The St. Louis Blues are set for a season with lofty, playoff-caliber expectations entering 2025-26. There is reason to be hopeful that this team can achieve its goals with an impressive list of strengths. Let's break down what the strengths of the Blues this season are.
The top 6 forwards
The Blues have a top 6 that is ready to compete for the playoffs. Their best players all play in the top forward group and should lead the way in having a top-tier offense this season.
The scoring is led, of course, by superstar skater Robert Thomas. The expectations are set sky high for Robert Thomas as Blues fans are looking for the first 100-point season since Brendan Shanahan in 1994. Thomas paced for over 90 points last season, and his pace only improved post Four Nations break to well over 100 points. The expectations are high, but there is every reason to think a 26-year-old Thomas can hit the green light and lead the way.
Jordan Kyrou follows closely behind him as the team's next best skater. He has led the way in goalscoring, being the only Blue to put up 30+ goals in three straight seasons and is set to get only better. Thomas and Kyrou have been a lethal combination throughout their careers, and Kyrou is only beginning to really come into his own and raise the bar on the player he can be.
Behind them are a myriad of intriguing depth pieces that can all contribute in massive ways. Pavel Buchnevich is an established top line winger who could have a serious bounce back season after a season full of unprecedented change and bad injury luck. Regression in the positive direction for the 30-year old could absolutely play a factor for the team this season.
Jimmy Snuggerud is perhaps the most intriguing young piece on this list as the only rookie but one with Calder upside. Snuggerud will have the opportunity to get playing time and effective linemates to really support his growth. He has already shown an impressive ability at the NHL level in both the regular season and the playoffs, and is set to have a huge first season in the NHL.
Dylan Holloway proved to be a steal of an acquisition for the Blues last season, registering 63 points in 77 games. He was one of the most fun and exciting pockets of talent on the roster to watch last season, and is still only getting better. The bar is very high for Holloway, meaning there could be some regression coming, but even if he's just able to repeat his last season, Holloway will be an important contributor in the top 6.
And finally, Brayden Schenn brings up the rear as the enforcer and physical force lacking in the top 6. While he doesn't produce as much as the aforementioned names, he still does enough in the goalscoring category and brings a very important physical style of play that enables the other players around him to perform at their best. Schenn's presence should not be underestimated; he is absolutely a key part of what this team wants to do.
The top 6 forwards all provide different and complementary skillsets that should play off each other quite nicely. Each skater brings something unique and dangerous in their own right, and as a unit, they stack up with some of the best in the NHL as a real offensive force. If the Blues have a top offense this coming season, I wouldn't be surprised, and this unit is partially the reason for that.
An improved defense
The biggest weakness of the last several years of Blues hockey has been their aging defensive core. However, last season we saw a complete turnaround of the Blues defense and should expect another season of competence at the bare minimum.
Colton Parayko and Cam Fowler formed an unlikely but perfect top pair last season and are looking to repeat their excellent play. Parayko has been the Blues' rock for several seasons now and is showing signs of improvement, registering a career-high 16 goals last season. And Fowler played the perfect complement to Parayko's game, registering more assists and serving as the offensive force to Parayko's defensive wall.
Philip Broberg had an impressive season as such a young skater, and like his counterpart in Holloway is also only looking to improve this coming season. He proved himself as one of the better defenders in the league and showed he can contribute some on offense as well. The next steps for him would be to add to his production totals, and if he can hit that green light the Blues have an excellent top-3 defenseman.
Justin Faulk is a legitimate question to have on the defense; he does drag down the top 4 somewhat. His offensive style without scoring the necessary goals or points has made his contract an albatross, but the Blues proved last season that their defense is good enough to overcome it. And now, there is a push coming from behind to challenge Faulk's position with the newest Blue, Logan Mailloux.
Mailloux is an offensive goal scorer, just like Faulk. And Mailloux plays on the right side, just like Faulk. If he can hit the green light and pay back the trust put in him by Doug Armstrong and co., the expectation should be for him to be at least as good as Faulk. This improves the defensive outlook greatly, with two of the six spots looking to improve and the top pair meeting the status quo, meaning the Blues could have a really threatening unit on the defense this season.
Impressive depth
Perhaps the greatest strength of the Blues this season, however, could be their depth. The Blues have myriad options on the bottom 6 that they can mix and match at will to create the best matchups and best combinations, and if even a couple of these players overachieve, the bottom 6 quickly becomes a strength, too.
New additions Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad look to steady the bottom 6 center core, two very important positions for controlling the pace of play. Both should provide very stable, solid play in their limited ice minutes, helping the unit as a whole to not be easy to exploit, further strengthening the ability of the top 6.
Furthermore, the Blues had an effective bottom line last year and are bringing back a very similar lineup this season. The bottom line still retains a very physical edge that is able to smash and bludgeon opposing skaters into submission, providing more ways to not lose outright in the battle of ice minutes.
Finally, the Blues have so many pieces to fill the minutes on the bottom 6 that they should have everything they need to mix and match and find the right combination. There are currently nine players fighting for six roster spots, and competition breeds excellence. The six that end up winning out will have to be the best six options for the team, and with that many depth pieces to mix and match, I expect Jim Montgomery to have no problem getting the best out of this team.
The Blues clearly have a long list of strengths for the 2025-26 season. They should have one of the best offenses in the league, paired with a defense that should be at a bare minimum sufficient. And of course, there's the bad man in the net.
We broke down further the strengths and weaknesses of the Blues for this coming season on the most recent episode of my podcast, the Note News podcast, which you can find here:
The Blues have the bar set very high for the 2025-26 season, but there is every reason to believe they should be able to go out and achieve their lofty goals with these strengths leading the way.