The forward core in St. Louis is one of the most exciting groups of talent in the NHL. Young and ascending players like Jimmy Snuggerud, Dylan Holloway, and Jake Neighbours pair perfectly with established vets like Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Pavel Buchnevich. The mix of youth and proven talent has been working very well for the Blues last season, leading to a playoff berth.
The Blues led a fearsome offense last season, especially down the stretch when they gelled together post Four Nations break. The team ended with the 13th most goals scored in the league, a solid mark and enough to be a playoff team.
However, the13th best offense should not be the end all be all for the Blues. Their talent and promise shown during that hot stretch of play should have Blues fans excited for the potential of this forward group, and I think the 13th best offense should only be somewhere near their potential floor; the ceiling and more likely outcome should be much higher.
A mixture of youth and experience on the top line
The best recipe for success in sports is to always have balance and multiple ways to win. The Blues have crafted exactly that for this season.
Jimmy Snuggerud looks poised to be a potential Calder finalist and should make a significant impact as a rookie. He is a playmaker with a great shot making him a dual offensive threat that should slot in nicely on the top line.
Across from him is the established star winger Pavel Buchnevich. Buch had a bit of a down season in a season where nothing was normal for him, meaning some level of positive regression can be expected. Furthermore, Buch is entering his age-30 season meaning he still has a lot of good hockey left to play. A bounce back for Buchnevich would go a long way and makes a lot of sense to expect.
And centering the top line will, of course, be the central cog of the Blues offense, Robert Thomas.
Thomas is an elite superstar first line center; last season he paced for over 90 points and proved himself to be one of the best 1C's in the league, receiving Selke votes on top of his excellent offensive production.
Thomas has nothing left to prove, only to go out and finally hit the 100 point mark. He has all the talent to do it and is on the right trajectory, plus playing with the perfect mix of youth and experience as his wingers should set him up for a terrific season.
The top line for the Blues is an excellent NHL first line with real expectations. They have the ability and makeup to assert themselves into the conversation of best crafted offenses in the league, and fans should expect big things from the big three.
The second line: best in the NHL?
Believe it or not, the second line last season was one of the best lines in the NHL, let alone for a second line.
The second line was comprised primarily of Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou on the wings with Brayden Schenn as their center. Some questions arose this offseason whether Schenn would be the 2C after the addition of Pius Suter but given the success of the second line with Schenn playing last year, signs are pointing to him serving on the second line again.
Of forward lines with at least 150 minutes played together, the Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou line was 15th in the entire NHL in expected goals for per Money Puck and registered a very solid 57.7% expected goals percentage. This means by this metric they were the 15th best line in the league at generating chances that should have led to goals.
Expected metrics are great at predicting production, but how did the Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou actually do at producing? They ended tied for 11th in actual goals for using the same search parameters.
This was one of the best offensive lines by both advanced analytics and counting stats last year, and there is no reason to think they should be slowing down now. While Brayden Schenn is getting up there in age entering his age-34 season, Kyrou is an established and ascending star who has improved consistently year after year, and Holloway provides an injection of youth and speed to the mix that should only be getting better still.
Once again, the second line has the perfect mix of ages, meaning they can win at any level or for any game script. Schenn can provide the physicality to pummel opposing offenses, Kyrou has the skill and scoring to put pucks on and in the net, and Holloway has the speed and finishing to serve as the Robin to Kyrou's Batman.
This line was not only one of the best second lines in the league, they were one of the best offensive lines of all in the NHL. If they can repeat at a similar level paired with the capabilities and promise of the top line, this Blues top 6 could get scary to play against very quickly.
The top 6 for the Blues is already a strength, but can it become among the best in the league? That remains to be seen, but there is reason to believe in the promise of this unit to become a force to be reckoned with.
For more thoughts on the top 6 as well as the Blues forward core as a whole, check out the most recent episode of my podcast, the Note News Podcast, where we broke down in depth the potential of the forward core:
The Blues are entering the 2025-26 season with real expectations. Blues fans, take solace because the team has all the pieces it needs to establish itself as one of the best offensive units in the Western Conference and the NHL.