Last season, the St. Louis Blues learned a few things. For one, they learned that, no matter how far behind the eight ball you are, to never give up on the season because one 12-game winning streak might be the ultimate difference maker.
But they also learned what separates good teams from great teams. Good teams like the Blues have great teams like the Winnipeg Jets on the ropes, but it's the great team that finds a way to win in crunch time.
It's why the Blues went home after the first round of the playoffs back in May, but they should know by now they have a team capable of making noise in the postseason. But unfortunately for them, the Central Divison alone is stacked.
St. Louis Blues may need another showstopping season to make another playoff run
Going into 2025-26, we know the Central has three shoo-ins for the playoffs: Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche. You may as well peg them in now, and that's three of the eight slots already taken.
Three teams in the Pacific will take another trio of slots, and that leaves just two spots for teams on the bubble, like the Blues, Minnesota Wild, Utah Mammoth, Vancouver Canucks, and I wouldn't even count out the Anaheim Ducks or Nashville Predators.
Hey, the Preds have experience on their side, and it was supposed to take them the distance last season. It didn't work then, but let's not set everything in stone just yet. As for Minnesota? Playoff team.
Utah? The JJ Peterka trade's taking them up another level. Not that they weren't contenders last year. Anaheim? Exceeded expectations, and now they're in positon to make a jump. Vancouver? Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes are still in town, and that makes them a threat.
Anyway, you get the gist. The Blues are gonna have their work cut out for them, and they need to be that team that went 35-18-7 under Jim Montgomery if they feel like making the 2026 playoffs.
What will push the St. Louis Blues over the edge in 2026?
For one, be the high-octane team that finished 13th in scoring and caught about everyone off guard. They have the talent, especially with Dylan Holloway coming into his own and Jimmy Snuggerud likely making the jump.
Snuggerud's gonna be a reinforcement this season, just watch. Enter Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, the usual suspects, and there's no reason why the Blues can't bring an even more high-octane game.
Defensively, they should still be a solid bunch, with Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, and Cam Fowler leading the way. Throw in Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington, and you got one of the NHL's better goaltending duos.
The bottom line? The Blues have the talent, and there's no arguing against it.
So, the burning question is: Will they outlast the top wild card contenders in 2025-26? Overall, they need to keep the same consistency they had over the second half of 2024-25, but get more consistent during that first half.