trend and acquired many of the defenseman with good size and skill, so Doug Armstrong looked at what he had to work with and pivoted to a new strategy.
The defensive play under Jim Montgomery and the Blues was nothing short of phenomenal, but not because of defensive contributions from the men on the blue line; Army identified the depth forwards as a potential way to win on the margins with speed and blocking IQ.
Of course, the most critical moment of the offseason came with the successful offer sheeting of two young, skilled players in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. Both players brought a level of skill and speed to this team that was sorely lacking, and look like key pieces to build around for years moving forward.
About a third of the way through the season, Armstrong also made the essential move to acquire defenseman Cam Fowler mid-season. This ultimately proved to be the perfect cherry on top of the roster-building masterclass Armstrong had already put on.
Fowler was always a skilled defenseman, but Army and his staff recognized a potential beyond his height in Anaheim, and they were right. In 17 games with the Ducks, Fowler registered 4 points; in his 51 games for the Blues, that pace shot up and he tallied 36 points in impressive fashion.
In his end-of-year press conference, Doug Armstrong cited that was about his expectation for what the roster he put together could accomplish:
""In five or six years when people Google or Wikipedia this season, they're going to see 96 points and a playoff team. That's probably what I thought we were going to be.""Doug Armstrong
This mentality of getting a little bit better each year so that the next can be set up for success is exactly why the Blues find themselves in the position today that they are in.
Was 2025 a success in St. Louis?
Looking back on the season in review, in my mind there is no doubt that this season is nothing short of an unmitigated success.
It's true the final minutes of their final game ended in pure and utter heartbreak, but there was a lot of good left out on the ice that night and a lot of good that it took for them to get there in the first place.
Let's of course not forget that we got to witness a franchise record this season with their 12-game win streak, something that does not exactly come around every season.
With all the questions coming into the year, practically every question has been resolutely answered and most have very positive conclusions for the Blues and their future. In an evaluation year, the St. Louis Blues passed their test with flying colors. I expand on these thoughts more in the most recent episode of my podcast:
While the heartbreak of the miracle in Winnipeg still stings and will probably never go away entirely, I am glad to call myself a fan of this team for the hockey they gave me this year. There were so many fun and iconic moments that I will cherish forever, and the club has set itself up to have a winning offseason and make a push to becoming one of the best franchises in the NHL. I think short of winning the Stanley Cup, I could not have asked for a better outcome at the start of this season.