While we are still only six games into the season, it's getting late early for the 3-2-1 St. Louis Blues in the toughest division in the NHL. The Central Division is stacked with some of the best teams in hockey, as well as a couple of teams on the rise, and the Blues are floundering in the mushy middle. The main reason? Their best players aren't getting the job done.
We could pick from a number of players on the roster, from Cam Fowler's offense vanishing after signing a contract extension to Jordan Binnington's subpar play in net. Instead, we're going to focus on the Blues' trio of forwards making over $8 million a year, because a lack of production from a team's three most highly paid players would sink anybody's hopes of making the playoffs.
Robert Thomas
We're leading off with the most glaring. In six games, Robert Thomas has one goal and two assists--but the lack of offense isn't even the worst part. Thomas is underwater by the fancy stats: a team-worst 44.51 CF% and a disastrous 36.08 xGF%, which is the worst among forwards, per Natural Stat Trick. That means the Blues are getting out-chanced when Thomas is on the ice at 5-on-5, and utterly crushed by goals scored. As the Blues' top-line center, Thomas needs to turn it around quickly, or the Blues are in serious trouble.
Pavel Buchnevich
The only good thing to say about Buchnevich is that he has one more point than Thomas; the bad news is that they're all assists, and he's also failing by the statistics. Buchnevich is sporting an even 50.00 CF% and a mediocre 46.45 xGF%. The 30-year-old forward is in year one of a six-year contract extension with an annual average value (AAV) of $8 million per year, and, so far, he's not earning his keep.
Jordan Kyrou
Kyrou is tied with Buchnevich in points, and at least has a goal to show for it. However, Kyrou's been moved all throughout the top nine due to his inconsistent play, and that could impact his consistency. The good news is that, unlike Thomas and Buchnevich, Kyrou's grading out pretty well under the hood, rocking a 57.93 CF% and a 59.02 xGF%, and he's second among forwards in ice time at 5-on-5. Still, this is a forward with an $8.125-million AAV contract, and four points in six games isn't close to good enough.
There's still time for the Blues to turn this ship around and get things headed in the right direction--but it's going to take their star forwards performing at their best to get it done.