The St. Louis Blues are in the middle of no man’s land with just a few weeks left in the 2025-26 regular season. They are not out of contention for a playoff spot, but they are also not quite there yet as well.
But, looking back at the current season at hand, how did we get here? What really happened with this team to get to this exact point of uncertainty?
Let’s talk about it.
False hope
Last season’s surprise playoff push and near first-round knockout of the Presidents' Trophy winners in 2024-25, the Winnipeg Jets, was a serious case of false hope. A team that was so shaky and rocky throughout last season, not registering a three-game win streak until that franchise-record 12-game win streak to get into the playoffs, there was a hope that this core group was a sustainable one.
But, it certainly has been the opposite, as the direction now is to completely nuke the core group and look toward younger talent. The captain, Brayden Schenn, has been moved, and one of the top blueliners, Justin Faulk, has been traded to supplement the upcoming NHL Draft.
False identity
To coincide with the false sense of hope, this team got an identity that they will be Stanley Cup contenders for years to come. Again, this team has an outside shot of making the playoffs right now, as they are eight points out of the second wildcard spot, currently held by a surging Nashville Predators team, with 12 games to go.
The Blues are a solid team, but there is certainly not enough evidence to call them a Stanley Cup playoff contender. Especially when there is a change in command incoming with General Manager Doug Armstrong stepping down, and handing over the keys to the kingdom to Alexander Steen on July 1. Their identity is that of a team in a retool, but it is in the late stages of it, not the start. One or two free agents, and an influx of young talent like winger Justin Carbonneau and goaltender Love Harenstam, and this franchise is back to being competitive.